Chapter 4: Spiritual Pollution

Spiritual Pollution

Li Shao lowered his head, his gaze blankly fixed on the fluffy golden hair top of "Bai Yu".

How fresh, a handsome guide, alone, appearing in the notorious dark street, even personally came to the dark forest.

Any word here, if you dare to pull it out, is enough to make the Military Department and White Tower tremble with fear.

You should know, when a guide goes out, at least two sentinels must accompany them.

Except for high-ranking guides, the strength of high-ranking guides is not inferior to that of sentinels, and is even more terrifying.

Unfortunately, high-ranking guides are harder to cultivate than sentinels.

Li Shao recalled the information he had received not long ago: the frontline war had failed, three S-rank guides had all died, the Fifth Legion's legion commander had died, the Third Legion's casualty rate exceeded half, yet they had blocked the advance of the SS-rank and the alien species "Mie".

The good news is that the Third Legion's legion commander broke through to SS-rank, becoming one of only three SS-rank sentinels.

In the battle loss report, part of the sentinels did not die on the battlefield but instead mutated into alien species, turning their blades against guides and sentinels.

Former comrades, today's enemies, mortal foes.

He clenched his fingers, skillfully suppressing the fire burning in his heart.

Sentinels are spearheads, half charging at the enemy, half at themselves; this is destiny.

His scarlet pupils flickered; the fragile, soft body in his palm, handing over a "guide" to the Military Department, he would not only receive rich rewards, but the Military Department also had the authority to question the White Tower's dereliction of duty.

Perhaps by obtaining more benefits for the sentinels, their loss rate might not need to be so high.

This is a veritable gold mine; it must be carefully guarded.

The golden-red furry tail of the great lion spirit beast coiled around the guide's ankle in loops.

Softly crying "ah ah" toward the guide, seemingly trying to get her attention; Li Shao's eyes flickered—even when the spirit beast was small in its former state, its cry had never been so "soft and tender", like a cub's.

Li Shao felt that he might be suffering from worsening spiritual pollution, and his spirit beast was beginning to mutate.

Fu Guang felt that in the blink of an eye, she was seized from behind by a sentinel, her pretty face stiffening slightly.

She hadn't been treated like this in a long time, which made her involuntarily recall the time when she first entered the sect.

Coercion, verbal abuse, insult.

Weakness and pity are sins.

Her blue eyes sank, covered with a layer of dark light, like the sea surface before an approaching storm.

The sentinel's powered armor exoskeleton pressed on her arm, cold and heavy.

The armor on her cheek emitted a mechanical chill; she could smell the bloodlust and killing intent contained within it.

Her muscles trembled uncontrollably; facing a strong enemy, her body involuntarily shuddered, her spirit a mix of familiar and unfamiliar excitement.

She hadn't encountered a strong opponent in a long time, because no one had ever shown aggression before her.

Gripping the weapon in her palm, the speed of the egg spinning in her mental vision quickened.

Her other hand reached up to his shoulder, touching the man's hand covering the exoskeleton armor, feeling sharp and cold.

Her hand trembled, her eyes glowing with an odd light in a place Li Shao couldn't see.

"Be careful, don't get cut." The clear voice of the man named Li Shao sounded beside her ear.

Li Shao lowered his gaze; his hand, adorned with white silk threads, was delicate and fair, showing no calluses at all—clearly the hand of one who lives in comfort, needing no labor.

Her pink fingertips rested on the mechanical-feeling war weapon, evoking a heart‑pounding beauty, like a fragile life begging the god of death's scythe not to fall.

The man's breath brushed the strands of hair falling by her ear; Fu Guang, unaccustomed, tilted her head slightly.

Also pulled from the brink of a berserk state.

Fu Guang knew this state; it had saved her from water and fire countless times—a condition where, faced with extreme danger, it would drag the other down into hell together.

She took two deep breaths, suppressing the restless instinct, and tentatively withdrew from his embrace.

