Chapter 276: Not Cowardly (Requesting Monthly Votes)

Qingshe Fortress is a settlement built by the Jin She clan halfway up the mountain, partly carved into the mountainside; after Dong Zhao and the others retreated here, they established a defensive array within the fortress and held firm against the alien forces' encirclement.

Dong Zhao's original plan was to use the array and their own strength to eliminate this wave of pursuing aliens.

But contrary to Dong Zhao's expectations, after they retreated into Qingshe Fortress, the alien forces kept multiplying.

Not only were there the eerily aggressive Jin She clan, but also fire-ox clan experts with immense strength and ferocious assaults.

The Jin She clan and the fire-ox clan had both sent elite warriors to besiege them.

Originally, only one sixth-rank warrior had been pursuing them.

Now there were four.

As for fifth-rank warriors, there were over thirty; fourth-rank exceeded five hundred.

They were surrounded; under these circumstances, Qingshe Fortress's terrain advantage had become a death trap.

It now prevented them from breaking out.

Fortunately, Dong Zhao had previously set up the Guiyuan Lingguang Array.

Besides its basic defense, the Guiyuan Lingguang Array doubled their star-force recovery rate while inside—this was why they had held out for days.

But operating the Guiyuan Lingguang Array required vast quantities of Star Jade Tablets.

All the Star Jade Tablets they had brought, plus those seized in prior battles, had been consumed; now, there were few left.

They could last at most another hour.

And just now, Dong Zhao's greatest asset—a sixth-rank star-weapon—had been slammed back by two sixth-rank elites, its core damaged.

"Hurry and recover. If we find an opening, I'll charge out and use the last sixth-rank rune to drive back the sixth-rank warriors, then you all break out quickly—your speed should let you reach the temporary star-gate before they catch you," Dong Zhao ordered.

Tang Hui frowned. "Brother Dong, what about you?"

"Me?"

Dong Zhao smiled. "I must stay behind to hold off the sixth-rank warriors; otherwise, none of us will escape."

Everyone fell silent. Then Tang Hui suddenly said, "Brother Dong, you've saved me twice already on this journey. Let me stay behind."

Hearing this, Dong Zhao shook his head. "You can't."

"None of you can hold the rear—you couldn't stop even one of those four sixth-rank warriors.

I have a sixth-rank star-weapon; at the critical moment, I can detonate it to buy you at least a hundred breaths' head start.

I might even severely wound one or two.

Only I can hold the rear."

At these words, all fell silent.

True, Dong Zhao spoke the truth—but facing death…

"Enough. Focus on recovering. Don't think of anything else. Remember: if anyone is blocked during the breakout, that person becomes the last to hold the rear.

Save one if you can.

If we all die here, the Guo Dao Academy will…"

"Watch out—they're coming again!"

Suddenly, Liu Qingzhu's face changed; outside the damaged Qingshe Fortress gate, over a hundred figures had gathered again.

The lowest among them were fourth-rank ninth-layer peak, each radiating massive star-force fluctuations.

Dong Zhao's expression darkened. "Go—prepare for a charge. Absolutely don't let them concentrate their ranged attacks."

These aliens were extremely cunning; they knew Dong Zhao's group was defending from Qingshe Fortress with an array.

So they assembled over a hundred ranged specialists, creeping close cautiously, then unleashing concentrated fire on the fortress.

If they succeeded in shattering the Guiyuan Lingguang Array inside, Dong Zhao's group would have zero chance of survival.

They might not even get another chance to recover and break out.

For the past half-day, both sides had been locked in a back-and-forth stalemate.

Whenever they spotted aliens preparing to concentrate fire, the five of them would charge out and disrupt it.

Previously, Dong Zhao had used two sixth-rank runes in tandem with his sixth-rank star-weapon, the Star-Locking Ring, to kill two sixth-rank aliens outright and take out over a dozen fifth-rank aliens, striking terror into the aliens and making them deeply wary of Dong Zhao.

