Chapter 367: Victory
Chapter 367: Victory
Veronica shot Ashina a furious glare as she rode in atop her wolf. Having already dismissed her Divine Artifact, Veronica didn’t dare stay any longer and immediately retreated.
Mushai wasn’t nearly as fortunate. She staggered to her feet, her body covered in festering decay. Half of her face had been obliterated, leaving only a grinning skull behind.
Horrific wounds spread across her body, and much of her flesh had rotted away, exposing sickening white bones.
"Hahaha! I’m not that easy to kill! Today, I’m going to devour you, my own kind!"
"Once I eat you, I’ll become even stronger!"
With a crazed roar, Mushai picked up a rusted piece of scrap metal from the ground and frantically searched for Rosalia. There was barely a trace of divine power left in her body, yet the tenacious vitality of a Corrupted being continued to force her forward.
The moment she turned her head, an icy blue arrow pierced her only remaining intact left eye.
Pfft.
Mushai staggered backward two steps before dropping to one knee. She tried to stand again, but her body no longer obeyed her. She had already reached the brink of death.
"Surrender."
Drakewolf smashed through the chaotic crowd as Ashina nimbly leaped off its back. With a flick of her spear, she shook the filthy blood from its blade and spoke in a calm, indifferent voice.
"You’ve already lost. Swear loyalty to my master, and you’ll still have a chance to live."
"No, Big Sister!"
Clover had already pushed herself to the limit as she rushed over from behind.
"Third Tier Divine Skill, Corrupted Blessing!"
Emerald green energy surged from Clover’s chest and rushed toward Mushai.
If the healing succeeded, Mushai’s terrifying vitality as a Corrupted creature could very well turn the situation around.
"In that case, you can all die."
Ashina let out a quiet sigh. She never showed mercy to her enemies.
"Black Wolf, hunt down that little girl."
"Second Tier Divine Skill, Spear of Frostpierce!"
With a wave of her hand, the icy blue spear brimming with violent frost energy shot toward Mushai with overwhelming force.
In her current condition, Mushai couldn’t even move a finger, much less defend herself against a Divine Skill.
The power of winter swept through her with unstoppable force, instantly blasting Mushai into fragments. Even the surrounding ground was ripped apart, leaving behind a massive crater.
Meanwhile, Clover’s Divine Skill struck nothing but empty air.
"Big Sister!"
Nothing remained in Clover’s eyes except overwhelming despair.
Bitterness and self-mockery welled up inside her. For the first time, she felt utterly ridiculous. Agnes had forbidden anyone from leaving the territory, yet they had disobeyed her orders and secretly slipped away.
There was no time left for regret.
Drakewolf’s entire body blazed with fire as it smashed through and incinerated every Corrupted corpse in its path. In the blink of an eye, it was already in front of Clover. Its enormous jaws spread wide, and pieces of rebel flesh still clung between its savage fangs.
Clover, who possessed no offensive abilities whatsoever, immediately panicked and instinctively covered her face with both hands.
Scorching dragonfire burst forth.
Boom!
A gigantic worm suddenly burst out of the ground, swallowed Clover whole, and endured Drakewolf’s dragonfire. It immediately burrowed back underground and disappeared without a trace.
"Agnes again. Looks like that Corrupted commander isn’t going to be eliminated after all."
Ashina reacted instantly and turned toward Rosalia’s position.
When she saw that Ophelia had already carried the unconscious Rosalia safely back into the fortress, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Phield also dispatched the Corrupted corpse legion to pursue the fleeing enemy forces.
Amid the chaotic battlefield, Ashina found the Divine Artifact Ava had left behind. Since Ava had been killed instantly before she even had the chance to dismiss it, her Divine Bow naturally remained where she had fallen.
After returning to the fortress, Ashina hurried to find Phield.
"My lord, I saw Agnes’s worm. Also, is Miss Rosalia alright?"
"Don’t worry. She’s fine. She only exhausted her divine power and passed out."
Seeing that Ashina had also returned safely, Phield finally let go of the worry weighing on his heart.
"I saw Agnes’s worm as well, but she had no intention of taking the opportunity to launch a sneak attack. Instead, she withdrew immediately."
Fortunately, the minimap had been restored.
Phield could clearly see the red marker representing Clover rapidly moving away with the worm, and there were no other Corrupted Divine Chosen nearby.
The two hundred reinforcements from Nightfall Domain also arrived safely. They had already taken over part of the city’s defenses, begun treating the wounded, and were pursuing the scattered remnants of the enemy army.
The tide of battle had shifted in an instant. Only moments earlier, the battlefield had been consumed by a brutal struggle, yet now it had fallen into a bleak and haunting silence.
"That’s good. After all, everyone’s completely exhausted."
Ashina let out a sigh of relief and pulled an exquisite little bow from her side pouch. With a playful wink and a crisp salute, she said, "Reporting in, Commander. This is the spoils of war. A Third Tier Divine Artifact."
"I completely forgot about that. You’re always so dependable."
Phield forced a weary smile and reached out to take it, but the moment he did, the world began to spin around him.
"My lord!"
Ashina quickly caught him in her arms and anxiously pinched his cheeks.
"What’s wrong? Don’t scare me!"
"I’m so sleepy. I still need to go check... Never mind. I’m going to sleep..."
Throughout the past several days of fighting, Phield had barely dared to close his eyes. His nerves had remained stretched to their limit the entire time.
Now that the battle was finally over, exhaustion crashed over him like a tidal wave, and he could no longer hold on.
"Phew..."
Ashina let out a long breath of relief.
"Hey, look! That pillar of light!"
Hearing the astonished cries around her, Ashina looked up.
The towering golden pillar of light was slowly descending. Countless purple and golden motes drifted around it like falling stars before disappearing beneath the fortress.
The extraordinary phenomenon gradually faded away.
The sky returned to its pristine clarity. It was now deep into the night, with countless brilliant stars weaving together a tranquil heavenscape.
No monstrous roars echoed from within the fortress, nor did any Divine Chosen burst through the walls to begin destroying the world.
Everything was peaceful.
"Miss Ophelia, I’ll leave everything inside the fortress to you. Don’t let your guard down. If anyone manages to slip inside, the consequences would be unimaginable."
After a brief moment of thought, Ashina decisively continued.
"I’m heading underground to guard the entrance to the Fate Lock."
"Oh, you living people really are better at thinking these things through."
Ophelia smacked her forehead.
"Right. A newly born Divine Chosen of Destruction would only be First Tier. If someone snatched her away..."
"Ahem."
Ashina cleared her throat twice.
"What Divine Chosen of Destruction? There’s no such thing. Besides, everyone here is a loyal and courageous soldier. No one would ever betray us. I’m going to protect the Tidebind Lattice of the Surging Realms in case the Corrupted corpses launch an attack."
If the soldiers overheard people talking about distrusting them like that, it would be enough to infuriate them.
After all, they had just been relied upon in battle, only to be treated as potential traitors the very next moment.
And openly shouting about the Divine Chosen of Destruction was only asking for trouble.
"Tsk. Little Wolf, you’re handling things more and more like that worthless lord of yours. I hate people like you who are good at political maneuvering."
Waving her hand dismissively, Ophelia turned away in exasperation.
"Radish, Phield’s wife, you two are coming with me to work. Sigh... In the end, it’s still the three of us doing all the work."
Gogris and Alice both wore expressions of utter helplessness.
"Could you please stop giving everyone random nicknames..."