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Chapter 1594 Final Chapter: Crossing the Sea [54] "Who Killed the Mockingbird (8)"

The red-haired girl sang with her head held high.

Her throat emitted a voice that was unlike any human's, yet it was mesmerizing.

A chilling shiver and an indescribable tingling sensation suddenly arose, and the enchanting sound instantly seized the listener's heart, as if their soul was being toyed with by an invisible hand.

Su Ming'an never thought that Rovasa's race was particularly powerful; even dragons were nothing more than creatures that could be killed. But at this moment, he sensed the extraordinary nature of the Nightingale race.

This kind of singing... attacks both the body and the soul.

"Pfft!" Ming suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes, nose, and ears all stained with blood. He looked at the red-haired girl in shock: "This is... a mental attack?"

Su Ming'an suddenly understood why Ming bled from all seven orifices last time; it wasn't caused by the explosion of the white stone, but by a mental attack that struck Ming's sore spot.

So last time, Shi Ying also broke her alliance with Tian Yu and swallowed the white stone, causing Ming to bleed from all seven orifices. Therefore, there must be a mastermind hiding behind the scenes who can kill Shi Ying and take the white stone.

"[Under the moonlight, the nightingale whispers softly, "Young man, don't let true love slip away..."]"

As Shi Ying sang, Phoenix tried to interrupt her, but after taking a few steps closer, he covered his ears, spat out a mouthful of blood, and was forced to terminate his Martial Soul True Form.

“I, as the phoenix… am actually being suppressed?” Phoenix suddenly remembered that when he was still an egg, he had received the inherited memories of his ancestors. In ancient times, the Nightingale Clan was the leader of the winged race… That’s why the Queen was so wary of the Nightingales back then.

She was just an ordinary nightingale, who had been all smiles and acting all smug just moments before, but now she was actually dominating him!?
"【The reddest rose you want is hard to find in the cold winter, unless you exchange its color for the hottest song】" Shi Ying's singing voice is melodious, but every word is like a knife.

Phoenix collapsed to his knees, coughing up blood, while Ming bled from all seven orifices.

Su Ming'an covered his ears, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his head spinning.

Shi Ying's singing voice doesn't distinguish between friend and foe, let alone since she has already betrayed them; Tian Yu's body can't withstand it.

...Last time, it was her gentle singing that soothed him, allowing him to sleep soundly amidst the ruins. This time, however, it was her cold singing that made him feel dizzy and disoriented.

She tilted her head back, her neck taut like a bowstring about to snap. The white stone brought extraordinary power—roaring, surging, tearing!
That was the shriek of the soul, the lava erupting from the abyss, the most mournful and dazzling curse!

Apart from the pink-haired people who remained uninvolved, everyone else was a "loyal" listener, covered in blood, unable to leave their seats, as if being slowly tortured to death.

At that moment, Phoenix suddenly thought of a way to save himself: a series of cameras rose high behind him.

"Shi Ying!" Phoenix shouted as he coughed up blood, "Countless people are watching you now!"

His cameras can connect to the population under the Phoenix's rule, which numbers in the millions.

Shi Ying turned her head, singing as she looked at him.

"I am Phoenix, the Phoenix, ruler of the winged race," Phoenix gasped as he shouted.

“I am entitled to reclaim this white stone. It belongs to the Radiant Mother Goddess, and has been Her since the last century! If you insist on stealing it, the Nightingale Clan will be guilty of an even greater sin!”

"Now, millions of people are watching you! I order you to stop!"

"【Use blood to depict that crimson blush, so that my crimson blooms like fire…】" She continued to sing, unable to defend the Nightingale Clan.

That was clearly a sacred object of the Nightingale Clan. When did it belong to the Radiant Mother Goddess? Why is she accused of stealing it?
Off-camera, people witnessed this scene and discussed it extensively:

"The Nightingale Clan? I've heard of them. They're a useless race whose ancestors were executed for blasphemy."

"That's why it's never been able to be presented in a respectable way..."

"I've seen this red-haired girl before; she's the protagonist with the most useless cheat-like abilities. She rose to power by manipulating other people's feelings—is this another betrayal?"

"The Mother Goddess is indeed good at recognizing people..."

……

Ancient vines hang down.

"—Please invite the Nightingale Clan to sing the 'consecration' song for the sacred object." The Queen believed Feng Chang's words, waved her long sleeves, and waited for the Nightingale Clan to sing.

"I've heard that the Nightingale Clan's songs are like heavenly music, but I've only ever heard them on the battlefield, not on the altar!" the ministers whispered among themselves.

