Chapter 87

The rampart groaned under the bombardment of the destruction beam; the newly risen orange-red shield flickered violently under the assault of the withering flood, like a dying candle in a gale. Xiang Lingna’s vine net and thorn-root barrier, having absorbed the fatal blow, withered and collapsed instantly, leaving behind a ground littered with burning wreckage and molten thorn fragments. The little girl herself collapsed again, her face paler than before, her breath faint, the glow of the jade-heart shard on her chest dimmed to near nothingness. The new sprout at the tip of the World Tree’s young branch curled completely, its emerald light nearly extinguished.

“Lingna!” Tong Xu saw her fall, his heart shattering, but he could not leave his command post. He could only turn his fury and dread into a roar: “Hold! Hold the line! Full furnace output! Keep firing!”

The remaining hive cannons spat out sparse pulse nets; the iron-thorn wheels spun painfully through piles of monster corpses, crushing and slaughtering. The refugee warriors fired desperately with modified gunpowder rifles and crude energy weapons, repelling the relentless monsters climbing the rampart. Every explosion, every scream, brought with it the loss of life and the rampart’s violent trembling. The corrupted scorpion cannon’s back crystal cluster glowed again, purple destruction light beginning to coalesce—death’s shadow had returned.

In the midst of this desperate slaughter, by the geopulse fissure, the sleeping Ai Li suddenly trembled—barely, but unmistakably.

Her consciousness sank into a dark abyss where cold and searing pain intertwined. Deep within her left arm wound, the forcibly compressed dark purple tumor pulsed like a living thing, radiating a chilling, corrosive force, seeking to devour her remaining will. Chaotic whispers echoed in her ears, brimming with temptation toward corruption and annihilation.

[... Abandon... resist...]

[... Embrace... oblivion... gain... rebirth...]

[... Thorns... chains... break them...]

At the very moment her consciousness was about to be dragged fully into the abyss, an extremely faint yet utterly pure emerald light—like a single ray of sun piercing thick storm clouds—illuminated a corner of the darkness. The source of the light seemed connected to the outside, to a weak but resilient will calling out to her.

[... Ai Li... sister... wake up...]

[... Homeland... in danger... needs... you...]

It was Lingna! The child’s final, exhausted call!

Immediately, another fragment of will—fainter still, yet carrying the scent of ancient forests and the clear radiance of moonlight—slipped quietly along the emerald channel into the depths of her consciousness. It was the fragmented murmurs of the World Tree’s young branch:

[... Moon Goddess... priestess... legacy...]

[... Purifying blade... sever... decay...]

[... With moonlight as guide... with life as oath...]

These fragmented wills, like stones dropped into stagnant water, sent ripples through Ai Li’s silent mind. Lingna’s call ignited her resolve to protect; the branch’s murmurs awakened the ancient legacy of the Moon Goddess priestess buried deep within her soul!

“Ugh—!”

Inside the medical tent, Ai Li snapped open her eyes! Her ice-blue pupils no longer wandered—they burned with piercing silver flames! A terrifying aura, far purer and denser than before, infused with the ancient dignity of moonlight, erupted from her body! The silver scar on her chest was no longer a wound—it had transformed into a silver emblem, flowing with moonlight and thorn patterns!

She did not even glance at the wound on her left arm, still embedded with the purple tumor. Her body, weightless as a phantom, vanished from where she lay—and reappeared atop the highest rampart parapet! The wind whipped her blood-stained silver hair; beneath her torn light armor, the newly formed silver emblem shone brilliantly.

The corrupted scorpion cannon’s destruction beam was charging!

Ai Li’s gaze was cold, ignoring the surging tide of monsters below and the rotting flying dragons diving from the sky. Slowly, she raised her intact right arm, fingers spread, aiming directly at the massive purple crystal cluster on the back of one scorpion cannon!

No complex incantation. No intricate hand seals. Only the simplest, most direct will-driven command!

“Moonlight—Purifying Corrosion!”

Hum!

A ray of light, condensed to its absolute limit—as if forged from moonlight itself—materialized instantly in her palm! The spear was not solid; it was composed of countless flowing, thorn-tipped lunar runes! Its tip radiated a soul-freezing purifying chill!

Hssss—!!!

The silver spear ignored spatial distance, piercing straight through the massive purple crystal cluster on the scorpion cannon’s back!

Crack!

The core of the pierced crystal cluster instantly cracked with spiderweb fractures! The violent, corrupt energy within lost its containment!

Boom—!!!

A far more violent explosion erupted amid the monster horde! The colossal scorpion cannon, along with a vast stretch of surrounding withered monsters, was utterly shredded by the out-of-control purple-black energy storm!

One strike! Only one strike! Destroyed a terrifying scorpion cannon!

This astonishing sight halted the frenzied monster tide for a moment! Even the charging lights of the other two scorpion cannons flickered with brief instability!

Tong Xu and the refugee warriors stared in stunned silence—then erupted into thunderous cheers!

“Sister Ai Li!” “May the Moon Goddess bless us!”

Ai Li did not pause. Her icy gaze locked onto the second scorpion cannon. Her right arm rose again!

Yet, the instant she began gathering her second spear—

Boom!!!

A muffled, earth-shattering roar—not from the battlefield—rumbled as if from the planet’s core or the heavens above, slamming into every heart. The entire wasteland trembled violently beneath the sound!

Everyone instinctively looked up!

Above the eternal gray wasteland sky, a vast, black fissure split open without warning—stretching across the horizon. Within the fissure, not void, but a churning sea of chaotic star-dust currents surged. And within that chaos, a broken figure, wreathed in chaotic energy flames and trailing a long tail, plummeted like a fallen star straight toward the earth!

Its trajectory: the Thornsheart Rampart!

“That’s...” Tong Xu’s mechanical ocular instantly locked onto the burning figure, capturing the familiar silhouette beneath the shattered armor—and the dark-gold battle blade still clutched in its grip!

“Boss!!!” Ban Shou’s heart-wrenching, tear-choked scream tore through the entire battlefield!

Lin Mo! He was back! Falling like a meteor!

Meanwhile, inside the rampart, beside the geopulse fissure—the tip of the World Tree’s young branch, its emerald sprout completely curled and withered, erupted in one final, fleeting burst of brilliant emerald light the instant the star-dust fissure opened, sensing the familiar soul resonance and the faint yet pure star-dust aura carried by the falling figure.