Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 714: Chapter 586 Les Misérables_1

In the dust gathered by despair, Huai Shi opened his eyes.

It was as if he hadn’t heard the cries of Yuan Yuan and Lin Nineteen beside him. He propped himself up, gazing at the high tower before him—the Forgers’ final masterpiece, and the cage of suffering that had imprisoned them for millions of years.

This was the Eternal Frozen Heart—a creation of despair formed by countless sufferings, the essence of disaster in Hell.

Should it awaken, an endless lament would resound.

Should it operate, the entirety of Hell would be driven by it.

Eternal Dusk.

In comparison, the curse of day and night here was nothing more than the radiation leaking from the furnace heart...

To resist Hell, they chose a desperate, all-or-nothing struggle. Under the guidance and enticement of the Purgatory Workshop Master, the Forgers stepped, one by one, into the eternal impasse known as Eternity.

Growing more desperate, growing more mad.

Perhaps at the moment they refused a peaceful death and chose to make a deal with the devil, they were destined to fall into a state even more pitiable than death.

But had they truly brought all this upon themselves?

Huai Shi remained silent.

Every second mattered. The tower was close, and the situation seemed favorable. Yet, he sat on the ground, silent, gazing at the sky.

In the quiet, everyone was silently waiting for his command.

But the command was long in coming.

”Mr. Huai Shi...”

After a long silence, the elder finally spoke, ”Opportunity does not knock twice.”

”I know.”

Huai Shi said, ”I am just thinking.”

Then he spoke no more, and no one disturbed Huai Shi as he thought.

So, amid the distant thunder and booms, Huai Shi silently gazed at the blood rain, the Burning Wind, and the ash tides in the Sky Dome above—this world brimming with disaster and despair.

Finally, he spoke.

”Great Grandmaster, can you hear me?”

”I am here.”

The metallic voice rose from the air, as calm as ever—no, indifferent. ”You have a question for me, right?” he said.

”...”

Huai Shi remained silent, waiting.

”I know what you want to ask, Huai Shi.”

The Great Grandmaster said, ”You want to ask: Did I already know? Did I know from the start? Do I have some special plan? Do I have a way—like the blue-skinned robot in the comics, Omnipotence, always able to find the right tool to solve the problem, and... can I save them, right?”

Huai Shi lowered his gaze and sighed silently.

”Even if you have long understood that all this became irretrievable millions of years ago. When they persisted in seeking salvation from Hell, the outcome was already set.

Just like the Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy of old, they thought they could soar, but in reality, they were merely falling into deeper darkness.

Even with Condra’s example right before their eyes...”

After a brief pause, the Great Grandmaster asked again, ”Still, do you hold out hope for me?”

”Correct.”

Huai Shi slowly nodded and finally spoke.

”You should have known the answer already, right?”

”...Yes,” he said.

”Then tell me, do you need my answer?”

The Great Grandmaster said indifferently, ”I can issue commands to you. You don’t need to think, nor hesitate, just act, and none of the responsibility will be yours.

But Huai Shi, do you really need someone else to give you orders, to make your decisions for you?”

In silence, Huai Shi bowed his head, staring at the Longsword on his knees.

His eyes, reflected on the serene Sword Blade, were utterly calm, devoid of any ripple.

Suddenly, he asked in return, ”Would you oppose me, Great Grandmaster?”

”What if I did?”

The Great Grandmaster’s tone remained perfectly level.

Huai Shi didn’t answer. He merely gripped the hilt of his sword, but the uncompromising answer was already visible in the eyes reflected on its spine.

That look in his eyes...

In silence, the Great Grandmaster on the Iron Crystal Throne suddenly chuckled softly.

Full of mockery and irony.

At that moment, he truly felt it: this was the successor Luo Su had chosen.

That bastard Old Turtle hadn’t lied. What he now saw in Huai Shi surpassed the anger, mercy, and decisiveness Luo Su himself had possessed in his youth. And more importantly... cruelty!

”No one will praise you, Huai Shi, nor will anyone express their blessings and gratitude,” he said. ”No matter how much you do, you can’t bring salvation to this land; at best, you are merely putting a belated end to it.”

”I know.”

”What you bring is not salvation.”

Huai Shi nodded, ”I also know that.”

”Good.”

The Great Grandmaster finally raised his eyes and told him, ”You are the highest in charge of the Iron Crystal Seat, Huai Shi, if only for this moment.

Now, since you have made your decision, your time has come. No one should stand in your way.”

”As long as one lives in this world, making mistakes is inevitable. If you want to try, I won’t stop you.”

Thus, he indulged Huai Shi’s insistence, alluding to the conversation between God and the Devil in *Faust*, and let Huai Shi proceed headlong.

”I understand.”

Huai Shi slowly stood up, using his sword for support, and finally said, ”Thank you, Mr. Mikhail.”

The Great Grandmaster said no more.

His presence had already departed from that place.

And atop the bridge of the Iron Crystal Seat, the metallic giant with folded arms withdrew his gaze, turned around, and looked at the projection behind him.