"It should have been done long ago! They should have been made to sing for Her Majesty the Empress sooner!"

"It's just over three hundred people. What's there for the Nightingale Clan to be proud of? They're just a bunch of songstresses..."

Upon hearing such insults, the clansmen remained silent.

The distorted faces of the powerful and wealthy looked at them with fake smiles, expecting a fawning response.

On the high platform, the empress, dressed in magnificent robes, had a hint of anticipation in her eyes.

Darling, they're eager to make their appearance, so let's quickly and solemnly draw the curtains...

Feng Chang raised his hand, as if he were a conductor.

As he raised his hand, the tribespeople inhaled, preparing to sing.

The Empress and her ministers, the axemen lying in ambush, the maids and guards standing by, the people outside the wall... all their expectant eyes were fixed on this place.

I borrow your profound love, and with a solemn voice, I speak.

"Ready—Go!" Feng Chang closed his eyes and solemnly spoke.

"Feng Chang, you bastard—!!!" A shout came from high in the sky.

"Ah, the blades gleam, we approach them as if returning home! We embrace them as if returning home! Listen to this false laughter, the applause is like a tidal wave..." The nightingales' song rises.

At first, people wore fake smiles, but then they realized something was wrong and their expressions changed drastically.

"How dare you! This singing, this singing...!" The Empress clutched her forehead and spat out a mouthful of blood.

This is hardly a hymn to the consecration of a sacred object; it is a battle cry of the Nightingale Clan tearing through enemy lines and annihilating everything on the battlefield!
For a mere stone, they dared to risk the lives of their entire clan and ignite the flames of rebellion that would burn the heavens!
[Give him a heavy heart, to carry the coffin to the distance.]

The fake stone rolled onto the filthy carpet, unnoticed. At this moment, the Nightingale Clan's true sacred object was a final, breathtaking melody, a sacrifice of life, that shook the heavens and earth.

Three hundred and sixty-six voices, singing at the same time!
The song transformed into a destructive storm, erupting from their torn vocal cords and becoming the final spear aimed at the powerful!

"Tonight, I'll use my voice as a spear to crush those high barriers, even if my heart is entangled with thorns..."

The fruit platter overturned, its delicacies spilling out and mingling with the filth and blood. The guards, wielding halberds, knelt on the ground. The faces of the habitually obsequious and hypocritical ministers froze in terror; they vomited their entrails, their magnificent court robes soaked with filth. Even the executioners could no longer hold their swords, which clattered to the ground.

"Even if royal power is as deep as an abyss and divine pronouncements as bright as a torch, how can holiness be reduced to sycophantic vulgarity..."

Feng Chang stood before his people, like the only still rock in the eye of the storm. His blood-stained hands were not tools for flattery, but banners raised high by martyrs, pointing straight to the decaying dome!

Behind him, three hundred Nightingale Clan members suddenly spread their arms to the sides!

"Whoosh—!"

In an instant, more than three hundred pairs of enormous wings burst into bloom!

This is the burning of three hundred souls!
Lend me another pair of fine needles and thread, to weave a long, delicate shroud.

"By order of the Mother Goddess, execute them! Execute them!" The Queen, her face covered in blood and her appearance terrifying, angrily pointed at the still-singing nightingales: "And chase them! Chase them to the edge of the Black Wall! Who took the sacred relic!"

Blessed by the Mother Goddess, the axemen struggled to their feet from the song. Gritting their teeth, they raised their axes high and swung them at a member of the Nightingale Clan!
"Shh!"

The Nightingale tribe, who were singing, could not escape the blood and flesh splattered everywhere, yet the tribesmen who were splashed with blood continued to sing.

Every second they sing makes the pursuers a second slower, allowing the ten tribesmen who took the white stone to escape successfully.

They could no longer leave, so they sang until their very last second.

—All souls that have tainted sincerity with falsehood and crushed purity with power have been exposed in the face of this heavenly music that cleanses filth!

"Then, let us use this last clear note to tear apart that false brilliance..."

"Why seek stigma? This crown of thorns is enough. Beneath the applause of the masked figures, a crystal heart shines brightly..."

The palace's glazed windows were the first to succumb to the immense force, shattering with a crash! The beams and pillars groaned under the strain, and dust fell in rustling sounds.

Amidst the fluttering feathers and shattered light, Feng Chang's blood-stained face exuded an almost divine solemnity. He waved his hands, carrying with him the more than three hundred burning souls, propelling the song towards the heavens long shrouded in lies—

"Damn it—!" On the hot air balloon, Siber slammed her fist heavily on the wooden pole. The white stone in her arms seemed to come alive, revealing a simple emoticon "(⊙⊙)".

