Chapter 516: The Sorrow Within and the Balance Shattered

In the soundless void, Yenir could feel the hidden sorrow lingering in Li Xuanguo’s heart.

Suddenly, he understood—he understood where all the anomalies stemmed from, why someone in the upper echelons had targeted him, and why everything had descended into chaos.

His very presence had shattered the delicate balance.

The old guard’s Peak Third-Stage power, hidden behind the Huaxia Battle Zone, controlled the entire zone with overwhelming force.

By withholding high-end firepower, they forced the Military to scatter its limited might, leaving them powerless to counter.

They blocked upward progression and refused to participate in the system’s arranged battles, compelling Li Xuanguo and his allies to continually compromise as these factions inserted their own men to monopolize power.

To these peak powerhouses, the fate of the lower-tier survivors—or even the condition of the entire battle zone—meant nothing.

The worse the situation became, the more they could exploit.

It was like the days before the apocalypse: if you wanted someone to work for you, you had to pay them handsomely.

But after the end times, even a scrap of food would suffice.

That morsel could even buy a life—or restore a person’s entire dignity.

For these people, true wealth was never material; it was human life itself.

“Them… you all…”

“So, you’ve resisted, haven’t you?”

After a long silence, Yenir suddenly looked up and asked in a low, somber tone.

Li Xuanguo had repeatedly mentioned those Peak Third-Stage figures hiding in the shadows, but now Li Xuanguo himself occupied the highest rank—even if only in name—which suggested that the gap between the two factions wasn’t all that vast.

At the very least, Li Xuanguo and Lu Haishan were not in cahoots.

After a moment’s hesitation, Li Xuanguo nodded.

“Yes, we’ve been secretly resisting them for a long time.”

“Actually, this is the real reason I wanted to talk to you.”

With a sigh, Li Xuanguo fixed his gaze on Yenir, gathered his thoughts carefully, and spoke cautiously:

“In any nation, there will always be those with ideals and ambitions.”

“Especially when we all know that we are still in the end times…”

“Previously, a group of Peak Third-Stage figures clearly realized that even if the apocalypse never reignited, the current state of affairs would persist. But the Huaxia Battle Zone was bound to face major issues eventually.”

“That’s why we decisively chose to wage war against the old guard of Peak Third-Stage power!”

“Regrettably… we lost.”

With a bitter smile, Li Xuanguo shook his head.

“But it wasn’t an outright defeat.”

“Yenir, you actually resemble someone—very much so.”

“Over a decade ago, an Awakener with an incredible gift emerged.”

“He was as desperate as you are, and more than once he expressed his fear that the apocalypse might return.”

“Something, for reasons unknown, pushed him—or perhaps he just wanted to risk it all.”

“One day, he resorted to the most direct method: assassinating the strongest among the old guard of Peak Third-Stage power!”

At Li Xuanguo’s words, Yenir felt a slight tremor in his heart.

Though Li Xuanguo never mentioned the man’s name, Yenir had long suspected that someone once very much like himself existed—even the Ripper Suit he now wore likely belonged to that very person!

With another sigh, Li Xuanguo’s voice resonated once more:

“He failed, yet he managed to inflict serious injuries on his target.”

“This battle ‘frightened’ those Peak Third-Stage fighters. They suddenly realized that they might actually die.”

“Thus, when the old guard refused to fight desperately, we barely managed to preserve our ability to turn the tables on them.”

“After all, they only wanted to enjoy their power—they didn’t want to die.”

“Subsequently, amid an incredibly convoluted turn of events, they chose to withdraw from the Committee, hiding in the shadows while still reaping their privileges.”

“The Lu Haishan you see is one of them…”

After hearing the full account of the Military’s internal power struggles, Yenir’s expression grew complex, overwhelmed by an inexplicable sense of oppression.

If that were the case, then everything suddenly made sense.

Yet, with his foreknowledge of future events, he realized something else with a heavy heart.

In his past life, what he had witnessed in the Military was likely the final result of a relentless, all-out clash between two factions…

Perhaps it was that Li Xuanguo, as disaster after disaster struck, recognized that they could no longer afford delays. Represented by him, those Peak Third-Stage figures—such as Fang Hao and Zhao Hongtu—chose to battle the old guard head-on.

In that brutal fight, both sides exhausted all their elite combat strength.

It could be said that the entire elite of the Huaxia Battle Zone perished amid internal strife.

Consequently, the Military, unable to sustain the monstrous horde’s assault, was forced to retreat to the Capital.

Later on, the Huaxia Battle Zone ultimately fell.

“So, if I kill Lu Haishan, it’s tantamount to starting a war, isn’t it?”

“Lu Haishan chose to flee because he feared you were secretly orchestrating things, right?”

Looking up, Yenir silently clenched his fists and asked in a gruff tone.

The situation within the Military was far worse than he had imagined.

If indeed many Peak Third-Stage figures were hidden in the shadows, aligned with Lu Haishan…

he was utterly powerless to counter them in the short term…

and with these people present, his plans could never come to fruition.

Unless he waited until Li Xuanguo and those old guard Peak Third-Stage fighters fought to the bitter end—or until he himself ascended to Peak Third-Stage, or even Fourth Stage…

otherwise, nothing would change before that time…

In an instant, a profound sense of helplessness overwhelmed Yenir.

But contrary to what Yenir had expected, Li Xuanguo intended for him to see the truth and abandon his deadly feud with Lu Haishan.

The next second, Li Xuanguo suddenly fixed his gaze on him and enunciated each word deliberately:

“Killing Lu Haishan is fine by us.”

“In fact, we’ll do everything we can to protect you!”

“Yenir, your gift is extraordinarily powerful—it gives many people hope!”

“Your combat strength is now on par with Peak Third-Stage, isn’t it? And your gift isn’t exactly as you claim, is it?”

“Unbelievable—the speed of your growth is truly terrifying!”

With an unyielding stare fixed on Yenir, a jolt ran through him as he suddenly realized that Uncle Liang had probably already told Li Xuanguo and the others about the happenings in the Otherworldly Ghost Dungeon!

Before Yenir could even muster a response, Li Xuanguo took a deep breath and spoke again:

“Yenir, I can sense that you’ve been hiding some secrets in your heart.”

“I don’t care what you plan to do, but I know you want to change the current situation—and maybe, just maybe, you actually can!”

“Kill Lu Haishan, and we’ll spare no expense in keeping you safe!”

“But I’ll be honest with you—after you withstand their pressure, they will refuse to join the National War!”

“Yenir! The National War begins in a month! This isn’t exactly your arena!”

“But if you have the confidence to step in for those Peak Third-Stage fighters and match their might…”

“Then why not take a gamble on us?!”