Chapter 27: Then Go to Hell! (Including Some Explanations)

Yet Jack remained silent in the face of his persuasion. Suddenly, he raised an arm, and the hundreds of New Universe Guard soldiers behind him shot into the sky, flying toward the distant region where thick smoke billowed into the air. That was their home. At this moment, their hatred for the White Tribe was magnified without limit.

“Commander!” Cupid stepped forward, puzzled and confused.

“Our finest moment should come when everyone is unable to resist, and you stand forth to rally them.”

“Then we can establish a Land of Light of our own!”

“Enough!”

The heavy voice rang out like the growl of a beast. Jack’s resolute body began to tremble uncontrollably.

“What exactly is the Land of Light?”

Jack turned to look at him. His gaze was deep and distant, as though he were looking into the far reaches of history.

“It is the Land of Light that I and countless warriors of my generation reclaimed from the Baltans, from countless monsters, and from countless evil aliens!”

“The Land of Light is not merely a nation. The blood of my comrades was shed here. Every inch of this land was reclaimed with our lives!”

“The Land of Light cannot be replicated!”

Cupid watched Jack and listened to his roar, but said nothing. He did not understand that emotion.

In fact, Cupid belonged to the third generation of the Land of Light’s inhabitants and was a second-generation Ultraman warrior.

The first generation of the Land of Light’s inhabitants were the final generation of ordinary beings—humans—before their super-evolution. They defended the Land of Light with human bodies, using themselves to halt the invasion of the Gu’a Empire.

After them came the second generation of the Land of Light’s inhabitants: the first generation of Ultraman warriors. Jack, Ken, and the other Ultramen of their generation belonged to this group. When the Land of Light was first established, it suffered countless attacks and endured countless wars. Most of that era was spent in battle, and was far from peaceful.

Through the efforts of the first-generation Ultraman warriors, the Land of Light gradually established itself. As the years occupied by war grew fewer and peace descended, the second generation of Ultraman warriors came of age.

Thus, warriors such as Cupid, Seven, and Zoffy were all second-generation Ultramen. Most of what they had experienced were peaceful years, and they could not imagine the hardships endured by the first-generation Ultramen.

Nor could Cupid understand Jack’s obsession.

But it did not matter.

“Since you have made your decision, I will support it no matter what.” Cupid stepped back and bowed slightly.

“Then, Commander, let us go.”

“Let those White Tribe bastards learn the fury of the Blue Tribe.”

If the warriors of the White Tribe were wolves, then the soldiers of the New Universe Guard were fierce as tigers.

The blue torrent quickly broke through the Elder Guard’s defensive line. They surged forward with overwhelming force, their momentum sharp as a blade. Whatever stood in their path was pierced through and destroyed.

If their overall strength were ranked, the New Universe Guard would unquestionably be the foremost force in the Land of Light.

Their constantly high casualty rate, and the blood and fire that had tempered them, had forged the unit into steel. Their bodies were generally not imposing, and they bore the blue color that all three tribes regarded as belonging to an inferior race. Yet their combat strength had left the other tribes far behind.

Ice axes flew recklessly across the battlefield, always piercing the bodies of White Tribe warriors from unimaginable angles. Their tremendous force sent those bodies crashing to the ground, extinguishing their lives on the spot. Their energy indicators shifted rapidly from blue to flashing red, then went dark. Another massive body dissolved into particles of light and scattered through the sky.

Deep within human nature, there exists an instinctive beast.

They were warriors, after all. Nothing could stimulate their fighting spirit more than struggling on a battlefield—especially when they were fighting for revenge and protection.

“Bang!”

Cupid looked down from above at the White Tribe warrior struggling beneath his feet. The savagery on his face grew increasingly pronounced.

They, too, possessed rich emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, and delight. In the newest Ultraman short film, reportedly produced by Microsoft in memory of the venerable Mr. Tsuburaya, that Ultraman displayed extremely subtle changes in expression. You can find it on Bilibili. It is available there. According to official information, Ultramen are indeed meant to possess human emotions. The reason we usually see so little expression is the nature of the costume, which has led people to assume that Ultramen cannot change expression and always wear the same blank, egg-shaped face. That assumption is incorrect.

“Whoosh!”