Qianqin watched the hot air balloon climb higher and higher, and it was not far from leaping over the black wall.

“Sister Sisi, I’m scared…” Tiantian gripped Siber’s hand tightly, tears streaming down her face. “My dad and my mom are among those people. I’m scared…”

"Don't cry, be strong! Nobody will spoil you!" Siber covered her mouth.

Suddenly, a golden light streaked across the sky, revealing a giant dragon.

The golden dragon lowered its head, looked at the chaotic altar, and laughed, "Hahahaha... It's so lively here! I, Ian, am just passing by and have to join in the fun!"

Feng Chang raised his head and looked at Ian.

“I’ve always been interested in the Nightingale Clan; your feathers are beautiful. How about this: you will sing for me from now on, and I will save you this time, okay?” Ian asked, fluttering his dragon wings.

Lend me a few more dim and bright fireworks, to illuminate the entire night.

The Queen was horrified, fearing that the Nightingale Clan would agree to Ian's request.

The tribesmen, however, slowly and firmly shook their heads.

This was their final, desperate act, a desperate cry to burn their lives, a final, irreversible crescendo. There was no turning back. Moreover, the Mother Goddess could no longer tolerate them, nor could the Dragon Emperor protect them.

“Alright, alright, actually I don’t want to go against Mother Goddess either…” Ian flapped his wings and soared through the sky: “But at least I will remember your story.”

Under the grand night sky, the axemen cleaved down again and again, blood and flesh splattering everywhere.

Siber almost wanted to turn back, but her reason held her firmly, preventing her from going back.

Until Feng Chang and she looked at each other again, until those blue eyes seemed to speak.

—Animals that roll in the mud can only survive by smearing themselves with black mud.

From this day forward, the ten escaped members of their tribe can no longer call themselves nightingales, nor can they maintain the pride of nightingales. They will roll into the mud, must not do anything that would alert the Mother Goddess, and must not sing even a single song of war.

Whether it's decadent music, flattering music, barely surviving, fawning smiles, rolling into the slums, bowing and selling smiles, covered in mud... they must survive.

Only the Nightingale Clan, whose bloodline has survived, can continue to protect that sacred object. Even if the white stone were to one day be lost in the wilderness, a member of the Nightingale Clan would sense it, rather than just any race being able to break through its defenses…

For the sake of this world.

To die with pride is a noble act, but to endure humiliation and hardship is an even greater act of righteousness.

"What I am about to entrust to you is a heavier, more despicable, yet more noble responsibility," Feng Chang said, looking at Siber, his blue eyes seeming to transcend time and space.

"Shh!"

As the blade fell, a female member of her tribe collapsed, spitting blood, her throat still trembling.

"Who killed the robin?"

"Protect that stone, until the distant future..."

"Shh!"

The blade pierced through, and Kelner fell, wounded, his vocal cords seemingly still singing.

"All beings are deeply mired in sorrow."

"No matter what, we must protect the bloodline of the Nightingale Clan, even if it is so thin as to be invisible, even if future generations have completely lost the pride and self-respect of the Nightingale Clan and become selfish and petty people..."

"Shh!"

The spear thrust straight in, and the Fourth Elder fell, his eyes still filled with arrogance.

"Who killed the robin?"

"No matter what, even if we fall into the mud, even if we lose our former glory, even if we are condemned as sinners in history..."

"Shh!"

The spear pierced through, and the Second Elder fell, his hand still swaying in time with the musical notes as he died.

"What harm is there in that?"

Outside the black wall, the unsuspecting crowd, thinking it was a crackdown on evildoers, began to applaud.

"Good! Good kill!"

"The Nightingale Clan refused to offer the sacred object, harboring rebellious intentions! They deserve to die!"

"I've always felt the Nightingale Clan was too sinister. Good riddance! Praise be to the Mother Goddess! Praise be to the Queen!"

"Your Majesty, kill them!"

"Shh!"

The blade fell again and again, and blood flowed like a river.

The tribespeople sang in "silence," trying to explain themselves, but no one listened. Outside the black wall, the entire audience applauded enthusiastically.

"This grand funeral deserves a reward."

Before she knew it, Siber's eyes were wet with tears.

She thought that after becoming a god, she had lost her past emotions, but it turns out that some things had just become inner demons, which she would never forget in her heart.

—Can you understand how I felt back then? How it felt to be targeted by the whole world? Damn brother.

Do you feel the same way I did back then?

But she saw his smile, which seemed to be comforting her.

He died for his ideals and to protect the glory of his people. How can one say he was sad?

