Chapter 66: Polluted Information, Torn Trust, and the Su Xing of Thorns

Cold, chaotic data torrents, like poisoned spikes, stabbed violently into the depths of Lin Mo's consciousness without warning! This impact was not the whisper of Rot Claw filled with decaying will, but rather more ferocious, more disordered, and filled with malicious information fragments!

【Barrier Weaknesses... Coordinates...】

【Energy Nodes... Distribution...】

【Lord Core... Fluctuations...】

【Thorn Steel... Conduction... Spectrum...】

【Sister Ai Li... Purification Power... Frequency...】

【Xiang Lingna... Emerald Affinity... Loopholes...】

Countless core data fragments regarding the Thorn Heart's defense system, spectra regarding the fluctuations of Lin Mo's own power, and even fragmented information about the ability characteristics of Sister Ai Li and Xiang Lingna, mixed with sharp electronic noise and distorted images, rushed madly through his nerves like a breached flood! This information was forcibly poured in, brutally branded into his perception!

More deadly was that this torrent of information had been carefully disguised! Its energy characteristics and transmission methods were infinitely close to the nauseating spiritual pollution of Rot Claw! Among the information fragments were also some deliberately forged "prophecies" about Rot Claw's impending attack and malicious mockery!

"Ugh—!"

Lin Mo let out an uncontrollable cry of pain, his body shaking violently as his hands clutched his head tightly! At the core of the 【Seed of Life】, the blue light of the Anchor of Order flashed madly, trying to suppress this sudden information storm, but the energy carried within the storm, disguised with Rot Claw's characteristics, caused the suppressed Dark Purple Mark to resonate and stir violently! Under the attack from both inside and outside, the suppression of the Anchor of Order instantly developed a gap!

Buzz—!

The thorn emblem on the "Earth Vein Arbiter" sword guard, the dark purple part, suddenly lit up! A cold, violent, and decayed aura filled with a desire to devour erupted uncontrollably from Lin Mo! Although it was forcibly suppressed by the order blue light in an instant, that aura was so clear, so evil!

"Lin Mo!"

"Boss!"

Sister Ai Li, Bronzebeard, Wrench, and Xiang Lingna were instantly awakened and rushed to his side. Moonlight flowed from Sister Ai Li's fingertips, her cold aura attempting to dispel the chill on Lin Mo. Xiang Lingna's emerald green also enveloped him.

But the next second, Sister Ai Li's movement froze. She was closest and clearly captured the nauseating, decayed aura emanating from Lin Mo, which shared the same origin as Rot Claw! Her pupils suddenly contracted, and the moonlight at her fingertips instinctively carried a hint of alertness and coldness! Although that aura flashed and vanished, the impression was too deep in the hearts of everyone who had just experienced the battle against Rot Claw's projection!

"Just now... what was that aura?" Bronzebeard frowned deeply, his forging hammer already in hand, his mechanical eye scanning the surroundings alertly, "Did something sneak in?"

Wrench hid behind Bronzebeard in fright, and Xiang Lingna's small face instantly turned deathly pale.

Lin Mo, enduring the excruciating pain and chaos of the information forcibly stuffed into his mind, raised his head. His face was as pale as a ghost, yet his eyes were terrifyingly sharp. He saw the fleeting surprise and wariness in Sister Ai Li's eyes, the Heavy and Solemn look on Bronzebeard, and the fear on Wrench and Xiang Lingna.

"It wasn't me..." His voice was hoarse as he tried to explain, "Something... is attacking me... It's information... disguised as Rot Claw..."

However, the core data fragments forcibly poured into his mind—barrier weaknesses, energy nodes, and even the loopholes in Sister Ai Li's and Xiang Lingna's abilities—were now gnawing at his reason like venomous snakes. Who? Who could master such information so precisely? Was it a traitor? Or... did Rot Claw truly possess some incomprehensible infiltration ability?

The forged prophecy fragments within the information torrent, regarding Rot Claw's impending attack, also unsettled his mind.

"Attack? Where?" Sister Ai Li's voice was cold, her moonlight not withdrawn, her gaze sharply scanning the dim depression. The trace of corrupted aura that had just erupted from Lin Mo made her unable to fully relax. Trust, under Rot Claw's all-out spiritual pollution, had developed its first crack.

"I don't know..." Lin Mo painfully pressed his temples, the chaotic information making it difficult for him to think clearly, "The information... is fake... but its goal... is to split us..."

"Split?" Bronzebeard snorted, "I think that ghost claw is playing tricks again! Everyone hold your positions! Sister Ai Li, keep an eye on the Lord!" The dwarf was more willing to believe it was Rot Claw's trick, but the aura Lin Mo had just emitted also planted a seed of doubt in his heart.

The atmosphere instantly dropped to freezing point. The companions who had just been united were now filled with silent suspicion and tension. Sister Ai Li did not withdraw her moonlight power; she merely stepped back slightly, her gaze shifting complexly between Lin Mo and the dark wasteland. Xiang Lingna tightly clutched Sister Ai Li's hem, looking fearfully at the pained Lin Mo.

