96: Chapter 96 A Bewildered Heart

At the same moment.

Chiefs Tent · East Chamber.

While Wang Sheng was cultivating, Zhao Linger had been lying on the windowsill of the East Chamber, her Spirit Sound Master affinity operating at full capacity.

Her perception, like an invisible net, extended from the Chiefs Tent in all directions, passing through the sound of the Lingxi River, the rustling of the spirit fields in the night breeze, and the occasional low roars from the depths of the distant Savage Beast Forest, extending into the far, far darkness.

She was wearing a white spirit vine casual outfit; the white fabric looked like gauze woven from moonlight.

The thin material clung to her petite body, outlining her devilish figure completely; her slender waist, which could be encircled by a single grasp, was like a willow branch outlined by the moonlight.

The full curve of her waistline was even more astonishing in her prone position, the rounded contours like two full moons wrapped in white gauze, shimmering with a gentle silver light under the moonlight.

The fullness of her chest was slightly pressed against the windowsill, resembling two clouds wrapped in white velvet, creating a strong contrast, but no one noticed these things at this moment.

Because her expression was unprecedentedly grave.

Her big, round eyes were closed, and her long eyelashes, like two rows of dense curtains, trembled slightly, resembling candlelight flickering behind curtains in the wind.

Her baby face lacked its usual playfulness and coquettishness, replaced by a concentration like that of a Spirit Sound Master facing the most difficult musical score.

"Wang Sheng." She opened her eyes. Her voice was very soft, but her big, round eyes were like two gemstones in the moonlight, refracting a nervous light.

"The communications of the Shadow Clan are more frequent tonight than any day before. They are transmitting a large amount of coordinate information, as if... marking positions..."

She closed her eyes to listen. A Spirit Sound Master's perception, like the most precise acoustic probe, captured every intermittent signal at the edge of the Shadow Clan's encrypted communications.

"Lingxi River, Savage Beast Forest, Myriad Races Market." Her brow furrowed tighter and tighter, her small lips pressed into a line. "And, the... east side of Guangming Village."

She opened her eyes suddenly.

A trace of unprecedented fear flashed through her big, round eyes.

It was not fear of the Savage Beasts, not fear of the Shadow Clan, but an instinctive fear of the coming disaster, like a Spirit Sound Master hearing a death knell.

"They are marking the route for the Beast Tide, just like the way they drove them from the Savage Beast Forest last time, but the scale... is much larger."

Her voice changed, no longer the calmness of intelligence analysis, but a taut urgency, like a Spirit Sound Master who missed a note on the most critical chord but, having no time to adjust, could only continue to play.

"Wang Sheng, the 'Beast Tide' Chief Shi Ba spoke of is not a threat. The Shadow Clan is already deploying."

The door to the cultivation room opened.

Wang Sheng walked out. The breakthrough to the fifth stage of Barbarian Warrior made his aura even steadier than before.

A golden shimmer flowed around him like thin gauze. He walked to Zhao Linger's side, squatted down, and looked her in the eye.

"How large is the scale?"

Zhao Linger took a deep breath, trying hard to keep her voice steady, but her fingers trembled slightly on the windowsill, just like the uncontrollable vibrato of a Spirit Sound Master in the most intense movement.

"During the last Beast Tide, the Shadow Clan drove about fifty Savage Beasts. This time... the coordinate density I heard is at least... three times that of last time."

Three times.

One hundred and fifty Savage Beasts, including many mid-stage Savage Beasts above the third stage of Barbarian Warrior. For the defense line of the one hundred and eight people in Guangming Village...

"What about the time?" Wang Sheng's voice remained steady.

Zhao Linger closed her eyes and listened for a moment, then, "At most... three days."

The four words were like nails, hammered into the air of the East Chamber.

Wang Sheng's hand landed on top of Zhao Linger's head. The warmth of his palm passed through her soft short hair to her scalp, as if sunlight were falling on the petals of a spirit flower.

"You did well." His voice was very light, but every word carried the weight of a fifth-stage Barbarian Warrior's Power of Holy Light, firm, warm, and reassuring.

Zhao Linger's big, round eyes turned red, not because of fear, but because in the most critical moment, his first reaction was not to question the details of the intelligence, but... to comfort her first.

She sniffed, then suddenly threw herself into his arms, burying her baby face in his chest.

The spirit vine casual outfit clung to her devilish figure, her slender waist easily encircled in his arms.

"Wang Sheng," her voice was muffled, like a Spirit Sound Master's whisper in the lowest range, "I'm so scared. Not scared of the Savage Beasts, but scared... that it's too late..."

Wang Sheng held her petite body, as if holding a beam of moonlight.

"It's not too late." His voice was like an anchor, driven into the darkest night. "We have enough time."

Late at night.

Guangming Village · By the Lingxi River.

Murong Xue could not sleep.

She tossed and turned for half an hour, changing from her silver training armor into a simple white undergarment.

It was a silk fabric made from Savage Beast skin, uniformly issued by Guangming Village, soft, breathable, and form-fitting.

But at this moment, that white undergarment was like the cruelest mirror, reflecting everything she did not want to face.

She got up, walked out of the chamber on the west side of the Chiefs Tent, and walked about a hundred steps along the Lingxi River.

Moonlight sprinkled on the Lingxi River, like a flowing silver mirror.

The river water was like melted silver in the moonlight, flowing silently. Occasionally, a Savage Beast would emit a low roar from the bushes on the other side of the river, but it soon returned to silence.

She squatted by the river and reached out to scoop up a handful of water.

The cold river water slipped through her fingers, resembling silver Power of Holy Light dissipating from her palm, as if it were the white-gold light that had mingled in Wang Sheng's palm just moments ago.

She suddenly submerged her hand in the river water, the cold sensation pulling her out of those thoughts, but only for an instant, because the cold sensation of the river water instead made her recall the temperature of his palm even more clearly.

The water surface reflected her face: a resolute countenance, a high bridge of the nose, thin lips pressed tightly.

But at this moment, that resoluteness was covered by a layer of softness she was unwilling to admit.

She looked down at her right hand, that hand, the hand that had been covered by his today.

After taking off her silver training armor, her body was wearing only the white undergarment.

Under the moonlight, her fit and powerful figure was like a silver-white sculpture, tall and slender.

The white undergarment clung to every inch of her skin, like... gauze woven from moonlight. Her full, upright chest heaved beneath the white undergarment.

The fabric was slightly transparent from the moisture of sweat, like silver mist shrouding the mountains; the faintly visible abdominal muscles at her waist and abdomen were like meticulously carved patterns, resembling shallow reliefs on white jade in the silver glow of the moonlight.

Her buttocks were round and firm, the hem of the white undergarment reaching only to the middle of her thighs. Her long, powerful legs were like two jade pillars wrapped in silver velvet in the moonlight.

She was a warrior.

From the day she traveled here, she had defined herself as a warrior, protecting her teammates, charging to the front.

This was the mission of a Holy Light Knight, the meaning of her existence.

Her silver armor was her skin, her long spear was her arm, her resoluteness was her soul.

But today, Wang Sheng said, "I will protect you, too." That sentence was like a silver nail, hammered into her iron-walled defenses.

She had never been "protected" by anyone.

She had always been the one protecting others, from protecting her younger sister when she was small, to protecting teammates after traveling here, to drawing her gun to face Chief Shi Ba on the training ground.

Her gun always pointed forward, her body always blocked in front of others.

And today, Wang Sheng blocked in front of her.

Not because she was weak, but because... he was willing to.