NEC Chapter 75: Desperate Charge

When the explosion occurred, the Fifth Knight raised both arms, left arm shielding his chest, right arm protecting his head, his body emanating a faint silver-white glow that covered his entire form like liquid mercury.

Zircon Family had already prepared an instantly activatable magical protection scroll for this knight.

After being swallowed by the explosion's flames for several breaths, the Fifth Knight reappeared, looking completely blackened from head to toe, especially his hair, which looked as if something had taken a large bite out of it, exposing half his scalp.

The flying dust kicked up by the blast, after the protection scroll failed, fell heavily on the Fifth Knight's head, making him look particularly disheveled.

As Paven and Connor's blades clashed violently with sparks flying, the Fifth Knight, filled with rage, boldly joined the battle!

"Good! Good! Good!"

"So these are the little toys Sky Empire sent you? Indeed quite powerful!"

"Since you're so ungrateful, my lord marquis can hardly blame me!"

The power gap between fourth and fifth tier was like a chasm.

Surrounded by two great knights, Paven struggled desperately, barely holding on for several rounds before his opponents forcibly broke through his sword's defense. Fist shadows condensed with earth-yellow heavy fighting spirit, carrying the terrifying power to crack stone and pierce gold, struck the guard captain's chest repeatedly and solidly.

The first punch broke through his spiritual defense, the second shattered his protective soft armor, the third crushed his physical strength. The massive power difference made the guard captain feel as if struck by continuous giant hammer blows.

Dejected, he spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood. Paven flew backward like a kite with a broken string, heavily crashing onto a bluestone platform beside the official road before sliding limply to the ground.

The Fifth Knight grinned savagely, then turned like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, wantonly slaughtering the Cloudmist Domain warriors.

Sword light and blade shadows, flesh and blood flying. In just a few breaths, most of the warriors were stained with blood on the spot.

"Leave a few alive!"

The Fifth Knight of Zircon roughly kicked several heavily wounded Emerald warriors to Connor's feet, then reached out with his right hand like an iron clamp, crushing a warrior's skull and heavily throwing the corpse mixed with red and white viscous fluid in front of the fallen Captain Paven.

He walked quickly forward, looking down from above at Paven, who seemed to be bleeding from every pore, struggling to suppress his anger and wariness.

He couldn't help but be angry. Those "little gadgets" had actually blown through the protection scroll granted by his lord.

Having already heard of Captain Paven's illustrious record of single-handedly killing a beast clan chieftain, how could the marquis not prepare? His several knights were all equipped with two sets of magical scrolls for high protection and high fire resistance. Even so, they were pierced by this strange weapon.

If not for a fifth-tier great knight's sufficiently powerful body, this blow would have been enough to kill him.

But the Fifth Knight couldn't stop his contemptuous mockery.

"Ha, General Paven, do you see clearly? Before absolute power, your little cleverness and little toys are nothing but meaningless death throes!"

He bent slightly, attempting one last recruitment, "Why must you do this? You still have a bright future. Bring out your little lady, and I'll escort you away from this dangerous battlefield. My lord marquis will give you the highest courtesy!"

"Would you rather die here and become rotting flesh gnawed by wild dogs and vultures?"

"Tell me, where is Lady Frost?"

Paven breathed with difficulty, each breath bringing out spurts of bloody foam. His gaze passed over the Fifth Knight, staring directly at Connor behind him, "You... why did you... betray?"

Still willing to communicate, the Fifth Knight felt slightly relieved and beckoned to Knight Connor, "Come, you tell him!"

Connor slowly walked over, his eyes avoiding Paven's burning stare, his voice dry, "I'm just... following orders. I'm the fourth young master's subordinate, and the fourth young master has already submitted to Greenspine..."

Paven struggled to support himself, half-turning to raise his hand, wanting to say something, but his mouth gushed out a large clot of half-congealed blood, accompanied by several weak coughs.

Finally, he gave up on words, only struggling to raise his left hand, weakly waving it back and forth in front of his chest, then bringing his five fingers together, palm downward, making a forceful pressing motion.

"What are you trying to say?" The Fifth Knight frowned tightly, vigilantly watching him.

Paven continued making gestures with difficulty. At first with one hand, then after slowly steadying himself, he used both hands to gesture back and forth, making one gesture after another, leaving the Zircon knight completely bewildered. Yet not daring to miss anything, he could only try to widen his eyes and remember those complex movements.

At this moment, six kilometers away at the hidden camp, little Lady Frost had already cried herself into a mess.

Each team had its own exclusive secret communication method. Paven chose an appropriate angle, knowing that the skylark in the distant sky could see him. So he repeatedly used hand signals to tell those in the hiding place: Danger! Extreme danger!

Don't approach, don't worry about me!

Go, leave quickly!