Just in this oppressive moment of torn trust, another change occurred!

Buzz—!

The entire Thorn Heart territory shook violently without warning! The source of the tremor was not from the Earth Vein Heart deep underground, but from... the outer Ring of Stone Barrier!

It was seen that the Thorn Steel armor plates covering the outer layer of the barrier were now emitting a low hum! The fine blue-green energy veins inside the plates, like lit fuses, all lit up! The light was not stable, but flickered and clashed violently! Especially in the core area previously torn by Rot Claw's projection and later repaired with Thorn Steel, the light flickered most ferociously!

"What's going on?!" Bronzebeard was shocked, "Armor plate energy overload? I didn't activate the shield!"

Lin Mo also raised his head sharply, temporarily suppressing the chaos in his mind. He clearly felt that the Thorn Steel armor on the barrier was now resonating strongly and chaotically with the energy of the Earth Vein Heart, the life aura emitted by the Emerald Heart fragments, and even the 【Seed of Life】 guarded by the Anchor of Order within his body!

"It's... the order energy and life energy within the Thorn Steel... disturbed by the information impact just now!" Lin Mo instantly understood! That torrent of information disguised as a Rot Claw attack not only struck him, but its carried chaotic data stream, like a virus, through some unknown link, polluted the order and life energy fused within the barrier's Thorn Steel! Causing a runaway in the energy circuit!

Creak—!

A grating sound of metal distortion came from the barrier! A Thorn Steel armor plate at the edge of the repair area, under the violent energy clash, actually developed fine cracks on its surface! Blue-green light jumped like out-of-control electricity along the edges of the cracks!

"No good! The conflict in the energy circuit will tear the armor apart!" Wrench screamed.

"Suppress it forcibly!" Lin Mo, disregarding everything else, suddenly thrust the "Earth Vein Arbiter" into the ground! His will frantically communicated with the power of the Earth Vein Heart and the Emerald fragments, trying to stabilize the energy within the Thorn Steel!

Sister Ai Li also acted immediately, her cold moonlight turning into light threads, attempting to sort out the violent energy veins in the repair area.

However, the runaway energy was like a horse off the leash! Lin Mo's guidance was like a drop of water in a burning ocean! Sister Ai Li's moonlight threads were also repelled by the chaotic energy field!

Just at the critical moment when the Thorn Steel armor was about to be torn apart by its own energy—

Buzz—!

A deep, resilient, and majestic will suddenly awakened from the war blade in Lin Mo's hand, from the Thorn Steel armor of the barrier, from the Earth Vein Heart, and even from the pale golden vines cultivated by Xiang Lingna that clung to the inner side of the barrier... with a roar!

This will did not come from Lin Mo, nor from Sister Ai Li or anyone else. It seemed to have slept for endless ages, carrying Earth's Heaviness, the tenacity of thorns, the vitality of life, and... the determination to protect the home!

【... Home... Injured...】

【... Energy... Chaotic...】

【... Will... Condensing...】

【... Thorns... Are... Territory...】

Vague thoughts rang directly in everyone's minds!

Immediately, a miracle happened!

The violently flickering and clashing blue-green lights on the barrier, under the command of this majestic will, instantly became orderly and gentle like a hundred rivers returning to the sea! The violent energy was forcibly smoothed out, flowing steadily along the veins inside the Thorn Steel! On the armor plate with the crack, the blue-green light at the edge of the crack no longer jumped; instead, like the most skillful welder, it slowly healed the crack!

The vines clinging to the inner side of the barrier moved without wind, their pale golden leaves emitting a soft green light, merging into the energy veins of the Thorn Steel, bringing a stable life aura.

The heartbeat of the Earth Vein Heart became more steady and powerful, the orange-red light and the blue-green faint light of the barrier shining together.

Even the 【Seed of Life】 within Lin Mo, which had been restless, upon sensing this will, saw the light of its orange-red core become more pure and refined; the blue light of the Anchor of Order and that Dark Purple Mark of pollution were both temporarily suppressed by this grand will!

The Thorn Heart, the ancient guardian will inherent in this land itself, was completely awakened under the multiple impacts of information pollution, energy runaway, and trust crisis in the territory!

On the main screen of the Doctor's base, the scene of the Thorn Steel armor energy running wild and then instantly being calmed was displayed. Although this majestic guardian will could not be directly captured by instruments, the data curve of the territory's energy field instantly returning from extreme chaos to highly coordinated stability was clearly presented before the Doctor's eyes.

【Unknown High-Level Will Detected Intervening!】

【Target Territory Energy Field Coordination Increased to 97.8%!】

【'Information Pollution' Tactic Failed!】

【Warning: Variable exceeding calculation appeared (Suspected awakening of World Fragment Source Will)! Threat level re-evaluating...】

【The 'Seed of Annihilation' Protocol... Data updating... Simulation in progress...】

Reflected on the doctor's cold lenses was the energy stability curve on the screen, a curve deemed perfect; the finger hovering over the control interface paused, for the first time, with an extremely subtle hesitation.