Chapter 13 Disaster, Life and Death
While Redis and Gu Yinyue were talking, Yagard was telling Xiaxue that Beichen and his group needed to leave. Halfway through, Glenshe, who had inexplicably disappeared since the start of the barbecue party, suddenly appeared. He walked around on the shore, as if looking for Beichen - because his face looked a little serious, Lahan and Yagard exchanged glances and walked towards Glenshe, while Xiaxue stood there without moving, just looking at Glenshe's figure, smiling slightly and raising his eyebrows.
"It seems you finally understand the deeper meaning behind my asking you to train her. ...Tu Ling's 'Priest'..."
"Hey! Brother Wangwang, what are you doing? If you're looking for the dear Queen, she's already gone on a date with her lover who just returned. She said she won't be back for another two tyres."
Lahan slapped Glenshe's shoulder and called him, but Glenshe's face changed drastically after hearing what he said, and he grabbed the other's shoulder:
"Where did you go? After 2 Tyr, it's already the next day, right? Damn, am I still a step too late?"
"Well, why are you so excited? We're all adults, and it's okay to stay out all night. Having sex outdoors occasionally is also a kind of fun—I'm sorry, I won't say anymore."
Lahan originally wanted to make a few jokes, but when he found that Glenshe's expression was indeed a little ugly, he stopped tactfully.
Yagad said worriedly, "Lord Glenshe, what's the problem?"
Glenn She was silent for a few seconds and glanced at Yagard:
"As a Red Moon Knight, haven't you noticed anything amiss lately?"
Yagard thought for a moment and frowned.
"Recently, my ability to control my emotions has deteriorated, and sometimes I even lose control. I feel like my human emotions and desires are showing signs of revival."
"…Emotional control?"
"Yes, I once asked the Red Moon to grant me the ability to block most of my external subjective emotions and desires, but recently it seems to be getting weaker and weaker."
Lahan's expression also changed:
"Does this mean that Chiyue's ability has weakened?"
But Glenshe did not nod at this speculation, but lowered his voice and said bitterly:
"Has his power weakened? ...Or is it because he's concentrating his strength on something else and has no time to care about you, the Red Moon Knight?"
"Mr. Glenshe, what do you mean?"
"Yaxiu has already discussed Su Mo's true identity with you. So why did he send her that strange card on the eve of her birthday? She touched the card, and nothing happened at the time, but will it really stay that way forever? Is it possible that Su Mo was waiting for a certain moment—since he is the will of the Red Moon Senagard..."
Glenshe paused as he spoke.
"And Xiaxue. He was the one who picked up the card first, and he deliberately said it wasn't poisonous or mechanical, trying to lure Beichen's thoughts in that direction and make her let down her guard. But since it's related to Chiyue, it's more likely a mental attack, right?"
Yagad's pupils suddenly shrank, and he stretched out his hand to transform the long-handled axe behind him into a weapon, and replaced it with a silver-white full-body armor!
"Wow, wow, brother Yagad, don't get excited."
Seeing that Yagad was about to rush over to settle the score with Xiaxue, Lahan grabbed him and winked at him in a low voice.
"You're just too concerned... There's no point in picking a fight with that guy now. The right thing to do is to take advantage of his own tactic and punch him back!"
Glenn She also nodded and interjected, "Xiaxue's motives may not be pure, but he has no ill intentions. If he truly wanted to assassinate Yaxiu, there are many more convenient ways than this—and he might have done this because he knew my identity."
Now Lahan and Yagad were stunned.
"What is your identity?"
"Aren't you surprised that even though I have the pulsation of star spirit power in my body and can be considered a spiritual warrior, I never use weapons? It's not just me, Tu Ling's warriors rarely use weapons either."
"I know that." Lahan nodded, "But I thought it was a custom of the Tuling tribe, that they fought purely with their own flesh and blood without the aid of weapons—"
"This is indeed the custom of the Tuling tribe. The Tuling tribe rarely uses weapons because weapons are 'Children of the Stars' and are objects of worship. Even if we do use weapons, we treat them with much more respect than the outside world."
"...'Son of the Stars'?" Lahan stroked his chin. "Indeed, the weapon was born from the Protoss Mine. That's not wrong—in other words, the Tuling tribe's faith is this planet—Senagarde itself?"
"yes."
Glenn She did not hide it, but nodded with a stern look.
"You know about the 'Ark People', right?"
"I know." Yagad said, "It seems that Queen Galina is one of them."
"That's fake."
Glenn She spoke without hesitation.
"Jalina's ancestors rode a fake Ark, but our ancestors of the Tuling lineage rode the real Ark. We are the true 'People of the Ark'."
Yagad frowned: "But...that day...she did hear Chiyue's voice."
