【Wait, is this fish real? What if it’s fake?】

【Oh, right.】

【Let’s check first.】

【Let me touch it.】

【Me too.】

【Sweet.】

【Very sweet.】

【Yes, real fish.】

The tentacles surged out, under the pretense of verifying its authenticity, wrapping around the orca’s smooth skin, crawling and rubbing.

Battles weren’t suitable for their delicate selves, fighting powerful mental bodies was too tiring, fortunately, the moving sugar man had come to them.

Touching the big fish could restore their energy, heal their injuries, and he was also sweet. The tentacles sighed comfortably, each trying to push the others aside for a better spot.

Big Fish in battle was completely different from usual.

Ruthless, fierce, a thug in a suit, sharp teeth gleaming coldly, muscles hard as iron.

Its huge tail fin slammed against the golden tree, countless golden branches breaking, falling to the ground with a clatter.

Completely different from the soft, cute, and whimpering creature in the tentacles’ memories.

【Wow, he’s even sweeter now.】

【I’m only going to suck on the fish during battles from now on.】

【Move aside, there’s no room for me.】

【Too many people, push two off.】

The giant crimson egg almost occupied the entire bottom of the cavern, and Ni Ji, stepping on it, was like stepping on a vast land of crisscrossing, pulsing blood vessels.

He stepped on the wriggling flesh, his hand gripping the hilt of his blade, twisting forcefully, and pulling the blade out.

A gush of blood surged from the open wound, covering Ni Ji.

A strange crying sound echoed through the cavern, sometimes like a man’s, sometimes like a woman’s.

Like a monster trying to imitate a human, but unable to do it properly, lurking in the darkness, learning to cry like a human.

With the crying, faces like masks rose from the blood-red ground.

Their bodies thin and long, formed from countless sticky blood vessels, connected to the blood vessels of the red earth beneath their feet.

One after another, the blood-red monsters, with sorrowful human faces, stood up from the giant egg, surging towards Ni Ji.

“It hurts, so much pain, unbearable pain.”

“So painful, so painful.”

“Let me go, please let me go.”

“Let me die, let me die.”

Sorrowful cries and wails intertwined in the crimson cavern, like a graveyard, like hell.

Those thin, soft bodies, severed by Ni Ji’s sharp blade, sprayed blood and gore. The red filth rained down, covering Ni Ji’s face and body.

“Such disgusting blood, this isn’t good, get out quickly,” Ni Ji’s blade said these words amidst the chaos.

It was too late, those strange monsters quickly submerged the warrior, and Ni Ji, covered in blood, seemed to freeze, motionless, covered by the blood-red monsters, trapped in that crimson, sticky hell.

The whale beneath Lin Yuan swayed, its massive body shrinking, swaying again, shrinking once more.

Its form began to blur, unsteadily falling from the sky. It had just placed Lin Yuan on the ground, its black and white body flickering twice, disappearing reluctantly.

【Ah, where’s fish?】

【Where’s my big fish?】

The tentacles dispersed, bewildered.

“Hmph, a sentinel.”

Lin Yuan heard the voice of the crimson egg.

“You think you can fight against me with a single sentinel?”

The ground covered in red blood vessels buzzed. In the middle — where Ni Ji had disappeared — a large lump bulged up, like a hill.

The blood vessels piled up, covering it, slowly wriggling, as if trying to completely dissolve and digest the sentinel wrapped within.

“In front of me, a Guide might be able to hold on for a little while, but sentinels are the most useless. Although there are those with strong mental power among them, they break easily, unable to withstand torture, they’re at most just food, hee hee,” the monster’s voice, at first a pained wail, turned into laughter towards the end, like a moody child.

“You can easily bring them to the peak of pleasure, then instantly plunge them into the abyss of pain, just a few times back and forth like that — clap — and they collapse,” it made a realistic clapping sound as it spoke, mimicking a human clapping their hands.

“Even the strongest warriors are useless, they can’t endure it for long, hee hee.”

“He won’t,” Lin Yuan suddenly interrupted.

“He will!” That voice, like a sulky child.

“He won’t,” Lin Yuan repeated, “He’s a very strong person, he’ll break free from you soon, he’ll cut through your disgusting flesh and blood, and come back to my side.”

A hazy moon appeared above the cavern.

Behind Lin Yuan, tentacles surged, her mindscape invading this place, faintly overlapping with this bloody cavern.

The moonlight shone down, and the mournful cries from all directions within the cavern quieted down a little.

