Published: February 13, 2025
Zizikaba lowered his head, mourning for the Third Manager who had completely vanished into the sky.
For someone who had been in contact with the Library Palace long before Ye Zhongming, he had deep interactions with many book keepers. Although his dealings with this Third Manager were not as extensive as with the ten regional leaders, they had shared meals and even drinks together a few times.
Perhaps if Zizikaba were also a peak expert, their connections would have been more significant.
But none of that diminished the profound sorrow he felt at this moment.
The sadness was naturally for the Third Manager, but also for the other book keepers. Zizikaba knew that the Third Manager's death was just the beginning; today and in the future, many book keepers would perish.
In his eyes, those people might be the purest souls in the universe. Their wishes, aspirations, and desires were all so simple, to the point where those who understood them might find them dull and unimaginable.
Yet this was the essence of being a book keeper—a group of beings that was simple to the point of being pale.
What they hoped for was merely freedom. To obtain this, they had to pay a high price, including their lives.
Without life, how could one speak of freedom?
Zizikaba had not fully understood this in the past, as the collaboration between the Library Palace and Ye Zhongming represented a subversion of order, a change that required immense sacrifices.
He wasn't opposed; he simply had the normal worries and confusion about an uncertain future that any living being would have.
But just now, he felt the obsession and release of the Third Manager in his dying moments.
Perhaps what they truly cared about was not freedom but… making everyone, all races, recognize the book keepers anew.
Maybe they also wanted all life to revere them.
Book keepers were not mere librarians; they were masters of knowledge, beings that were not weaker than any other life form and even stronger than them.
They sought freedom but even more, they sought dignity.
Was there also... revenge?
Even if the beings who initially set that curse had long since perished.
Zizikaba understood now that what he needed to do was to help the book keepers achieve these goals.
He turned around and looked behind him.
“You come from many races, you once did not know each other, and even now you are not friendly.”
Zizikaba's calm voice resonated, reaching every warrior present.
“But it doesn’t matter; one thing in common is enough.”
“We all live off the Library Palace's resources and have grown strong through its knowledge.”
“Now, it’s time to repay them.”
“We will fight alongside the book keepers.”
“We will fight to break the established rules.”
“We will fight to create a brand-new era.”
“Do you see those dwarves? Crush them!”
After a booming response, the crowd surged forward like a tide. They were not as coordinated as the dwarves, with protective gear and weapons of all kinds.
They also did not have the rigorous formations that the dwarves maintained even after suffering heavy losses.
But in these people's eyes, there was something the dwarves lacked.
Hope? Aspiration? Selflessness?
Perhaps all of these, and maybe even more.
In their own way, they crashed into the dwarves' formations from all directions.
The book keepers on the ground joined them and quickly became the backbone, serving as the combat centers for their fight. The power that Zizikaba had accumulated over the years began to strangle the Tarros Red Dwarf's Third Mechanical Legion.
Or rather, they were strangling each other.
Every moment someone fell, and most of those who fell never stood up again.
Neither side had the time to glance at the battle in the sky, even though they clearly understood that the outcome over there would determine the result here.
They didn’t care; they only wanted to kill each other.
The fighting will on both sides was extraordinarily firm, reflected in their actions—fierce, ruthless, and resolute.