As the eldest brother of the yakshas, Hepuyuan had not only taken a fatal blow for Alatus but also shouted at him.
Hepuyuan's roar instantly snapped Alatus back to his senses. He was right—if they wanted revenge against the god, they could not die now. They had to keep fighting.
"Brother Hepuyuan, I understand."
In that moment, Altaus truly began to regard Hepuyuan as his elder brother. He used the polearm arts Hepuyuan had taught him to cut down the enemy.
It must be said—Alatus was a genius. In only half a month since being controlled by the god, he had already mastered Hepuyuan's polearm arts. Moreover, in the heat of battle, he instinctively began making improvements. Because he was still a young yaksha, shorter than the others, he adjusted the angles of his strikes. To maximize power, he swung faster and more ferociously. His progress was astonishing. Before long, his polearm arts became even more swift and deadly than Hepuyuan's.
Alatus was blessed with extraordinary talent. But for the other yakshas, this war was a terrible misfortune.
On the battlefield, yakshas who had laughed and talked with Alatus fell to the ground one by one, never to rise again.
"Alatus, I can't get up. When you get your revenge, strike a blow for me."
"Alatus, you must not die. You must save our race, change the fate of the yakshas."
"Brother Hepuyuan, take care of the remaining yakshas."
"Brother Hepuyuan, I wish I could have one more bite of your Almond Tofu."
As the Archon War grew more intense, the enemies they faced became stronger. Surviving grew harder. But the stronger the enemy, the more likely the god controlling them would be locked in a desperate struggle—and the closer the yakshas would come to breaking free.
For Hepuyuan, who had experienced countless battles and countless farewells, this was nothing new. But for Alatus, it was his first time experiencing such things. Watching yaksha after yaksha, whom he had called brothers, fall, his heart twisted like a knife. It was agonizing.
He silently clenched his fists and murmured, "I will break free from the god's control. I will avenge all the yakshas."
Beside him, Hepuyuan said quietly, "That day will surely come."
Another great battle ended. The few surviving yakshas were once again herded into a dilapidated room. A worn-out pot. Broken bowls. They carefully treated their wounds. Then, as before, they used the ingredients they had managed to scavenge to make a pot of sweet, fragrant Almond Tofu.
Eating the Almond Tofu brought warmth to their hearts and a glimmer of hope.
One of the yakshas said, "The Archon War has been getting more intense lately. Battles are happening more frequently. Maybe in just a few days, another great war will break out."
All they could hope for now was the opportunity Hepuyuan had spoken of—to break free while the god was locked in a desperate battle.
Another yaksha said, "If we can break free from the god's control, I will lead all the yakshas far away from this war."
A third yaksha asked, "But besides fighting, what else can our yaksha race do?"
Yakshas were born for battle. That was precisely why the god sought to control them and turn them into tools of slaughter.
The conversation turned to what they would do after breaking free.
"I love Almond Tofu the most. When the Archon War is over, if I'm still alive, I'll open an Almond Tofu shop so every yaksha can eat it."
"I love adventure. When the war is over, I'll become an adventurer."
"I love the sea. I'll be a sailor."
Though they lived on the edge of death, they still harbored beautiful visions of the future.
In the corner, Alatus, experiencing war for the first time, sat in a daze. Even though the battle was over, he was still shaken by what he had witnessed. So this was what killing felt like? Had his own hands also been stained with countless lives?
Hepuyuan walked over to him. "What about you? If you break free from the god's control, what do you want to do?"
Alatus thought for a moment. "I haven't decided yet."
At that moment, all he could think of was revenge. If he could avenge the yakshas, he would have no regrets.
He turned to Hepuyuan. "Brother Hepuyuan, what about you? What do you want to do?"
Without hesitation, Hepuyuan answered, "I want to protect the yaksha race. I want to ensure that no one ever controls us again. I want to protect this land, so that the yakshas may live on."
That was Hepuyuan's wish. With that, he stood up, took his rusted polearm, and began practicing his techniques. Behind him, Alatus picked up a rusted polearm as well and followed his example.
According to their predictions, the next great battle should have come in half a month. But they did not expect it to arrive so suddenly. Only three days later, another war broke out.
This time was different from before. Previously, the god who controlled them had been the aggressor, invading other gods. But now, a more powerful god was invading him. The yakshas knew this would be a life-or-death struggle between gods. They also knew this was their only hope of breaking free. They had imagined this day, but they had not expected it to come so soon.
Freedom was within reach. Revenge was within reach.
Hepuyuan looked at the other yakshas with a grave expression. "When the god is locked in his death struggle and his control weakens, we will break it together."
The others nodded. "Brother Hepuyuan, we follow you."
Just as they had anticipated, as the two gods clashed, the elemental power they unleashed was cataclysmic. Mountains were shattered. Rivers were severed. The elemental energy consumed was staggering.
Under this strain, the elemental power controlling the yakshas' minds grew weaker and weaker.
"Now—break the god's control."
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A/N: A note on the structure—I have divided Xiao's story into two lives:
Before meeting Rex Lapis: The story of the Alatus (Xiao) and his brother Hepuyuan.
After meeting Rex Lapis: The story of when Rex Lapis bestows the name "Xiao" and his story with Brother Bosacius.