Chapter 269: Commander-in-Chief

When Jiang Jiang Qinge's voice rang out, the various clamors before the stone tower abruptly ceased, and many students' faces became extraordinarily vivid.

Doubt, shock, terror.

Many emotions flickered, but the crowd that had originally gathered together scattered a little, and the gazes they cast toward the other teams now carried a hint of wariness.

Although they didn't know whether the great Calamity Jiang Jiang Qinge mentioned was actually true, still... keeping a little caution was ultimately a good thing.

After all, the horrors within the Dark Cavern—they hadn't exactly gone unexperienced.

Anything preposterous was possible.

"Senior Sister Jiang, you're exaggerating the danger!" The silence lasted for a while before Song Song Qiuyu couldn't help but speak up.

Jiang Jiang Qinge paid her no heed. Her gaze swept across the field, and in the next instant, the corners of her lips lifted slightly, an incomparably stunning smile blooming across that breathtakingly beautiful face.

That smile possessed truly devastating power.

A look of awe appeared in many eyes, and then, as if infected from within, they too couldn't help but let a smile surface.

But they quickly caught themselves, hurriedly pressing down the smiles at their lips—after all, it was a bit embarrassing.

However...

Not everyone's lips could be pulled back in.

Within the crowd, there were a very few figures whose smiles at this moment stretched wider and wider, until their muscles finally tore apart, fresh blood streaming down from the corners of their mouths.

The smiles on their faces became utterly grotesque.

Splash splash!

The students around these people immediately noticed. They stared at their grinning companions in terror, and screams erupted from their mouths.

And amid those screams, those students wearing grotesque smiles suddenly erupted with phase force, lunging directly at the students around them and launching attacks with no fear of death.

The entire field instantly descended into chaos.

"Don't panic! Everyone attack together and suppress them!" Li Luo saw what was happening and hurriedly shouted.

It had to be said, the quality of students at the Sacred Sublime Star Academy was quite decent. After a brief moment of panic, many of them came to their senses, hurriedly suppressing the fear in their hearts. In the next instant, numerous phase force attacks erupted, swiftly overwhelming those students with grotesque smiles.

A moment later, these students were beaten into critical injuries, sprawled on the ground unable to move.

Yet even though this disturbance had been quelled, a look of panic still surfaced on everyone's faces—clearly, they had never imagined that some of their companions had already been contaminated.

Li Luo jumped down from the steps and walked over to Song Song Qiuyu.

At this moment, the latter's eyes were also filled with terror. She covered her mouth, not daring to speak.

"Let go of your hand and give me a smile," Li Luo said, pointing at her.

Song Song Qiuyu glared furiously. This bastard actually dared to openly flirt with her.

"If you don't dare to smile, I'll suspect you might have been contaminated too, and then I'll have no choice but to act against you." Li Luo drew the twin blades at his waist, looking eager to try, as if he very much wanted to slash directly at her.

Song Song Qiuyu wanted to cast pleading gazes in all directions for help, but the other students were also watching her warily. At such a critical moment, they didn't think Li Luo was deliberately flirting with anyone.

So she could only release her hand, then force out a strained smile, and gritted her teeth: "Is this good enough?"

"Based on our detection, a smile seems capable of triggering the seeds of malice within the body. You're a fairly large suspect, because you kept questioning us earlier, so I hope you maintain that smile for half a hour," Li Luo warned with a solemn expression.

Song Song Qiuyu's smile froze. Maintain that smile for half a hour?

Her eyes blazed with fury as she stared at Li Luo. She suspected he was deliberately messing with her.

Yet Li Luo paid her no further attention. Instead, his gaze swept over the various teams before the stone tower and said: "Do you believe it now? An ordinary Malice Huan Jing wouldn't cause contamination this deep."

The other teams went pale, and for a moment, panic spread among them.

"Now is not the time for panic. As long as we hold our stronghold and rely on its own defenses, we may very well be able to hold out. If we can buy some time, the Academy will surely find a way to send us support once they receive the news," Tian Tian also shouted at this moment.

Everyone nodded, their expressions easing slightly.

"Sister Jiang, just tell us what to do now—we'll all follow your lead!" a student called out.

