Chapter 61: A Reckless Truth and a Desperate Plan

“This…”

The memory of the bone dragon’s first bite was still fresh, sending a shiver down my spine. Its incredible speed had been terrifying.

Had Amos not constantly warned me, or if it had been a slightly smaller monster, I truly believe I wouldn’t have escaped today.

“But what does that have to do with me caring about what others think of me? Even if I was being reckless, you shouldn’t have hit me for it…”

I retorted indignantly.

“No matter what, I was creating an opportunity for everyone to escape!”

“You…”

Amos seemed thoroughly exasperated by me, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.

“Then why were you so determined to create an escape opportunity for everyone, even if it meant risking your life?”

“I…”

The grand, noble reasons that had been on the tip of my tongue suddenly caught in my throat. Could I really claim I was sacrificing myself for the greater good of others?

I knew myself better than that. I had only joined the team less than two days ago; it was impossible for me to feel such deep devotion. Using such an excuse would be utterly shameless.

“Weren’t you just afraid everyone would discover you’re only Rank 3? Afraid they’d look down on you for your low rank, which is why you wanted to actively prove yourself and earn their trust!”

To my surprise, he mercilessly articulated the humiliating truth I couldn’t bring myself to voice.

A shiver ran through me. It felt as though Amos had ripped away the veil covering my deepest insecurities, exposing everything. He had hit the mark completely.

Things I had done without even realizing the underlying motives suddenly became clear the moment he pointed them out.

Thinking back, wasn’t it precisely these insecurities that drove me to seek out Alfred? And wasn’t my eagerness to seize this opportunity to prove myself, even revealing my Rank 3 status, born from the fear of being unable to conceal it any longer?

“I warned you before not to care about others’ opinions. Hiding your identity card was one thing, and not taking my advice was also fine; none of that truly mattered.

“But I never imagined the pressure from Erica and Hayden would be so immense, pushing you to take such reckless chances, even to the point of risking your life just to preserve a sliver of their good opinion.”

Everything happening around me had been observed by him. He accurately pinpointed the very things that had provoked my embarrassment and panic.

“Your actions are truly… truly… self-destructive.”

Amos’s pained expression showed he almost couldn’t bring himself to utter those final words.

“I’m sorry…”

Shamefully, I lowered my head.

He was right. I didn’t even understand why I cared so much about others’ perceptions of me. There was this inexplicable fear that if they discovered I wasn’t who they imagined, I’d instinctively try to mend the relationship, unconsciously ignoring the severe consequences.

Ultimately, if Amos hadn’t insisted on coming with me, I would likely have been devoured by the bone dragon. Only now did I realize just how much he had done for me.

“Flora, you truly aren’t weak anymore! Judging by your escape from the bone dragon’s pursuit and your past achievements, you’ve genuinely reached, or even surpassed, Rank 4.

“You might not believe me, but you must believe in yourself!”

Seeing my state, Amos seemed to soften. He walked over, offering gentle words of encouragement.

“I don’t understand. You’re an angel, so why are you so insecure? Has your amnesia truly affected you this deeply?”

“Insecure…”

Hearing that word, I was instantly enlightened.

Wasn’t that precisely it? I had always lived with a sense of inferiority! Even when I occasionally boasted to others, wasn’t it all just an attempt to desperately gain their approval?

If not for that, why would I have given up on Xu Qianran?

Her having a boyfriend was just an excuse. The real reason was my insecurity, my feeling that I wasn’t worthy of her. I had even retreated without hesitation when Mu Xueyan hinted at an opportunity with her.

At this thought, tears streamed uncontrollably down my face.

What good was this realization now? She was likely already dead!

And I had become this…

I truly wasn’t a man, inside or out!

“I… I’m so sorry!”

However, Amos panicked at my sudden outburst of tears. He couldn’t possibly understand why I had started crying so abruptly. Thinking he might have said something wrong, he became flustered, unsure how to react.

When I had cried my fill and regained my composure, I found Amos standing before me, watching with profound concern.

“My apologies.”

I wiped away my tears, only to present him with yet another embarrassing sight.

“I… I…”

Amos was at a loss for words, stammering for a long moment before finally asking.

“Did I say something wrong just now? And I hit you again…”

“No!” I quickly clarified, not wanting him to think I couldn’t distinguish right from wrong.

