The flood came crashing down like a moving wall of water. In an instant, all that remained between heaven and earth was a raging torrent of murky gray-yellow water. Trees were uprooted, while half-collapsed walls tumbled helplessly through the waves.
Yun Shu had naturally seen the flood crest as well, but she did not act immediately—not because she was unwilling, but because she could not.
Without the Lord God’s interference, she could indeed protect the people of this world and slowly help them grow. But circumstances were ever-changing, and the situation before her no longer allowed her to do so.
It went without saying that if she used her outfit skill to control the flood now, an even greater disaster would await her. She had only a limited number of abilities that could save people, and each one would enter a cooldown after use. She simply could not afford to exhaust them.
Therefore, she had to wait for the right moment.
With that thought, she looked toward Shen Jue in the water. Since the male protagonist’s death would cause this fictional world to collapse, she might as well gamble on whether the Lord God would allow Shen Jue to die.
Perhaps the disastrous rule that the world would collapse if the male protagonist died did not merely leave her powerless.
The Lord God wanted to turn this fictional world into reality. Now that the people of this world had transformed from characters on paper into living, breathing humans, it had already succeeded halfway. Would it really be willing to let the world collapse and see all its plans come to nothing?
She knew that betting the future of an entire world was madness, but she had no other choice.
If she won this gamble, she would have a useful bargaining chip with which to restrain the Lord God. Many things would then become much easier to manipulate.
Before long, the waves had risen several yards into the air.
“Everyone, run for higher ground! Hurry!”
Shen Jue’s voice was hoarse.
When the flood came crashing down, he caught sight of a figure three yards downstream being swept away by the current. It was the soldier who had just claimed to be proficient in body-tempering techniques.
The soldier tumbled and struggled in the waves, flailing his arms wildly but unable to grasp hold of anything.
Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Jue plunged into the water.
The current was filled with broken branches, shattered tiles, and porcelain shards swept in from who knew where. They skimmed past his cheeks as he fought his way toward the soldier with sheer force.
Another wave surged toward him. Wave after wave crashed down, forcing him beneath the surface for three or four breaths before he finally emerged again.
Groping through the muddy water, his hand at last closed around a cold, rigid arm.
The soldier had swallowed several mouthfuls of water. After Shen Jue dragged him above the surface, he began coughing violently, his face drained of color.
Once he had recovered somewhat, he realized that the person who had rescued him was Shen Jue. Shock flashed through his eyes, followed by anxious concern.
“General Shen, don’t bother with me!” His voice was broken apart by the roar of the waves. “I’m only a common soldier. If I die, then I die. Save yourself and get away!”
Shen Jue instead tied him to his back with a rope. Turning his head, he spoke to him one word at a time.
“As your commanding general, I have no reason that would allow me to abandon one of my own soldiers!”
Gritting his teeth, he swam toward the high slope.
The soldier’s eyes suddenly grew hot, and the ache at the tip of his nose became almost unbearable. His lips trembled as he tried to say something, but before he could get the words out, another wave crashed down over them.
Both men were forced beneath the icy water.
The air in Shen Jue’s lungs dwindled. His chest felt as though it were about to explode, yet there was still only one thought in his mind.
I have to get back to the surface. I can’t die here!
He had no idea how much time had passed when, with a splash, his head finally broke through the surface.
He gulped down great breaths of air, water streaming from his hair like a waterfall.
The high slope was less than two yards ahead. Soldiers of the Northern Frontier Army leaned over the edge and threw down a rope.
“General Shen, grab the rope!”
At the shout from above, Shen Jue seized the rope and wrapped it around his waist.
The people on the slope pulled together.
Seven or eight sturdy arms tightened the rope at once, stretching the hemp cord taut between their hands.
The Wuling civilians who had been rescued by the Northern Frontier Army watched the scene. They gritted their teeth, then rushed forward, grabbed hold of the rope, and pulled backward with all their might.
Shen Jue felt an enormous force tugging at his waist, yanking his entire body forward.
He kicked desperately against the water while paddling with both hands.
Closer.
Closer still.
The high slope was right before him. Shen Jue reached out and grabbed the muddy edge, his fingers sinking deeply into the earth.
People above immediately seized his arm. Then a second hand grasped him, followed by a third.
Five or six people leaned down at once and hauled Shen Jue and the soldier on his back out of the water.
Shen Jue collapsed facedown on the ground, his chest heaving violently as rain hammered against his body. He opened his mouth and struggled to breathe.
“General, are you all right?”
Everyone nearby surged around him. Their hurried footsteps pounded across the muddy slope.
Several pale faces, bloated from being soaked by the rain, crowded close to Shen Jue. Their eyes were filled with anxiety.
“I’m fine.” Shen Jue waved a hand.
He lowered his head and tried to untie the rope around his waist. The hemp cord had swollen from the water and knotted itself into a stubborn mass. After he tugged at it twice without success, a soldier beside him quickly drew a dagger and cut through it.
As the loop of rope fell loose, Shen Jue turned onto his side and carefully lowered the soldier from his back. Supporting the man’s head, he laid him flat on the muddy ground.
The soldier was in bad shape.
His lips were blue, his eyelids tightly shut, and his face was utterly bloodless. His chest barely rose or fell.
“Get the army physician over here!” Shen Jue shouted.
His voice was swallowed by the rain.
But someone immediately repeated the call, and it was relayed backward from person to person.
“Army physician! Where’s the army physician? Hurry!”
The physician arrived quickly. Pushing through the crowd, he dropped to his knees beside the soldier and opened his medical kit without a word.
He tore open the soldier’s soaked tunic, interlocked his hands, and placed them over the man’s chest before beginning rhythmic compressions.
Murky water spilled from the soldier’s mouth. He regained consciousness and slowly opened his eyes.
The physician withdrew his hands and collapsed into the muddy water, lifting one hand to wipe the rain and sweat from his face.
He looked up at the sky, then down at the soldier who had narrowly escaped death, and let out a long breath.
“Thank goodness the medical scripture granted to Dr. Lin by the Divine Lady recorded how to treat drowning victims…”
Just as relief began to settle over him, the flood raging below the slope rose several more inches.
It seemed determined to strip them of even their last chance of survival.
Despair nearly overflowed from everyone’s eyes.
Some people collapsed onto the ground and covered their faces as they sobbed.
“Is Heaven really not going to leave us even the slightest chance to live?”
“We only want to survive. Why is it so difficult…?”
Many others began to weep softly.
In contrast, Yun Shu, who had been calmly observing everything, noticed quite a few unusual details. This latest surge was far gentler than the previous one—by more than just a little. It seemed that something was holding it back.
It seemed her guess had been right.
The Lord God was afraid of accidentally killing the male protagonist and causing the world to collapse.
The moment she had been waiting for had arrived!