Yet even so, four sixth-rank warriors still remained outside.

"Kill!"

In the next instant, with Dong Zhao's roar, Liu Qingzhu, Tang Hui, Shen Wei, and Han Qing charged out of Qingshe Fortress with him; brilliant emerald, earth-yellow, and golden starlight blazed across the sky as each unleashed powerful star-artillery aimed at the densest clusters of aliens.

Their goal: kill some fourth- and fifth-rank aliens and break the concentrated fire.

But after hours of stalemate, their results had dwindled.

Whenever they charged out, the aliens retreated.

But this time, after they charged out, the aliens who had been preparing to concentrate fire all surged forward at once; from behind, over a dozen fifth-rank aliens and four sixth-rank aliens charged toward them.

Especially those four sixth-rank aliens—extremely fast.

In an instant, the five were trapped in a hopeless situation.

At the critical moment, Dong Zhao's expression hardened; he flicked a sixth-rank rune toward the sixth-rank warrior charging at him.

He bit his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood onto the dim, lifeless sixth-rank star-weapon, the Star-Locking Ring.

The next instant, serpentine starlight erupted from the sixth-rank Star-Locking Ring.

The blazing radiance of the sixth-rank rune, Great Sun, exploded.

Several fourth-rank ninth-layer aliens caught in the initial blast were instantly incinerated to ash.

At the periphery, at least three fifth-rank aliens were severely wounded.

Under the Great Sun's blaze, the fire-ox clan sixth-rank warrior's fire-ox horns spewed magma-like light—but it melted like snow under boiling water.

He was only sixth-rank early stage.

Resisting this sixth-rank upper-tier rune was excruciating.

But this fire-ox clan sixth-rank warrior, who knew Dong Zhao's tricks, screamed in terror: "Save me!"

The next instant, the monstrous serpent-like starlight from the Star-Locking Ring, following the Great Sun's explosion, split into countless threads; some were neutralized by the fire-ox warrior, but others slithered like thin worms through the gaps torn open by the Great Sun rune, burrowing into his body through wounds, mouth, and nostrils.

The Star-Locking Ring's starlight inside him instantly swelled, causing massive bulges to rise across his body.

In an instant, all the bulges exploded.

Blood sprayed everywhere.

One strand of Star-Locking Ring starlight directly blew apart the fire-ox clan sixth-rank warrior's head.

Sixth-rank fallen.

But at the same instant, Liu Qingzhu, Tang Hui, Shen Wei, and Han Qing were in dire peril.

The other three sixth-rank warriors charged toward the four of them.

One, closest to Dong Zhao, seeing the fire-ox warrior killed, abandoned his chance to severely wound Tang Hui and instantly retreated.

Han Qing was fighting alone against the sixth-rank four-layer Jin She warrior, barely holding on.

Dong Zhao flashed forward, rushing to Han Qing's aid.

He clutched a fifth-rank upper-tier rune, ready to throw it, while the Star-Locking Ring blazed with renewed light.

This move instantly scared off the Jin She sixth-rank warrior attacking Han Qing.

At that very moment, a sudden crisis erupted on Shen Wei and Liu Qingzhu's side.

Though Shen Wei and Liu Qingzhu were fighting together against one Jin She sixth-rank warrior, five fifth-rank aliens surrounded them.

At that instant, four fifth-rank aliens focused on Shen Wei; one sacrificed himself with severe injuries to split Shen Wei and Liu Qingzhu apart.

Another fifth-rank alien distracted Liu Qingzhu, creating an opening for the Jin She sixth-rank warrior.

Terrifying golden light instantly engulfed Liu Qingzhu.

Under the full assault of the sixth-rank five-layer alien, Liu Qingzhu's Golden Bell Shield melted like snow under boiling water; her Mountain Seal technique shattered instantly.

Her fourth-rank star-weapon was shattered in one blow, dimming completely, causing Liu Qingzhu to spit blood.

