Chapter 40: The Swan Song of Two Worlds: The Wang Zuo of Thorns and the Fire of Annihilation

At the bottom of Moon Shadow Lake, the giant fist of the Corrupted Treant King, covered in clusters of purple crystal, smashed down like a meteor! The murky lake water was compressed by the tremendous force, forming a terrifying vacuum band! Sister Ai Li's silver hair whipped wildly in the surging current, the freezing lake water squeezing her body like an iron band, the shadow of death enveloping her in an instant!

No way to dodge!

At this critical moment, a flash of desperate madness crossed Sister Ai Li's eyes! She did not try to evade. Instead, borrowing the force of the water current, her body shot toward the Moonlight Crystal at the bottom of the lake like an arrow leaving the bowstring, even faster! At the same time, the alloy dagger gripped tightly in her right hand glinted coldly as she drove it viciously into the wrist joint of the Treant King's descending fist—the purple crystals covering that spot were relatively thin!

"Puchi!"

The dagger sank deep into the rotting wood and purple fungal threads! A stream of viscous, foul-smelling purple sap gushed out!

"Ao—!" The Treant King let out a pained roar, and the trajectory of its descending fist shifted slightly!

"Boom!!!"

The massive fist grazed Sister Ai Li's body and slammed viciously into the mud at the bottom of the lake! The terrifying shockwave sent Sister Ai Li flying like a fallen leaf! The lake-bottom mud was churned up, plunging the view into total darkness!

The searing pain nearly made Sister Ai Li faint. Several ribs seemed broken, and her mouth and nose were filled with the stench of mud and purple rot. But she gritted her teeth fiercely, and with superhuman will and survival instinct, used the force of the shockwave to lunge forward suddenly!

Her right hand groped frantically through the turbid mud and water!

Her fingertips touched something warm, smooth, hard, and emanating a faint cool aura!

The Moonlight Crystal! She had it!

Wild joy surged in Sister Ai Li's heart! She clenched the crystal tightly in her hand! Pure Moonlight power instantly surged through her palm, dispersing some of the bone-chilling cold and withering erosion, invigorating her spirit!

However, the crisis was not over! The wounded Treant King was utterly enraged! The surrounding Corrupted Treants also closed in, their massive arms churning the lake water and sealing off every retreat! The lake surface above was also completely blocked by the Treant King's enormous body!

Sister Ai Li was trapped at the bottom of the lake! Holding hope in her hand, yet mired in despair!

The Wasteland Depression.

Three thick plasma beams, carrying an aura of annihilation, tore through the sky and thundered down! Their target was the center of the depression!

"Xiang Lingna! Get down!" Lin Mo let out a desperate roar, suddenly tackling Xiang Lingna beside him to the ground, shielding her with his body! Wrench screeched, hugged its head, and shrank into a half-collapsed metal crate!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"

The beams of destruction slammed viciously into the depression! There was no earth-shattering explosion, only silent annihilation! Wherever the beams directly struck—whether scorched earth, shattered cover, or the traps Wrench had carefully laid—was instantly vaporized! Three terrifyingly deep pits with mirror-smooth edges were left behind! The high temperature instantly vitrified the surrounding land!

The shockwave struck Lin Mo's back like an invisible giant hammer! He felt his very insides shift, a sweet taste rose in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood! Xiang Lingna beneath him also let out a pained grunt!

The entire depression trembled violently, as if struck by a god's giant palm! The wooden fence that had just been repaired a little was utterly pulverized! The last remains of the shack were flung away! The potato field was completely leveled! Those precious stalks of 'Starlight Moss' instantly withered and blackened in the high-temperature blast!

Just one volley! A full third of Hope Outpost's core area was completely erased!

On the top platform of the "Scavenger," the Doctor watched the hellish scene below with cold indifference, his gold-rimmed glasses reflecting the light of destruction. He raised his hand, preparing to order a second volley to utterly crush all resistance.

"No—!" Lin Mo looked at the fields turned to scorched earth and the vanished 'Starlight Moss,' and let out a grief-stricken, furious roar! His home destroyed! Hope trampled! Anger erupted in his chest like magma! The 【Seed of Life】, sensing its host's towering fury and will to protect, erupted with unprecedented emerald radiance! This power was no longer gentle, but filled with a violent, destructive aura!

"Doctor! You want energy? I'll give it to you!" Lin Mo, looking like a mad tiger, suddenly leapt up from the ground and sprinted toward the ley line fissure deep in the depression! He frantically channeled the power of the 【Seed of Life】 into the not-yet-fully-cooled embers of earthfire deep within the fissure!