Those twisted human faces calmed down, floating in the bloody bubbles, staring blankly at the hazy moon above the cavern.

This was no longer the crimson egg’s domain alone, Lin Yuan’s mental power had seeped in with difficulty.

“You actually trust a sentinel? That kind of beast with only brute force?” The monster’s voice became anxious and shrill, its tone distorted. “You probably don’t know, sentinels and Guides are completely different creatures. It’s okay, hee hee, I’ll let you see, I’ll show you right now.”

“Let you see how that sentinel will make a fool of himself, like an animal.”

“He actually used a blade to injure me. He must be punished.”

“I’ll make him perform in front of you, make him cry and beg, make him writhe in the filthiest of places. Make him show you his most ugly and pathetic side, because of you, he won’t even have the chance to beg for mercy.”

“Hee hee, you still want to help him? You’re still so young, how long can you hold on, consuming yourself like this?”

“It’s okay, in the end, I’ll bring the two of you together, merge you into my body.”

Lin Yuan didn’t speak, the hazy moon above the cavern becoming brighter, clearer.

The bright moon hung high, its clear light shining down, the moonlight piercing through the darkness, falling on the bulging mass of flesh and blood, almost penetrating the filthy, crimson walls, shining into the depths of the earth.

It guided the way, soothing the souls trapped in the illusion.

Sweat trickled down Lin Yuan’s cheeks, drop by drop, falling to the ground.

But her gaze was firm, she was waiting, firmly believing that her comrade could overcome the predicament, and return to the battlefield.

The mound covered with blood vessels started to bulge, lumps rising here and there.

Breakthrough!

The undulating mound of flesh exploded, crescent-shaped blade light spinning out from within.

Flesh and blood vessels splattered everywhere. A blood-covered man, holding a long blade, reached out and pushed open the crack, stepping out.

Loud cries came from all directions within the cavern.

A tentacle emerged from the ground, wanting to pat the sentinel covered in blood.

Ni Ji subconsciously turned his face away, avoiding its touch.

He used his blade to support himself, bent down, and vomited a bit of stomach acid, before finally slowly standing up.

The hilt of his blade was covered with blood, too slippery to hold. The sentinel took off his shirt, wrapped it around his blade-holding hand, tightly binding the hilt and his palm together.

He used the blade to cut a deep gash in his body.

An eerie blade light shone.

Ni Ji’s eyes were bloodshot, filled with killing intent, deep hatred buried within. The giant blade materialized, slashing towards the writhing flesh and blood beneath him.

The ferocious blade unleashed, a furious man.

The blood-red blade, stained with blood, the raging warrior and the blood-red giant egg below him fought together.

Throughout this entire process, he didn’t look at Lin Yuan once.

Not that he didn’t look, but that he didn’t dare to.

Lin Yuan captured Ni Ji’s intense outward emotions, shock, anger, shame, fury, and an explosive hatred that consumed his entire being.

Lin Yuan had seen the hatred in Ni Ji’s heart before, that bone-deep hatred buried deep in the sea, suppressed and deep, slowly plotting revenge.

She hadn’t seen Ni Ji this enraged before, recklessly, madly attacking the enemy.

They were facing a powerful enemy. Having lived for hundreds of years, its mental manipulation abilities were several times stronger than Lin Yuan’s.

Even Lin Yuan herself would be confused when caught in the environment it created.

She didn’t know what kind of mental illusion Ni Ji had encountered when caught by that crimson egg.

What had made a usually calm and collected sentinel like Ni Ji so angry?

It must be related to her. That monster had once used Ni Ji to tempt her. Of course, it was also possible that it had used her image to torture Ni Ji.

He now didn’t even dare to look at her.

He had even subconsciously avoided the tentacles he usually liked.

【I’m so angry.】 A tentacle said.

Lin Yuan also felt angry.

The battle reached a fever pitch.

The crimson egg at the bottom of the cavern almost covered the entire ground, but the crazed Ni Ji was also incredibly terrifying. He didn’t even hesitate to injure himself, feeding his blade with his own blood.

The long, giant blade churned the entire red land upside down.

Piercing cries echoed.

Severed blood vessels, lumps of flesh, filthy blood flowing everywhere.

This place had almost become a pool of blood plasma.

The cries became louder and more piercing, covering Lin Yuan’s moon, which had barely managed to enter this world.

A blood-red eye opened in the sky, long, bloody tears streaming down.

Countless bloody figures, wearing masks, stood up, surging towards the sentinel.

The blood-soaked golden tree began to move, attacking Lin Yuan.

