The night was black as ink, pressing heavily over the rooftops and treetops of Wushan Town. Backed by Wu Mountain and bordering the edge of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, the little town had long since traded its daytime bustle for silence. Only faint traces of Battle Qi lingered over the training ground, mingling with the chirping insects in the woods to form the night's prelude.
Hillman stood alone on the roof of Baruch Manor. Pale silver Battle Qi flowed slowly around him like a stream, carrying the steady, imposing pressure unique to an Earth Element warrior. Just half an hour earlier, the Battle Qi he had accumulated over many years had finally broken through its shackles, bringing him firmly into the realm of a Ninth-level Warrior-the deep fusion of his insights into Earth Element magic with his Battle Qi, together with the foundation he had built by slaying powerful foes, had made this breakthrough come naturally.
At the instant of his breakthrough, he had clearly felt the earth beneath his feet respond. Countless fine channels of energy spread like a spiderweb, resonating wondrously with his Battle Qi. But that joy vanished in an instant. Hillman's brows drew tightly together, his eyes grave.
As someone who knew the fate laid out in the original story, he understood better than anyone that a devastating calamity was racing toward Wushan Town along a route through the Dark Forest. Deep within the Dark Forest lived a ninth-level Shadowmouse couple, skilled in stealth and assassination, who also commanded tens of thousands of rats. They would be an extremely valuable fighting force and source of support to any powerful individual. And growing inside the female was Bebe, the God-Slaying Rat who would one day share life and death with Linley and make his name resound across the plane-his ancestor was Beirut, the true king of the Dark Forest and the first god-eating rat across countless planes.
Two Saint-level powerhouses had already set their sights on the Shadowmouse couple, tracking them all the way here from the edge of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, with relentless fighting along the way. They were the Starry Sky Sword Saint Tilon and the Earth Element Saint Magus Rudy. Belonging to different factions, they had already been enemies for years. Now, competing for the Shadowmice and their enormous rat horde, they were more irreconcilable than ever, each wishing to eradicate the other completely.
"They've already gone mad fighting over the Shadowmice, and Wushan Town happens to lie right along their pursuit route. If they fight here, the shock waves of a Saint-level battle alone will be enough to flatten the town!" Hillman clenched his fists as images of the town's destruction and the Shadowmouse couple's tragic deaths in the original story flashed through his mind. "I must not let that tragedy happen again!"
The thought had barely formed when the system's cold notification rang out in his mind:
[Ding! Detected: Starry Sky Sword Saint Tilon and Earth Element Saint Magus Rudy are approaching Wushan Town in pursuit of the Shadowmice. Both are poised to fight over their targets. Emergency protection mission triggered.] [Mission requirements: Use the name of Beirut, king of the Dark Forest, to frighten off both Saint-level powerhouses, preserve the lives of the Shadowmouse couple, ensure that the God-Slaying Rat Bebe is born at full term, and keep Wushan Town safe and unharmed.] [Mission rewards: Consolidation of ninth-level peak warrior cultivation; one set of insights into Earth Pulsation.] [Failure penalty: Wushan Town destroyed; host's cultivation falls by three levels.]
Hillman's heart tightened. Everyone on the Yulan Continent knew Beirut's fearsome reputation. This Deity-level powerhouse lived in seclusion at the heart of the Dark Forest, fiercely protected his own, and possessed unfathomable strength. He was certainly not someone Tilon and Rudy would dare provoke lightly. Hillman had only just reached the ninth level, leaving an enormous gulf between him and the Saint-level. Only by borrowing that deterrent could he stop the impending catastrophe.
Without the slightest hesitation, Hillman swept down from the roof like a phantom and raced toward the boundary between the Dark Forest and Wushan Town. Relying on his rudimentary perception of Earth Pulsation and his memories of the original story, he soon found the Shadowmouse couple's temporary den-a cave hidden beneath a rocky slope, its entrance concealed by thorny brush. It was the temporary hiding place the Shadowmice had chosen to evade their pursuers.
Outside the cave, two jet-black Shadowmice huddled together, their scarlet eyes filled with exhaustion and wariness. The female closely guarded her swollen belly, trembling with every breath. Their long flight had already drained most of their strength, and their pursuers were closing in behind them.
"Tilon! Don't push me too far! I found this Shadowmouse couple first!" A furious shout imbued with Earth Element power tore through the night sky. Dressed in an ocher mage's robe, Rudy strode through the air, dense earth elemental energy surging around him. "Keep pursuing them, and don't blame me for summoning an Earth Guardian to crush you completely!"
Close behind him, Tilon appeared in a robe patterned with stars. The sword in his hand gleamed with a chilling silver light, his sword intent soaring into the sky. "Rudy, the weak are prey to the strong. Whoever has the ability gets these Shadowmice! You and I were already irreconcilable. Today, either you leave, or we settle this here with our lives!"