The golden light was about to fully dissolve Liu Qingzhu, ending her life.

"Get off her!"

Shen Wei suddenly roared; a faint flame erupted behind his head, and his aura surged by a third in an instant.

The next moment, Shen Wei burst through the encirclement, lightning-fast, rushing before Liu Qingzhu; he first used a Green Wind Net to delay the golden light, then leapt above her, the faint flame behind his head blazing fiercely as he directly withstood the sixth-rank five-layer Jin She alien's full assault.

Clearly visible, the golden light still melted and consumed Shen Wei; below, Liu Qingzhu spat blood profusely.

The next instant, Dong Zhao arrived, raising his hand as if to launch a sixth-rank rune, instantly driving off the sixth-rank alien.

With the last sixth-rank alien retreating, the charging aliens collapsed like a mountain falling; Dong Zhao, Tang Hui, and Han Qing charged forward again, pursuing and killing four or five aliens before retreating.

But when they brought Shen Wei and Liu Qingzhu back into Qingshe Fortress, their expressions changed.

Liu Qingzhu was severely wounded, spitting blood nonstop—internal organs damaged. Without hesitation, Dong Zhao applied a precious mid-rank Star-Healing Rune to her.

Liu Qingzhu's wounds visibly healed at astonishing speed.

Her aura stabilized rapidly.

Then Dong Zhao pulled out the last mid-rank Star-Healing Rune, preparing to use it on Shen Wei.

But Shen Wei shook his head.

Shen Wei's limbs and chest had been stripped of flesh, some areas exposing bone.

The wounds looked severe.

But in truth, they weren't—mid-rank Star-Healing could restore most of it.

The real problem: Shen Wei had just burned his spirit-core to save Liu Qingzhu.

Even now, the faint flame still burned behind his head.

"You two recover first."

With Dong Zhao's help, Shen Wei barely extinguished the flame of his divine soul.

But after merely sensing it, Dong Zhao's face darkened with sorrow.

Although Shen Wei's divine soul flame had burned for less than ten breaths, over half of his essence had been consumed.

Like a house whose main framework has been burned away, collapse was inevitable.

Shen Wei was still holding on now only because the self-immolation of his divine soul had left a trace of residual power.

"Sister Liu, is she alright?"

Shen Wei looked toward Liu Qingzhu, who was recovering.

"Ah!"

Dong Zhao sighed deeply and struck out with one palm, directly waking Liu Qingzhu as she recovered under the Mid-Stage Star Healing.

The moment she awoke, she screamed and searched for Shen Wei, rushing to his side.

"Brother, you—you—"

Seeing Shen Wei on the brink of death, Liu Qingzhu wept uncontrollably.

"Sister, this time… did I not chicken out?"

Liu Qingzhu, tears streaming down her face, could not speak—only shook her head fiercely.

"Sister, you always said my calculations of gains and losses were… cowardly! But for your sake, I never needed to weigh anything."

"I'm about to die, so I'm no longer going to chicken out!"

"Sister, I've loved you for so many years—did you know?"

Liu Qingzhu nodded vigorously.

"Then why… why didn't you ever give me a chance?"

Liu Qingzhu froze. After a breath, she leaned close to Shen Wei's ear and whispered something.

In the next instant, Shen Wei understood, and smiled bitterly. "Sister, I thought of many reasons—but never this one. If I'd known it was this, I would've come to you long ago. I wouldn't have cared."

"Misunderstandings… play cruel tricks."

"It's my fault too. If I hadn't been so cowardly back then… maybe this misunderstanding could've been cleared long ago."

As he spoke, Shen Wei's breath grew faint as a dying thread. Dong Zhao frowned and immediately fed him a Three-Yin Clear Soul Pill, slowing the disintegration of his divine soul a little longer.

"Sister, one last question—if I had proposed to you years ago, would you have said yes?"

Liu Qingzhu nodded fiercely.

