Chapter 124: A Simple Battle (Fifth Update)

There is no such thing as love without a cause, nor is there hatred without a reason. Since Ji Yu’s avatars are non-human, he must inevitably view issues from their perspective. When a conflict of values arises between his avatars and humanity, he must find a way to reconcile them.

Take the humans hunting pilot whales before him: since they have begun slaughtering these whales, why should these whales, as vassals of the olm, bother to save humanity in the years to come? Why should the olm be friendly to humans, or even extend a helping hand when necessary? Is it just because Ji Yu happens to be human?

While it is true that Ji Yu is human, he is no longer merely human; he is also the progenitor of the oak tree, the fawn, and the olm. While he may not be able to be perfectly fair in all things, he certainly cannot lean too far toward the side of humanity. Furthermore, "humanity" is merely a broad generalization. Which country, which region, and which individuals deserve to be treated with kindness—these are all matters that require evaluation.

For Ji Yu, falling out with a small nation like Denmark is of no consequence. He loathes those who capture and kill whales indiscriminately for the sake of festive celebrations. Moreover, by "teaching" these humans a lesson, Ji Yu wants the olm to understand that humans have both good and bad elements. When humans act against the olm or things in its circle, it is perfectly acceptable to resist with violent means. If it can be exterminated, then so be it; if not, is Ji Yu not there to back it up?

Ji Yu may not have many avatars now, but what about in the future? Thus, this strike against the whaling ships was essentially a lesson Ji Yu was giving the olm. It is fine to have low intelligence, but it must not be overly cowardly or fearful. You possess great power; you must learn to use that power to protect yourself and secure the interests that rightfully belong to you. This is the message Ji Yu wished to convey to the olm.

Overall, however, Ji Yu’s actions this time were indeed somewhat emotional. This emotionality was influenced by the olm’s mindset, but the root cause lay in Ji Yu’s own dissatisfaction. He had done so much to foster harmony between humans and animals, yet the results he saw were far from satisfactory. Whaling might be a local tradition, and Ji Yu knew he could not easily comment on that, but they had forced the olm to witness such a horrific scene, causing it to fear and dread humanity. This left Ji Yu feeling deeply unsettled. Consequently, driven by emotion, he acted in a way that was slightly out of character.

Taking a life for the first time—even through the body of the olm—left Ji Yu feeling psychologically uncomfortable. After all, he had never even killed a chicken before; having killed dozens of people in a fit of rage, he expected to suffer from long-term psychological discomfort. But what was done was done, and the word "regret" did not exist in Ji Yu’s dictionary. He understood the consequences perfectly well. The two Danish fighter jets flying overhead were one such consequence, and they would likely be followed by the pursuit of warships and submarines. Yet, Ji Yu was ready to face it all.

"Come then, let them all come."

Ji Yu watched the fighter jets with cold eyes, letting the olm raise its massive form high above the water. High above, the pilots immediately spotted the creature.

"Damn it, how could such a massive, mutated creature exist in these waters?"

"Unit 13 to Command, this is Unit 13. We have spotted a giant mutated creature in the Blanc Sea. Requesting permission to engage! Requesting permission to engage!"

"Command received. Engagement authorized. You are clear to fire! You are clear to fire!"

The two jets were traditional fourth-generation fighters, each carrying three air-to-air missiles on both wings, for a total of twelve missiles. Upon receiving authorization, they immediately launched two missiles each toward the olm. As the ten missiles streaked forward with long, fiery trails, a curtain of water rose from the sea surface before the olm. The water curtain froze rapidly, forming a barrier. As expected, the missiles struck the icy wall and exploded prematurely, creating a wave of heat in front of the olm. With the explosions, the missiles vanished, and the frozen water curtain shattered into ice, scattering across the sea.

Lacking the thousand-fold amplification he had achieved in other waters, the water curtain and ice wall the olm could create were neither thick nor particularly high—about fifty meters tall and less than three meters thick. Yet, even so, it was sufficient to block the missiles and trigger their self-destruct mechanisms.

"My God, what is going on with this thing!"

"Are you sure this terrifying ability isn't some kind of joke?"

"Alright, Beard, stop panicking. Focus! Let's try again. I don't believe this thing can produce those massive ice walls indefinitely."

Urged by the other pilot, both jets launched more missiles. This time, they adjusted their positions to fire from two different directions. Ji Yu did not underestimate them, but he responded immediately. While he conjured another ice wall behind him, he forced the olm’s throat to churn. A mixture of fog and water columns erupted, and as the olm opened its maw, a powerful blast of frost breath shot forth.

Like a concentrated beam of energy, it struck the missiles diving toward the olm’s face; they were instantly frozen, losing all momentum, and plummeted straight into the sea like two chunks of ice. The missiles behind were naturally intercepted by the ice wall.

Seeing this, the pilots could barely contain their frustration.

"Beard, fine, I admit it. We probably really can't handle this monster."

"It’s a headache, isn't it? This thing is no weaker than the monsters in those sci-fi blockbusters! When did mutated creatures become this powerful? Buddy, I’m starting to worry about the future of our blue planet."

"What do we do now? Just watch? And wait for the fleet to arrive?"

Denmark did not possess a nuclear arsenal, and they were truly at a loss as to how to deal with the olm.

"Uh, I think all we can do for now is watch. Let’s report the situation to Command; hopefully, they can coordinate support from the French Federal fleet, our allies."

"That’s all we can do."

With that, the fighter jets, flying a kilometer high, ceased their attacks and began circling in the sky above the olm. Ji Yu felt a sense of relief. With the olm’s current capabilities, maintaining two ice walls and a frost breath had already consumed a significant amount of its stamina. Since they were no longer attacking, Ji Yu decided to retreat. Controlling the olm, he cast one last look at the pod of whales swimming toward the deep sea, then flipped his massive body and dove straight into the ocean.