Chapter 55
The barrier of the light domain groaned under the strain.
The colossal creature formed from the fusion of the Shattered Shell Ridge Armored Vine Beasts—a "battering ram" resembling a moving mountain—was repeatedly and violently ramming its head, covered in countless layers of hardened vine armor, against the radiant protective barrier at the edge of the light domain. Each impact caused the light domain to tremble, scattering light debris, and the barrier's radiance to dim at a visible speed.
Seed 237's figure fell behind the protective barrier like a meteor. The light flowing around him was no longer pure; wisps of dark, purplish-black energy swirled around the bright base, exuding an eerie aura that was both sacred and blasphemous.
"Get out!" His voice was icy, with a metallic echo.
He didn't wait for the opponent to attack again. Instead, he proactively placed his hands (or similar branch-like structures) on the constantly vibrating protective barrier. The next moment, a surge of immense energy erupted from his body and poured into the barrier!
That energy was not the warm, healing light of the past, but a raging torrent of intertwined heat and cold, creation and destruction.
boom--!
When the battering ram slammed in again, the protective barrier didn't merely passively defend. Instead, it suddenly rebounded outwards, unleashing a blinding burst of incandescent light, strangely interspersed with shadowy ripples capable of eroding energy!
The Armored Vine Beast let out a painful howl. The moment its hardest head armor came into contact with the protective barrier, it was burned and corroded by the mixed energy, leaving large charred marks. Some parts of its structure even seemed to lose their "activity," becoming gray and fragile!
The Light Domain Barrier has become offensive for the first time!
The shadow parasite within 237 shuddered with pleasure: "Yes! That's it! Let them be terrified! Let them be destroyed!"
Seed 237 gasped for breath, feeling the surge of power within its body and the accompanying, heart-pounding pleasure. This power was so strong that it could repel a formidable foe. But the price was that with each use, the resistance to darkness deep within its consciousness blurred a little more.
"237!"
Sprout 12's voice was filled with terror and disbelief as he finally rushed to his side. He could clearly feel the unsettling aura emanating from 237, and he could also see the Armored Beast outside the protective barrier, burned by a strange power.
"What did you do?! You used its power?!" Sprout 12 tried to get closer, but was pushed away by the unstable and highly repulsive energy field around 237.
Seed 237 slowly turned his head, his eyes flickering, sometimes clear, sometimes chaotic: "I did what I had to do. Otherwise, the Light Domain would have been breached. Where did you go? What did you see?" His tone carried a hint of questioning and... estrangement.
Sprout 12 felt a pang of pain in his heart, but the situation was critical. He said urgently, "Their attack is about to begin in full force! Shattered Shell Ridge is launching a frontal assault, the Tide Swamp Lotus Alliance is digging underground dark veins in an attempt to corrode the Light Root from below, and the Shadow Vine's roots are weaving a huge net, trying to completely sever our last connection with the Mother Tree! They are waiting! Waiting for problems to arise within our ranks!"
"Internal problems?" Seed237 chuckled, a laugh that sounded unfamiliar to Sprout12. "Is the problem with me, or with you, who are still unable to make a decision and have even begun to doubt your companions?"
“I’m not…” Sprout12 wanted to explain, but the words got stuck in his throat. He was indeed suspicious and fearful, and this emotion was accurately captured and amplified by 237.
Just then, the ground of the Light Domain began to tremble slightly, not from a direct impact, but from underground! In the distance, some areas of light grass began to wither rapidly, the ground became muddy and softened, and swampy liquid with a sour smell seeped out—the Tide Lotus Alliance's attack had begun! They were destroying the foundation of the Light Domain from underground!
At the same time, the light seemed to dim slightly, as if an invisible veil that absorbs light was slowly being woven above the light field—the isolation net of the Shadow Vine was also working in sync!
The three-way alliance's siege was not a reckless assault, but a meticulously coordinated annihilation!
"There's no time for arguing!" Sprout12 suppressed the sting in her heart, her branches and leaves bursting with sharp light. "We must stop the erosion from the ground and the air! I'll deal with the underground dark veins! You hold the front line and find a way to break the Shadow Vine's web!"
