The writhing worms, along with the piles of dead ones, were buried beneath the collapsing roof. Now! Charge!
Si Nan Ying and I sprinted for the entrance. Along the way, we ran into a few worms that had somehow survived. I didn't dare get tangled up with them, and simply swept my Blood Whip through the air to clear a path.
Hurry, hurry!
The Si Nan Family must have sent people to meet us. They were skilled at detection, so they definitely knew where we were. As long as we got outside, we were sure to run into them!
Unless... the people coming to meet us had run into the Desolate Beasts too.
At the thought, I suddenly had a bad feeling... I must be overthinking it.
I shook my head, banishing the unlucky thought. Anyway, first we had to get outside—
"Xiao Ye!" "Huh?"
I heard Si Nan Ying scream. Before I could react, the ground shook, and a tremendous force seized my foot and dragged me straight into the air!
An overwhelming sense of weightlessness engulfed me. The world spun around and around, making me want to throw up. Something had grabbed me and was swinging me around like a toy!
No... I had to protect myself, quick—
Before I could bring up my Blood Shield, a crushing force slammed into the left side of my body. A sharp pain followed, so intense it tore a scream from me!
That damn thing had smashed me into the wall!
The impact left my brain in a daze. Instinctively, I formed a Blood Blade and hacked downward to protect myself, but just as it was about to strike, a sharp pain shot through my ankle. It felt as if a thick spike had pierced my body. A strange tingling numbness immediately spread from my ankle through my whole body. My strength drained away, as if every last bit of it had left me, and my vision blurred.
Poison! My numb brain finally caught on. I hurriedly set my blood flowing through my whole body, forcing out the poison that had entered me. As my vision slowly cleared, I finally saw what had grabbed me.
It was obviously related to the Drilling Worms, but its extraordinary nature was plain from the aura it gave off. The worm was nearly two meters in diameter, its body covered in a bright purple shell. Its feelers formed the shape of a crown, and two long, spiny tentacles extended from the front of its body. One of them had me in its grip.
This thing... was it their king?
Even if it was the King of Insects, it was still far weaker than a Desolate Beast. Normally, I wouldn't have been afraid of it, but now...
I was putting every bit of my strength into forcing out the poison. I didn't even have enough left to defend myself. All I could do was let it toss me around!
Si Nan Ying was frantic!
She could only watch as her companion was swung around like a toy and badly hurt, while she herself could do nothing!
If she fired a bubble, a low-powered one wouldn't do a thing to the King of Insects and would only anger it. But a super-high-powered one would blast Xiao Ye to smithereens along with it. What was she supposed to do?
Thankfully, once the King of Insects appeared, the other worms had stopped moving. Each one was prostrate on the ground, as if paying their respects. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to protect herself!
Staying here wouldn't help at all and would only put her in danger. If she ran, at least one of them might survive. Rationally speaking, abandoning her companion and escaping was the sensible choice.
But the thought had barely crossed Si Nan Ying's mind before it vanished. She would never abandon a companion! Better to do everything she could, however little, and fight to the death than leave Xiao Ye behind!
But her first priority now was—to save Xiao Ye!
Her face had grown paler and paler. Her beautiful features were twisted with pain, her limp arms and legs dangling as the worm swung her around. Her clothes were in disarray. Was there any trace left of her usual graceful bearing?
Damn bug! How dare you treat my Xiao Ye like this... Unforgivable!
But what could she do?
No, it wasn't a question of what to do. The only way was to act herself, kill the King of Insects without hurting Xiao Ye, and "Implosion Style" wouldn't work on an opponent this large. There was only one way. The question was whether she could pull it off.
Si Nan Ying focused and began to form a bubble. Control its range... kill it in one strike...
If she divided the bubble's power into ten levels, she would need about level four or five to kill it in one hit. She had never managed that level before. If she failed again this time...
The image of the mountain collapsing suddenly flashed through her mind. Si Nan Ying froze as if someone had pressed a pause button, her gaze turning lost and helpless. That was right... she couldn't control her power properly. If she acted rashly, she wouldn't help at all—instead, she would only hasten Xiao Ye's death!
Damn it... If only she could be more useful! If all her past efforts had amounted to even a little progress, she wouldn't be so helpless now!
But no matter how much she regretted it, she still couldn't do what she couldn't do.
The full weight of her helplessness sank in. Despair and regret filled Si Nan Ying's heart...
"L-Little Ying..."
Just then, her weakened companion suddenly spoke. Si Nan Ying jerked her head up as if jolted by electricity.
"Hurry... do it...
If you try, there's still a chance you'll succeed.
If you give up, then there's really no hope.
Come on...
If we're going to die either way...
Then use my life to make the bet!"
Make the bet?
At that moment, Si Nan Ying finally cast off all her uncertainty. She no longer hesitated or wavered. There was only one thing on her mind—to save her.
Feel her power, become one with it.
Elder Hong's old teachings echoed in her ears. Si Nan Ying closed her eyes, her mind still as water, and carefully sensed the wild, violent power of her ability. In the past, she had tried to tame that untethered horse by sheer force. Now, things were different. What mattered was guiding it gently, not controlling it by brute force...
Try to imagine it...
If she could succeed, if she could save her, if they could escape!
Si Nan Ying abruptly opened her eyes. There was no more uncertainty in her gaze! She gathered her spiritual power, concentrated it in her hands, adjusted the force, and released it!
A deep-blue bubble drifted out. It carried none of the dangerous fluctuations of the previous bubble, nor the feeble feeling of a low-powered one. It swept through the air, tracing a deep-blue arc, and struck the point where the King of Insects' body met the ground.
BANG!!!
The bubble let out a piercing blast. The shock wave swept outward. The spot where it struck the King of Insects warped, crumbled, and vanished in an instant! The blast radius rapidly expanded. Just as it was about to reach Xiao Ye, it stopped abruptly, with not a hair's breadth to spare!
Power level four to five, three-meter diameter!
This was the most successful control Si Nan Ying had ever achieved since awakening her ability!
An explosion sounded below. The King of Insects let out a piercing shriek, and the tentacle wrapped around me immediately released its grip. I flew out like a kite with its string cut and hit the ground hard.
"Xiao Ye!"
Someone ran up to me and lifted me into their arms. That voice... Si Nan Ying? She'd actually succeeded?
"Ha... congratulations. You did it."
"Mm..." Whether from joy or emotion, Si Nan Ying was already crying.
"Now then." I swayed to my feet. The King of Insects was dead, the greatest threat was gone, and there was nothing left to fear. All we had to do was get outside and wait obediently for someone to come get us...
But I had been far too naive.
A rumbling came from the distance, mixed with the roars of beasts.
The main force of the Beast Tide had arrived.
Before you continue