Chapter 212: A Child’s Last Hope [Part 2]

A Child’s Last Hope [Part 2]

Jacob’s shoulders began to shake.

His eyes were filled with helpless fury.

"Lucas did nothing wrong!"

His voice echoed through the forest.

"The one who is at fault is that woman!"

His breathing became heavier.

"That woman with a heart like a snake’s!"

Jacob suddenly raised his head.

His gaze turned toward the distant horizon.

Hatred burned in his eyes.

"Lola Brightwell!"

His voice carried through the trees.

"Just wait!"

His fists tightened.

"If Lucas dies..."

"I, Jacob, will tear a piece of flesh from the Brightwell family!"

"Even if it costs me my life!"

His roar echoed between the ancient trees.

For a moment, the entire forest seemed to fall silent again.

But the fury inside Jacob’s chest could not drown out the feeling in his arms.

Lucas was getting colder.

"Uncle Five..."

The child’s voice was almost inaudible.

Jacob’s expression changed.

"Lucas?"

"Lucas..."

The boy’s eyelids slowly lowered.

"...is sleepy."

Jacob’s heart nearly stopped.

"Lucas!"

He immediately hurried forward.

His body swayed violently.

But he forced himself to stay upright.

"We’re almost there."

Jacob looked ahead.

His voice had become frantic.

"I’ve heard that our Salvatore family’s main family is in the Celestial Capital Domain!"

"The Sovereign Salvatore Family."

"That’s our main family."

"Once we get there, you’ll be saved."

His voice trembled.

"You’ll be fine."

"Just hold on a little longer."

Jacob forced himself to move faster.

His shattered body screamed at him to stop.

Every part of him was already beyond its limit.

His dantian had been destroyed.

The damage alone should have left him unable to walk.

Yet he kept going.

Every step felt like a blade being driven deep into his organs.

His legs shook beneath him.

His vision kept blurring.

Blood continued to seep from his wounds.

Some of it had already soaked through his clothes.

Still, Jacob refused to stop.

He couldn’t.

Not while Lucas was still breathing.

Not when there was still a chance.

"The Sovereign Salvatore Family..."

Lucas repeated weakly.

His voice was barely more than a whisper.

Yet something changed in his pale face.

For the first time in what felt like forever, a faint spark appeared in his eyes.

"Will I have family there?"

Jacob’s throat tightened.

He looked down at Lucas.

For a moment, he couldn’t answer.

Then he forced a smile.

"You will."

His voice was gentle.

"You definitely will."

Jacob swallowed the pain in his throat.

"They’ll protect you."

"They’ll heal you."

"You won’t have to be afraid anymore."

Lucas stared at him.

Jacob smiled again.

But the smile felt painfully weak.

He didn’t know whether he was trying to convince Lucas...

Or himself.

Maybe both.

He needed to believe those words.

He had to.

There had to be hope.

There had to be somewhere they could finally rest.

Somewhere Lucas could live without constantly looking over his shoulder.

Jacob lowered his head.

Then he summoned the last remnants of his law power.

The moment he did, his entire body began to tremble.

The little energy remaining inside him surged violently.

His muscles tightened.

His shattered bones protested.

Pain tore through his body.

Several of his wounds split open again.

Fresh blood trickled down his skin.

A bitter taste filled his mouth.

Jacob coughed.

A thin line of blood slipped from the corner of his lips.

He wiped it away with the back of his hand.

He didn’t even look at it.

Then he kept walking.

One step.

Then another.

And another.

His movements were slow.

Almost painfully slow.

But he didn’t stop.

His eyes remained fixed ahead.

He followed the location marked on the old map.

The map was worn and yellowed.

Its edges had been damaged long ago.

Some of the markings had faded almost completely.

Several sections were difficult to read.

But it was all he had.

The main family.

The Sovereign Salvatore Family.

That was where Lucas would be saved.

That was where they would finally be safe.

Jacob clung to that thought like a drowning man holding onto a piece of wood.

He kept walking.

He had no idea how long it had been.

An hour?

Several hours?

He couldn’t tell anymore.

Time had lost all meaning.

There was only the darkness.

The cold air.

His footsteps.

And Lucas’s increasingly weak breathing.

Jacob’s body was becoming heavier with every passing moment.

His arms felt numb.

His legs barely responded to him.

Sometimes he had to stop for a few breaths before forcing himself forward again.

But every time he stopped, he looked at Lucas.

That was enough.

He would take another step.

Then another.

The darkness seemed endless.

No moonlight reached the forest floor.

The trees stood like twisted shadows around them.

Branches scraped against Jacob’s clothes as he passed.

Roots caught against his feet.

Once, his knee nearly gave out.

He caught himself against a tree.

For several seconds, he simply stood there.

His forehead rested against the rough bark.

His breathing was ragged.

His entire body was shaking.

"I can’t stop..."

The words came out as little more than a whisper.

He closed his eyes.

"Not yet."

Then he pushed himself away from the tree.

He continued.

Eventually, something began to change.

The forest wasn’t as dense anymore.

The trees became thinner.

The tangled roots beneath his feet gradually disappeared.

The oppressive darkness began to loosen.

The ground slowly opened up.

Jacob noticed it immediately.

His footsteps stopped.

He lifted his head.

For a moment, he simply stared ahead.

Could it be?

His heart suddenly began beating faster.

He looked at the old map in his hand.

Then he looked toward the distance.

The location matched.

It had to.

They had finally arrived.

Jacob’s breathing became shallow.

A strange sense of relief spread through his exhausted body.

He took another step.

Then another.

His eyes searched the distance.

He was expecting something.

A massive mountain range.

Ancient gates.

Buildings stretching across the heavens.

The aura of an ancient and powerful family.

Anything.

Something.

But then...

Jacob froze.

His expression slowly changed.

The tiny trace of hope in his eyes disappeared.

His body became completely still.

He stared ahead.

Nothing.

There was no Sovereign Blessed Land.

No magnificent ancestral grounds.

No towering mountain gates.

No glorious main family waiting for them.

There was nothing.

Only an empty, desolate mountain peak.