Chapter 62: Shadows of Annihilation, the Whisper of Foulclaw, and the Rift of Thorns

The heavy alloy door closed slowly behind him, sealing off the cold, azure glow of the Sanctum’s core. Reascending the spiraling passage, the atmosphere felt heavier than before. The “Earthvein Arbiter” in his hand transmitted a complex sensation—the four-colored thorn emblem on the hilt rotated steadily, wrapped in azure Order energy, suppressing the lurking violet deep within the core—but Lin Mo could clearly sense that the ring of blue aura at the emblem’s edge was an invisible chain, its other end deeply anchored in the sealed depths of the Sanctum.

“Permanent link… real-time monitoring…” Copperbeard’s mechanical prosthetic hand impatiently tapped the cold alloy wall, producing a dull echo, “It’s like an anvil hanging over my head! Can that iron coffin (Sanctum core) be trusted?”

“At least it’s suppressing that damn thing right now,” Aly’s voice remained cold, but her face was pale; the silver scar on her chest had drained heavily under the Sanctum’s energy field, the lingering violet aura seemingly scattered by the Order Anchor’s light—but the Moonlight power also appeared dimmed. She glanced at Lin Mo’s gripping warblade: “The cost is you’ve become its battery and alarm.”

Wrench clutched a dusty metal box he’d pulled from an emergency storage compartment beside the console, his beady eyes gleaming: “Who cares! Look what Wrench the Great found! Good stuff from the Old World!” He pried open the box eagerly—inside, neatly stacked were several palm-sized, paper-thin deep-blue crystal plates. “Energy storage? Or data core?”

Lingna stayed close beside Lin Mo, her small hand unconsciously gripping his sleeve; the emerald glow from the Heart Fragment seemed to resonate slightly with the azure Order energy, offering her a sliver of comfort.

Back on the surface, the roar of the furnace and the weight of the steel bastion surged over them, bringing a hard-won sense of survival. The main structure of Stone Bastion was complete; the dark red firesteel glinted coldly under the setting sun. The pre-installed gun emplacements and battlements waited for future weapons.

Yet Lin Mo’s inner gloom had not lifted. The truth revealed by the Sanctum—the “Eclipse Tide”—pressed upon his heart like a boulder. The Foulclaw was none other than the twisted avatar of the “Source Matrix” that had devoured the Old World! And the Earthvein, the Seed of Life, the Emerald fragments held by the Thornheart… these highly ordered energies were, in Foulclaw’s eyes, the brightest beacons in the darkness!

He walked to the Earthvein fissure, gazing down at the slow pulsing orange core and the radiant emerald shard beside it, sinking his intent into the [Seed of Life]. Beneath the azure halo of the Order Anchor, the dark purple veins within the orange core resembled frozen venomous snakes, coiled and dormant—but Lin Mo felt they were not asleep, but coldly writhing, seeking gaps in the Order Anchor.

“Order… shackles… ridiculous…”

“Annihilation… is the end… consumption… is evolution…”

“Earthvein… life… will ultimately… return to me…”

Cold, slimy whispers rose again in the depths of his mind—this time, tinged with a hint of suppressed… mockery? As if mocking the futility of the Order Anchor.

“Get out!” Lin Mo roared inwardly; the Thornguard’s will and the Order Anchor’s blue light flared together, slamming into the whispers!

BOOM!

A silent collision echoed in his consciousness! The Foulclaw’s whispers were momentarily repelled, but Lin Mo was struck by intense dizziness. The four-colored thorn emblem on the hilt flickered violently; the blue aura at its edge trembled noticeably.

“Lin Mo!” Aly instantly noticed his disrupted aura and stepped closer, her fingertips swirling with Moonlight, her cool energy attempting to dispel the icy corruption in his mind.

“It’s… striking the Order Anchor…” Lin Mo gasped, his face grim. Foulclaw’s power was far more terrifying than he’d imagined—still able to transmit such clear spiritual corruption across dimensions and through Order suppression!

At that moment, an anomaly erupted!

WHIRRR—

The entire Thornheart territory shuddered violently—not from below, but from… the sky!

Above the ashen wasteland, a black fissure split open without warning! Within it, no stars—only endless, churning, suffocating withered mist! A colossal, terrifying eye, covered in rotting bark and sharp crystal clusters, dripping purple slime, burst forth like a gaze from the abyss—its cloudy yellow vertical pupil fixed with insatiable greed and rage upon the depression encircled by the steel bastion! More precisely—it fixed upon Lin Mo!

Foulclaw! It had forcibly torn open the dimensional barrier and projected a tangible form!

Terrorizing pressure crashed down like a physical tsunami! The newly built Stone Bastion groaned under strain, its orange energy shield flickering wildly! The Starlight Moss cultivated by Lingna withered instantly into black ash! Wrench nearly dropped the blue crystal plates in his hands! Copperbeard and Aly braced themselves, their power surging to maximum!

“Vermin… stealing… Order power…”

“Surrender… the core… to decay…”

A vast, chaotic, decaying mental roar exploded directly into everyone’s minds—not language, but pure psychic assault!

“Dream on!” Lin Mo’s eyes bulged with rage; braving the crushing pressure, he drove the “Earthvein Arbiter” deep into the earth. “Thornheart—Domain Barrier!”

BOOM!

