novelbin Chapter 419 - 290: The Grand Finale (Part 1)
Chapter 419 - 290: The Grand Finale (Part 1)
In the end, it was Ling Hong who helped her up as she lay limp on the ground.
His lips moved, his voice hoarse and strained. "Jin, let’s go back. It’s over..."
Years later, the historical annals of the Beast World would record that the near-apocalyptic catastrophe was brought to an end with the extinction of the Unicorn King Beast clan.
After the disaster, the surviving Beastmen crawled out one by one from tunnels, caves, and even from beneath the soil, disheveled and trembling. They stared blankly at the devastated land, hot tears streaming down their faces.
But time was pressing, leaving no room for sorrow. After a period of recuperation, the Beastmen began the work of rebuilding their cities and tribes.
In a few decades, it was believed that through nature’s miraculous powers of recovery and the collective efforts of the Beastmen, the ravaged continent would be restored to its former prosperity and abundance.
An Jin and the others dragged their heavily injured and exhausted bodies back, but instead of returning to Sheng’an Royal City to rest, they headed for Unicorn King City, where reconstruction was just about to begin.
Having lost its powerful King Beast protector, the city had been demoted to the status of a Ten Thousand Beasts City.
An Jin had already sent orders for Beastmen to come and aid in the reconstruction.
After entering the city, she first went to the council hall to brief the Elders who had hurried there on the plan for reconstruction. Afterward, she told Mi Yin and the others to go rest first.
She went alone to the bedchamber Ze Sheng had frequented.
She wanted to see if he had left any of his belongings behind.
’Even just a small memento would be nice.’
She didn’t want the ruthless passage of time to slowly erode her memories of him until, decades from now, he disappeared from her mind completely.
’No, it probably won’t even take decades. The sad thing is, I won’t live that long anyway.’
An Jin shook her head with a bitter smile.
’Perhaps hundreds or thousands of years from now, Beastmen who grow up in an era of peace and prosperity will have long forgotten the once-glorious Unicorn King Beast clan that sacrificed itself to save the continent. But at the very least, some artifacts should remain to commemorate the existence of this extinct King Beast race.’
Finally, she found a painting in his desk drawer.
It was a painting of her.
’Hmm, is this me as a child? The little girl’s cheeks are still plump with baby fat, making her look so soft and adorable.’
’But those tender pink lips seem to be fixed in a slight pout, caught somewhere between sulking and being angry.’
An Jin studied it for a few seconds before letting out an involuntary laugh. Then she rolled up the painting with great care, placed it in an empty long wooden box, and took it with her.
「A few years later.」
The reconstruction of the major cities was mostly complete. An Jin had also dispatched many Beastmen to assist the surrounding tribes and cities, trying to quickly raise the continent’s level of civilization, which had been nearly wiped out, back to what it once was.
Once the dust had settled, she began to gradually step down from her duties, transferring power over the various cities bit by bit to the capable Beastmen she had handpicked.
As time went on, she felt her body growing weaker by the day. She knew she didn’t have much time left. The best course of action was to transfer power in the cities in as balanced a manner as possible while she still could.
But before she departed, she had one last thing to accomplish.
In their nearly ten years together, Mi Yin and the others had never mentioned wanting children, out of consideration for her wishes and her physical condition. But she knew the instinct to procreate ran deep in every Beastman. Whether it was Ze Sheng, Mi Yin, or the others, their claims of not wanting children were just words meant for her ears.
Unfortunately, she had never conceived a child with Ze Sheng.
’It must have been fate. The glory of the Unicorn King Beast clan is now a thing of the past.’
Having already lost someone so important, she didn’t want to lose Mi Yin and the others, too.
Besides, looking at the three of them every day gave An Jin a headache. Their bloodlines were each more precious and rare than the last.
Mi Yin was the last remaining Soaring Snake King Beast in the Beast World. Ling Hong was the world’s first mutant Thunder Snow Wolf. And while Xi’s species was numerous, a pure-blooded Blue Shark like him was extremely rare.
’I can’t just stand by and watch their lines go extinct because of me.’
’Yes! Protecting biodiversity starts with me!’
Not long after, An Jin became pregnant. She was carrying little fry. The birth itself was painless; she simply took a bath, and they were born naturally.
’This was so much easier than giving birth to the three little ones back then.’
But even so, the two-month pregnancy drained a great deal of her strength. The exhaustion was so complete that she slept from morning until night.
When she woke again, she found it was already dark outside. Xi had been waiting by her side, holding a large basin. The moment he saw she was awake, he set the basin on the floor and brought her some freshly warmed water and food.