171: Chapter 171 The Queen's Guard Retreats, A Brief Victory

Julia hid behind Anserwe, trembling.

Her ten bone wings were all broken, and she could only barely hover in mid-air. Her face was pale, and her eyes were filled with fear. If Anserwe hadn't blocked that sword strike in time, she would already be dead.

Now, she didn't dare to take even a single step closer to Aria.

Just then, Anserwe received a communication from her adjutant.

She was silent for half a second, then made a decision—

A cold, ruthless, but most effective decision.

She instantly flashed behind Julia.

Before Julia could react, she felt a massive force from behind—

Anserwe grabbed her by the back of the neck.

"Lord Anserwe?! You—"

Julia turned back in terror, only to see Anserwe's cold gaze.

There was no guilt, no apology in that gaze, only pure, ice-like determination.

In the next second, Anserwe exerted sudden force, throwing Julia violently toward Aria!

"Anserwe—!!!"

Julia's scream trailed off into a long echo in the air.

She struggled desperately to steady herself, but Anserwe had used all her strength in this throw, and Julia was powerless to resist. She could only watch helplessly as Aria drew closer, and the silver divine sword wangshu became clearer—

Then, she saw Aria's eyes.

In those eyes, there was no surprise, no pity, no extra emotion.

Only pure, moonlight-like coldness.

divine sword wangshu swung gently.

A flash of silver light streaked across.

Julia's body was severed in two at the waist.

Dark green bodily fluids sprayed out, frozen into ice crystals by the Moonlight Power in mid-air, turning into a sky full of ice shards that scattered away.

Meanwhile, as Anserwe threw Julia, she had already retreated rapidly.

Without looking back, she rushed toward the crack in the shield—where a new batch of Queens happened to be burrowing in, and the crack hadn't fully healed yet.

Her speed was too fast.

So fast that by the time Aria sheathed her sword, she had already reached the edge of the crack.

So fast that just as Sailo reacted and tried to intercept her, she had already slipped out of the shield.

So fast that an Explosive Arrow fired by Li Yuan only exploded in a burst of light behind her, without even touching the hem of her clothes.

Anserwe had escaped.

As she escaped the shield, she issued a final command through the Mental Network:

"All Queens Guard—retreat!"

As soon as the command was issued, all the Queens still locked in bitter combat felt as if they had been granted a great amnesty.

They did their best to shake off their opponents and rushed frantically toward the outside of the shield.

Some were held fast by Trial Trainees and couldn't break free, forced to fight back desperately in hopes of carving out a path of blood.

Some were hit by light beams from the Giants of Lights, exploding into a mist of blood in mid-air.

Some finally managed to reach the edge of the crack, only to be hit by pursuing attacks and fall right at the threshold.

But even more managed to escape successfully.

Three seconds later, there was not a single living Queen left inside the shield.

All that remained were hundreds of Queen corpses.

The battle was temporarily over.

---

Sailo hovered in mid-air, watching the wretchedly fleeing Queens, and let out a long breath.

The surging hymns in the air slowly faded.

Hope Dust Sound was dissipating.

Not because the skill had expired, but because—

Within the skill's range, there were no longer any hostile targets.

The core mechanism of Hope Dust Sound was to "continuously cast Great Resurrection Spell on every friendly unit within range until either the enemy or the friendly side is completely wiped out."

Now, all the Queens had fled, all threats had disappeared, and there were no more friendly units in need of resurrection or healing.

Thus, the skill naturally and gradually subsided.

The phantom light wings that had covered the sky slowly faded.

The flowing golden rivers of light gradually vanished.

The holy light that had enveloped the entire battlefield retracted bit by bit into Laya's body.

The Queen Laya had been pursuing also retreated from the battlefield. A trace of golden light still lingered in her eyes, but it soon faded away as well.

She lowered her head and looked at her comrades on the ground.

Everyone was looking at her.

Sword cultivators, mages, warriors, Gunners...

Human Race, Angel Race, Demon Race, Light Giant Race...

In everyone's eyes, there was the same emotion—

Gratitude.

Awe.

And a trace of inexplicable... closeness.

Because at that moment, she was not just their comrade.

She was their "hope."

Laya landed gently back on the ground. Her steps were a bit unsteady, but she quickly stabilized herself.

It wasn't because of excessive consumption—Hope Dust Sound did not consume her power or rely on her maintenance.

It was simply... a bit of a daze.

When her talent was activated, she was the embodiment of hope, and her consciousness seemed to connect with every life on the battlefield. She could feel everyone's hope, every bit of conviction, and the desire for life and the longing for victory in the hearts of those fighting to the death.

That feeling was too vast, too grand, making it difficult for her to snap out of it for a moment.

A hand was placed gently on her shoulder.

Laya turned her head and saw Aria's cold face.

Aria didn't speak, just looked at her, a faint... warmth in her ice-blue eyes.

Laya smiled.

"I'm fine."

she said softly.

Aria nodded, withdrew her hand, turned around, and looked outside the shield.

Outside the shield, those Primarchs still hovered in mid-air.

A hundred thousand of them, densely packed like dark clouds covering the sky.

But they didn't move.

No attack, no advance, no movement whatsoever.

They just hovered there quietly, staring at the Trial Trainees inside the base through the shield.

After Hope Dust Sound dissipated, they seemed to have returned to their previous state—no wisdom, no consciousness, acting only on instinct.

But...

It seemed a little different.

Those Primarchs that had been resurrected several times before still maintained a "normal" appearance. In their eyes, there seemed to be something inexplicable—not wisdom, not consciousness, but simply... a "feeling."

It was as if they were trying hard to understand everything before them.

Sailo landed beside Laya and Aria, his massive body bringing a gust of wind pressure.

"Will they... still attack?"

he asked in a low voice.

Aria shook her head.

"I don't know."

she said honestly.

No one knew.

The Primarchs' first-order task was to "eliminate the Zerg." Now that the Zerg had retreated, they should have no reason to attack. But they were failed creations of Holy Brilliance Purity, and no one could guarantee they wouldn't suddenly go mad.

Everyone stared tensely at the figures outside the shield.

One second.

Ten seconds.

Thirty seconds.

One minute.

The Primarchs still didn't move.

Then, a Primarch in the front row—a Humanoid Progenitor that had been resurrected three times and now looked no different from a normal human female—suddenly raised her hand.

Everyone tensed up at the same time, weapons instantly pointed at her.

But that Primarch just raised her hand and gently...

Waved.

Like a farewell.

And like... a thank you.