Ni Ji was surrounded by a sea of crimson, the sentinel’s black figure almost submerged, only the red blade light occasionally flashing.

Lin Yuan ran on the slippery ground, dodging the golden tree that was chasing after her.

The orca appeared several times, swatting away the raining spears, then disappearing into the air.

It struggled to materialize again, and in a few breaths, dissipated once more.

Everyone was at their limit.

A battle of life and death, their lives hanging by a thread.

Lin Yuan knew that the more difficult, the more dangerous it was, the closer victory was. The enemy was at its last gasp, making its final struggle.

She was covered in wounds, and the enemy was also riddled with holes, on the verge of death.

Just a little bit more, if she could hold on just a little longer.

She felt a headache, a throbbing pain, the aftereffects of overusing her mental power starting to appear.

Her body also hurt, the golden spears that had pierced her several times, she had lost a lot of blood, her feet slipping, she could barely run anymore.

She was a Guide, with powerful mental strength, but a body not suited for battle.

The enemy knew this better than she did, all its attacks were targeted at her physical body.

Ni Ji’s orca appeared, then disappeared, the tentacles were also covered in wounds, many no longer having the strength to materialize.

Hold on a little longer, Lin Yuan thought, just a little bit.

Ni Ji collapsed several times, then, supporting himself with his blade, stood up again. He wiped the blood from his eyes.

The moon in the sky had disappeared at some point, replaced by a blood-red eye staring at him.

His body had lost too much blood, he felt a little unsteady.

Just a little bit more, he thought.

He saw a strange, small creature crawling out from the bloody ground.

A dozen arms, three heads, covered in eyes, like a strange, underdeveloped embryo.

That small, strange creature crawled out from the scattered flesh and blood, moving towards the distance at an incredible speed.

This was the enemy’s final form, killing it would end everything. His intuition, honed from hundreds of battles, told Ni Ji this.

If it escaped, this arduous battle would continue, endlessly.

Ni Ji dragged his almost immobile body and chased after it. The monster crawled very quickly, while his legs felt as heavy as lead.

It had been a long time since he had encountered such a difficult battle.

Just a little bit more, the very last bit.

Several tentacles suddenly emerged from the ground, wrapping around the blurry, blood-red embryo.

The tentacles weren’t mental bodies suited for battle, they were very delicate, but they stubbornly held onto the bloody monster, even when several were instantly bitten.

Ni Ji’s blade arrived the next moment, the long red blade avoiding the tentacles’ wrist feet, pinning the wriggling, struggling, bloody egg.

The long blade, no longer nourished by blood, had become very thin.

Its tip avoiding all the tentacles, the long blade pierced the monster’s body.

It was over.

Ni Ji looked through the thin blade at the other side of the battlefield.

Almost in slow motion, Lin Yuan’s body fell onto the slippery, blood-red ground.

A long branch of the golden tree had pierced through her soft abdomen.

She might have been able to dodge it, but she had been distracted, controlling the tentacles.

The battlefield was like this.

Sometimes you thought you would never die, that you could always protect those you wanted to protect.

But in reality, no one knew when death would come next.

Almost every life, whether it was the bright moon you treasured, or insignificant weeds, were equal in the face of death.

They could all suddenly disappear before your eyes.

Everything happened so suddenly.

Lin Yuan just fell like that. She lay on the ground, coughing up blood, looking at the golden tree close at hand.

That was the person she had wanted to take away.

She had failed, she hadn’t accomplished what she wanted to do.

Xun Hua, wearing the golden mask, looked at her coldly, red bloodstains covering his golden mask, covering the last of his humanity.

The man in the mask had a cold, numb, and empty expression, a puppet controlled by a ghost.

The sharp, golden branch was slowly pulled out from Lin Yuan’s abdomen, and once again stabbed towards her.

The blood-stained tip touched Lin Yuan’s chest, right where that small stone pendant was located.

The spear tip froze there.

A golden teardrop fell, landing on the inconspicuous heart-shaped stone, turning it into a golden heart.

Frozen in the posture of attacking Lin Yuan, the brilliant golden tree began to wither, from its leaves, from its roots, the giant tree slowly disintegrating, its withered branches falling into the thick blood on the ground.

Ni Ji ran towards Lin Yuan on the ground.

The embryo, not yet completely dead, began to try and escape, propping itself up with its few remaining blood vessels, slowly trying to pull out Ni Ji’s blade.