"Hong—!!!"

From deep within the fissure, dark red magma surged forth once more like an enraged dragon! A crimson pillar of light, thicker and more violent than before, mingled with emerald life energy, tore through the earth like a flame of vengeance, and slammed viciously toward the "Scavenger"!

"Force field shield! Maximum power!" The Doctor's face changed slightly as he barked the order!

The pale blue force field shield around the "Scavenger" instantly blazed to its limit!

"Boom—!!!"

The torrent of crimson and emerald energy slammed viciously into the pale blue force field shield! Blinding light devoured everything in an instant! A terrifying energy storm ravaged the sky above the depression! The shield fluctuated violently, groaning under the strain! Web-like cracks spread across its surface!

"Shield overload! Energy core damaged!" A shrill alarm rang out inside the "Scavenger"!

"Second volley! Target the energy source!" A hint of shocked anger crept into the Doctor's voice!

The "Scavenger's" triple-mounted gun turret rotated with difficulty and charged again! A ghostly blue light locked onto Lin Mo, who was channeling the earthfire!

And Lin Mo, after unleashing this strike of destruction, was a spent force. The 【Seed of Life】's light had dimmed to its lowest point, his body swayed on the verge of collapse, and facing the incoming annihilation barrage, there was no way to dodge!

Just then!

"Weng—!!!"

In the center of the depression, space warped violently! A portal woven of thorns burning with emerald flame instantly took shape! The scene within the portal was precisely the murky lake water and enraged Corrupted Treants of Moon Shadow Lake!

A figure shot out from the portal like a cannonball, crashing heavily onto the scorched ground! It was Sister Ai Li! She was drenched, covered in purple mud, a broken half of a Corrupted wooden spike lodged in her chest, fresh blood staining her tattered priestess robe. But in her hand, she tightly clutched a crystal radiating a soft, pure moonlight glow—the Moonlight Crystal!

She had succeeded! But at a terrible cost!

Sister Ai Li struggled to raise her head and saw Lin Mo about to be engulfed by the plasma beams! Saw her home razed to the ground! Saw the Doctor's cold face standing atop the steel fortress!

Icy killing intent and the resolve to protect burned to their utmost in her eyes! Ignoring her grave wounds, she slammed the Moonlight Crystal in her hand viciously against the ground, and with the last of her strength screamed:

"Priestess Liyana! In the name of Moonlight! Wang Zuo of Thorns!"

With her cry and the contact of the Moonlight Crystal, the burning thorn portal erupted with unprecedented radiance! A tremendous force, mingled with Moonlight power, the will of nature, life energy, and the fury of earthfire, crossed planes and descended with a thunderous crash!

Countless massive thorns, burning with emerald flame and entwined with silver moonlight, burst from the earth like mad serpents from the abyss! Centered on Sister Ai Li and Lin Mo, they grew, intertwined, and coiled madly! Forming a colossal, burning thorn fortress like a throne! Firmly shielding the two within!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Three beams of annihilating plasma slammed viciously into the burning Wang Zuo of Thorns!

Emerald flame and silver moonlight intertwined and surged upward! Violent energy collisions tore space apart! The blinding light made heaven and earth lose their color!

The thorns snapped inch by inch in the annihilation beams, turning to ash! But more thorns surged madly from deep within the earth, wave after wave! The Moonlight Crystal in Sister Ai Li's hand trembled violently, its light dimming rapidly!

The Wang Zuo trembled! It crumbled! But it still tenaciously guarded its core!

"No! Impossible!" The Doctor stared at the Wang Zuo of Thorns that struggled yet stood firm within the annihilation beams, and for the first time roared, losing his composure! "What power is that?!"

Within the Wang Zuo of Thorns, Sister Ai Li tightly gripped the dimming Moonlight Crystal, fresh blood continuously welling from the corners of her mouth and the wooden spike in her chest, yet her gaze remained icy and resolute. Lin Mo struggled to crawl to Sister Ai Li's side, channeling the last wisp of the 【Seed of Life】's power into her body, trying to sustain the crumbling protection.

Outside the Wang Zuo was the fire of destruction. Inside the Wang Zuo were two battered guardians, gripping the hope crystal from another world, waging their final resistance. And at the bottom of Moon Shadow Lake, how did the gravely wounded Sister Ai Li escape? Has the threat of the Corrupted Treants been lifted? What price did Priestess Liyana pay? All of this lies hidden behind the burning thorns and the light of annihilation.

Hope, amid the ashes, upon the thorns, in the faint glow of the Moonlight Crystal, sings its final swan song.