Chapter 141: The Brand Manifests, The Rot Shepherd's Scheme

The cold, murky river water wrapped around their bodies, the biting chill steadily stealing away their body heat. Xiang Lingna and Wrench were curled up in a narrow underwater rock crevice, only their mouths and noses barely exposed above the surface, every breath carrying the heavy scent of rust and humus. In the darkness, there was only each other's frantic heartbeat and suppressed panting.

The sounds of slaughter on the bank, the hounds' roars, and the furious shrieks of the Rot Shepherds came through like a thick layer of frosted glass, muffled and distant, yet every time they rang out, the two hearts in the crevice clenched tight. Xiang Lingna clutched the jade fragment at her chest tightly; the emerald glow looked abnormally faint in the dark underwater, barely illuminating her face full of worry and tears. She pricked up her ears, straining to sort out the movements on the bank, praying that Lei En could work a miracle again like last time and shake off the pursuit.

Time dragged on slowly through the icy torment. The sounds on the bank gradually died down. Had Lei En managed to break free? Or… Xiang Lingna dared not think further.

"Girl… your hand…" Wrench's voice rose in the darkness, laced with worry. By the fragment's faint glow, he saw Xiang Lingna's right arm—from the back of her hand to her shoulder—covered in ferocious, dark-purple root-like patterns beneath the skin, the entire arm taking on an ominous, withered grey hue, like a dying branch. The numbness seemed to have already spread to her shoulder and neck; Xiang Lingna found it somewhat difficult to turn her neck.

Xiang Lingna bit her lower lip and pressed the jade fragment against the corroded area of her right arm once more. The emerald glow flared, struggling against that stubborn purple light. But this time, the effect seemed even worse. Within that purple light there seemed to be an added wisp of extremely cold, extremely stubborn will, clinging like a maggot to the bone, firmly entrenched, putting up fierce resistance against the light of life. The fragment's glow could only barely suppress the numbness below the shoulder and neck, unable to drive it back a single inch further.

"The Doctor's… mark…" Xiang Lingna recalled the brand the Doctor had planted inside Brother Lin Mo. The corrosion on her arm had clearly also been influenced by that brand's power, becoming even harder to dispel.

Just then—

Splash! Splash!

A series of wading sounds drew from far to near, exceptionally clear in the silent riverbank! Not the swift running of hounds, but heavy, slow footsteps!

Xiang Lingna and Wrench instantly held their breath, their bodies going rigid! The Rot Shepherds?! Had they found them?

The two pressed their bodies tightly against the cold rock wall, even their heartbeats seeming to stop. Xiang Lingna smothered the jade fragment's glow with her body, leaving only an extremely thin slit to observe outside.

Through the murky river water and hanging tree roots, Xiang Lingna saw a tall figure walking slowly along the riverbank. It was Lei En! The elven ranger was soaked through, his leather armor torn to shreds, covered in corrosive burn marks and torn gashes, fresh blood mingling with dark-green viscous fluid seeping out continuously. His face was pale as paper, his silver hair stained with filthy blood and mud, his steps staggering, every step appearing extraordinarily labored. One of his arms hung limp, seemingly Suffered Heavy. But he was alive! And he had successfully shaken off the pursuers!

"Lei En!" Wrench exclaimed joyfully in a low voice, about to crawl out.

"Wait!" Xiang Lingna grabbed him, her gaze still wary. Lei En's condition was too poor, and… there seemed to be no pursuers behind him? Had the Rot Shepherds let him off just like that?

Lei En walked to a spot not far from the crevice, seemingly drained of strength, sliding down slowly against a rock to sit on the ground, gasping for air in great gulps. He tore off a strip of his ragged clothing, struggling to bandage the most severe wound on his body, his movements trembling slightly from pain. The elven race's tenacious vitality manifested stubbornly on his body.

Confirming the surroundings were temporarily safe, Xiang Lingna and Wrench only then carefully crawled out of the crevice and climbed ashore.

"Lei En! Are you alright?" Xiang Lingna rushed to Lei En's side, her voice carrying a sobbing tone and lingering fear.

"Still… not dying…" Lei En gasped for breath, his emerald eyes dimmed from blood loss and exhaustion, but seeing Xiang Lingna and Wrench both still alive, he still revealed a trace of relief. "Those monsters… got led away… shook them off for now…" he briefly explained, his gaze then falling on Xiang Lingna's right arm, his pupils shrinking sharply! "Your hand! The corrosion has worsened!"