Paven kept making those few gestures over and over. The atmosphere at the hiding place was suffocatingly tense.

Lady Frost lay sobbing continuously on her female attendant, while Master Locke rubbed the magical instrument in his hands forcefully, somehow cutting bloody marks on his fingers. The two warriors' faces were iron-blue, teeth clenched tight. As for Chen Mo, he stared at the screen with blood-red eyes, trying hard to distinguish Captain Paven's every movement.

At the battle scene, the Fifth Knight of Zircon finally couldn't bear it anymore.

"I don't care what tricks you're playing. Even if you never speak, it's just a matter of us spending a little more time. Why bother?"

"This land already belongs to Greenspine. No one can escape!"

"Think about it! As long as you confess, you can immediately receive treatment! Perhaps... your remaining years could still be as a warrior, rather than rotting here!"

The word "treatment" seemed to touch Paven. He supported himself with one hand on the ground while the other reached into his waist pouch, pulling out a thin, long tube gleaming coldly.

The Fifth Knight cautiously retreated several steps, once again gripping his protection scroll tightly.

Seeing this fellow pull out medicine to save himself, he actually felt slightly relieved.

Having the desire to survive made manipulation and control possible.

Paven didn't disappoint him, directly and unhesitatingly jabbing the mysterious thin tube into himself. The effect seemed poor, so Paven pulled out another and viciously jabbed it in again.

This wasn't healing medicine, but adrenaline from East Xia.

Paven remembered Chen Mo saying this stuff needed to be injected into blood vessels to take immediate effect. If it didn't hit a blood vessel, it would still take several dozen breaths to work.

Paven didn't want to wait, couldn't wait.

Severe injury and serious blood loss had cost him his accuracy, so he could only try one injection after another.

After the third injection, when Paven reached for his waist pouch again, he suddenly felt his heart begin to beat violently.

A surge of heat pumped from his heart to his limbs, his whole body feeling slightly feverish, muscles beginning to tense. His collapsed body seemed infused with some kind of power. Paven, bathed in blood, stood up and let out a violent roar.

"Connor!"

Paven staggered toward Knight Commander Connor standing at the side rear.

The Fifth Knight was pleased to see this scene of mutual destruction and internal strife. Of course, he didn't think the current Paven posed any threat.

He leisurely retreated another half step, folded his arms across his chest, and prepared to appreciate this ridiculous comedy.

Then, the next moment, he witnessed the final, brilliant and tragic crescendo of the Goldscale Swordsman's life!

[NEXT CHAPTER]

Chapter 76: The Guard Captain's Final Chapter

Paven had always been a clear-headed warrior with definite goals. From the moment he confirmed he couldn't escape, he had been planning his final strike.

After the guard captain deliberately attracted Knight Connor's attention, he leveraged the adrenaline surge to launch his life's last charge with unsteady steps.

While charging, he pulled out two more grenades.

Both knights retreated in unison, but what caught everyone completely off guard was that Paven's target was the wounded and captured Cloudmist Domain warriors lying on the ground.

Flames roared, shrapnel whistled, and the metal storm rapidly harvested these warriors' lives.

Paven's face bore a trace of resolute apology.

Sorry, though you are comrades, you know the lady's hiding place.

I don't know if you can withstand the enemy's temptation, bribery, and torture. I can't gamble on your integrity and will, so you must die!

As for himself...

I must also die to prevent any rescue they might launch.

"Clang!"

A collision without any flourish, using all remaining strength! The spent Paven was shattered by the recoil force, falling heavily at Knight Commander Connor's feet, his sword flying from his grip.

He struggled to lift his head, his blood-blurred vision meeting Connor's twisted and savage face, and that hysterical questioning.

"Why?"

Paven's lips, stained with bloody foam, moved slightly. Using his last breath, he softly uttered a few words.

"You... didn't... didn't you say... I was a dog..."

"Dogs... don't... betray their masters... do they..."

BOOM!!!

The adhesive bomb triggered, detonating all the thermal weapons Paven carried with him in a chain explosion that thundered across the plain.

Brilliant, blinding fireballs expanded in the air, roaring and rising into towering smoke clouds that shot skyward.

"Uncle Paven!"

Lady Frost let out a piercing cry, grabbed the anti-materiel rifle, and rushed toward the exit of the hiding place.

Attendant Linda grabbed hold of her but was dragged far away by Frost, frantically calling out, "Stop her, quickly stop her!"

The remaining two Cloudmist Domain warriors dared not offend the little lady, only trying to block her path with their bodies. In this chaos, Chen Mo stood up.

A surge of violent anger churned in his heart.

Scene after scene from his arrival on the Starry Continent, the blonde kid's persecution, the mercenary team's pursuit, the inhuman slaughter in villages and towns, the guard captain's blood-soaked charge across the plain, all swirled repeatedly in his mind, making his chest feel so blocked it might explode.

