NOVPUBThe civil war within the Federation was unforeseen by everyone.
The Auslan Empire and some member countries were forced to choose sides, with the Soter Republic naturally aligning with Zong Yan’s camp. Other member countries mostly joined Zong Yan, collectively making up half of the Federation’s power. This showcased that Zong Yan had been strategically building his influence, aiming to counterbalance the leadership. He just hadn’t anticipated that this day would come so soon.
Leberli, due to vested interests with the leadership, had no choice but to side with them.
This indirectly led to Ruka and Zong Fang, as commanders of the two sides, engaging in strategic combat on the battlefield. Both were skilled in commanding battles, holding mutual respect for each other but differing in their stances. As they respected each other immensely as opponents, neither held back their strength, making the battle situation incredibly tense.
Meanwhile, Anubis and the Rebel Army had emerged as the third force at this time.
They would always strike unexpectedly at the camps of the leadership and Zong Yan after their battles.
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Whichever side, whether Zong Yan or the leadership, got eliminated by the other, the next step would be for the Rebel Army to wipe out the remaining side.
The situation became increasingly chaotic, with multiple factions clashing, causing the scale of the battles to expand further. The Federation and most of the Interstellar were plunged into misery. The Beastmen of the Wandering Alliance rose amidst the chaos, increasingly engaging in looting and plundering.
Fate was like a racecar with failed brakes, speeding towards a cliff, beyond anyone’s control.
The only sanctuary amidst the war was the Freedom Alliance.
During the civil war, Qiao Suisui and Sang Yan collaborated, using the power of the Dragon Clan to provide refuge for Beastmen who had lost their homes due to the war. They also utilized the resources of the Freedom Organization to continuously deliver supplies to the Beastmen in bombed war zones, helping them survive. The two became close comrades through their collaboration, exhibiting a deep understanding and synergy in both action and decision-making.
Meanwhile, the relationship between Qiao Suisui and Carl underwent a subtle change on the Southern Battlefield.
In crisis after crisis, Carl consistently stepped forward. Despite his typically carefree demeanor, he was willing to walk the thorniest path alongside her.
Not long after they exposed an underground laboratory, Qiao Suisui, under his fervent pursuit, finally nodded in agreement, confirming their relationship.
At the same time, Zong Fang still found the recording device hidden under the skin of his arm in the Death Bone Prison. He had hoped to see her after his service ended, but the torrents of the era pushed them farther apart.
In fact, shortly after the civil war began, Zong Fang tried to avoid all of Zong Yan’s scrutiny and secretly tried to find her.
But at that moment, he saw Anubis holding her hand, his face flushed as he explained the meaning of Wolf Teeth—
"I left in such a hurry last time, I didn’t have the chance to tell you. Qiao... this is the symbol of the Wolf King, and also... also my feelings. I like you! I really, really do! It’s unsafe outside right now, this Wolf Tooth can command the Rebel Army, you can use it to protect yourself or do whatever you want when necessary.
The Wolf Clan mates for life. When I gave you the Wolf Tooth, I had chosen you. I know they all love you, I won’t insist that you only be with me; I just want you to be happy."
Zong Fang ultimately did not appear. He couldn’t see her expression, but Anubis’s delighted reaction said it all.
He didn’t impulsively kill the young man like before, but instead turned away in desolation. The War God, who was invincible on the battlefield, now looked like a soldier fleeing in panic. He was afraid to hear her answer, afraid to know that she loved someone else as much as he loved her.
Zong Fang deceived himself, thinking that if he couldn’t hear it, there was still a last glimmer of hope.
What he didn’t know was that Qiao Suisui had been trying to contact him, not only because she hoped Zong Fang would stop helping Zong Yan and put an end to this war, but also to clear things up with him. No matter how she tried to contact him and meet with him, all her messages disappeared without a trace...
The turn of events happened after Qiao Suisui gave birth, with Carl suddenly unwilling to let her stay in the Federation, planning to take her and the children to settle in the Freedom Alliance. Just as four snow leopard cubs were born, Carl insisted on taking her away immediately, despite her just having given birth. Even Ruka and Leberli unusually did not stop them and had already arranged a flying ship to take her away from Auslan.
Sensing something was wrong, Qiao Suisui pressed for answers and learned that the situation had drastically changed the day before.
It turned out Anubis, not wanting to hurt the people Qiao Suisui cared about and unwilling to be enemies with Ruka or Zong Fang, had months ago tried to convince his father. He suggested that if they could kill Zong Yan and the leader, everything would settle down, and the Rebel Army could be legitimized. After a fierce argument, Dante conceded in the end.
The plan to eliminate Zong Yan and the leader was very tightly organized, but their operation failed.
Anubis arrived only to find that the operation had turned into a trap. The leader and Zong Yan had secretly ceased their warfare temporarily, joining forces to exterminate the Rebel Army. Thousands of comrades died one after another in a brutal massacre. Dante Connor, filled with self-blame and outrage, fought relentlessly to the last moment, continuing even as his intestines were pulled out.
At the moment of his father’s death, Anubis looked up in despair, yet was surprisingly calm.
He glanced in the direction he had come from, remembering the last time he saw her, when she had held his hand and told him to come back soon.
Anubis smiled wistfully, then pushed his spiritual power and Talent to the limit and fought his way into the encirclement. Alone, he faced thousands, but ultimately died under a barrage of swords.
Upon hearing the news, the leader simply said, "Strip the flesh from that father and son and feed their bones to the dogs."
The news of Anubis’s death was too grievous; Ruka and others kept it from her. It was Qiao Suisui, with her keen perception, who noticed the change in their demeanor and persistently asked until she learned that Anubis was dead.
Shocked, Qiao Suisui knocked over a hot tea by her side, prompting several men to rush anxiously to her side.
In this timeline, she had returned the self-healing to Zong Fang, and the two had not resolved their misunderstanding for a long time, thus there was no subsequent incident where Zong Fang asked her to use Talent Stripping again.
A layer of blisters immediately formed on her arm from the scald, but at that moment, she felt nothing at all.
Ruka, heartbroken, took hold of her wrist and pulled her into his embrace. Leberli growled, calling for medicine and knelt in front of her to tend to her wounds. He looked at her delicate skin, now a patch of red, and felt as if his heart had been punched, wishing it had been he who was burned instead.
Carl turned his face away, unable to bear seeing her wounds; his fists clenched at his sides, standing by with an unmistakable look of deep concern.
He said to Qiao Suisui, "I will go and kill them for you."
Sang Yan stopped him, urging him not to be impulsive.