Xiang Lingna nodded bitterly, explained the situation of the fragment's temporary suppression, and mentioned the influence of the Doctor's brand.

Lei En's expression grew even more Heavy and Solemn. "The mark of the Hand of Annihilation… just as Ella said, clinging like a maggot to the bone…" he struggled to sit upright, "We must leave this area as soon as possible. The Rot Shepherds won't let this go; they are extremely sensitive to the aura of corruption, especially… the aura on you that carries the essence of 'Annihilation'—to them, it is both deadly poison and an irresistible… 'tonic.'" A flicker of worry crossed his eyes.

"Tonic?" Wrench shivered.

"Mm," Lei En nodded, "I can feel that those Rot Shepherds, their own life forms have already become deeply bound to this corrupted land. They control corrupted beasts, use corrupted energy, but they themselves also seem to be enduring the erosion and pain of corruption. That pure corruption essence on you, originating from the Hand of Annihilation, to them might alleviate the pain, or… provide some possibility of evolution? That's why they will stop at nothing to capture you."

This speculation made Xiang Lingna and Wrench break out in cold chills all over. Not only did they have to evade the corrupted monsters lurking everywhere in the forest, they also had to face a group of intelligent enemies who regarded them as a "great tonic"!

"Th-then where do we go now?" Wrench's face crumpled.

Lei En looked toward the depths of the forest, in the direction where the silver-leafed thicket had been discovered earlier, his gaze sharpening: "We can't follow the river, the target is too obvious. We must go deeper into the forest, seeking possible places of order that haven't been completely corrupted, or… find clues to leave this area. Just now, when I was leading those hounds away, toward the northeast, I seemed to sense an extremely faint… spatial fluctuation? Very unstable, but it might be an opportunity."

Spatial fluctuation? Xiang Lingna's heart stirred, recalling the Thorn Gate. Could there be unstable spatial nodes?

Just then, Lei En's ears suddenly twitched, his face changing drastically: "Not good! Something is approaching fast! A lot of them! It's… a swarm of corrupted flying insects! Quick! Take cover!" He struggled to stand.

Xiang Lingna and Wrench also heard that scalp-tingling, dense buzzing sound rapidly drawing from far to near!

The three fumbled in panic to find cover. However, at this critical moment—

The corrosion patterns of the Rot Claw on Xiang Lingna's right arm, which had been dormant for a moment, erupted again without warning! This time, it was no longer purple light, but a brand-new mark emerged—extremely fine yet incomparably clear, composed of pure dark-purple Annihilation energy—a distorted claw-mark brand! The brand emanated a cold, deathly still, lofty, terrifying aura, as if crossing planes to declare ownership!

The instant this brand appeared—

Deep in the forest, several kilometers from them, at the center of a camp constructed of giant rotting mushrooms. The Rot Shepherd leader from before stood before a crude altar piled from white bones and moss. Suspended above the altar was a massive, eye-shaped crystal, with dark-green liquid flowing within it. Within the crystal, the panicked figures of Xiang Lingna's trio were faintly reflected!

The instant the dark-purple claw-mark brand on Xiang Lingna's arm emerged!

The eye-crystal on the altar violently trembled! The dark-green liquid churned like boiling water! Countless fine cracks instantly appeared on the crystal's surface!

"Ah—!" The leading Rot Shepherd let out a shriek of agony and ecstasy! His murky, grey-white eyes stared fixedly at the fleeting dark-purple claw-mark brand in the crystal, his body trembling violently from excitement!

"It… it is His mark! A pure… Annihilation essence brand!"

"Find her! Seize her! At any cost!"

"She… is the key… to eternal release…!"

The Rot Shepherd leader's hoarse voice twisted with ecstasy, echoing through the rotting mushroom camp. The surrounding Rot Shepherds prostrated themselves on the ground one after another, emitting unintelligible, yearning shrieks. An unprecedented-scale hunt targeting Xiang Lingna, with the emergence of the Annihilation brand, officially kicked off! And Xiang Lingna's trio, still completely unaware, were frantically evading the rapidly approaching buzz of the corrupted flying insect swarm.