Chapter 95: Ashen Claws, the Barrier of Star Dust, and the Choice of Despair

The hand emerging from the rubble was covered in lifeless, ashen keratin; its sharp nails resembled poisoned hooks, and the dark purple veins knotted and writhed across its dorsum, exuding a chilling aura of decay and ill omen. Accompanied by labored, bellows-like gasps, the pile of shattered stone shook violently!

“Ally... sister?” The wrench’s voice trembled with disbelief, his pea-sized eyes filled with terror. He wished desperately it was Ally, driven by sheer willpower, crawling out—but that hand... that scent... it was no living thing!

Copperbeard’s mechanical ocular flashed blue in frantic bursts, instantly locking onto anomalous energy readings on the hand; his face darkened: “No! It’s contamination! High-concentration corruption! Fall back!”

Before he finished speaking—crash!—the rubble was violently torn apart by a brute force!

A figure staggered to its feet.

It was Ally—but no longer the silver-haired warrior they knew.

Her once-damaged light armor had nearly rotted away, revealing vast patches of skin beneath, covered in ashen keratin like dried tree bark. At the wound on her left arm, a dark purple tumor had swelled to the size of a fist, its surface split with countless tiny fissures oozing thick, purplish-black pus. The pus dripped onto the charred earth, sizzling as it corroded. The purplish-black corruption patterns, alive and creeping, spread from the tumor across her left side, even consuming her left cheek, turning half her face into a withered, crystalline mask—lifeless and grotesque. Her once ice-blue right eye now had dilated pupils veiled in a cloudy gray haze; the remaining silver hair on her right side had lost its luster, turning brittle and ashen white.

Most chilling was her gaze—cold, hollow, filled with utter indifference to all life and a hunger for annihilation. Only occasionally, a faint, fleeting flicker of Ally’s own agony surfaced deep within the gray veil, like the last bubble of a drowning soul.

“Huh... kill... thorns... erase...” Her voice rasped in broken syllables, laced with a subhuman hiss. Her ashen right hand clenched tightly; sharp nails pierced the keratin of her palm, but what oozed out was thick, purplish-black blood.

“Ally! Wake up! It’s us!” The wrench screamed, voice cracking with tears, trying to reach whatever remained of her consciousness.

In response came a roar of pure savagery! Ally snapped her head up, her gray-veiled right eye locking onto the nearest target—the wrench! Her ashen right hand shot upward; five condensed, decay-laced purplish-black energy claws ripped through the air with a piercing shriek, lashing toward the wrench!

Too fast! Too close!

The wrench had no time to react—he could only stare in despair as the lethal claws expanded in his pupils.

“Watch out!” Copperbeard roared, his massive mechanical arm shoving the wrench aside. Simultaneously, his stout body unleashed its final strength, throwing itself between the claws and the wrench!

Splat—

Five purplish-black claws slammed into Copperbeard’s left shoulder and chest! His resilient dwarf skin and muscle tore effortlessly; deep wounds curled and blackened instantly, edges sizzling as horrific corruption energy surged violently into his body. Copperbeard grunted, staggering backward under the force, blood and purplish-black pus gushing from his wounds!

“Master Copperbeard!” The wrench fell to the ground, staring in horror at the monstrous wound on the dwarf’s chest.

“Ugh... won’t die...” Copperbeard’s face was as white as paper; agony made veins bulge on his forehead. He fixed his gaze on Ally, whose ashen claw was rising again; his mechanical eye flickered erratically with red light from overload and damage. “She’s controlled by corruption! Don’t approach! Find a way... to contain her!”

The two rotting flying dragons above seemed drawn by the same, yet purer, decay aura emanating from Ally. They let out excited screeches, lowering their circling altitude, their crimson compound eyes darting between Ally, Lin Mo, Xiang Lingna, and the wounded Copperbeard—as if choosing the easiest prey.

Despair! True despair blanketed the still-smoldering ruins!

Before them: Ally, corrupted and out of control; above: the circling dragons; behind: Lin Mo and Xiang Lingna, unconscious and near death; Copperbeard, gravely wounded!

The wrench’s mind went blank. Fear coiled like a cold venomous snake around his heart. He was just a timid goblin technician—what could he do? Repair a damaged probe box? That took time! He had no weapons! What could he use against Ally, who tore through Copperbeard’s defenses so easily? What could he use to drive off the flying dragons?

“Huh... die...” Ally’s gray-veiled eye swept over Copperbeard, as if identifying him as the obstacle. Her left arm’s tumor pulsed violently; purplish-black pus erupted like a geyser! Slowly, she raised her ashen right hand—more condensed, more terrifying corruption claws began to coalesce. This time, the target was Copperbeard’s skull!

Copperbeard gritted his teeth, enduring the searing pain of corruption and the dizziness of spreading toxin. His massive mechanical arm lifted weakly; energy circuits on the limb flickered with unstable light, preparing for a final stand. He knew he couldn’t block this strike—but he couldn’t retreat. Behind him were his comrades!

At this critical moment—

Hum—

A soft yet resolutely firm milky-white light erupted from Lin Mo’s chest within the vine pouch! It was the pure star-dust crystal!

Stimulated by the terrifying decay aura and murderous intent from Ally, and guided faintly by Lin Mo’s own will to survive, the star-dust crystal activated! Pure order-light rippled outward like waves, instantly forming a translucent, milky-white shield, several meters in diameter, encircling Lin Mo’s body!

The shield’s edge brushed against Copperbeard’s back, who stood directly before Lin Mo.

Hiss—

Ally’s terrifying claws struck the star-dust shield!

No earth-shattering explosion—only a piercing, acid-eating-metal screech! The purplish-black corruption claws and the milky-white star-dust barrier violently annihilated each other. The shield quivered violently, its surface rippling with dense waves, its glow dimming visibly—as if on the verge of shattering!

Yet, it held.

The star-dust barrier, at the last moment, bought Copperbeard and Lin Mo precious breathing room. The pure order-energy also temporarily suppressed the rampant corruption spreading through Copperbeard’s wounds, easing his agony slightly.

Ally, blocked by the shield, flickered a flash of fury and confusion in her gray eyes. She instinctively loathed and raged against this order-force that obstructed her “erasure of thorns.” She growled, her left arm tumor swelling again, preparing a more violent strike!

The two flying dragons above were also drawn to the sudden star-dust shield, emitting greedy screeches. They sensed the pure, irresistible energy emanating from Lin Mo within! One dragon, unable to contain itself, dove sharply downward, its sharp claws striking the trembling star-dust shield!

Wolves ahead (Ally), tigers behind (dragons)—the star-dust shield teetered under dual assault!

The wrench stared at this hopeless scene—at the wounded Copperbeard, the unconscious Lin Mo and Xiang Lingna, the corrupted, twisted Ally, the diving dragon... Extreme fear drenched him like ice water, making him shudder. But the next instant, a goblin’s madness and cunning, born of utter desperation, exploded like a volcano in his pea-sized eyes!

“Damn it! You’re all forcing me, are you?!” The wrench leapt up from the ground, ignoring the lethal claws and the diving dragon, and lunged toward his probe box—its casing torn open, parts scattered everywhere! His hands became blurs as he frantically manipulated broken circuits and exposed energy cores, muttering maniacally: “Energy overload... thorn-steel particles... chaotic frequency... to hell with it! Let’s go down together!”

He yanked out two thick energy conduits glowing dangerously orange-red, and without hesitation jammed them into a skull-marked interface on the probe box’s core. Simultaneously, he slammed down a red button on the side—never used before, permanently welded shut!

“Eat this—‘The Wrench’s Final Fireworks’!!!”