Chapter 92: The Swan Song of the Emerald Bud, the Redemption of Star Dust, and the Brand of the Corrupted Claw

The rock fortress transformed into a burning Furnace Mountain, its orange-red and searing white light illuminating the wasteland's horizon and casting the interior of the fortress like a purgatory. High heat distorted the air; molten metal flowed slowly through the grooves of the armor plates, emitting a sizzling sound. The refugee warriors hid behind relatively intact shelters, enduring the scorching heatwaves, watching with awe-struck and tragic gazes the Copperbeard beside the furnace mouth, who stood like a giant of flame.

On the western side of the fortress, the edge of the "Earth-Fire Vine Hood" had been scorched black by the high heat, smoking. Banzi knelt beside Lin Mo's charred body, holding the star-dust crystal that emitted a pure milky-white glow in both hands, as if holding a holy relic of salvation. The crystal's light was soft yet firm, dispelling some of the surrounding heat and chaotic aura, but Lin Mo's condition had worsened to the extreme.

His body resembled a piece of thoroughly burnt charcoal; most of his skin was carbonized and cracked, revealing the blackened muscles and bones beneath. Weak breathing accompanied the difficult heaving of his chest, each breath bringing forth blood foam and the scent of burning. Most terrifying was his right arm—the dark purple Corrupted Claw Mark pulsed and swelled like a living creature, countless tiny purple-black vein-like patterns protruding on its surface, crazily absorbing the pure energy dissipating from the star-dust crystal! With every wisp absorbed, the mark's light grew stronger, and the erosion of Lin Mo's remaining life force intensified! The blue glimmer of the Anchor of Order in the depths of his soul was compressed to its limit, like a candle flame about to extinguish in a storm.

"Xiang Lingna, girl! Wake up quickly! Only you can save the boss!" Banzi roared toward the direction of the earth-vein crack, his voice trembling with sobs. He tried to bring the star-dust crystal close to Lin Mo's chest, but as soon as the crystal's light touched the dark purple mark, it was like adding oil to the fire; the mark's pulsation became even more violent! He dared not act rashly.

Beside the earth-vein crack, Lingna's small body curled up on the scorched earth, her breath so faint it was barely perceptible. The fragment of the Emerald Heart on her chest glowed so dimly that only a hazy outline remained. That World Tree sapling lay quietly beside her hand; the curled new bud at its tip had almost lost all its emerald color, leaving only a withered yellow, a faint light ready to vanish at any moment.

【...... Sister Ai Li...... Brother Lin Mo...... Heart of Thorns......】

【...... So tired...... Want to sleep......】

【...... Home...... Protect......】

Lingna's remaining consciousness floated in the darkness, filled with exhaustion and reluctance. The will of the World Tree sapling had also weakened to the extreme, leaving only intermittent whispers like sighs:

【...... Star Dust...... Order...... Resonance......】

【...... Life...... Pass on...... The last...... light......】

Just then, Banzi's desperate roar, like an arrow piercing through the mist, stabbed sharply into the depths of Lingna's silent consciousness! At the same time, a faint yet incredibly pure energy fluctuation carrying hope and warmth (from the star-dust crystal) touched the fragment of the Emerald Heart on her chest through some invisible connection!

Buzz—!

The fragment of the Emerald Heart jumped violently! Although the light remained dim, this jump was like the final beat of a dying heart! Lingna's tightly closed eyelashes trembled violently!

"Uh..." A very faint moan, like that of a kitten, escaped from her mouth.

"Lingna! The girl Lingna has woken up!" an old refugee woman who had been guarding nearby shouted in surprise.

Lingna struggled to open her heavy eyelids. Before her eyes appeared the searing white light of the burning fortress, the smell of gunpowder and molten metal filling the air, Copperbeard's bloodied roar as he fought, Sister Ai Li's stubborn figure on the battlements, swaying yet still gathering moonlight... and, in the distance within the vine hood, Brother Lin Mo's figure like charcoal and the ferocious, pulsating purple light on his right arm!

All exhaustion, all weakness, were swept away in this moment by an indescribable urgency and the belief of protection! Lingna didn't know where the strength came from, but she suddenly propped up her small body!

"Brother... Lin Mo..." Her voice was hoarse, yet carried an unprecedented firmness.

She extended her trembling small hand and grasped the sapling again. The withered yellow faint light at the tip of the sapling, sensing her touch and the resolute will of protection in her heart, flickered extremely weakly.