"As long as the Nightingale Clan's bloodline remains, the seal on the sacred white stone will bear only the mark of the Nightingale Clan. No other race can touch it without giving their all." Those blue eyes seemed to still be saying, "Only the Nightingale... can access the sacred object without any hindrance..."

……

"White Stone, why are you so good to me alone?" Shi Ying squatted down and pointed at White Stone: "I asked Grandma Martha to hold you, but you wouldn't let me after a while."

"Hmph... I only followed you because I felt you were a good person!" White Stone said emboldened.

"Hehe, but I'm not some great person, I'm just a useless nightingale," Shi Ying scratched her head.

……

"Shh!"

As the blade fell, the elder's head and neck snapped, and a hissing sound came from his throat.

"Go, nightingale."

"Who killed the robin?"

"Go, leap over that black wall, and go to the future."

[The climax of the movement begins.]

"Go to the future, go backward."

"Who killed the robin?"

"I believe in you... you all will definitely reach that future where you can sing freely."

How could a full house not be filled with sorrow?

"puff!"

The axemen's blades finally pierced the man beside Feng Chang.

He looked back, but his old friends were gone forever.

The blood was glaring, and the corpses lay scattered. Before anyone knew it, more than three hundred members of the clan had fallen to the ground.

Meanwhile, the hot air balloon carrying Nassibir was still some distance from the top of the black wall.

It's just a tiny bit short...

Suddenly, Siber felt the white stone being tightly wrapped and tucked into her arms.

Tian Tian, ​​who was always timid, fearful, and cried all the way, pursed her lips tightly and looked at her.

“If the chieftain dies, we will definitely be stopped… Without the song to restrain us, the radiance on those axemen will only take a moment to knock down our hot air balloon.” Tian Tian was smiling, but tears kept falling.

This extremely timid girl cried all the way and is still crying now, constantly wiping away her tears:

“I have to sing too… Sisi, that’s a resolute voice, you’ll die after you sing it. I have to catch the clan leader’s song, I can’t let you sing… You’re much stronger than me, you’ll definitely survive, but me, I’ve been a coward my whole life. I always draw bad luck on duty, I’m always the one the teacher calls roll, I’m the most coward in the clan, but this time, this time…”

She raised her hand high, took a deep breath, and smoothed her red hair:
"This time... Sister Sisi, I have no choice but to play the hero..."

It wasn't that she wasn't afraid; she just knew that surviving required even more courage.

If we're going to let her live on with the white stone alone and go out into the world, then let's leave this task that requires courage... to the brave Sister Sisi.

Before Siber could stop her, she heard the "coward's" arrogant and loud voice.

"Clap."

Wings spread, ear feathers fluttering.

It sounded like a spark being ignited.

No matter how humble or timid the nightingale may be, when it sings its "resolute song," it burns like a raging fire. The red-haired girl raised her hand high; her eyes were like flames, like shimmering water, like glass, like a clear evening breeze.

She spread her arms wide, her crimson wings outstretched, as if embracing the sound of the wind, as if embracing death.

Most of the nightingales in Lovasa are naturally red.

They don't need to dye their wings red for anyone; they are born bright red.

Ah... use blood to depict that crimson blush, making my crimson bloom like a burning flame!

If the song ends and the music stops, we will be forever lost, and who will listen to the spring melody on the strings?

Ah... my rose was born only for a final, poignant moment!
Ah, the blade gleams, we approach it as if returning home! We embrace it as if returning home! Listen to this mocking laughter, the applause is deafening…
……

Those who once walked on fire followed the same rhythm, and those who today carry jade still keep the old covenant unchanged.
—On the execution platform, whose voice was first torn apart? The drumbeats below urged a new victim to take the stage!

……

"Nightingale! Go down!"

"The nightingale is not worthy to carry the phoenix's shoes!!!"

"Damn Nightingale, their ancestors disobeyed the Radiant Mother Goddess before, are they going to disobey again this time!?"

“I watched the video. Shi Ying betrayed Tian Yu, and she admitted it herself. She’s a complete scoundrel!”

The clamor of the crowd was like a whirlwind.

On the high platform, the nightingale sang its high-pitched song.

The ruins lay silent in the twilight, the setting sun melting the broken walls and crumbling ruins, casting a rich, blood-red hue. Su Ming'an leaned against a half-charred, broken wall and walked forward, a searing pain shooting through his chest, each breath tearing at his shattered flesh.

Atop the ruins, a red-haired girl, Shi Ying, stood alone, utterly alone.

Some lyrics are taken from "Who Killed the Mockingbird," the rest are original.