"That's right, Sister Jiang, you're the bellwether of our Three Star Hall. According to the Academy's rules, at a critical moment like this, you have the qualification to become the Commander-in-Chief of this stronghold, and everyone will obey your commands."

"..."

More and more voices chimed in agreement. After all, Jiang Jiang Qinge's prestige within the Sacred Sublime Star Academy was extremely high, and now that this situation had arisen, she was the most trustworthy.

Jiang Jiang Qinge herself had little interest in the so-called Commander-in-Chief title, but she understood that, in order to deal with that great Calamity-class Other, she had to consolidate these forces.

So she exchanged a glance with Li Luo, stepped forward, and said: "Place these contaminated students around the stone tower. The purification halo here will help eliminate the contamination within them."

She paused, then said: "Additionally, from now on, set up a mirror at the stronghold's gate. Every student entering the stronghold must maintain a smile in front of that mirror for one minute."

This request made many people unable to resist the urge to laugh, because the moment they imagined a group of people queuing up in front of a mirror waiting to smile, they found it extraordinarily comical and amusing.

But in the end, they didn't laugh out loud, because those classmates nearby with their mouths torn into grotesque smiles sent chills down their spines.

"What Li Luo said earlier wasn't wrong. A smile can become a trigger, causing the seeds of malice hidden within the body to erupt. However, based on my speculation, this should only apply to those whose contamination isn't too deep. But regardless, finding even a few is better than nothing," Jiang Jiang Qinge said.

Everyone nodded. These people who had been implanted with seeds of malice would indeed be a hidden danger. No one wanted to have to constantly guard against the companions beside them while going all-out against that great Calamity-class Other.

Although smiling at a mirror couldn't possibly find every contaminated person, finding one meant one less hidden danger.

Jiang Jiang Qinge then made a few more arrangements before finally dismissing everyone to begin preparing the various defenses.

Watching the crowd gradually disperse, both Jiang Jiang Qinge and Li Luo breathed a sigh of relief.

They had done everything they could. Now they could only hope that great Calamity-class Other would wander around the outer regions a while longer, which would give them more time to prepare and wait for reinforcements.

Because, given the habits of Others, if it intended to launch an attack on the stronghold, it would surely sweep in many Others along with it, and at that time...

It would truly be a siege of ten thousand demons.

With Jiang Jiang Qinge becoming the Commander-in-Chief of the stronghold, the atmosphere within the stronghold also changed. Gone was the earlier ease; instead, it became as if war were about to descend.

At the stronghold's gate, returning teams kept arriving, and naturally some conflicts broke out along the way. However, once a student actually smiled in front of the mirror and triggered the seeds of malice within them, no one questioned this rule ever again.

Time gradually passed, and more and more teams returned to the stronghold.

Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge stood atop a tall tower, their gazes gazing toward the distant horizon. Originally, with the purification over the past half month or so, the black mist between heaven and earth had dispersed considerably.

Yet now, as they gazed into the distance, they sensed an unsettling aura seemingly drawing closer.

"Sister Jiang Qinge..."

Li Luo suddenly asked, "Why is it that this time, suddenly a Great Calamity-class Other suddenly passed through layer upon layer of defenses to reach us?"

Jiang Jiang Qinge's expression shifted: "What do you suspect?"

Li Luo was dumbfounded, then laughed: "Just a simple feeling..."

His gaze looked toward the distance as he said, "A Great Calamity-class is equivalent to the strongest Celestial General rank, right? Even a Seven Star Pillar might not be able to stop it."

"Scared?" Jiang Jiang Qinge gathered up the black hair lifted by the wind, tilted her head, winked at him, then extended her slender little hand and patted Li Luo's head.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Li Luo sighed: "When will I ever be able to pat your head and say something like that."

A trace of a smile surfaced in Jiang Jiang Qinge's eyes.

"Keep at it, I'll be waiting."

After saying that, she took out a map from her embrace and examined it carefully, but not long after, Li Luo suddenly noticed a change in her expression.

"What's wrong?" he asked, focusing his attention.

Jiang Jiang Qinge sighed softly, handed the map over, and her slender jade finger pointed to a place on the outer perimeter.

"This second-level Purification Tower that was previously activated..."

"Has been polluted again."

Li Luo silently stared at the small tower marker that in his memory had still been in a bright state; now that spot had once again become dim.