Ye Yunshang's body swayed as she dodged a flying, wrecked car while swinging her sword in battle.
“Don't push yourself too hard! Your life is what matters most!”
Lin Miao, feeling anxious, told her to take care of herself through Bai Zhantang, who was connected to the hive mind.
She was the core of the human colony, and its queen. Her death could lead to the destruction of the entire colony.
“But the people!”
Ye Yunshang looked at the ordinary citizens who hadn't evacuated in time and were caught up in the disaster.
Unable to reach shelters in time, they were dragged in by the monsters pouring out of the rift in the sky, becoming casualties of the monster attacks and the shockwaves of battle.
“...”
Having nurtured the Great Devourer and witnessed countless wars and massacres, Lin Miao was left speechless by the scene before him.
Regardless, this world was his home and 'base' that he had resolved to protect at all costs.
Although no one had yet realized that Lin Miao was the only god born on Earth, as a deity, he could not help but feel enraged by this blatant, hostile invasion.
It had even reached the point where he might personally head to America at any moment to erase the rift and the monsters with his own power.
“Give me some time! I'll try to block the enemy's rift in this emergency!”
Right then, Luluca, who was with the Awakened, turned pale as she gathered her magic power and cast a spell.
Unlike the victims known to the public who were attacked by monsters and sealed in rifts, Luluca was a servant personally chosen and sent by a deity. Sensing the urgency of the situation, she revealed her full power.
Although this was not originally part of the plan, the situation was far too critical, and she only unleashed her power after receiving instructions from her deity.
“Protect her!”
The Awakened belonging to Alpha guarded Luluca as she focused her mind and power, keeping her safe.
At this point, factions no longer mattered.
The multi-national Awakened who happened to be gathered there rushed to her side, both to rescue those who hadn't evacuated in time and to protect Luluca.
The servants of Abhoth, including the off-the-charts enemies that had managed to cross the rift in time, launched an all-out assault on Luluca, attempting to kill her.
Ignoring everyone else, the armed Awakened poured their power into the terrifying creations of the Outer God rushing at them from the land and air, turning the area into a fierce battlefield.
“The rift is closing! Are you... are you filming this?!”
As she focused, Luluca's entire body radiated blue magic power, shooting a pillar of light into the sky.
The pillar of light struck the sky, and the size of the rift, where the giant tentacles destroying the city squirmed, slowly began to shrink.
The people on-site, as well as humans worldwide watching the videos they desperately filmed and shared, were shocked.
Closing a rift through individual power was a concept that had never existed before.
But the tentacles made one final, desperate struggle before the rift could close.
With a sharp snap, the shrinking rift severed the giant tentacles, sending them crashing to the ground. But the area where Luluca and the Awakened stood was also struck by the flailing tentacles, shattering the ground and collapsing buildings, turning the area into scorched earth.
“Cough...”
‘If only there had been a little more time.’
Luluca, thrown far away and falling to the ground, grimaced and gasped for breath.
She had flown dozens of meters, crashing heavily onto the hard ground. No matter how powerful she was, she still felt the impact.
She struggled amidst the asphalt shattered by her own body's impact, staring through the rising dust at the rift that had not yet fully closed.
Inside the black vortex, a still-blinking eyeball watched her.
Only someone of her level could look directly at that eyeball and maintain her sanity.
“The servant of the Goddess of the Moon...”
The Outer God, Abhoth, recognized Luluca through the eyeball of the observer it had dispatched—or more precisely, it recognized the faction of the deity Luluca served.
For a long time, not just on Earth but even in other worlds, this existence had repeatedly thwarted it. It was impossible for Abhoth not to recognize them.
“Ugh?!”
Monsters swarmed forward, wanting to kill her.
Compared to the off-the-charts tentacles from earlier, the remaining monsters were insignificant, but the problem was that Luluca was now completely exhausted, and there were no Awakened around to protect her.
She panicked as she looked at the viscous black tentacles wrapping around her arm.
At that moment, monsters rushing from all directions bared their fangs and claws, eager to kill her.
Suddenly, multiple swords flew out of nowhere, slaying those monsters in a single strike.
“You are...!”
Luluca was shocked to see Ye Yunshang.
Dressed in what looked like an Awakened combat suit, Ye Yunshang kicked off the ground, her eyes glowing red as she swung the sword in her hand.
At the same time, dozens of swords she summoned danced as one.
The monsters rushing forward were slaughtered in droves once more. Amidst them, Ye Yunshang danced a dance of swords, single-handedly slaying every last one of the Outer God's servants rushing toward Luluca.
“Oh?”
Dust filled the air, and the surrounding enemies were still densely packed, but Luluca's green eyes sparkled.
One of her missions was to use her vision, which far surpassed that of Earth's Awakened, to identify and recruit talent.
Although Luluca had no information and could not even begin to guess, Ye Yunshang, completely integrated with the symbiotic carapace ant, had long since surpassed Tier 4.
Luluca looked at her and praised, “Miss, your strength is outstanding, and your beauty is truly striking.”
Ye Yunshang cleared her mind, her expression solemn. “I know my duty, and this doesn't seem to be the time for such talk.”
“Ah, as expected.”
Confirming that Ye Yunshang was already the servant of another deity—and one deeply trusted enough to be told 'secrets'—Luluca let out a sigh of regret.
“The noise is dying down. Let's find a safe place to take shelter first.”
Lowering her sword, Ye Yunshang picked Luluca up.
In truth, this was a dangerous moment for Luluca as well.
In such an unexpected situation, it wouldn't be surprising if Ye Yunshang decided to eliminate an important pawn of a competitor.
Luluca's deity would be furious and attempt to punish her, but in the end, that was just part of the competition.
However, Ye Yunshang did not do that. She simply carried Luluca to safety.
“Saving lives comes first.”
Ye Yunshang gave Luluca a brief answer.
Even Luluca, and the existence observing everything through her, could not help but smile faintly.
“...”
Of course, no one knew that Ye Yunshang had already obtained everything she wanted.
After rescuing Luluca...
Ye Yunshang headed back to the scene, glancing at her hand, which was stained with Luluca's blood.
The blood dripping from the scratch slowly seeped into the symbiotic carapace ant disguised as her combat suit.
This blood, stored inside the symbiotic carapace ant, would be delivered directly to Lin Miao once she returned to the Dragon Nation.
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