Li Shao's long eyelashes twitched once, but he did not stop her intention.

The cloth at his shoulder was damp from Li Shao's right‑shoulder bloodstain; the air was filled with fresh blood‑smell and a strong metallic rust odor.

Fu Guang furrowed her brows and stepped two steps away from Li Shao; although she was a pharmacist, she utterly despised the smell of blood.

Blood brings only death.

She kept a look of disdain, secretly glancing at the sentinel whose attitude had changed for no reason.

Just a moment ago, a slight carelessness would have meant her life was no longer in her own hands.

Her eyes flickered—could it be that her answer was problematic, or had he already laid a trap within the question?

Fu Guang's vision suddenly jolted twice; the backlash of her mental power was unpleasant, as if her brain held a compass that swayed with her movements.

Li Shao stood in place, coldly observing, not reaching out to the guide who looked unwell.

However, the fire in his hand never ceased, dealing with the many alien beasts that reeked of blood and emerged from deep in the forest.

The alien beasts drooled over the fresh flesh, hiding in the forest; pairs of blood‑thirsty eyes lit up in the woods, they darted about quickly, charging at the two people they had surrounded in the center.

Li Shao easily blocked the alien beast; when he noticed the girl occasionally spacing out, his hand involuntarily sped up.

The ironclad discipline of protecting guides was etched into every corner of his genes.

Realizing what he was doing, Li Shao paused his motion.

At that very moment, an alien beast about three meters long broke through Li Shao's just‑established defense and lunged straight to the girl's side.

Like a rabbit‑shaped alien beast, its sharp teeth still had strands of meat, and its foul odor blew toward Fu Guang.

It leapt high, its eyes glowing with blood‑thirsty ferocity, lunging at the weak, defenseless girl who looked easy to bully.

Fu Guang heard the wind‑like sound of an attack, her eyes sharpening instantly; she instinctively bent down, drew a dagger from her waist interlayer, and slashed horizontally.

The dagger met some resistance as it cut through flesh and tissue, then slid smoothly onward after a brief moment.

Splatter—hot blood poured over her head, drenching her entirely. Bright red blood flowed down her silver‑white mask to the ground, bending grass as tall as her calf and soaking the thick undergrowth.

A few strands of fresh blood slid down her pure white, slender neck; Li Shao's eyeballs followed the moving drop, which gradually vanished beneath her collar.

His Adam's apple rolled, then he looked again at the silver‑white mask; a faint curiosity rose—what kind of face would hold sapphire‑like eyes?

A large gash tore open the strange beast's neck; the surrounding flesh and skin were scorched by the intense flames, the smell of burnt hair filling the air. Its eyeball, the size of a fist, stared fixedly at Fu Guang without twitching. It twitched, kicking its legs, but after just a few breaths it lay still.

Fu Guang casually wiped the blood from her eyes, gripped the slippery dagger, stepped forward and dealt a few more blows, and blood gushed from its body.

No blood stained the dagger; after being doused, it grew even sharper, the blade cold to the touch.

Fu Guang took the opportunity to retreat a few steps, putting more distance between herself and the stunned Li Shao; the fire-type spiritual power emanating from the scorching hot dagger in her hand faded as well, and she placed the dagger horizontally before her.

Killing her while saving her?

What kind of brain circuits do Sentinels have?

Fu Guang spat out the blood in her mouth, yet she noticed a wisp of spiritual power appearing in the otherwise empty mental landscape.

The tall man standing upright stared blankly at her; suddenly, with a thud, he collapsed straight to the ground, the grass heavy, and a loud sound rang out.

Fortunately, the surrounding strange beasts had all been slaughtered cleanly, so no new visitors would arrive for a short time.

But Fu Guang did not step forward; the lion let out two weak howls, gazing at her with reluctance before fading away.

Watching the fire lion dissipate, Fu Guang then walked toward the fallen Sentinel.