122: Chapter 122 Battle Ends

Lin Yin nodded slightly, not even needing any extra commands; she simply drew her bow and nocked an arrow.

All the Pale Moon Hunters behind her moved in perfect unison, like a single entity, raising their longbows simultaneously. The Pale Moon Flower emblem on their chests glimmered faintly under the moonlight.

"Release."

Lin Yin's cool, calm voice was not loud, yet it clearly resonated across the battlefield.

The next moment...

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!"

It was no longer the rain of arrows that required area coverage like at the walls of Lin Tian City, but precise, efficient, and lethal sniping!

Every arrow seemed to have eyes of its own, carving graceful silver arcs through the air, heading straight for the fatal weak points of those 9-Star Silver monsters—their eyes, throats, hearts, and energy cores!

The Myriad Manifestations of the Forest effects imbued upon the arrows, such as "Armor-Piercing Thorns," "Decay Spores," and "Vine Binding," caused the struck monsters to instantly lose their combat capability or even perish outright!

Especially the two Bloodthirsty Demon Wolves that had charged to the front; almost the instant the bowstrings twanged, they were struck simultaneously by several arrows from different angles, each carrying different effects!

One was bound into a dumpling by vines before being pierced through the skull by an armor-piercing arrow, while the other was riddled with holes by several arrows after its protective energy was weakened by Decay Spores!

A slaughter. This was a one-sided massacre without any suspense.

With nearly five hundred Epic-grade Pale Moon Hunters, dealing with these monsters was simply using a butcher's knife to slaughter a chicken.

A few minutes, merely a few minutes.

When the last Bronze-grade burrowing worm, which had tried to escape by digging underground, was blasted out by an arrow that triggered a natural explosion after burying itself into the earth.

Within the Moonlight Grove, besides the heavy breathing of the elves and the sobbing of survivors, there was no sound of any other living monsters.

All the invading corrupted monsters had been completely slaughtered.

Within the territory, nothing remained but the piles of monster corpses slowly dissipating, and the faint traces of moonlight and natural energy lingering in the air.

Lin Tian brushed off non-existent dust from his hands and looked at the still-dazed Lord Su Wan, pulling a tired but as relaxed as possible smile: "It's done. Lord Su Wan, next time you encounter such a 'small scene,' don't panic, it's no big deal."

Lord Su Wan looked at the battlefield that had been cleared in an instant, then at those silent Pale Moon Hunters who were putting away their bows with calm auras.

Looking back at Lin Tian's casual "basic operation, everyone sit down" attitude, she opened her mouth, but in the end, all her words transformed into a deep bow, along with an unconcealable shock and gratitude in her eyes.

She knew that Lin Tian had just experienced a true hell on his side; the fact that he could come, and bring such elite forces, made this favor too heavy to bear.

Having settled the "small scene" of the beast tide on Lord Su Wan's side, under her grateful gaze, Lin Tian didn't stand on ceremony; he waved his hand and immediately activated the teleportation.

With a flash of light, upon opening his eyes again, he was back to the familiar air of his own Lin Tian City, mixed with the scents of blood, scorched earth, and lingering gunpowder smoke.

Although it smelled bad, it felt reassuring.

On the city walls, the patrol torches had been relit, and shadows of people flickered about.

Dragging his lead-heavy legs, Lin Tian gave instructions for the night shift patrols, especially emphasizing keeping their eyes sharp and ears pricked up, only then feeling like he could catch his breath.

Turning around, he prepared to return to the Lords Mansion, only to find Lin Yin still quietly following half a step behind him, the hem of her moon-white holy robe stained with dust and dark smudges.

There was no expression on her face, only those clear eyes reflecting fatigue in the flickering light of the torches.

The two of them, one after the other, returned in silence to the relatively intact Lords Mansion.

The heavy doors closed behind them, shutting out most of the night's killing intent and chill, leaving only the warm light emanating from the lamps inside the mansion.

"Today... you worked hard."

Lin Tian leaned against a pillar, looking at Lin Yin, his voice raspy and weary, unable to be suppressed.

This was said with complete sincerity; without that life-risking arrow from Lin Yin, and without the desperate defense of all the soldiers, Lin Tian City might truly have changed its name to "Demon" tonight.

"Go back and rest quickly, don't think about anything else, and get a good sleep."

Hearing this, Lin Yin immediately shook her head, looked up at him, her tone carrying an unquestionable seriousness:

"Brother Tian, I didn't work hard."

Then her tone paused, seemingly hesitant, her fingertips curled unconsciously before she continued, her voice lower and softer than usual, yet every word was clear: "As long as you aren't hurt... that is enough."

Finishing this sentence, her gaze swept quickly across Lin Tian's face, then lowered slightly as if scalded, staring at her dusty shoe tips, her voice carrying a rare, almost stubborn plea:

"Brother Tian, in the future... in the future, if we encounter a battle like today's, if I... if I cannot distract myself to look after you, you, you must not rush to the front, just stay in the back, okay?"

She looked up, this time her gaze did not dodge, staring straight into Lin Tian's eyes, where, besides fatigue, there was deep-seated lingering fear and unmistakable worry:

"If you get hurt... I..."

She didn't finish the rest of the sentence, but those expressive eyes were filled with "I would die of guilt" and "I could never forgive myself."

Lin Tian watched her, and the heavy stone in his heart, caused by the heavy casualties, seemed to be gently nudged by a warm hand.

A tired but genuine smile couldn't help but appear on his face, and he reached out, habitually ruffling her slightly messy hair:

"Alright, alright, I know, our Lin Yin is the most amazing, and the most caring towards me."

"It's just... seeing the brothers holding on so hard, I was anxious. Besides, I count as a Gold-tier combat force now, I can't just keep hiding behind the brothers' backs, watching without doing any work, right? That would make me a freeloader, wouldn't it?"

"Brother Tian!" Lin Yin, however, seemed stung by these words, raising her voice sharply, her gaze becoming incomparably firm, even carrying a hint of rare stubbornness.

"I am serious! You must listen to me!"

She stepped forward half a step, almost pressing against Lin Tian, looking up with her face, enunciating every word clearly, each one feeling like it was striking Lin Tian's heart:

"The territory can lose anyone! Heavy Armored Spearmen can be recruited again, Golden Armored Spearmans can be trained again, Pale Moon Hunters... can be had again! But, without you, it won't work!"

After saying this, she herself seemed to freeze for a moment, her cheeks flushing slightly, but the persistence in her eyes did not yield in the slightest.

In her mind, the scene of the extremely tragic battle from just moments ago flashed back involuntarily.

The heaven-destroying pressure of the Fear Demon Ape, the crumbling phantom of the Crimson Sun Battle Soul, the comrades throwing themselves into the fray without regard for their own lives...

And amidst all this danger and chaos, her peripheral vision, and the sliver of her mind she had set aside, had always been firmly tethered to another figure.

She saw her Brother Tian, that lord who was usually always smiling in a slightly lazy, somewhat unreliable way, putting on a suit of armor, wielding a long sword, like a lone wolf pushed to the brink, roaring as he charged into the dense battlefield of monsters.