Chapter 69: Remnants of Defeat, the Whisper of Crystal Plates, and Coordinates in the Distance

The collapse of the withered beasts 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. The thorn roots, like exhausted giant 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 the thornsteel armor had been breached; the faint 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 a faint tang of blood and plant ash. The refugee warriors began clearing the battlefield, carefully collecting the still-slightly-active withered sludge using specialized shovels for research into anti-corrosion coatings, while burning the unprocessable remains. Each scoop of the viscous filth was accompanied by stifled gagging sounds.

Xiang Lingna, inside the rampart, directed the surviving vines to cautiously extend toward the battlefield's edge. The vines' leaves secreted faint purification mucus that dripped onto the contaminated soil, emitting a sizzling hiss 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 filled with exhaustion and worry.

Copperbeard, 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 carefully with Xiang Lingna's concentrated emerald juice, painstakingly filling the deep craters. The clang of hammer strikes carried the heavy weight of survival.

"This damn thing's corrosion is insane!" Copperbeard wiped metal melt splashed on his face, staring at a replaced plate nearly pierced through, his heart still pounding. "If thornsteel wasn't so tough, and if not for this girl's green juice, this wall would've been eaten through long ago!"

Wrench scanned the repair zones with an energy detector: "Energy circuits severely damaged—conductivity dropped thirty percent! Especially where the crystal cannons hit—the internal order-energy pathways were contaminated and disrupted. Need slow purification… sigh, if only we still had Sanctuary energy…" He unconsciously glanced toward the direction of the several order-crystal plates strictly sealed by Lin Mo.

Lin Mo stood atop the highest point of the rampart, overlooking the battlefield still shrouded in smoke. Sister Ai Li's stunning strike against the crystal cannon and the thorn will's displayed power had brought victory—but also exposed the limits of the territory's defense. The Rotclaw had only sent a vanguard, yet they'd paid such a price. What about next time?

He sank his awareness into the 【Seed of Life】. The Anchor of Order's blue light operated steadily, suppressing the dark purple deep within his core. But the energy shockwaves from the recent battle—especially when Sister Ai Li directly clashed with the crystal cannon—had still caused a barely perceptible tremor in the mark. The fragmented information forcibly implanted in his mind regarding defense weaknesses lingered like shadows he could not shake.

"It won't give up," Sister Ai Li's voice came from behind. She had changed out of her torn priestess robe and now wore a simple light armor crafted by Copperbeard from scrap; 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, seeking our limits."

Lin Mo nodded, his gaze sweeping over a patch of the battlefield soaked in purple-black sludge, radiating intense decay waves. 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 wave… bore a resemblance to the rhythmic order pulse of the dormant Sanctuary core? Yet it also carried an indescribable hint of… temptation?

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

Yet just as he prepared to look away, a faint yet clear thought, carried on the crystal plate's wave, brushed across his perception like a feather:

"... call... same origin..."

"... annihilation... truth..."

"... coordinates... guidance..."

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, identical in origin to 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?

This information arrived so abruptly, so clearly, radiating an undeniable sense of "truth." Was it the Rotclaw's bait? Or the last message from the Sanctuary core, 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 authenticity of these coordinates? But it remained silent.

"What's wrong?" Sister Ai Li sharply sensed the change in Lin Mo's aura.

Lin Mo fell silent for several 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.

Sister Ai Li followed his finger, her cold eyes narrowing slightly: "I'll get it." Before the words fully left her lips, she became a silver shadow, leaping directly from the rampart, leaping several times until she neared the core of contamination.

"Be careful!" Lin Mo warned.

Sister Ai Li halted at the edge of the contaminated 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 were about to touch the crystal plate—

Sudden transformation!

Whirr—

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 Sister Ai Li'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!" Sister Ai Li, prepared, let out a cold snort! The Thorn-Moon Shield instantly coalesced before her! The twisted data stream slammed into the shield, sending violent ripples across its surface! A flash of silver light beneath her feet erupted—moonlight power exploded, instantly freezing and shattering the approaching sludge tentacles!

Yet in the instant she diverted her attention to defend herself, a sliver of purest purple-black energy—extremely refined yet radiating utter destruction, like a concentrated essence of the Rotclaw's core—shot out from within the crystal plate. Its target was not Sister Ai Li, but Lin Mo, standing on the rampart, utterly focused on her!

This attack was stealthy, vile, and faster than any limit! It exploited the instant of Lin Mo's concern for Sister Ai Li's safety!

"Lin Mo!" Sister Ai Li cried out in shock and fury!

Lin Mo's pupils shrank! The purple-black energy moved too fast—he had no time to fully activate the Thorn Rampart!

At the last moment, the dormant Thorn Will within him seemed stirred once more by the crisis! The rampart beneath his feet, the surrounding earth, even the "Earth's Judgment" in his hand, all surged with an overwhelming force! Almost instinctively, he swung his blade horizontally before him—the thorn emblem on the guard erupted with unprecedented four-colored light! The earth-yellow aura was especially thick.

Boom—!!

The purple-black destruction energy slammed into the horizontally held blade! The impact drove Lin Mo's feet deep into the ground; his arm bones groaned under unbearable strain! The emblem on the guard flickered violently, the dark purple portion thrashing wildly, trying to resonate with the same-origin power!

"Hold—!" Lin Mo's eyes turned blood-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 Earth's Pulse fused together within the thorn emblem like never before, forming an unbreakable protective barrier!

Hiss—

The destruction energy and the protective barrier annihilated each other violently! Lin Mo was shoved backward, sliding across the hard thornsteel ground of the rampart, carving two deep furrows. Finally, at the rampart's edge, the destruction energy was fully expended.

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 opportunity, Sister Ai Li unleashed a burst of moonlight, freezing and shattering the crystal plate—now utterly drained of energy, reduced to a blackened lump of scrap.

"Are you alright?" Sister Ai Li instantly returned to Lin Mo's side.

"I'm fine…" Lin Mo shook his head, still shaken. That crystal plate was indeed the Doctor's meticulously laid poison bait—its goal was to lure him into an attack using the lure of coordinates! He stared at the clear coordinates embedded in his consciousness, his gaze turning icy. Whether real 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 destruction energy.

【'Poison Bait' attack blocked by target Lord (Lin Mo) via unknown means (suspected deep intervention of Thorn Will).】

【Coordinates successfully implanted.】

【Target Lord's trust level in coordinates estimated: extremely low (cautious).】

【Execute final directive: Activate deep backdoor program within coordinates (energy signature simulated: Sanctuary Core distress signal).】

【Release countdown: 1 hour.】

The Doctor's cold fingertip pressed another pale-blue button. The coordinates etched into Lin Mo's consciousness began to undergo an extremely subtle yet sufficient shift to trigger the Sanctuary Core's basic sensing module—simulating the distress signal of a dying Ark.