Their gazes clashed, naked killing intent in their eyes. Their Saint-level auras intertwined and collided, snapping the surrounding trees and splitting the ground with fine cracks. The Shadowmouse couple trembled all over in terror, yet still refused to leave their den-this was the closest concealed spot to Wushan Town, and their last refuge.
"Then fight! If I can't have them, neither will you!" A vicious gleam flashed through Rudy's eyes. He raised a hand and condensed several thick Earth Spikes, aiming them straight at the Shadowmice's cave, while sending another Earth Spike hurtling toward Tilon.
Tilon snorted coldly and drew his sword. Silver light flashed, and the Earth Spike split in two in an instant. At the same time, his figure flickered as he lunged toward the cave, clearly intending to seize the Shadowmice first.
At that critical instant, a voice like rolling thunder suddenly boomed, sweeping over the entire area with a vast, imposing force that pulsed in time with the earth:
"Insolence! You dare fight over prey on Beirut's territory?"
Hillman stepped slowly out of the shadows, driving his Battle Qi to its limit while stirring Earth Pulsation. The ground beneath his feet shook violently, loose stones tumbled, and dense Earth Element power surged like a tide. He deliberately lowered his voice, making it hoarse and commanding, and concealed every trace of his ninth-level aura, simulating only Beirut's Deity-level pressure that towered above all living beings.
Tilon and Rudy froze simultaneously and whipped their heads toward Hillman. A flicker of astonishment crossed their eyes when they saw that his cultivation was only at the ninth level. But when that terrifying aura, deeply linked to the Dark Forest, washed over them, their expressions changed drastically.
"This aura... is it Lord Beirut's protective power?" Tilon's grip on his sword tightened slightly, his voice filled with apprehension. Tracking the Shadowmice ever deeper, they had long since entered the Dark Forest. They knew full well how fiercely Beirut protected his own. This Deity-level powerhouse would never allow outsiders to slaughter freely on his territory, let alone seize a clan under his protection.
Rudy's face grew even paler. As an Earth Element Saint Magus, his sensitivity to the earth far exceeded that of ordinary people. He could clearly sense that this aura was no disguise, as though Beirut himself were watching nearby. "You... are you Lord Beirut's envoy?"
Hillman remained expressionless and said coldly, "Lord Beirut placed the Shadowmouse clan under his protection long ago. Pursuing them and fighting over them here is a challenge to his authority. Now, get out of the Dark Forest immediately, or else-"
Before his words had faded, he abruptly drove Earth Pulsation into motion. Several deep trenches instantly split the ground across the area, and dense Earth Element power condensed into an invisible pressure that left even the two Saint-level powerhouses feeling suffocated.
Tilon and Rudy exchanged a glance, each seeing fear and retreat in the other's eyes. Though they coveted the Shadowmice, neither dared gamble with his life-offending Beirut was no different from seeking death. Besides, they had been wary of each other from the start. Cowed by this pressure, they had even less inclination to fight.
"Hmph! I'll show Lord Beirut some respect today!" Rudy glared fiercely at Tilon, then looked toward the cave, his eyes filled with reluctance. Earth Element power surged around him as he turned and fled in a streak of ocher light.
Tilon gritted his teeth as well, sheathed his sword, and snorted coldly. "If I encounter this Shadowmouse couple again, I won't hold back!" With that, he stepped upon glimmers of starlight and swiftly vanished into the night.
Only after the auras of both Saint-level powerhouses had completely faded did Hillman breathe a sigh of relief. His imposing presence instantly dissipated, and his back was already soaked with cold sweat. He had won this enormous gamble.
[Ding! Both Saint-level powerhouses have been frightened off. The Shadowmouse couple's lives have been preserved.] [Ding! The conditions for the God-Slaying Rat Bebe's full-term birth have been secured.] [Ding! The crisis facing Wushan Town has been resolved. Mission complete!] [Ding! Rewards issued: Consolidation of ninth-level peak warrior cultivation; one set of insights into Earth Pulsation.]
A warm current instantly swept through every part of Hillman's body. His ninth-level cultivation stabilized at once, faintly brushing the threshold of the peak. The insights into Earth Pulsation poured into his mind like a sudden revelation, bringing everything into focus-he finally understood how to connect his own strength seamlessly with the earth, drawing on boundless earth power to amplify his combat strength and making every punch stir a resonance in the soil.
The Shadowmouse couple inside the cave lowered their guard and gave clear, sharp cries toward Hillman, full of gratitude. Faint movements came from within the female's belly, as though conveying a sign of life to this protector.
Hillman smiled faintly, then turned and left.
Dawn was approaching, and the sky east of Wushan Town turned a pale fish-belly white. Hillman stood on the town wall, gazing toward the distant Dark Forest. He felt the surging Battle Qi within him and its connection to the earth beneath his feet, his eyes filled with resolve.
He knew that after tonight, Wushan Town would remain peaceful. And the unborn Bebe would soon come into the world, meet Linley, and embark with him on that path to the pinnacle that would shake the plane.
And he, as their protector, would clear more thorns from that path for them.
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