Chapter 257 — Seven Hundred Years Unseen
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
Gao Yang was somewhat surprised at this moment, though since he had already spotted a few clues earlier, there was not much genuine astonishment in his heart.
He merely looked at the blond elven male in the distance, glaring at him with full guard, and memories concerning the other party surfaced in his mind—memories from seven hundred years ago, from Gao Yang Cecil. He knew clearly what origins this elf had, and knew how this elf had accepted employment from humans as a freedom fighter and had at one point become a subordinate of Gao Yang Cecil within the mixed legion. Though none of these memories were his own, after nearly a year of fusion and adaptation, he could already place himself within them with great proficiency when extracting Gao Yang Cecil's memories.
Even the family and friends of Gao Yang Cecil back then would not have sensed anything amiss from his reactions, and that elf named Sogilim certainly would not either.
Yet even so, Sogilim showed no intention whatsoever of lowering his weapon. He gripped his short bow tightly, his gaze darting swiftly across the Cecil combat soldiers around him. He could sense that these people were merely ordinary folk with little magic in their bodies, yet the equipment they wore carried strange, self-operating magical reactions. He had never seen soldiers of this type before—no corresponding troop type existed in either human or elven armies—but he guessed that the missing squad had been wiped out by these very soldiers.
The reaction of this elven ranger was within Gao Yang's expectations. The latter laughed. "Awkward as a reunion under these circumstances may be, I am still glad to see an acquaintance from seven hundred years ago appear before me. Sogilim, have your people lay down their arms. There is no need for us to let this end badly."
Sogilim frowned. He knew the strength of Gao Yang Cecil—if the one before him truly was the genuine article, then even without those strange soldiers surrounding them, the squad he led could not possibly leave this place. But surrender, too, had its art. He fell silent for a moment, then relaxed the bowstring in his hand by a fraction so slight it was nearly imperceptible to the eye. "Will you spare these soldiers?"
"They are Typhon soldiers. I know how this era has changed, so I cannot simply let them go," Gao Yang said evenly, having noticed the change in Sogilim's bowstring. "Under normal circumstances, I would eliminate them all and leave no trouble behind. But since you are here, then so long as you are willing to cooperate, I can guarantee they live."
Gao Yang could be certain that after his words fell, the Typhon soldiers gripping their weapons all relaxed their muscles to varying degrees. No one wished to seek death—not even these soldiers utterly loyal to the Typhon Empire. They were no fools; they naturally knew that resisting violently in this situation would be meaningless. Using Sogilim's favor to give them a step down into surrender was perfectly fitting—and it gave Sogilim a step down as well.
The elven ranger exhaled. Though he knew that if this were the Gao Yang Cecil of memory, the other would understand his meaning, it was only at this moment that he truly relaxed. Yet before putting away his weapon, he could not help raising one final doubt: "I still cannot believe you are real. How do you prove you are truly Gao Yang Cecil?"
Before Gao Yang could speak, Hetty, standing nearby, could not hold back: "How dare you question the Ancestor's identity again and again?!"
Gao Yang raised a hand to calm Hetty, then looked at Sogilim with a half-smile: "You are certain you want me to prove my identity?"
Sogilim watched Gao Yang quietly, his expression unchanged.