Chapter 69

The collapse of the withered horde receded like a tide, leaving behind a scene of utter ruin. The charred earth was coated in a thick layer of foul-smelling purple-black sludge and shattered remains. Thorn roots, like exhausted serpents, slowly retracted into the earth, their rocky armor cracked and corroded. Along the rampart, several areas struck by crystal cannons bore horrifying blackened craters where thornsteel armor plates had been torn away; their blue-green glow had dimmed, and the energy pathways in the repair zones operated with obvious sluggishness. The cost of victory was etched clearly into every inch of steel and soil.

The air reeked of intense decay and burning, mingled with faint traces of blood and plant ash. The refugee warriors began clearing the battlefield, carefully collecting still-active withered sludge using specialized shovels for research into anti-corrosion coatings, while burning the unprocessable remains. Each scoop of viscous filth was accompanied by stifled gagging.

Lingna stood inside the rampart, directing the surviving vines to cautiously extend toward the battlefield’s edge. Their leaves secreted faint purification mucus that dripped onto the contaminated soil, hissing softly as it neutralized some of the decay. But against such vast contamination, her power was like a drop in the ocean; her small face was lined with exhaustion and worry.

Tong Xu, with a wrench and several craftsmen, was urgently repairing the most severely damaged armor plates. Replacement thornsteel ingots were heated and forged; molten metal mixed with Lingna’s concentrated emerald sap was carefully poured into the craters. The clang of hammer blows carried the heavy weight of survival.

“This damn thing’s corrosion is fucking intense!” Tong Xu wiped metal slag from his face, staring at a replaced plate nearly pierced through, his voice trembling with relief. “If thornsteel wasn’t so tough, and if Lingna’s green juice hadn’t held it together, this wall would’ve been eaten through!”

Ban Shou scanned the repair zones with an energy detector: “Energy circuits are severely damaged—conductivity dropped thirty percent! Especially where the crystal cannons hit—the order energy pathways got contaminated and disrupted. We need time to purify… damn, if only we still had sanctuary energy…” He unconsciously glanced toward the direction of the several order crystal plates Lin Mo had strictly sealed.

Lin Mo stood atop the highest point of the rampart, overlooking the battlefield still wreathed in smoke. Ali’s stunning strike that destroyed the crystal cannons and the thorn will’s displayed power had won the battle—but also exposed the limits of the territory’s defenses. The Rotclaw had only sent a vanguard force, and they’d paid such a price. What would come next?

He sank his awareness into the [Seed of Life]. The Anchor of Order pulsed steadily with blue light, suppressing the dark purple deep within his core. But the energy shockwaves from the battle—especially when Ali had directly clashed with the crystal cannon—had caused a barely perceptible tremor in the mark. The fragmented information about defensive weaknesses forcibly implanted in his mind lingered like shadows he couldn’t shake.

“It won’t give up,” Ali’s voice came from behind. She had discarded her torn priestess robe and now wore a simple light armor forged by Tong Xu from scrap metal. Her face remained pale, but her gaze was as sharp as ever. The silver scar on her chest was covered by the armor, only a sliver visible. “It’s probing, testing our limits.”

Lin Mo nodded, his gaze sweeping over a patch of soil soaked in purple-black sludge, radiating intense decay. At its center, a faint yet unmistakably familiar pale blue glow caught his attention.

It was that “glitching” order crystal plate!

Half-buried in the viscous filth, its surface still scarred by burns, it now emitted an extremely faint but rhythmically patterned information wave. This pulse… bore a resemblance to the rhythmic order of the dormant sanctuary core? Yet it carried an indescribable hint of… temptation?

Lin Mo’s inner alarm blared! The memory of the Doctor’s information contamination attack was vivid! This was surely another trap!

Yet just as he prepared to look away, a faint but clear thought brushed across his perception like a feather, riding the crystal plate’s wave:

“...call...same origin...”

“...annihilation...truth...”

“...coordinates...guide...”

Simultaneously, a complex set of coordinates—composed of energy frequencies and spatial parameters—lodged itself flawlessly and clearly into the depths of his consciousness! These coordinates radiated an ancient, weathered aura, rooted in the same source as the sanctuary core, yet tinged with a hint of... dead finality!

Annihilation coordinates? The region mentioned in Kane the engineer’s logs, swallowed by the “Tide of Annihilation”? Or... some undiscovered ark relic?

The information arrived so abruptly, so clearly, radiating an undeniable sense of “truth.” Was it the Rotclaw’s bait? Or the sanctuary core’s final message, transmitted through this corrupted crystal plate before its slumber? Lin Mo’s heart pounded. Reason told him this was almost certainly the Doctor’s poison, yet deep within, his longing for the “truth of annihilation” and the possible “ark legacy” grew like wild grass.

