National Guardian's Gone and We're Done

But the slight tremor in her voice was a dead giveaway, a traitor that exposed the full extent of her inner turmoil.

After all, though she was a deity, she was still a woman,

and what woman wouldn’t care about her own virtue?

What’s more, she was the Supreme God of the White-Red Empire, revered and adored by all its people.

The thought of being defiled by those homeless men who roamed the streets—walking corpses reeking of sour rot—

made her tremble uncontrollably, her scalp tingling in horror.

This wasn’t the heart-pounding rush of a thrill-seeker,

but a bone-deep terror, the kind one feels when a Demon has you by the throat.

"I’m only giving you three seconds to think it over. No extensions."

Chu He paid her no mind, his voice as cold and hard as the clang of steel on steel.

He spoke at a rapid pace, starting the countdown. "Three, two, one."

Each number was a death knell, carrying the stench of mortality,

hammering down on Amaterasu’s heart and sending it into a frantic, runaway rhythm like a war drum.

The instant the countdown finished, Chu He thrust the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi forward without a shred of mercy, the blade imbued with boundless, ruthless finality.

"Ah!" Amaterasu’s eyes widened in terror, filled with despair and helplessness. "I’ll tell you!"

After shouting, her eyes reddened as if she had suffered some monumental injustice.

Her voice, thick with resentment and choked sobs, was a halting mess. "Your countdown was way too fast!

You didn’t give me any time to think! It’s clear you never planned on letting me go. You were dead set on ruining my face,

and tossing me to those vagrants!"

At her words, Chu He’s hand froze, but his gaze remained as frigid as a polar ice cap, devoid of any warmth.

His gaze slowly drifted across Amaterasu’s face. It was an exquisite face, and even now—stained with blood and dirt, like a pearl coated in dust—its elegance was undeniable. He surveyed it as if appreciating a rare masterpiece.

Then, his eyes unintentionally fell upon the slender, porcelain-white legs, like pillars of flawless jade, peeking from beneath her tattered robes.

A flicker of barely perceptible mockery crossed his eyes. "Heh, you’re wrong. I can be quite considerate at times, you know. I think of others.

’If I were to ruin that pretty face of yours, those vagrants might just get scared shitless. That would ruin all the fun.’

’So, I’ve changed my mind. I won’t mar your face. I’ll just toss you to them, completely intact.’

’I imagine they’ll be ecstatic. They’ll treat you like a goddess sent down from the heavens, cherishing you in the palms of their hands.’"

As he spoke, the corners of Chu He’s mouth lifted into an arc of extreme cruelty—the smile of a Demon.

He looked like a peerless Demon at the apex of darkness, one who held the power of life and death, toying with his terrified, helpless prey.

"You... you... you..."

Amaterasu’s lips wouldn’t stop trembling, each word squeezed out from between gritted teeth.

Her once radiant face was now twisted with a mixture of fear and anger.

She stared wide-eyed at Chu He, the panic in her gaze like a surging tide threatening to drown her.

"This is what it means to destroy a person’s spirit. How does it taste?"

Chu He looked down at the struggling ant at his feet. His voice, laced with an icy chill that pierced straight to Amaterasu’s core, echoed in the air.

"I... The thing I brought from the Great Xia Empire... is Qin Shi Huang’s coffin!"

Amaterasu gritted her teeth, her hands pressing against the dusty, blood-stained ground.

Her fingers turned white from the strain, every muscle in her body tensed.

She used every ounce of her strength to push her faltering body into a sitting position.

She deliberately sidestepped the dark topic Chu He had just broached—words like a Demon’s whisper.

The malice in his words was a cold, venomous snake wrapped around her neck, threatening to suffocate her. She didn’t dare touch that subject again.

Xu Fu, who had been observing the scene from a distance with bated breath,

erupted the moment he heard her words. A murderous intent, as tangible as a black storm, burst forth from him in a raging torrent.

To him, Qin Shi Huang’s coffin was the ultimate taboo, a sacred object that could not be profaned.

And now, someone had dared to lay a hand on it.

This was tantamount to touching a dragon’s reverse scale—his ultimate trigger. A furious fire ignited in his chest,

threatening to incinerate his reason.

Amaterasu seemed to sense his rage. She shot Xu Fu a contemptuous sideways glance, her eyes screaming, ’I may not be a match for Chu He, but taking care of a little nobody like you would be a piece of cake.’

Their eyes met, and sparks flew. The air crackled with a tension as thick as drawn swords and nocked arrows.

"Why bring Qin Shi Huang’s coffin to the White-Red Empire?"

Chu He asked, his brow furrowed.

Amaterasu took a deep breath to steady herself. "Because I desire the Emperor’s Qi of a ruler from the Mortal World.

’If I could absorb that immense power, I might be able to break through my current limits and undergo a world-shattering metamorphosis.’

’That Qin Shi Huang of your Great Xia Empire... his Emperor’s Qi is more potent than I could have ever imagined.’

’It can even suppress Divine Power. It’s simply unbelievable...’"

As she spoke of this, the shock in her eyes was like a series of crashing waves, battering the shores of her soul.

"’This is something even Deities cannot hope to achieve...’"

Amaterasu muttered to herself.

"’And you actually consider yourself a deity?’ Chu He’s tone dripped with doubt and contempt."

To Amaterasu, his words were like being stripped naked in public, the target of a thousand accusing fingers.

Shame washed over her like scalding oil.

"Of course I’m a deity!" Amaterasu shot back, flying into a rage and widening her eyes.

Chu He’s doubt and contempt were, in a way, even more humiliating than the threat of being thrown to the vagrants on the streets of Chiyoda City, for they trampled all over her divine dignity.

"A deity who can’t even withstand two of my attacks?"

As if that wasn’t enough, Chu He coldly twisted the knife, striking at the softest, most vulnerable part of Amaterasu’s heart and shattering her pride completely.

Amaterasu’s face flushed crimson, her chest heaving violently. Clearly incandescent with rage, she couldn’t help but retort hysterically, "That’s because there’s a problem with my Divine Format!

’If my Divine Format were intact, killing an ant like you would be as easy as flipping my palm!’"

Even as she spoke, she tried to cling to the last shred of her divine dignity.

"’Divine Format? What the hell is that?’"

Chu He instantly seized on the unfamiliar term, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.

For him, it was a gateway to a mysterious new world, a realm of knowledge he had never before encountered.

Amaterasu, however, seemed to deflate as if her spine had been removed. She pursed her lips, snorted coldly, and whipped her head to the side, falling silent. It was clear she had resolved to take this secret to her grave.

"’So what if you’re a deity? I won’t go easy on you just because you’re a woman.’"

Chu He snorted. With a flick of the Grass Cutting Sword,

a thin red line appeared on Amaterasu’s elegant, swan-like neck, as fair as snow and jade.

At first, the line seemed trivial, a mere scratch on the surface.

But in the next instant, crimson blood began to well up, trickling down like a winding serpent.

It left a shocking trail on her snow-white skin.

Amaterasu felt a sharp sting on her neck, as if bitten by a venomous snake.

Her delicate frame shuddered in fright, and the terror in her eyes became a tangible haze, clouding her vision.

She instinctively reached up to clutch her neck.

Her body trembled uncontrollably, all her former divine pride and majesty gone.

[Thank you to the boss, Mu U Alps, for the 200 Book Coin donation! Wishing you the best of luck and a mountain of good fortune in 2025!!!]