Chapter 35: You Can Go Die

Pulling back his thoughts before they could wander too far, Zhou Xu turned his gaze once more to the massive stone before him.

“All right, Big Stone. I have a few questions for you. Answer truthfully, and I won’t make things difficult for you.”

After a brief pause, Zhou Xu asked his first question.

“The man who possessed the True Word ‘Skeleton Control’—was he your leader?”

This was a crucial question. If the answer was no, then there was a good chance that this matter was far from over.

Faced with the question, Big Stone nodded without hesitation.

“He was our leader.”

With the powers of observation granted by the Eye of Insight, Zhou Xu could keenly detect even the slightest change in the other man’s expression.

From what he observed, he was certain that Big Stone had not lied.

Having received his answer, Zhou Xu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and continued with his second question.

“He was a Chosen One, wasn’t he? You summoned him from an altar?”

A look of astonishment flashed across Big Stone’s face.

Clearly, from Big Stone’s perspective, only their own people knew about the Chosen Ones. No matter how hard he racked his brains, he could not understand how Zhou Xu had learned of it.

In fact, Big Stone was not the only one stunned at that moment. Flying Sparrow and the others were equally dumbfounded.

They, too, had never imagined that the enemy leader was also a Chosen One.

Although Big Stone did not answer, Zhou Xu already knew the truth from his reaction.

He waved at Flying Sparrow.

No further explanation was needed. Flying Sparrow immediately understood.

“Our leader is also a Chosen One.”

As he spoke, Flying Sparrow raised his chin slightly.

So what if the enemy leader had also been a Chosen One? He was already dead. The result had proven that their own leader was still a cut above him!

Flying Sparrow’s words caused an uproar among the enemy captives, led by Big Stone.

For a moment, their gazes shifted repeatedly as they looked at Zhou Xu.

The appearance of a Chosen One was itself like something out of legend, yet no one had imagined that such a legend would appear before their eyes twice in succession.

The situation before them had completely exceeded their expectations.

Zhou Xu, however, clearly had no interest in what the captives were thinking.

“Where is that altar?”

This had undoubtedly become the question that concerned Zhou Xu most.

He had obtained a True Word character from the altar where he himself had been summoned. If he could find a complete altar, perhaps he could acquire the complete True Word inscribed upon it.

And that True Word might even allow him to return to his original world.

However, Big Stone’s next answer quickly shattered that hope.

“That altar collapsed after we summoned our leader.”

“...”

Could I have been mistaken? Are those altars actually single-use?

Zhou Xu had no way of knowing the answer for now.

But he clearly had no intention of giving up.

“Then where are the altar’s ruins?”

In Zhou Xu’s view, finding even a single character would be worthwhile.

Faced with his pressing question, Big Stone showed no intention of hiding anything.

“Near our tribal camp.”

“I want you to take me there.”

As he spoke, Zhou Xu stared directly into Big Stone’s eyes, as though trying to discern something from his gaze.

After all, from Big Stone’s point of view, taking Zhou Xu to the ruins was equivalent to leading him to the location of their tribal camp.

From that moment onward, the survival of his entire tribe would fall completely into Zhou Xu’s hands.

According to Zhou Xu’s expectations, Big Stone would not agree so readily. Surely he would need to struggle with the decision for a while.

Zhou Xu had already prepared what he would say to persuade him.

Yet Big Stone’s answer in the next instant exceeded all his expectations.

“I can take you there.”

“...”

Big Stone had been far too straightforward. Zhou Xu could not help but freeze for a moment.

“To be honest, you’ve surprised me.”

Big Stone remained silent for two seconds before slowly speaking.

“When we left this time, the tribe had very little fighting strength remaining behind. Now all of us have become captives. Given the tribe’s current situation, if another tribe attacks us, we have no chance of winning. Rather than that, we might as well let you absorb us. At least this way... the people of our tribe can remain together.”

“You’re a sensible man.”

Although Big Stone’s potential for intelligence was limited to only three stars, that was still higher than that of the vast majority of ordinary people. Without question, he was an intelligent man.

This only made Zhou Xu more eager to bring him under his command.

“I need people like you. Will you join me and swear allegiance to me?”

The offer Zhou Xu suddenly extended caught Big Stone off guard, and it also stirred a strange feeling within him.

After a brief hesitation, Big Stone finally voiced the doubt in his heart.

“Do I... really have any other choice?”

“Of course.”

Zhou Xu answered firmly. Then, without any change in expression, he added,

“You can also choose to die.”

“...”

With that, Zhou Xu rose directly to his feet.

At the same time, accompanied by a series of clicking and rattling sounds, the pale skeletons surrounding them began to twitch. Their bony frames pulled themselves up from the ground, making Zhou Xu appear like some kind of undead lord.

Yet Zhou Xu behaved as though nothing unusual had happened. He swept his gaze over the captives kneeling before him.

“The same goes for all of you! If you refuse to swear allegiance to me, I will grant you the right to ‘die.’”

These slightly deranged words were spoken in an utterly calm tone, yet they brought the captives an unprecedented sense of oppression.

With the most direct attitude possible, he made his meaning clear.

If they were unwilling to submit even in death...

Then they could simply die.

He had been nothing more than an ordinary modern man. Though he had crossed into another world by accident and become what was known as a Chosen One, he had now discovered that he was not the only one.

He had never considered himself special, nor had he ever believed himself to possess any unique charisma.

So he might as well be straightforward: use his strength to force them into submission, then make them offer up their loyalty with both hands.

This was, after all, a primitive society that worshiped strength and followed the law of the strong devouring the weak.

Under such circumstances, this should be the simplest and most effective method.

At that moment, as Big Stone looked up at Zhou Xu from below, a strange glimmer passed through his eyes.

Compared with their fallen former leader, the man before him possessed an overbearing authority that their previous leader had never had.

Big Stone had to admit that their former leader had brought tremendous changes to the tribe and made their lives better.

But at that moment, he wanted even more to see just how far the man before him could go.

With that thought in his heart, Big Stone surrendered to his instinct and bowed down on his knees.

“I, Big Stone, am willing to swear allegiance to you, Chief!”