This is the most reasonable division of labor at present. Sprout 12 is agile and excels at precision strikes and underground operations, while 237, who possesses powerful energy (regardless of light or dark), is more suitable for head-on confrontation and area defense.
Seed 237 looked at Sprout 12, a complex light flickering in his eyes, a sliver of clarity seemingly struggling. In the end, he simply replied, "...Okay."
Sprout 12 gave him a deep look, then without further hesitation, his body transformed into a streak of light and plunged into the ground corroded by swamp liquid to confront the underground threat.
Before them, the Armored Vine Siege Beast, after a brief hesitation, roared and charged forward again, with more warriors from Shattered Shell Ridge beginning to appear behind it.
In the air, the network of shadows woven by the shadow vines became clearer and clearer, and the light grew dimmer.
Seed 237 faced a formidable foe alone. He felt the restless power within him, and also the worry tinged with determination as Bean Sprout 12 departed.
The shadowy whispers again: "Look, he's left you alone in the most dangerous place again. Using you, guarding against you... Is this what you wanted?"
Seed237 did not respond.
He simply and slowly, completely released the restrictions on that mixed force.
The dark purple-black patterns on his branches and leaves instantly brightened, even temporarily overshadowing the original brilliance.
He raised his head and looked at the surging enemy, the last trace of hesitation in his eyes replaced by a cold determination.
"bring it on."
He said softly, then went to meet him.
This time, his attacks were no longer merely defense and counterattack. He wielded the power of light and shadow with abandon, sometimes transforming into blades of light that tore through the vine armor, sometimes into shadowy tentacles that coiled and corroded, and even absorbing and transforming part of the energy from the enemy's attacks, returning it double!
He was like a war god driven mad, destroying the enemy in front of him with astonishing efficiency, invincible.
But with each enemy he defeated, the dark aura around him intensified, and his connection with the light root beneath his feet became increasingly sluggish and...painful. The light root seemed to be rejecting this corrupted power.
The shadow parasites within him rejoiced and grew wildly.
Sprout 12, burrowed underground, was in equally dire straits. He traversed the narrow, dark ley lines, battling the water ley line messengers of the Swamp Lotus Alliance and countless monsters formed from swamp fluid. His attacks were precise and efficient, constantly severing the ley lines that were supplying corrosive energy to the Light Root.
But the enemy was too numerous, and the environment was extremely unfavorable. The swampy liquid constantly eroded his protective aura and drained his strength. He worried about 237 on the ground, and his unease intensified with the passage of time.
"I have to hurry... I have to go back and help him..." Sprout 12 gritted her teeth and unleashed her power without regard for the cost, clearing a path for him.
When he finally managed to temporarily halt the underground corrosion and emerged from the ground in a disheveled state, the sight that greeted him almost shattered his spirit.
The Shattered Shell Ridge forces were temporarily repelled, leaving behind a large area of destroyed rattan armor wreckage.
But Seed 237 stood rooted to the spot, almost entirely enveloped in dense, dark purple-black energy, with only a few faint points of light struggling to remain. He was crouching, his body trembling slightly, as if desperately trying to control something; his posture was filled with pain and… a destructive urge.
The land beneath his feet, in that small patch of light, had become scorched and cracked, losing all life, due to the excessive shadow power it had absorbed!
“237!” Sprout12 cried out in disbelief.
Seed 237 suddenly turned his head. His "gaze" fell on Sprout 12, his eyes filled with chaos, pain, and a hint of unfamiliar...bloodlust.
“…Sprout?” His voice was hoarse and distorted, as if two voices were overlapping, “You…are back…”
The shadow parasite inside him laughed maniacally: "Perfect! A truly perfect vessel! Now, only the final step remains..."
The crisis in the Light Domain seems to have been temporarily averted, but the biggest crisis is erupting from within.
Sprout 12 stood amidst the chaos, looking at her almost completely unfamiliar companions, feeling a chill in her heart.
He knew that the worst had already happened.
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