"Accelerate! Head for the outpost in the Blackstone Mountain Range!" Loran stood in the wheelhouse, watching the fluctuating energy readings on the instrument panel-the warship's propulsion was still disrupted by evil power, leaving its speed at only seventy percent of normal. The insect swarm and tentacles had already reached the stern, and Evil Bone Insects kept slamming into the light shield, leaving dense black-purple marks.
Snow Spirit Qilin suddenly flew out of the energy trough, an ice talisman hovering before the warship. Its pearly white light resonated with the Purification Core. "Loran! The core can activate the warship's hidden runes! The sacred land's energy absorbed earlier on Qilin Radiance Peak is compatible with the core's Purification Power. It can activate Purification Cruising Speed!"
Loran immediately took out the core and pressed it into the rune recess in the center of the wheelhouse. The core's pale purple light seeped into the recess, and pale gold qilin runes suddenly lit up across the warship-these runes had previously been hidden within its fallen star iron hull. Now activated by the core, they were actually identical to the ancient runes on Qilin Radiance Peak! As the runes flowed, the warship's light shield became incredibly sturdy. Evil Bone Insects turned to ash the instant they struck it, and the interference with the propulsion system vanished completely. Its speed abruptly tripled, and it sliced through the sea of clouds like a bolt of gold-purple lightning.
"We've shaken them off!" Liya leaned over the railing, watching the insect swarm and tentacles recede farther and farther behind them, and breathed a sigh of relief. But her words had barely faded when a black-purple pillar of light suddenly erupted from the distant rift. It shot straight into the sky, carving a "trail of evil power" through the sea of clouds-clearly, the Matriarch was marking the warship's position. Even if she could not catch up for now, she could still follow the trail to find them.
Loran touched the core against his chest. Its pale purple light remained steady, yet it faintly conveyed a weak warning-a reminder that the Matriarch's threat had never disappeared. "Chief Tongchui, how much longer until we reach Blackstone Outpost?" He looked at the map in the wheelhouse. The outpost in the Blackstone Mountain Range was a temporary base the dwarves had previously established to transport ore, with simple fortifications and energy reserves.
"Half an hour at most!" Chief Tongchui adjusted their course as the warship flew toward the black mountains at the edge of the sea of clouds. "The outpost has an emergency energy depot we left behind, and we can repair the warship's light shield there too. But... the Matriarch's trail of evil power is still following us. We can't let our guard down even after reaching the outpost."
A Ze walked up beside Loran, the water-patterned bone whistle in hand glowing faintly. "I've already used the bone whistle to contact the Swamp Spirit Clan's Water Whisperers in the Blackstone Mountain Range. They'll reinforce the outpost's defenses in advance and use a water-element barrier to conceal the warship's energy fluctuations. It might temporarily cut off the Matriarch's tracking."
Loran nodded and walked to the stern, gazing at the gradually fading black-purple trail in the sea of clouds. The Abyss Matriarch's furious roar seemed to linger in his ears. He could imagine that Qilin Radiance Peak might already be shrouded in evil power, the sacred land's purifying power temporarily suppressed-but as long as they still had the core, as long as they were still here, there was a chance to reclaim the sacred land and stop the Matriarch's scheme completely.
The Icefield Wolf walked to Loran's feet and rubbed its head against his hand. The earlier wariness was gone from its golden eyes, replaced by a measure of resolve. Lei Lin and Snow Spirit Qilin also emerged from the energy trough. Though their ice and fire wings showed faint signs of fatigue, they still shone brilliantly-during their confrontation with the Matriarch, the sacred land's energy had actually stimulated a slight growth in their origin power.
Half an hour later, the sacred warship slowly landed on Blackstone Outpost's platform. The outpost's dwarven guards had long been waiting there, and they hurried toward the warship, pushing energy crystal blocks. Several Swamp Spirit Water Whisperers laid down a pale blue water-element barrier around the platform. Runes flickered across it, completely concealing the warship's energy fluctuations.
Loran stepped off the warship and looked up toward the sea of clouds-the black-purple trail had vanished completely, and the Matriarch had lost track of them for now. But he knew this was only a brief respite. The Matriarch would never let the matter rest, and her next pursuit might bring even greater forces from the Abyss.
"Repair the warship immediately! Replenish its energy!" Loran ordered everyone. "Liya, use the Tree of Life's sap to reinforce the core's Core-Protecting Light Shield. A Ze, have the Water Whisperers expand the barrier. Chief Tongchui, contact Elder White and Elder Aila. Tell them the Matriarch appeared in person and have them prepare their defenses in advance."
As the sun sank in the west, Blackstone Outpost's bonfires gradually lit up. Replenished by energy crystals, the warship's light shield grew dazzling once more. The core was placed in a hastily built fallen star iron chamber, surrounded by water-element barriers and natural vines-this was the tightest protection they could currently provide.
Loran sat beside the bonfire, holding the Purification Core and feeling its gentle, warm glow. He remembered his ignorance when he first set out from Green Forest Town, the awakening of the runes in the Elven Forest, the sealing crisis at the Radiant Temple, and now the desperate confrontation with the Abyss Matriarch-along this journey, he was no longer alone. He had companions who fought beside him and a conviction to protect the continent.
"Will the Matriarch come again?" Snow Spirit Qilin sat beside Loran, the ice talisman glowing softly. Loran nodded, his gaze firm. "Yes. But next time, we won't merely flee. We'll unite every force we can and put an end to this crisis before she invades the continent."
The bonfire's light shone on everyone's faces. There was no fear, only resolve. They knew that after this brief rest, an even harder battle awaited-and this time, they would no longer retreat. With the weapons in their hands and the convictions in their hearts, they would protect the continent they loved.
Deep within the sea of clouds, the black-purple rift had yet to close. The Abyss Matriarch's enormous head slowly withdrew into it, her compound eyes flashing with unwillingness and madness. A wisp of evil power gathered at her fingertip, and a phantom image of the warship appeared within it-as long as she found the core, her Abyss Legion could breach the planar barrier and turn this entire continent into a pasture of darkness.
"Just wait... Loran Kane..." The Matriarch's voice echoed through the Abyss. "The next time we meet will be the day you die."
A pursuit and a struggle to protect, spanning the sea of clouds and the mountains, had only just begun their fiercest opening act.