Countless dark-gold thorn roots, veined with emerald, erupted from the ground, intertwining and coiling to instantly form a massive emerald thorn barrier, engulfing the entire depression’s core! Across its surface, the four-colored thorn emblem blazed brightly, azure Order energy flowing over it!

But this time, Foulclaw’s projection was vastly stronger than previous psychic assaults! Within the colossal rotting eye, purple-black withered energy surged violently, coalescing into a beam of pure decay—so refined it seemed capable of piercing spacetime—and slammed into the emerald barrier!

SSSTT—!!!

Like a red-hot poker thrust into ice! Where the beam struck, the emerald life energy and dark-gold thorn roots dissolved and shattered rapidly under the terrifying decay force! The four-colored emblem flickered wildly; the azure Order light surged desperately to repair—but repair lagged far behind destruction! A horrifying, massive crack, its edges dripping purple slime, spread rapidly across the barrier!

“Hold it!” Copperbeard roared, maxing out his mechanical prosthetic’s output, firing a searing energy beam at the sky-eye—only for it to be effortlessly devoured by the churning withered mist.

Aly gathered all her Moonlight, launching a silver purification column toward the giant eye—also swallowed without trace!

“Energy output overload! Barrier structure damaged 13%… 19%…” Wrench stared at his frantic, crude detector, his voice cracking.

Lin Mo bore the greatest pressure. He felt his soul crushed on a decaying mill! Deep within the [Seed of Life], the dark purple veins, previously suppressed by the Order Anchor, surged violently under Foulclaw’s direct influence—like an adrenaline shot—straining, swelling, hammering against the blue Order prison! The dark purple portion of the thorn emblem blazed fiercely, even beginning to corrode the emerald life and dark-gold thorns in reverse!

“Brother Lin Mo!” Lingna, watching the rapidly widening crack and Lin Mo’s contorted face, turned pale. The Emerald Heart Fragment on her chest erupted in unprecedented emerald radiance, pure life energy flooding desperately toward the crack—yet her power was but a drop against Foulclaw’s projection.

The crack widened further; withered energy poured through, turning the ground to dust and black ash. Several nearby Stone Roots instantly turned to ash!

“Aghhh—!” Lin Mo screamed in agony, his body trembling violently; the dark purple on the hilt emblem now covered nearly a third of it! The Order Anchor’s blue light was compressed to its limit!

At this critical moment!

A faint, yet crystal-clear thought traveled along the invisible Order link, rising from the Sanctum core deep underground:

【Detecting… Domain Barrier… high-load damage…】

【Detecting… bound carrier… dual overload: mental/energy… intensified corruption backlash…】

【Executing… secondary protocol: energy overload transfer…】

【Warning: Transfer will reduce ‘Ark Core’ (Sanctum) energy reserves to critical level (17.3%), permanently disabling some functions…】

No hesitation!

WHIRRR—!!!

A torrent of azure Order energy, far more vast and concentrated than before, surged like a bursting river of stars through the Order link into the emerald thorn barrier!

The nearly collapsing crack instantly froze! The churning purple slime solidified like ice! The torrent of Order energy, stronger than the toughest alloy, forcibly sealed the fissure and spread wildly along the barrier’s surface, reinforcing it! The entire emerald barrier blazed with unprecedented brilliance—the azure Order light in the four-colored emblem now dominated completely, pushing back the corruption!

The rotting eye in the sky let out a shriek of pain and fury! The decay beam was violently repelled by the surging Order barrier! The withered mist swirling around the eye trembled violently; the massive fissure began destabilizing!

【Energy overload transfer… complete…】

【Ark Core energy reserves: 17.3%… entering hibernation maintenance…】

【Link maintained… basic monitoring…】

The Sanctum core’s presence, clearly weakened, fell silent.

The rotting eye stared fixedly at the radiant, Order-flowing barrier below, its cloudy pupil filled with resentment and malice. The dimensional fissure, battered by Order energy, began slowly closing.

“Return to your decayed abyss!” Lin Mo roared, clinging to his last shred of will, glaring at the sky-eye.

The eye cast one final, venomous, ravenous glance before slowly retreating into the churning withered mist. The black fissure sealed completely.

The emerald barrier’s glow faded slowly, returning to the dormant state of dark-gold thorn roots. But across its surface, a massive, winding scar—permanently solidified by azure Order energy—remained clearly visible, like a wound on the earth. And the edge of the emblem on Lin Mo’s “Earthvein Arbiter,” the blue light of the Order Anchor, had dimmed significantly.

The Sanctum had repelled Foulclaw’s projection at the cost of its own slumber. But all knew this was only the beginning. Foulclaw had locked onto this place—and the bomb hidden within the Thornheart’s guardian was still ticking.

On the main screen of the Doctor’s base, at the instant of the Sanctum core’s energy overload transfer, a massive stream of Order energy piercing the dimensional barrier was captured. A new analysis result popped up:

【High-purity Order energy spectrum captured (Ark Seven Core)!】

【‘Eclipse Seed’ contingency database updated… integrating this spectrum… new protocol generating…】

【New threat assessment: Thornheart (Order anchor point)… priority: maximum.】

The Doctor’s icy fingers flew across the virtual keyboard, pulling up a new weapon interface model—its core energy signature unmistakably identical to the Order energy transmitted by the Sanctum.