Ice Age Apocalypse: I Hoard Billions of Supplies Chapter 1328: Brothers

Chapter 1328: Brothers

According to Pagyi Gesang, the four great chieftain families of the West had worked tirelessly to build shelters, gather the population, and provide food and survival supplies in order to save the Snowy Plateau Region.

Yet, according to Luozhuo's account, at the very beginning of the apocalypse, the four great chieftain families of the West first used their local influence to form their own private armies.

The great chieftains of the West were the great nobles of the Southwest Region, and even the various local institutions were controlled by their people.

Thus, they very easily seized military and political power.

From then on, under the pretext of convenient management, they centralized the confiscation of supplies from every household.

Goods from merchants, factories, and even individuals were gathered together.

And those who lost their supplies "voluntarily" became serfs of the chieftain lords and monks.

When Luozhuo reached this point, he gnashed his teeth in hatred.

"But the result was that they sacrificed all their food, drink, and possessions, even sacrificing their wives, children, and their very lives. In the end, only those nobles enjoyed the benefits!"

Zhang Yi listened silently. He was no stranger to these things; the area where he lived had once been the same.

"What about the Lord of the Charnel Ground? Did he tacitly allow all this, or is he the mastermind behind it?"

Zhang Yi was most concerned about the Lord of the Charnel Ground.

After all, that was the existence he most feared in the entire Snowy Plateau Region.

Mentioning the Lord of the Charnel Ground, Luozhuo fell silent for a long while.

Not long after, he suddenly laughed, a somewhat strange laugh.

It wasn't a sneer, but more like a laugh of helplessness.

"Him? He's nothing but an idealistic fool!"

"Oh? How so? Tell me in detail!"

However, at this moment, Luozhuo stopped his narration and instead stared intently at Zhang Yi.

"What you really want to find out is information about him, isn't it?"

"That night, which one of the three were you?"

Since things had come to this, Zhang Yi couldn't be bothered to lie and told him directly:

"I was indeed there."

He looked at Luozhuo with a playful gaze. "That night, the two of you stood together, seemingly antagonistic, yet fighting a common enemy. So I knew you two must know each other, and your relationship is anything but ordinary."

"Luozhuo," a dark glint flashed in Zhang Yi's eyes as he stared straight at him, his voice sinking low as he asked, "In reality, you're someone cultivated by the Lord of the Charnel Ground, aren't you?"

"The so-called resistance army is actually the Lord of the Charnel Ground's own force!"

Luozhuo stared at Zhang Yi in surprise, saying nothing.

Zhang Yi continued, "According to everyone's account, the Lord of the Charnel Ground is a pure, flawless white lotus. He devoted himself to studying Buddhist teachings for over a decade, enjoying the most revered position in the esoteric sect."

"But before the apocalypse arrived and he became an Epsilon-level superhuman, he held no real power."

"I think he grew tired of that taste too, so he sent you to form the resistance army, actually to strike at the power of the four great families. So that he could completely become the king of the Southwest Region!"

As Zhang Yi spoke, he stared into Luozhuo's eyes, wanting to see his reaction.

Luozhuo, however, countered, "That's an interesting question. If I really were the Lord of the Charnel Ground's man, with the strength of the two of us, we could simply seize everything by force! Why go through all this trouble?"

Zhang Yi said slowly, "The Lord of the Charnel Ground's power isn't his own; it comes from the esoteric sect's empowerment ritual. So I suspect his power must have some kind of limitation."

"Moreover, he obviously doesn't want his sacred image to be tarnished either."

Zhang Yi's line of reasoning was something he made up. It was one possibility, though not a very likely one.

The reason he said it was to probe Luozhuo and draw out his words.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Luozhuo shook his head and couldn't help but laugh.

"I have to admire your imagination, but what you said is miles away from the truth."

"I do know him," he said seriously. "But we are not on the same path."

Luozhuo explained to Zhang Yi, "The chieftain system has existed in the Snowy Plateau Region for thousands of years. In the past hundred years, this system was abolished. But the nobility never disappeared; they just changed their titles."

"And the existence of this noble system is supported by the esoteric sect."

"No, just like how the head of the Yasha Langtai family can become the Khenpo of Sangha Monastery, it's more accurate to say the esoteric sect itself is a tool in their hands."

"So, according to the esoteric sect's tradition, those in the Buddhist order do not interfere in secular affairs. The Lord of the Charnel Ground is a fossilized guy soaked in Buddhist scriptures. He only thinks about slowly changing the Snowy Region, but he would never overthrow the rule of the chieftain families."

As he spoke, he clenched his fist tightly, his gaze burning.

"And I know that this ancient, rotten system has long been rotten to the core! That's why I established the resistance army, to bring about a complete revolution!"

Hearing this, Zhang Yi pondered for a moment.

Then he slowly asked, "Then why doesn't the Lord of the Charnel Ground kill you or capture you?"

Luozhuo smiled. "Do you really want to know the answer?"

Zhang Yi nodded. "Of course."

Otherwise, why would he go to all the trouble to help the resistance army escape?

"Alright, I'll tell you the answer now."

As he spoke, he reached for the mask on his face and slowly took it off.

When Zhang Yi saw that face, his pupils couldn't help but contract sharply.

Because he saw the face belonging to the Lord of the Charnel Ground of Sangha Monastery.

"You are..."

Zhang Yi abruptly stood up, instinctively adopting a defensive posture.

"Don't be nervous. I'm not him. I'm his younger brother."

Luozhuo said calmly.

"We are twins. He's the older brother, I'm the younger brother."

Zhang Yi snapped out of his shock and took a deep breath.

"So that's it, that's it! No wonder you also possess such incredible talent, able to become an Epsilon-level superhuman. No wonder he let you go again and again. So that's how it is."

Luozhuo sighed softly, his gaze looking into the distance as if piercing through time and space.

"The year we turned eight, he was taken away by the monks of Sangha Monastery. I never saw him again after that."

"Because after becoming the Lord of the Charnel Ground, he was no longer the son of an ordinary believer, but the Lord of the Charnel Ground, revered by tens of thousands."

Only then did Zhang Yi sit back down, facing that face that had made him so curious.

"Regardless, you are blood brothers. Is it really that hard to sit down and talk?"

"Impossible."

Luozhuo shook his head.

"I told you, he's an idealist soaked in scriptures. He has hardly ever stepped out of Sangha Monastery. Even with his immense power, he has never witnessed the suffering of the world."

"Sangha Monastery and the chieftains have covered his eyes and plugged his ears, making everything he sees an illusion."

"So, my dear older brother believed their lies and became my greatest enemy in liberating the Southwest Region!"

Author's Note