“Everything you said was correct! I’ll pay attention to it from now on. And I understand that you genuinely care about me; I can tell the difference.”

“Then why were you crying?”

He scratched his head, utterly bewildered, clearly troubled by my unusual behavior.

“It’s nothing! Just some personal matters of my own. You don’t need to worry!”

I shook my head. After all, these were things I couldn’t possibly let him know, so I had to gloss over them.

“But…”

Amos opened his mouth, seemingly sensing that the situation wasn’t as simple as I made it out to be. However, since I had clearly indicated I didn’t want him to interfere, he felt awkward pressing further.

Nevertheless, seeing that I had indeed recognized my issues, he visibly relaxed. Then, his expression suddenly turned serious, and he offered a solemn apology.

“Even if you believe I was right, I still want to apologize. Regardless of the justification, I hit you, and that was wrong. Please forgive me.”

“It’s truly fine!”

I felt a surge of helplessness, astonished by his stubbornness.

“And if anyone should be thanking anyone, it should be me thanking you.”

“This… being too polite doesn’t seem right either…”

Hearing my words, he gave a dry chuckle, scratching his head with a hint of embarrassment.

“Exactly! And you don’t need to apologize anymore.”

Seeing his reaction, I nodded in agreement. Truthfully, even my own thanks had made me feel a little awkward.

“How about we figure out a way to rescue the others?”

I quickly steered the conversation back to the crucial matter at hand.

“But do you know how to rescue them?”

Amos, to my surprise, looked at me with great seriousness as he spoke.

“Although we’ve escaped, the battle with the bone dragons over the city has put the enemy on an unprecedented level of alert against outsiders.”

“Do you have any ideas?”

I conceded that Amos made a valid point, but we couldn’t just abandon them, could we?

“The situation is not optimistic. Therefore, you should first go to the volcano we designated as our target and wait there.

“If it truly is the transfer point, then quickly return to the Asante Kingdom to find reinforcements.”

He pondered for a moment before assigning me a task.

“What about you?”

A sudden premonition struck me: he intended to shake me off.

“Even if it’s difficult, I still need to find a way to re-enter the city and rendezvous with Alfred and the others.”

“How is that possible! You just said their vigilance is extremely high.”

As expected, Amos proposed a plan that struck me as rather absurd.

“And why would you go back alone? It’s daytime now, the city gates aren’t open, so how would you get in without flying?”

“No, if I’m alone, there’s still a way.”

To my surprise, Amos gave me a very confident reply.

“The two bone dragons fell precisely onto the city wall, causing immense chaos. To free them, external, manual intervention will be required.

“This means other monsters will certainly exit through nearby city gates to reach the outside of the wall. That will give me an opportunity to slip in…”

“Shouldn’t the bone dragons be able to handle this themselves? Why would they need other monsters’ help?” I asked, completely bewildered. If what he said was true, I believed his ingenuity could make it work.

But were bone dragons truly that stupid? They were Rank 6 monsters, after all.

Considering the colossal size of those two bone dragons—standing next to one would be like standing beside a skyscraper—I couldn’t fathom what ordinary monsters could possibly do to separate them.

“Undead creatures possess no intelligence. To make them serve, monsters must manipulate them through various means.

“Such a complex operation as separating them and detaching them from the city wall cannot be achieved through remote control in normal circumstances. It might even require manually disassembling them into skeletal segments.”

“And those towers, it seems, I finally understand their purpose—they are devices designed to control undead creatures like bone dragons.”

Amos’s words completely overturned my understanding of undead creatures, leaving me with a profound sense of dissonance.

Sally had mentioned before that undead creatures lacked intelligence, but I hadn’t paid it much mind until now. This profound realization greatly exceeded my expectations.

“What about vampires? Do they also lack intelligence?”

I suddenly recalled another point that contradicted common knowledge. In my mind, vampires had always been categorized as undead.

“I already told you, the true form of a vampire is a bat.”

Amos looked utterly bewildered, unable to grasp why I was linking vampires with undead creatures.

“They should be considered a type of highly demonized creature.”

This…

It was completely different from what I had assumed! Indeed, one couldn’t simply apply Earth’s common sense to the circumstances of this world.