"Yes, that's right. They are the descendants of those chosen by the witch, so it's natural that they can hear the voice of the red moon. But who says that those chosen by the witch are the ones allowed to enter paradise? Who says that the safe haven built by the witch to survive the catastrophe is the Ark? The real Ark was not built by the witch, but by this planet. We, a group of people who have always lived in seclusion... our ancestors..."
Glenn She sneered softly.
"They are the true warriors who survived the catastrophe without the witch's choice and protection."
Yagad took a deep breath, while Lahan was somewhat confused:
"Well, putting aside all this nonsense, what you're saying is that Beichen is in danger now?"
"Not necessarily now, but it's hard to say after Tyr."
"Hmm? Speaking of which... how did you figure out Xiaxue and Su Mo's intentions... that card... are you sure there really is a trap on it?"
"I just went back to the tribe, and the elders' divination results just came out. The conclusion is—tomorrow is a day of great misfortune for Senagard. If you see this conclusion and think about what happened before..."
Lahan nodded through gritted teeth, and Glenshe took a deep breath.
"Okay, I've said everything I need to say. I don't have time for nonsense. Yagad, can you find Yashu's location?"
"Sorry, I don't have the ability to search from a distance, but Atlas does."
"Then go find Atlas."
Glenn She nodded decisively, then looked at Lahan.
"Agaard and I will go find her. I'll leave it to you to stabilize things here. Okay?"
Lahan immediately nodded and saluted.
"Don't worry, our queen is in your hands. Please bring her back safely."
"Of course."
Mad Dog Glenshe revealed a confident and arrogant smile, and walked towards the possessed Moon Messenger standing on the distant seashore with the Red Moon Knight, while Lahan suppressed the uneasiness and obscure calculation on his face and walked towards Xiao Ping.
On the other side, somewhere in the Touyou Forest.
"T-this...what is this?"
Beichen stared in astonishment at the exquisitely crafted mansion built of white crystals deep in the forest. It was surrounded by a variety of glowing trees and shrubs, and in front of it was a beautiful lake dotted with lotus-like flowers. Around the mansion, numerous large spirit crystals trembled and floated. These were warning spirit crystals, arranged in groups of several. Anyone within the designated area without a sub-spirit crystal carrying a warning spirit crystal would be indiscriminately attacked. These spirit crystals were rare, with only a few hundred in the entire imperial palace. But now, it seemed, there were nearly ten floating near the mansion alone.
This place is at least a thousand kilometers away from the golden coastline. They were teleported here via the spirit crystal. Before coming here, Yaye had already stuffed the sub-spiritual crystal of the warning spirit crystal into Beichen's hand.
"Owner."
Xiang Ying asked in a low voice with a hint of expectation on his face:
"Here... Master, do you like it?"
"Ah?" Beichen finally came back to his senses, "...Don't, don't tell me, this house is..."
"Hehe, that's right, this is the gift of our collaboration!" Longyun shook his finger with a smile that looked like he was taking credit for it. "How is it? Pretty impressive, right? Yaye provided the blueprints, Naraka and I have plenty of storage space, so we're in charge of transporting supplies and cleaning up the clutter. Xiangying was in charge of using that cheating star power to build it in one go—Dangdang!"
"So, I built a mansion in three days! You... also..."
"Don't listen to Longyun's nonsense." Naraka turned his head and whispered, "Yaye started drawing the blueprint a long time ago. Longyun and I couldn't think of a gift, and we didn't want to compete with the dead monk to give a gift, so we came to help. We are just handymen, Yaye and Xiangying are the main force."
"No, no... I'm very grateful. It has nothing to do with how much effort I put in. I appreciate your sincerity!" Beichen nodded flatteredly and turned to look at the mansion. "But, this gift is too exaggerated..."
Yaye snorted.
"As a king, how can you not have a few secret palaces?"
Xiang Ying also nodded.
"Yes, during these days of traveling around the capital with everyone, I heard everything—everything that happened in the past two years."
As he spoke, he reached out and touched Beichen's cheek with a sad and loving expression.
"I truly regret choosing this path for my growth—because I went to see that speech. At the time, I simply assumed Ling Shuang and you had different ideologies, parted ways, and fell out, ultimately joining the Selland Holy Church. And as a result, you easily gained recognition and admiration. I briefly thought you were all... living well. But then I think about it, that was just my expectation. I only saw your bright and beautiful side, but I didn't consider—if I knew what had happened to you, Master, I would have returned even if I had been torn to pieces."
"But you don't know that."
Beichen sighed and reached out to touch the back of his hand covering his face.
"Yes. I always run away. This is my sin, Master, and I will not deny it." Xiang Ying smiled bitterly and took a step closer, gently holding her in his arms.