He also wanted to grab a weapon and go out to fight the enemy to the death.

But Paven stopped him.

Among Paven's repeated hand gestures was a section of their agreement, asking him to take Frost away.

Paven understood everyone in the team well. He knew Frost would go mad, and he also knew that due to status, no one else in the entire team could truly restrain this lady.

Only Chen Mo was different. He was an outsider, a foreign noble who held no fear of the little lady.

He could not only perform miraculous summons but had also gained unanimous recognition from team members through diligence and cleverness. Even the little lady looked at him with obvious girlish admiration.

If anyone was most likely to stop Lady Frost, it would definitely be this young man.

So he had desperately used hand signals to beg Chen Mo, pleading with him to stop that little girl.

Don't come over, go! Go! Leave quickly!

Chen Mo stepped forward, looking at the little lady whose face was streaked with tears and who desperately wanted to rush outside. Using all his strength, he delivered a heavy slap.

Hair flying, Frost was stunned by the blow.

She had probably never been slapped in her life.

Chen Mo sucked in a cold breath, imperceptibly hiding his painfully throbbing right hand behind his back, feeling his entire hand trembling slightly.

"Captain Paven is already dead. Do you want to go die too?"

Chen Mo raised his left hand, pressing his index finger to his temple and roaring, "Dying is easy. Take that gun in your hand and point it at your own head."

"One 'bang' and it's over!"

"All finished!!!"

"That's better than you rushing out, letting the enemy cut you into pieces, and betraying everyone left here."

Frost covered her cheek and looked at Chen Mo. This merciless scolding extinguished her impulse, leaving only bewilderment and enormous grievance.

She stood there dazed for a long while before suddenly squatting down with a "wah" and crying like a child.

Well, she was originally just a child!

Everyone present fell silent as cicadas, even professional Old Locke held his breath, not daring to make any sound.

Chen Mo stood quietly at the hiding place's ventilation opening, secretly rubbing his swollen right hand while looking up into the distance. After several minutes, the [Skylark] automatically returned, landing steadily on the platform outside the ventilation opening.

Chen Mo grabbed the [Skylark], stuffed it into his pack, and grimaced as he shouldered his backpack, "We're leaving!"

With the team reduced by more than half, Chen Mo decisively chose to abandon most supplies, even throwing away his own magical materials and cultivation potions, bringing only the platform, equipment, and small amounts of food and water.

Six people and one skeleton, guided by two fully charged micro-drones front and rear, stumbled eastward in their escape.

Zircon's Fifth Knight made an empirical error. From Captain Paven's preemptive ambush behavior, he judged that the opponent's hiding place must be within visual range of the decoy squad's escape route.

The death of prisoners cost him his information source, so he had to search himself.

After simple terrain observation, the Zircon knight chose to focus his search on two areas of low mountain forests within a three-kilometer radius. Continuously arriving troops formed dense formations and conducted dragnet searches.

On the perimeter, he arranged small numbers of light cavalry for dispersed patrols, mainly to prevent swift individuals from the target group from scattering and escaping.

The Cloudmist Domain remnant squad, never within his search range from the start, once again escaped Zircon's main force encirclement.

Relying on drone early warning, the team repeatedly avoided opponent patrols, hid in wetland shelters through the remaining daylight, then moved again under cover of darkness.

Throughout the journey, relying on Master Locke's continuous recovery spells, this mixed formation of old and weak struggled onward. Before dawn broke fully, they found another abandoned village backed against a hillside.

The village people had perhaps died or fled. After scouting twice with both drones and warriors, the squad wearily hid in this village.

At the village entrance, over a dozen corpses hung from a large tree, looking like they'd been there for quite some time.

The withered remains swayed in the wind, their hollow eye sockets gazing at the distant visitors.

Everyone found an inconspicuous earthen house, set up solar panels in hidden spots on the roof, and choked down some dry rations.

Chen Mo shared a room with the haggard-faced Old Locke, Linda shared with the absent-minded Frost, while the other two warriors took turns standing guard. The exhausted group fell into deep sleep.

This sleep lasted until the sun was high overhead.

When Chen Mo awoke, he felt somewhat dizzy and light-headed, as if walking on thick cotton padding.

He shook his head vigorously, walked out of the room, and found the others already awake. Old Locke and Linda were crouched beside Frost, chattering about something, while the little lady stared out the window with vacant eyes.

Hearing movement, several people turned around in unison.

The moment she saw Chen Mo, tears welled up in Lady Frost's eyes, her lips pressed tightly against her teeth, carving deep tooth marks.

Chen Mo wanted to comfort her but didn't know what to say.

He then grabbed a piece of dry food, stuffed it in his mouth, pushed open the door, and walked into the courtyard. Then he noticed something unusual.

"Where's the other person?"

[NEXT CHAPTER]