Chapter 171: A Step from Death
The hyperspace jump had just ended. Suddenly, a piercing alarm blared. "It's the Borisin!" the security captain's roar came from the deck, followed by the sound of flesh being torn.
Your mother rushed in, her face pale, and scooped you both up. "Quick, hide!"
Her trembling hands opened a hidden compartment in a cargo box. "Remember, no matter what happens, don't make a sound!" She kissed your foreheads one last time, then heavily closed the lid.
In the darkness, you could hear the fierce sounds of battle outside. Claws tearing flesh, bones breaking, screams rising and falling. Most terrifyingly, the smell of Wolfbane began to permeate the air, a pheromone that eroded your sanity. Your sister, Jiang Li, was shaking violently in your arms. You tightly covered her mouth, shielding her with your body.
Through a crack in the box, you suppressed your fear and looked out.
Your father was fighting desperately, his body already covered in wounds deep enough to show bone. "If you want to touch my family, you'll have to step over my corpse first!" he roared.
A burly, gray-furred Borisin leader stepped forward. "As you wish." He casually swung a claw, easily tearing open your father's throat.
"No—!!" Your mother let out a shriek. She rushed towards your father's corpse, only to be impaled from behind by another Borisin's claw. She fell directly facing the cargo box, and through the crack, you saw her eyes gradually lose their light.
Their blood mixed together, forming a dazzling red pool.
In your arms, Jiang Li was almost stripped of her sanity by the Wolfbane, leaving only primal fear. As for yourself, you felt no sadness. Your brain chose to shut down emotions. A more primal instinct seized all your thoughts—survive. Take Jiang Li, and survive.
"Boss, there's still cargo here!" Bang—! A Borisin kicked open the box.
Light streamed in, exposing you both. Jiang Li let out a desperate whimper.
"Two little fox cubs," a one-eared Borisin said impatiently. "They're too small, just rip them apart." He raised his blood-stained claw.
In that instant, you made a choice. You used one hand to tightly cover your sister's mouth, stopping her scream. With your other hand, you used all your strength to press her small, twitching body to the ground! Then, under the astonished gaze of the Borisin, you yourself knelt down, your forehead pressed heavily against the floor stained with your parents' blood.
"We… we can be slaves… Please don't kill us…"
You lowered your head, pressing your pure white fox ears—symbols of Foxian pride—humiliatingly against your scalp, offering the most abject submission to the enemies who had murdered your parents.
"We will be obedient."
The one-eared Borisin was surprised. The gray-furred leader walked over, using a blood-stained claw to lift your chin. "Little fox cub, don't you hate us?"
You shook your head. "What's the use of hatred? Hatred can't make us survive."
Hearing this, the surrounding Borisin burst into laughter. "Hahaha! So young and already so sensible, what a good dog!"
The leader was very satisfied. "Then keep them. Lock them up." Their vigilance, in the face of your humility, had dropped to its lowest point.
Now!
At the peak of their laughter, as the leader turned, you moved! Your right hand reached for your mother's corpse—for the small dagger she always carried!
But just as your fingers were about to touch it, an extremely strong scent of Wolfbane assaulted you.
"Trying to pull a trick?" another Borisin sneered, closing in. "Die!" he said, swinging a claw.
The Wolfbane made your movements sluggish. You watched helplessly as the claw swung towards you—
Just then, you saw it.
On that Borisin's body, countless crisscrossing dark lines suddenly appeared, covering every corner of him like cracked porcelain. What are those lines…?
You didn't understand, but your soul, boiling with hatred, was whispering madly to you—These lines… are fragile. Just cut along them, and you can kill anything!
[Inorin Note:
Starting today, the update schedule will be changing to one chapter per day. The reason for this is that the original author's raw chapters are being released infrequently and unpredictably, sometimes with only one new chapter every one to two weeks.
Currently, the gap between my translation and the latest raw chapter is only about 60 chapters. If I were to continue uploading two chapters per day, I would completely run out of material to translate in just one month. To avoid this, I must reduce the upload frequency, although even this change only buys me about two to three more months before I catch up completely.
I understand that the chapters are already quite short, and getting only one per day can feel unsatisfying to read. However, my hands are tied. At the very least, this new schedule allows me to continue providing daily updates for as long as possible.
If you wish to support me so I can continue to survive and afford proper food, you can join my membership on Patreon [patreon.com/InorinTL]. Be sure to check out "The Founding Pillars"—a special, limited-time tier that offers all the benefits of "The Plot Uncoverer" at a discounted price! Slots are limited, so grab yours before they run out. Besides membership, you can also donate via Ko-Fi [https://ko-fi.com/inorintl].
I hope I am still worthy of your support. My life truly depends on this... haha, I know I'm so shameless.]