Chapter 1214: Earth-Level's Hesitation
"Weakling...!" The Earth Rooster's sharp beak twitched slightly, barely able to utter a sound.
"The train will be much quieter without you, won't it?" the Earth Horse said, holding her completely severed right hand.
"Tie him up... kill him...!"
The Earth Rooster slowly knelt, then pitched forward onto the ground, his sharp beak burying into the dirt. He was completely still now.
The dust settled. The Earth Horse lifted her head to look at the Earth Rooster's several students and asked, "What do you say?"
"We..."
"Don't stir up trouble," the Earth Horse said. "We're doing something to liberate the entire train. Go tell every Human-level that as long as they do nothing, they can wait for liberation."
The few Human-levels before her clearly sensed something off. One Human Tiger stepped forward and stammered, "Do nothing... but what if those above blame us..."
"Those above won't blame those who do nothing," the Earth Horse replied. "Little Human Tiger, even if they blame someone, it'll be us. What does that have to do with you ordinary Human-levels?"
"This..."
The Human Tiger felt the Earth Horse's reasoning made sense. At this moment, doing nothing was actually the safest option. After all, becoming a rebel meant death, and opposing these rebels could also get you killed. Was there any better choice than doing nothing?
"Spread this news to more people," the Earth Horse said. "We don't ask for anything else—just that you don't throw your lives away for no reason. Can you do that?"
The several Human-levels nodded one after another, then scattered in all directions.
"Is this really a good idea..." the Earth Pig said. "One day they might regroup... come back to avenge their teacher. Then what?"
"There won't be such a day," the Earth Horse shook her head. "Right now, everyone is panicking. After all, none of the Human-levels really understand what's happening. In other words, they're divided, while we're united. We might not even live to see tomorrow, let alone talk about 'regrouping.'"
"We... united...?" The Earth Pig lowered his head again, feeling like he was the biggest burden in this team.
"Go back and rest," the Earth Horse said. "Remember not to die."
"Where are you going?"
"To kill the Heavenly Horse." The Earth Horse took a deep breath. "Counterpart elimination—isn't that the tactic we agreed on?"
"Those attacks of yours..." The Earth Pig pointed at her hand. "Every time you use one, you lose one, right...?"
"Yes." The Earth Horse's expression turned grave. "My teacher stored two hundred Earth-level attacks inside me. Now I've saved a hundred for the Heavenly Horse."
"But your hands..."
The Earth Pig gestured. The Earth Horse's left hand was pierced by a dagger, her right hand completely fractured, and now her foot was injured too. It seemed she had no means of attack left.
"Even if I have to use my head to ram her, it doesn't matter." The Earth Horse shook her head. "As long as I can catch the Heavenly Horse, I'll find a way to make her die."
"Compared to you all..." The Earth Pig sighed. "Right now, I'm really..."
"Your memory spans a long time, doesn't it?" The Earth Horse changed the subject.
"What?"
"My teacher told me that if there ever came a day of full-scale rebellion, at least one person with long memory must remain on the train." The Earth Horse said. "Now that I think about it, it all fits perfectly. It has to be you. You must remember all of us."
The Earth Pig frowned at her after hearing this. "What do you mean... what are you saying? My long memory... what does that have to do with me staying here?"
"I don't know." The Earth Horse shook her head. "I'm a very dull person. I often can't figure out what my teacher meant, but I trust her decisions completely. She told me I must ensure the person with long memory survives."
"This..."
"I'm leaving." The Earth Horse waved her hand and turned to walk away.
"Then you must be careful..." The Earth Pig looked up at her.
"I will."
"...stay safe."
...
More and more Zodiacs began gathering in the corridor. The group's situation was now truly stuck between a rock and a hard place. They saw that some Zodiacs had already started fighting each other, but what exactly was going on?
In the distance, an Earth Tiger and an Earth Dragon were locked in fierce combat, and their subordinate Human-levels were also slaughtering one another.
On top of that, both sides of the corridor were filled with Participants, and the scene instantly descended into chaos.
Looking further ahead, it seemed other Zodiacs had also started fighting. The bodies of Zodiacs began to appear on the ground.
Who had shouted that "rebellion" earlier? Rebellion against whom? Who was the enemy?
Combined with that phrase "Heaven-levels, come out and die"... if the rebels only wanted to kill the Heaven-levels, then why should anyone help stop them?
Which Earth-level here didn't want the Heaven-levels dead?
Many Earth-levels stepped out of their rooms and stood together, exchanging bewildered glances. After all, their memories stretched back so far that, as long as they hadn't gone mad, they naturally understood that this rebellion war was nothing but beneficial to them.
Other Earth-levels were risking their own lives to oppose the Heaven-levels—couldn't they just sit back and watch from a safe distance? Wasn't that a tremendous stroke of luck?
As long as the Azure Dragon and the Heaven-levels didn't say anything, there was no need for them to act.
Thus, even though the "rebellion" had been going on for a while, almost every Earth-level who stepped out saw Participants, but very few actually attacked.
An enormous, plump rabbit hurried forward with Aunt Tong, feeling more and more anxious with every step.
A large crowd of Zodiacs had gathered to watch the spectacle—but why was no one paying any attention to him?
As he ran, a door ahead opened, and a female Earth Ox emerged with a group of Extreme Path members.
She pushed aside the Participants in front of her and began sprinting down the corridor too.
"Hey!" the Earth Rabbit called out behind her. "Hey hey! You there!"
The Earth Ox ignored him, leading Old Deng and his people at full speed.
"Hey hey!" the Earth Rabbit shouted again. "Sister Ox! It's me!"
The Earth Ox still didn't turn around.
"Oh my!" Aunt Tong said as she ran alongside the Earth Rabbit. "This child has no manners at all—calling people 'hey hey,' and then calling a big lady like that 'sister'?"
"But I don't know how to address her..." the Earth Rabbit said.
"Don't you have a girlfriend, boy?" Aunt Tong asked again. "You don't know how to chat."
"Auntie, just keep running." The Earth Rabbit replied grumpily.
The Earth Rabbit bounded a few large strides to catch up with the Earth Ox, panting as he said, "Little Ox, it's me."
The Earth Ox turned her head to look at him and said softly, "Oh, it's you."
"What a coincidence!" the Earth Rabbit said. "The corridor is really lively today!"
The Earth Ox slowly furrowed her brow. Lively it was, but she felt they were being too safe.
So many Zodiacs on both sides were just staring at them—none had blocked their way.
In the blink of an eye, the two teams had arrived unimpeded before the Black Sheep.