"Help me..." Lingna whispered to the sapling in her heart, pouring all her will, all her longing into it, "Give... the Star Dust... to Brother Lin Mo... heal him..."

She no longer tried to draw power from the sapling; instead, she poured all her remaining life force, mixed with the last light of the Emerald Heart fragment, unreservedly and in reverse, into that withered new bud! This was a sacrifice! A transmission of life!

"Ugh-ah—!" Intense pain made Lingna's small body convulse; her already pale face instantly turned transparent, and blood seeped from her eyes, nostrils, and mouth! The fragment of the Emerald Heart on her chest, its light extinguished completely!

However, that withered yellow new bud, under the infusion of this power carrying Lingna's life source and her obsession with protection, suddenly erupted with the last, dying-back-like, extremely brilliant emerald green light! This light was no longer gentle, but carried the tragedy and determination of burning life!

Buzz—!

The sapling floated up from Lingna's hand! The brilliant emerald light at its tip, like a positioning beacon, instantly resonated strongly with the pure star-dust crystal in Banzi's hand!

The milky-white star-dust crystal seemed summoned, suddenly breaking free from Banzi's hand, transforming into a streak of flowing light, and instantly shooting to the side of the sapling! The emerald light and the milky-white glow intertwined, forming a pure and powerful energy bridge of life and order!

The emerald light of the sapling guided the power of the star dust, transforming into a condensed beam of light that ignored spatial distance and precisely irradiated Lin Mo's charred chest—the soul core where the Anchor of Order made its last stand!

At the same time, a wisp of that emerald light, like the gentlest comfort, irradiated the dark purple mark on Lin Mo's right arm, which was pulsating crazily!

Hiss—!!!

Two completely different reactions occurred simultaneously!

When the star-dust beam irradiated the chest, Lin Mo's charred body trembled violently! Beneath the carbonized skin, extremely faint, newly sprouted flesh buds struggled to emerge! The blue light of the Anchor of Order, like rain after a long drought, greedily absorbed this pure power of order, its light stabilizing and strengthening at a speed visible to the naked eye!

But when the emerald light irradiated the dark purple mark, it was like pouring boiling oil on snow! A piercing sound of melting arose! A large amount of purple-black smoke rose from the surface of the mark; the pulsating frequency was instantly disrupted, and the swollen vein-like patterns contracted like startled venomous snakes! A corrupt will filled with pain and rage, following that beam of light, fiercely counter-attacked the sapling!

"Pfft—!" Lingna could no longer hold on; she spat out a large mouthful of blood, her body falling backward like a kite with a broken string, completely losing consciousness. The floating sapling, after its emerald light at the tip resisted the counter-attack of the Corrupted Claw Mark's will, extinguished completely like a burnt-out candle. The sapling itself also lost all luster, becoming withered and gray, falling from the air onto the scorched earth beside Lingna, like a piece of rotten wood that had completely lost life.

The star-dust beam vanished with it.

Inside the vine hood, Lin Mo's charred body stopped trembling. At his chest, an extremely faint blue-white light carrying vitality stabilized and lit up beneath the carbonized skin, like the Morning Star in a cold night. Although his breathing remained weak, it had become much steadier. The most significant change was his right arm—the dark purple mark still existed, but the protruding vein patterns on its surface had subsided, and its pulsation had become weak and slow, temporarily covered and suppressed by a newly formed energy film carrying blue-white star-dust glimmers!

Star-dust salvation, at the cost of Lingna's complete coma and the sapling's withering, temporarily saved Lin Mo's life and suppressed the Corrupted Claw Mark!

However, this brief tranquility was broken by an even more violent, even more crazy roar from outside the fortress!

The sole remaining Corrupted Giant Scorpion Turret, seemingly thoroughly enraged by the final burst of emerald light and star-dust aura from the sapling! The crystal cluster on its back erupted with an unprecedented blinding purple light, and a terrifying energy far exceeding before began to gather! And its target of attack was clearly locked onto the earth-vein crack—Lingna in a coma and the withered sapling! It intended to completely erase this last source of hope, along with this piece of land, from the world!

At the same time, the light of the fortress furnace, under Copperbeard's reckless urging, finally reached its limit! The searing white Thorn Steel armor plates began to soften and melt in large areas, dripping down! Alarm sounds of energy circuit overload echoed throughout the fortress!

"Copperbeard! The furnace is going to explode!" a monitoring warrior shouted in despair.

Burning from within the furnace, destroyed from without by the giant cannon. The Heart of Thorns faced the final ten-second countdown!