He instinctively looked toward the depths below—the sanctuary core, sunk into slumber, maintaining only a basic link. Could it verify the coordinates’ authenticity? But it remained silent.

“What’s wrong?” Ali sensed the shift in Lin Mo’s aura.

Lin Mo fell silent for a few seconds, pointing to the glowing crystal plate at the battlefield’s center: “There’s something there. Could be a trap. Or... a clue.” He did not mention the coordinates.

Ali followed his finger, her cold eyes narrowing slightly: “I’ll get it.” Before the words fully left her lips, she became a silver streak, leaping directly from the rampart, bounding swiftly toward the heart of the contamination zone.

“Be careful!” Lin Mo warned.

Ali halted at the edge of the contamination zone, gathering moonlight into fine threads at her fingertips, cautiously extending them toward the crystal plate, attempting to coil it up.

Just as the moonlight threads neared the crystal plate—

Sudden transformation!

Whrrr—

The blackened order crystal plate erupted in blinding, unstable pale blue light! The light did not attack—it transformed into a twisted, chaotic stream of data that surged backward along Ali’s moonlight threads, slamming violently into her consciousness. Simultaneously, the purple-black sludge around the plate boiled as if activated, forming dozens of viscous tentacles that lashed toward her ankles!

“Hmph!” Ali had anticipated this. She snorted coldly! A thorn-moon shield instantly coalesced before her! The twisted data stream slammed into the shield, sending violent ripples across its surface. Her feet flashed with silver light; moonlight energy exploded, instantly freezing and shattering the approaching sludge tentacles!

Yet in the instant she diverted her focus to defend, a sliver of purest purple-black energy—infused with the essence of annihilation, like a concentrated core of the Rotclaw itself—shot from within the crystal plate. Its target was not Ali, but Lin Mo, standing on the rampart, utterly focused on her!

This attack was hidden, vile, faster than any limit! It exploited the instant of Lin Mo’s concern for Ali’s safety!

“Lin Mo!” Ali cried out in shock and fury!

Lin Mo’s pupils contracted! The purple-black energy moved too fast—he had no time to fully activate the thorn rampart!

At the last possible moment, the dormant thorn will within him stirred again, triggered by the crisis! The rampart beneath his feet, the surrounding earth, even the “Earthvein Arbiter” in his hand—all surged with overwhelming power! Instinctively, he swung his blade horizontally before him; the thorn emblem on the guard erupted in unprecedented four-colored radiance—especially the thick, heavy earth-yellow aura.

Boom—!!

The purple-black annihilation energy slammed into the raised blade! The impact drove Lin Mo’s feet deep into the ground; his arm bones groaned under unbearable strain. The emblem on the guard flared violently, the dark purple portion thrashing wildly, trying to resonate with the same-source power!

“Hold—!” Lin Mo’s eyes blazed red as he roared! The power of the thorn will, the blue light of the Anchor of Order, the vitality of the Seed of Life, and the profound strength of the Earthvein Heart fused together within the thorn emblem like never before—forming an unbreakable shield!

Hss—

The annihilation energy and the protective barrier annihilated each other violently! Lin Mo was shoved backward, sliding across the hard thornsteel ground, carving two deep furrows. He finally stopped at the rampart’s edge, the annihilation energy spent.

Lin Mo leaned on his blade, gasping heavily, blood trickling from his lips, his arms trembling uncontrollably. The emblem on the guard’s glow had dimmed; the edge of the order-blue light visibly weakened. But—he had blocked it.

Seizing the moment, Ali unleashed a burst of moonlight, freezing and shattering the crystal plate—now utterly drained, reduced to a lump of blackened scrap.

“Are you alright?” Ali was instantly back at Lin Mo’s side.

“I’m fine…” Lin Mo shook his head, heart still pounding. That crystal plate had been the Doctor’s meticulously laid poison bait—designed to lure him into an opening with the lure of coordinates. He stared at the coordinates now etched into his consciousness, his gaze turning icy. Whether true or false, this coordinate was tainted with lethal poison.

Inside the Doctor’s base, the screen froze on the moment Lin Mo was shoved backward by the annihilation energy.

【‘Poison Bait’ attack blocked by target lord (Lin Mo) via unknown means (likely deep thorn will intervention).】

【Coordinates successfully implanted.】

【Target lord’s trust level in coordinates: extremely low (cautious).】

【Execute final directive: Activate deep backdoor program in coordinates (energy signature simulated: sanctuary core distress signal).】

【Release countdown: 1 hour.】

The Doctor’s icy fingertip pressed another pale blue button. The coordinates branded into Lin Mo’s consciousness began a subtle, yet critical shift in energy signature—mimicking the distress signal of a dying ark.