The ice axe flew back into Cupid’s hand. Its cold blade drew near the White Tribe warrior’s neck, then swept across it with force.

Particles of light scattered into the air.

“Why do you keep trying to challenge my limits?” Jack lifted the captain of the Elder Guard with one hand, his gaze sharp as an eagle’s.

“Cough… A bunch of lowly wretches, and you still want status?”

The other man mocked him without mercy.

“We allow scholars and warriors to stand on equal terms with us.”

“But you—people who were slaves to begin with—should obediently remain our slaves!”

“Hmph.”

Jack raised him high into the air. The strength of his hand continued to increase as he watched the man struggle in his grasp. He sneered.

“I think you look more like an ant.”

“The descendants of nobles are ants?”

“Even so, they are still stronger than you wretches with slave blood in your veins!”

“You have clung to this doctrine for far too long. You should have been discarded by the age long ago. It was super-evolution that granted you such unnaturally long lives.”

Jack’s left hand jerked. The man’s body began to drop limply, but Jack’s right hand shot forward and pierced directly through his chest.

“So let me send you to your deaths. Go find those old fools and stay with your doctrine of bloodline supremacy!”

“You killed an elder?”

Jack coldly withdrew his arm from the man’s chest and looked at him without expression.

“If those old fools want us dead, do they still expect to remain alive?”

He turned away, then said coldly:

“Let me offer you one final piece of advice. Whether slave or noble, everyone dies.”

Before long, the battle had reached its end.

Even though the enemy outnumbered them, that alone meant nothing. Sometimes, the outcome of a war could not be determined by numbers.

A dozen tigers could still tear through the defenses of a mountain full of wolves. The only questions were how much time it would take and how many casualties would be suffered.

Jack looked into the distance. After two battles, the soldiers of the New Universe Guard were already showing signs of fatigue. The energy indicators on the chests of most of the warriors had begun glowing red.

He sighed and looked toward the sky.

They should be coming soon.

Author’s Notes on This Chapter:

1. The internal conflict in the Land of Light did not actually happen exactly this way. I have made several changes to the original foundation. For example, I elevated the dispute between Jack and Ken from a conflict of ideals into a struggle between ethnic groups, because I believe that better suits that period of history. If it were merely a dispute over ideology, then would Jack’s supporters consist only of Blue Tribe Ultramen? That would seem somewhat unreasonable.

2. The elders and the Elder Guard are my own inventions. I feel that such a faction should have existed. It cannot be denied that Ken and Jack belonged to the first generation of Ultramen. Before their generation—that is, before super-evolution—the society of the Land of Light was based on slavery. It would be impossible for super-evolution alone to transform it directly into a perfectly equal utopia. That would defy common sense. There must inevitably have been conflict.

Of course, you may simply regard this as an unofficial interpretation. I believe every historical deduction needs to proceed through a reasonable chain of development. As everyone knows, the official setting of the Land of Light does not really have a single consistent interpretation. Many contradictions exist. My own additions are based on that fact.

Indeed, think about it: if the Land of Light truly existed, then such a social transformation would inevitably have involved a revolution.

3. Regarding the bloodline doctrine expressed by the White Tribe guard captain, you may look at it this way. Because their lifespans had been extended so greatly, they still could not abandon the ideology of a slave society. Slavery emphasizes bloodline: the son of a noble is always a noble—even if he is a pile of excrement, he is still noble excrement. The son of a slave remains a slave—even if he is a genius, he is still a slave genius.

According to the official setting, the White Tribe evolved from the line of nobles, the elders. I believe they could accept scholars and scientists—the White Tribe—and warriors—the Red Tribe—holding equal status with them. But they could never accept the demands of the Blue Tribe. That is why the conflict between them became so sharp.

When you think about it, it is rather sad. Even if the son of a tycoon is an idiot, he can still live his entire life without worrying about food or clothing, while the child of a farmer—

4. Everyone dislikes stories that do not revolve around the protagonist, and I can only express my helplessness. The introduction already stated that I intended to present a complete history of the Land of Light. Therefore, in this volume, the protagonist is essentially just making a token appearance.

5. As for the previous interruption in updates, it may happen again in the future. After all, no one can say what the future holds.

To be continued.