Armipotent

Chapter 952: What’s Your Goal? – Part 4

The young man realized he had nothing but his life to offer. Chang Jie was willing to give up his life as long as he could achieve his goal. He had never felt this way in his life, a strong desire to want something. This was the first, and he did everything he could to achieve the goal.         

“Why do people so easily give up their lives for power….” Tang Shaoyang muttered in a low voice, “Alright, let’s listen; what do you want to achieve with this power?”     

Personally, he liked the young man’s resoluteness and saw his potential in the young man. He could see the young man be a strong individual in the future with that kind of attitude.     

“I have only one goal in my life; it’s to protect my childhood friend, Duan Ya,” Chang Jie responded with an earnest expression, “My parents died in a traffic accident when I was five, and Duan Ya’s parents who are my neighbor kind enough to adopt and raise me as their children. I owe a lot to her and her family, and her parents died when the zombie appeared. This is the time for me to repay the debt, protect her from any form of danger, and ensure she has a safe and comfortable life.”     

“That was my goal before the strong zombies attacked the village. Now, I have two more goals in my life. First, protecting Duan Ya is still my priority. Second, It’s to avenge Uncle Gan Shuo. Third, I want to protect everyone who is kind to me, the villagers, and also Uncle Gan’s family. In order to achieve my goal, I need to get stronger; I need more power. I need your assistance, Your Majesty. Uncle Gan died to protect me. Because of me, Uncle Gan’s children have to grow without him; I… I… I have caused misery to others. I am so pathetic… I don’t want people to die to protect me anymore. I want to atone for my sin by protecting other people! Please, help me, Your Majesty!”     

Chang Jie’s miserable voice echoed inside the throne hall as he raised his voice at the end.     

Tang Shaoyang was quite shocked inside after hearing the young man’s words. He could feel that the words came from the bottom of his heart. He did not sense malice from the young man, just pure suffering and guilt that started to consume the young man from inside. The thing he did not expect was that such a person still existed to this day. If It was the others, he believed they cared little for Gan Shuo’s family. Most likely, they would just feel pity for them, not be responsible like the young man in front of him.     

‘You like him a lot, Master,’ Zaneos said in Tang Shaoyang’s head, ‘For some reason, I also liked him a lot. Why don’t you accept his request, Master? To save you trouble, I am willing to teach him my sword technique. You can leave him to me, Master.’     

Tang Shaoyang was caught off guard by Zaneos. He did not think that would come from the demon swordsman. He remembered that Zaneos told him the demon was killed by a human. He hated humans, but he resented the Demon King more than the human. Still, the humiliation Zaneos received before his death was not something that could be forgotten easily. It was a surprise that Zaneos would say that.     

‘So, you want to take this young man as your disciple, Zaneos?’     

‘Yes, Master. Let me train this young man. I see potential in him, and he is the type of person that will not give up easily. I like this type of person more than the talented individual,’ Zaneos did not hesitate to say yes.     

“I can help you,” The moment those words came out of Tang Shaoyang’s mouth, Chang Jie’s eyes widened in joy as his eyes glistened brightly, “In exchange, I want your undying loyalty to the Empire, not me. If one day I died, you still have to protect the Empire with your life! And if you have children, your children will also have to carry the same task, protecting the Empire with their lives!”     

“That will be our honor, Your Majesty,” Chang Jie replied without a second thought. The young man answered fluently as if he had practiced a lot, while in fact, it just came out naturally.     

“We have the deal then,” Tang Shaoyang nodded, “For now, you return to the Healer Division. Let’s focus on your recovery before we start with the training,” He noticed the young man was about to say something, but Tang Shaoyang cut him off, “This is an order.”     

Chang Jie stumped for a moment as he was about to say he was ready to start the training right now, “Yes, Your Majesty.” He got up from the floor, but then he knelt again on the floor. He put his face on the carpet, “Thank you for accepting my selfish request, Your Majesty. I promise you that I will not disappoint you!” Silly Chang Jie hit his forehead to the ground three times before getting up and leaving the throne hall without saying anything to Tang Shaoyang.     

The young man was so excited that he ran off to the door, just like a kid who just got a candy, running off without saying goodbye after receiving the candy.     

[Do you want me to send a message to Lady Selena or Lady Arina, Master?] Origin’s robotic voice rang inside the throne hall.     

“Why?” Tang Shaoyang was confused for a moment, but then he realized what Origin meant by sending Selena or Arina a message, “There’s no need. Chang Jie will never betray me.”     

[But….] Origin was not convinced.     

“I say there’s no need for the Oath Ceremony, do you understand, Origin?”     

[Yes, Master. I apologize for doubting you.]     

Tang Shaoyang did not know why, but he somehow trusted Chang Jie. The feeling just came naturally, “I think I understand why Captain Gan Shuo used his life to protect this young man.” Gan Shuo must have felt the same as him.