"But I also have my own persistence. I will never be able to bear to have to stand behind you. As a weapon, I can tolerate my uselessness, but as a man, I cannot tolerate being unable to protect the woman I love. I escaped twice, and in return, I never had to escape again. But even with this result, I still know it was wrong. I didn't show up when you needed me most, and I failed to fulfill the obligations that should have been mine. So please allow me to atone for my sins. From now on, even if you don't need me, I will always be here."
As he spoke, he pointed to the beautiful mansion that seemed to be in a fairyland.
"So, I know Master has been very tired these past two years. Furthermore, Master's personality will definitely force him to keep working hard. Although this may not be convincing from me, Master, rest is also part of hard work. This yard is for Master to have a place to retreat when he's tired. Don't worry, even if you want to escape this time, I will take you with me."
"sweet Nothing."
"……Well?"
Xiang Ying talked a lot, but Beichen just said this in his arms, which made him feel a little ashamed.
"You only know how to flatter people with nice words. You want me to stop blaming you, right? Very good, you succeeded!! You are the most despicable guy. You are always like this!! You easily hit my weak spot. Go to hell!"
"Eh, eh? Master... Master, do you want me to die?! It's okay, since it's Master's wish..."
"Why are you the same as Yagad? Come back quickly!"
"Okay, okay, enough of that cornyness!"
Yaye grabbed Xiang Ying who was about to jump into the lake, threw him to the side, then walked up to Beichen and knocked on her head.
"This blueprint was made with reference to Youyu's architecture and Tuling's house construction methods. There are many mechanisms inside, and there are dark rooms and secret passages underground. Here."
As he spoke, he handed Beichen a complicated blueprint - it seemed that this villa could be used not only for vacation, but also as a good defensive fortress.
Beichen took the drawings and smiled coquettishly at Yaye.
"Hehehehe, Yaye's dad is the best──"
"You little bastard, how many times have I told you not to call me daddy!!"
"Yeah? It's just a nickname, part of the name, and has nothing to do with generation—"
"That won't work either!"
"Senior Yaye, it's okay..." Xiang Ying said in a low voice, "I heard from Atlas that fathers and daughters can also play forbidden games..."
Naraka on the other side couldn't help but complain:
"Atlas already lacks common sense enough. Don't let him lead you to the point where you don't even know how to write the word common sense, stupid Shadow."
Longyun also kept wiping his sweat:
"Yes, yes, you are the number one warrior now. If your words get out, the whole world may fall into an ethical crisis!"
“I-I see…”
So Xiang Ying was patted on the head by Yaye with an innocent look on her face, and was glared at by Beichen with a twitch of his mouth.
After making a fuss for a while, Beichen walked around the mansion with satisfaction, and then sat down on a bench by the lake with a few others.
"The sky is beautiful," Naraka murmured. "Well, your birthday is just a few minutes away. Do you want me to make you some fireworks? My crossbow can also be reloaded."
"No need." Beichen smiled and patted Naraka's head, earning him a glare. "This is a forest. Making noise might attract something scary. Besides, for me, I'm already very happy to have so many people celebrating my birthday with me... so happy that it seems a little unreal."
"What's hurting Spring?"
Yaye stood behind her, lowered his head, and nudged her neck with his fangs—but she only instinctively shuddered and didn't run away. Her reaction pleased Yaye, so he wanted to suggest that he, she, and Xiang Ying spend the night at the mansion—but Yaye didn't get the chance to say it.
"strangeness."
Beichen, who had been admiring the starry sky since a while ago, looked at the sky and stood up from his chair in confusion.
"Is today Blade Night?"
"No." Xiang Ying shook his head in surprise, "Master, today is your birthday, it's a day."
Beichen's expression changed. She rubbed her eyes vigorously with her hands, and her voice began to tremble slightly:
"...If it's not Blade Crying Night, why is there a red moon in the sky?!"
"……What??!!"
At this moment, the expressions of the people around him changed drastically. Yaye instantly summoned the sickle, and Xiang Ying also drew his sword and summoned six secondary swords at the same time, stretching out his hands to protect her in his arms - but she opened them with one hand.
Here──────
It was as if a huge noise sounded in his mind, his vision blurred in an instant, tinnitus, strange feeling of nausea, shortness of breath, difficulty thinking - in an instant, all kinds of discomfort appeared in Beichen's body at the same time.
She covered her head, arched her body and screamed. Xiang Ying reached out to help her with a horrified look, but was suddenly bounced away by the red light coming out of her body. Seeing this, Yaye, Longyun and Naraka also realized that something was wrong. For a moment, the three of them controlled their strength and attacked her - but it was still useless. The range of the red light became larger and larger, almost illuminating the entire courtyard.
"It hurts... something is pulling... inside me... someone come..."