Ni Ji didn’t even turn his head, blood-red blade lights flashing densely, precise and ruthless, filled with overwhelming killing intent.

Bloody chunks of flesh rained down, blood vessels, flesh, cut into tiny pieces, twitching on the ground for a moment before finally becoming still.

Ni Ji didn’t need to use so many strikes, it was just a small embryo.

But he couldn’t control himself, an immense panic filling his heart, he would have gone mad if he hadn’t done this.

Ni Ji stepped on the sticky flesh and ran forward. He was a sentinel known for his speed.

But at that moment, he hated how slow he was.

His running speed was like a snail’s, the short distance seemingly becoming infinitely long, the time it took agonizingly long.

Lin Yuan lay there, on the bloody ground, on the fallen golden branches and leaves.

Red blood flowed from her back, mixing with the cold, glittering metal, rapidly spreading.

The withered golden leaves in the sky turned into pale ash, falling like snowflakes.

Lin Yuan’s eyes were open, her expression the same as usual, calm and indifferent, as if she didn’t care about what was about to happen.

Even if it meant her own demise.

Wasn’t death a common occurrence?

Since so many people had already died here, of course she, who had entered this contaminated zone, could die at any time.

Lin Yuan had known this for a long time.

Only, it seemed she wasn’t as carefree as she had imagined. She discovered that she also had quite a few things she couldn’t let go of.

What would happen to the little crab at home?

She really wanted to see Xiao Niao and the others again.

It was such a pity that she hadn’t finished the candies she had stored.

She also wanted to ask Ni Ji, what exactly had he encountered in the illusion.

Ni Ji reached her side and dumped out all the medicine he carried.

He tore open the bandage packaging, and used a pile of hemostatic medicine and gauze to cover the hole in Lin Yuan’s abdomen. The bright red color seeped into the white gauze, the blood quickly flowing out, along his fingers.

Ni Ji was a battle-hardened sentinel, his judgment of every fatal injury precise.

An injury like this, let alone a Guide, even a lower-level sentinel, couldn’t be saved.

A cold voice in his mind said, she’s gone, only a few minutes left.

But he couldn’t stop himself. He pressed down hard on the wound, as if by pressing like this, the blood would stop flowing, death could be prevented.

He picked Lin Yuan up from the ground and held her in his arms.

The Guide’s shoulders were even thinner and smaller than they looked, it was hard to imagine such a strong soul residing in such a fragile body.

She was the first to obtain the key, opening the escape door for everyone.

But she hadn’t left herself, she wanted to destroy this filthy world.

And she had done it. At the cost of her own life.

Lin Yuan coughed, red blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

“It hurts so much,” she looked at Ni Ji. “Why does it hurt so much?”

Her voice was very soft, as if she had no strength left, like she was about to fall asleep.

Ni Ji’s shoulders trembled. He knew there was nothing he could do, no way, everything he had learned, everything he knew, was useless at this moment. The only thing he could do was hold the Guide in his arms a little tighter.

He had seen things like this many times.

Injury, death, separation.

He had seen countless close friends die on the battlefield. This was a familiar scene for every soldier who had experienced years of war.

He should be used to it, be able to endure it, it wasn’t a big deal, every warrior had experienced it.

No matter how much he cherished them, how reluctant he was, no matter how painful it was, even if it felt like a knife was digging into his heart, he couldn’t stop death.

This is the last person beside me. He thought.

The last person he cherished, also about to be taken away.

And he would be left behind, alive.

From then on, there would be no more moonlight on the sea, he would be left in a world of darkness, forever without anyone to touch his hair, to bring him a peaceful night’s sleep.

Lin Yuan felt cold drops falling on her face.

Lying in Ni Ji’s arms, she had never seen this sentinel with such a disheveled expression. He seemed so weak, crying, his silent tears falling onto her face.

“Don’t cry, I don’t want to see you crying like this,” Lin Yuan laughed, inexplicably wanting to make a joke at a time like this.

“I, I just saw you crying in the illusion.”

She saw the sentinel bite his lip, drawing blood.

Lin Yuan wanted to make fun of him, but felt she shouldn’t, so she just talked to him. “After we go back, you can find another Guide. Those we met at the banquet last time, they’re all my friends, they’re very gentle, and they’re much better at mental guidance than me…”

Lin Yuan didn’t know why she had suddenly become so talkative.

But this was her last chance to speak, after death, she would be sleeping forever, so it didn’t matter if she said a few more words.

Only, fatigue washed over her, her eyelids becoming heavy, she felt like she wanted to rest.