Chapter 60: Furious

Furious

The icy, glinting sword blade reflected the same sharp, pale gold eyes as Xiguang stepped forward with her sword.

The blade met the incoming vines, emitting a clear "clang."

On the other side, Zhonghe's silhouette also appeared out of thin air as Xiguang's mirror image, blocking the vines lunging at him.

Is it a copy?

Fu Guang refastened her tactical mirror, her eyes fixed on every move of the sixth‑seat Sentinel.

Zhonghe's figure flickered; the "Xiguang" replicated behind him swung his sword in succession, deflecting the vines, and his moves matched Xiguang's own exactly.

If it were merely an instant replication, it would only use the single move Xiguang had just made, yet it continued to evolve?

Abilities truly know no bounds.

To continue evolving is already a form of temporal prediction; theoretically, temporal abilities are mostly unsolvable.

Zhonghe's danger level rose several notches in Fu Guang's mind—a high‑rank Sentinel who can predict your next move, yet he is only seated sixth.

Fu Guang turned to Qingfeng, the fifth‑seat Guide, wondering what strength he possessed.

Only to see sound waves ripple, forming vivid azure little birds with long blue tail feathers, flying around the Sentinel.

They would occasionally chirp "tweet" in unison, at which moment Xiguang's and Zhonghe's actions would mysteriously sync, their fighting style growing ever more violent.

Recalling the few times she had seen Qingfeng, the man's mental suggestion was almost divine; presumably he was lowering the Sentinels' pain to the minimum, letting them fight without fear of injury.

The Bloodthirsty Vine was attacked from inside and out, fending off the Sentinels' assaults while also dealing with the little blue flowers heading toward its core.

It grew ever more violent, blood‑colored fluid surging from its core onto its branches; the exposed red vines became brighter, and a red mist seeped from its body.

As the area bounded by the barrier filled, Fu Guang's tactical mirror on her face seemed to melt, red dots flashing nonstop on her screen.

In a moment, the screen was full of red dots, obscuring the view ahead.

She had to remove the tactical mirror again.

"What's wrong?" Fu Guang asked Qingfeng, who gripped his jade flute tightly, eyes tense, as if facing a great foe.

"Violent." Qingfeng said.

Fu Guang recalled in her mind the knowledge about species‑violence.

Violence is an ability possessed only by A‑rank or higher species, more like a mutual‑destruction technique.

The weakness of this technique is that it requires the source to flow through the whole body, needs a long charge‑up, and the solution is simple: just break the charge‑up.

Yet the Bloodthirsty Vine's violence is rare in the stars, for a single drop of blood can keep it alive; there's no need to expend the source—if beaten, it turns into a seed and hides underground.

Even drifting in space, if humans find it, what does it matter? Human lifespans of birth‑to‑death cannot compare to the near‑immortality of the Bloodthirsty Vine.

One day it will see the light again; as long as the source does not perish, a single drop of blood can repeat its former glory.

That is why everyone present wonders why the Bloodthirsty Vine suddenly turned violent.

The huge azure bird in the clouds flapped its wings, weaving through the layers, while the Sentinels' bodies ignited with source power.

Zhonghe turned and moved to an open space; a plant extremely similar to the Bloodthirsty Vine appeared amid the continual spatial fluctuations, blood and sweat mixing on his face and dripping from his chin.

Copying an S‑rank Bloodthirsty Vine is a huge challenge for him; his mental power pours out continuously, causing great damage to his mental landscape.

Yet it is still not enough.

As he stands now, he simply cannot replicate the strength of the Bloodthirsty Vine, let alone the violent Bloodthirsty Vine.

Could it be that this planet is destined for destruction? This star system is the Federation's core; the front lines are stalemated—if the core falls, internal and external troubles will doom humanity to lose to the alien species?

Xiguang unfolded her six wings, glanced back at the Guide, her gold eyes flickering slightly.

According to the Federation White Tower Statutes, guarding Sentinels must unconditionally place the Guide's safety first.

As a guarding Sentinel, he must protect the Guide's life.

But once the Bloodthirsty Vine erupts, no one survives.

His speed among S‑rank is not slow; sending the Guide out of the star system and then returning to the battlefield would also fulfill the promise.

Still, whether toward the Guide or the Sentinel, he would be despised; to the Guide he is an irresponsible guarding Sentinel, to the Sentinel a warrior who flees the battlefield.

So worldly affairs cannot have both—is this the taste?

He longed to fly to Fu Guang's side, hoping to send the Guide away before the violence broke out.

In a short moment, everyone thought a thousand thoughts.

Fu Guang did not know what several people were thinking; an S‑rank Bloodthirsty Vine alone could destroy a planet, and in its violent state it could more easily annihilate the star system.

It cannot be allowed to continue like this—Fu Guang quickly thought of a solution.

"Stop!" she shouted sternly, her mental power surging like a tide toward the Bloodthirsty Vine.

The girl's voice was not loud; even before she spoke, her mental power had already spread extremely fast to the Bloodthirsty Vine.

At the instant her words fell, the red mist halted.

Little Blue received the "Mother" message, instinctively obeyed the command, and simultaneously, the source at the core of the Bloodthirsty Vine where Little Blue resided suddenly suppressed the Vine's source.

"Stop!" Little Blue Flower also said to the Bloodthirsty Vine.

The Bloodthirsty Vine's vines brandished wildly, but it did not want to die; the situation had not yet reached the point of no return.

It watched Little Blue Flower withdraw to the place they had originally agreed upon, far from the two cores.

It felt the blond girl was its true enemy—her! Her!

Fu Guang felt a thick, viscous, malicious gaze enveloping her from all directions, that gaze hideously carrying the intent to devour her flesh and drink her blood.

Qingfeng's mental power noticed Fu Guang's anomaly; he raised his hand and cast a green cover, enveloping Fu Guang within.

The line of sight was blocked outside, but Fu Guang instantly felt drowsy, her upper and lower eyelids unwilling to close, yawning nonstop.

Soft green shoots sprouted from the ground, just her height, buoyant enough for her to lean against as a makeshift bed.

The scent of grass swirled at her nose, mixed with the tea fragrance Qingfeng often drank.

The clear calls of the azure birds twined around her ears, like a lullaby echoing in her mental landscape.

Exhausted, she forced her eyes open with willpower; the red mist grew a little thinner.

She probably couldn't go berserk.

Her head lifted uncontrollably, then drooped, nodding nonstop.

Wanting to sleep, yet danger not yet escaped, the consciousness of being unable to sleep kept colliding in her mind.

She kept yawning, a watery feeling gradually filled her eye sockets, flowing down from the corners of her eyes.

A blue bird somewhat larger than her landed before her, its beautiful wings appearing in her hazy vision.

The blue wings rose, higher than her head, gently pushing her into the soft down, then closed again.

Fu Guang's vision went dark, she leaned back on the comfortable, soft down with a faint tea scent, and involuntarily closed her eyes.