In mid-air, Beichen covered her head and sobbed helplessly. Even though Xiang Ying, the number one fighter, was so anxious that his face was ferocious and his eyes were red, he still couldn't get close to her. He and Yaye and the other two just attacked the red light like crazy - unfortunately, it seemed to be of no use at all.
“Ahhhhhhh!!!”
Finally, Beichen screamed as if he could not bear it any longer. Xiang Ying had been injured in many places by the reflected attack of the red light, and his white clothes were covered with golden bloodstains, but he still rushed towards Beichen again and again as if he didn't care about his life.
"Master—Hold on!! I'll be right—"
However, Beichen's screams became weaker - after more than ten seconds, her screams stopped, she put down her hands that were covering her head, and just floated quietly in the air.
Then she raised her head.
“…”
Xiang Ying and the others around him almost took a step back at the same time and took a deep breath slowly.
...Who is this woman?
Although she had Beichen's appearance, everyone present could be sure that she was not the same person as the gentle, timid, yet resolute and brave Xiang Beichen.
There was no warmth in her dark pupils.
The corners of her delicate lips were cold and filled with contempt for everything.
The look in her eyes was filled with disgust and aversion, as if she had seen something extremely filthy.
Xiang Beichen, how could he show such an expression?
"Put—"
Xiang Ying was so angry that his whole body was shaking. He was usually honest and dull, but for the first time he showed such an extremely ferocious and cold expression.
“Give my master back to me!!!”
In an instant, six secondary swords, along with a brilliant white figure, rushed towards the girl in the air. Yaye on the side didn't even have time to stop them. The two figures in the sky were actually hitting each other with ping pong. The two were extremely fast. Xiang Ying swung his sword angrily, while the girl stretched out her hand with disgust and swung out red light to repel his attack. White and red light intertwined and danced in the sky. The huge wind pressure made the big trees on the ground begin to sway. All the animals in the forest shrank into their nests and trembled with sorrow. The concentration of star spirit power in the air was so thick that it was visible, like fireflies, emitting faint light from time to time as the two figures collided.
──It's a pity that although it was a wonderful fight that was almost difficult to judge with the naked eye, as time went on, Xiang Ying, the number one fighter, was still slowly losing the upper hand──Every attack of the girl was filled with strong murderous aura and pressure, and could even absorb the star power in Xiang Ying's body. It was like a bottomless black hole. If it continued like this──!
"what to do?"
Naraka, who was holding a crossbow on the ground, asked Yaye with a slightly anxious tone - the two men were too fast, and it was difficult to capture their positions, and it was impossible to aim at them.
"wait."
Although Yaye's face was terribly ugly and his eyes were almost red enough to bleed blood, he still forced himself to calm down. He held a sickle in his hand and hovered low in the air, observing the fight between the two men - he was looking for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack.
But at this moment, Longyun on the side suddenly let out a somewhat depressing cry of joy.
"Atlas! Glenshe-Agard!!"
Yaye was about to scold Longyun when he heard a crackling sound of star spiritual power. Then, a silver-white figure knocked away Xiang Ying and the girl who were fighting in the sky, then made a sharp turn and rushed straight towards the girl - it was Yagard!
Buzz!
The red Star Spirit Sword and the red light in the girl's hand collided with each other. In an instant, the huge fighting spirit caused the airflow explosion, causing all the surrounding plants to fall to the outside!
"……madness."
The girl withstood Agard's attack expressionlessly, and spoke in a cold voice.
"You wish to kill your master? My knight."
"You are not my miko-sama."
Agard's face looked like a ghost under the silver-white horned helmet.
"The one I will always be loyal to is Miss Beichen. Who the hell do you think you are?!"
The colorless demon was furious. He swung his arm fiercely. Crushed by his fighting spirit, even the girl had to withdraw her hand and float back a distance.
Then, she was hit squarely from behind by a bright blue light.
“…Wow.”
A barely audible wail escaped her mouth, and she looked at her chest in confusion, where the tip of a photon dagger that looked like it was made of a Star Vein seed was piercing.
Behind her, Atlas was floating with Glenshe, and the one who stabbed her with the dagger was none other than Glenshe, the chief of the Tuling tribe.
"My mission is accomplished."
Mad Dog spoke to the girl wearing Beichen's shell in a cold voice.
"As the 'Sacrifice', my only mission is to sacrifice my blood and kill the Red Moon Priestess."
“──”
A fierce, hateful look crossed the girl's face. She turned and fiercely glared at her attacker. She reached out, trying to draw the dagger—but she failed. Her eyes grew unfocused, and her hand slowly drooped, weakening until, finally, she dropped her head, as if unconscious.
She fell a few meters and was caught by Glenshe.
Before she fell completely into coma, Rabida heard the best result he wanted to hear.
She said, "Thank you...brother."
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