Seeing this, Shen Wei's expression grew even more tragic. "In the end… I was just too much of a coward."

As soon as those final words left his lips, Shen Wei's divine soul aura began to vanish rapidly.

Liu Qingzhu, weeping uncontrollably, was frantic, not knowing what to do.

Shen Wei's eyes fixed intently on Liu Qingzhu's chest, trying to say something—but could not speak.

Liu Qingzhu remembered Shen Wei's past behavior.

He had the desire, but not the courage.

He never dared even look openly.

Suddenly, she understood.

But whether it was truly his intention or not, she no longer cared.

She pulled the barely breathing Shen Wei into her arms, pressing his head against the softness of her chest. With his last strength, his left hand—now reduced to bone—clasped her slender waist, while his right hand rested upon her chest.

In the next instant, as Shen Wei's head rested against her chest, a smile appeared on his face—and his final breath slipped away.

Thinking of the past, Liu Qingzhu was utterly dazed, clutching Shen Wei's growingly cold body tightly against her chest!

Outside Green Snake Fortress, as Xu Jin neared within twenty li, a barrage of fourth- and fifth-rank alien star arts began carpeting the direction he was in.

Forcing Xu Jin to retreat in disarray.

As he retreated, Xu Jin saw several human figures from the Present World standing in the sky, loudly directing the alien forces.

Present World humans!

And not just one.

Xu Jin's expression instantly hardened with shock.

What was going on?

Why were Present World humans involved here?

This was the Lou Gong War, wasn't it?

Logically, only disciples from the Chen Guo Dao Academy should be allowed here.

Any other Present World human presence was a violation!

Large numbers of fifth-rank aliens seemed to sense his hidden aura, and two sixth-rank aliens now scanned the sky with grim faces, searching his direction.

Xu Jin had no choice but to retreat further.

As he retreated, he immediately used the Star-Picking Token to contact the Star Spirit.

The Star Spirit, to whom the Star-Picking Token had imprinted its aura, sometimes responded, sometimes did not.

But fortunately, this time it responded.

"Star Spirit, aren't you the Rule Enforcer? Why are there several non-participants of the Lou Gong War here?" Xu Jin asked.

I'm just an points recorder.

"Can't you supervise the various Star Towers?"

"Are you dreaming? I can't even leave the Star Dome's Secret Realm in my usual state. Without a call from you, the wielders of Star Tower authority, I can't even initiate contact with you. How could I possibly supervise every Star Tower?"

"Only if a higher-ranking Star Tower authority grants me permission could I possibly supervise," the Star Spirit replied.

Xu Jin's expression turned grim.

Cheating!

If this was true, someone was openly cheating—and there was no way to monitor it.

"Can I directly report this cheating?"

"That's hard to say. Even if they kill countless aliens, their kills won't count toward points! Besides, the presence of Present World humans in the Star Domain isn't uncommon."

"Soldiers often get stranded in the Star Domain during the Star River War."

"Occasionally, some manage to return."

The Star Spirit's words made Xu Jin instantly realize: reporting was useless.

Reporting now would achieve nothing.

Too many excuses.

In the next instant, Xu Jin abandoned the thought.

He needed to intervene quickly and relieve the pressure on Master Shan and the others.

But ahead lay two sixth-rank aliens—he dared not charge.

Not only were there two sixth-ranks, but also six or seven fifth-rank late-stage aliens, and more aliens behind them could arrive in moments.

If discovered, the two sixth-ranks could easily obliterate him with concentrated fire.

He wouldn't even have time to flee.

Even using a single Talisman would draw their full assault.

He needed to find a weak spot to break through—ideally, to reunite with Master Shan and the others. Only then would he have room to maneuver.

After all, with his fourth-rank first-layer cultivation base, facing even a few sixth-rank mid-stage experts was far too dangerous!

With his decision made, Xu Jin retreated swiftly in stealth, then turned toward another direction.

(End of Chapter)