217: Chapter 217 Now!

Boom! Boom! Sizzle—!

The forest clearing instantly transformed into an Asura field where flesh, blood, and energy intertwined.

The traitors' high-tech weapons were precise and lethal. Every particle beam fired was accompanied by the hissing sound of scorched air and the heavy thud of a Pathfinder warrior falling. Their formation was like a precision killing machine, coldly harvesting lives.

However, the Pathfinders were by no means lambs to the slaughter.

Living year-round in this peril-filled inner world, fighting various fierce behemoths, every one of them was a battle-hardened warrior.

Warriors wielding giant axes charged with a roar. Their rugged armor surprisingly possessed an incredible defense against energy weapons; though it couldn't block them completely, it could greatly weaken their power. Using brute force, they swung their massive battleaxes, forcing the traitors to break formation and engage in guerrilla tactics.

The archers in the rear continuously fired energy arrows imbued with various attributes. Some arrows exploded into frost, slowing the traitors' movements; some landed and grew tough vines, attempting to bind the enemies; and some even carried lightning, causing large-scale paralysis effects.

Meanwhile, the Shamans holding staves chanted ancient incantations, applying various buffs to their companions—speed, strength, defense—and even healing wounds to a certain extent.

For a time, the high-tech precision killing and the primitive energy tide formed a strange and tragic balance in this clearing.

Both sides were locked in a stalemate.

“Now is the time!”

Zhang Qilin's voice rang in everyone's ears like a ghost.

“Fatty, Song Yiqing, move!”

Fatty and Song Yiqing exchanged a glance and immediately crouched low. Like two civet cats using the dense vegetation as cover, they silently crept from the left flank of the battlefield toward the rear flank of the masked traitor leader.

“What about us?” Lin Tianyi asked in a low voice, his heart pounding with tension and excitement.

“Make the battlefield... even more chaotic.”

Zhang Qilin's gaze was locked onto the masked traitor standing in the center of the battlefield, commanding the fight while remaining alert to his surroundings.

“Distract... him.”

Lin Tianyi instantly understood Zhang Qilin's intention.

He glanced at Wang Xianzhi beside him and exchanged a look.

Wang Xianzhi nodded slightly.

In the next second, the two of them were like two arrows leaving a bow, darting out from behind a giant mushroom like lightning, one to the left and one to the right!

Lin Tianyi's target wasn't any person, but a towering ancient tree at the edge of the battlefield entangled by giant vines! Beneath that tree, two traitor members were suppressing a Pathfinder axe warrior.

Without the slightest hesitation, he pulled two high-explosive concussive grenades from his tactical vest, pulled the pins, and threw them with all his might toward the roots of the ancient tree!

Simultaneously, Wang Xianzhi's figure moved like a specter, traveling at high speed through the shadows on the right flank. Her targets were the Pathfinder Shamans who were casting spells!

She knew that these units, capable of providing buffs and healing, were the core of the Pathfinders' combat strength. As long as she interrupted their casting, she could instantly put the frontline warriors at a disadvantage, forcing the entire Pathfinder formation to pull back for defense and completely disrupting their rhythm!

Boom! Boom!

Two massive explosions rang out from Lin Tianyi's direction!

Although the high-explosive concussive grenades couldn't deal a devastating blow to the ancient tree, the resulting shockwaves, intense light, and noise instantly left the two traitors and the axe warrior temporarily blind and deaf!

More importantly, the impact of the explosion severed several key vines wrapped around the ancient tree!

Creak—Creak, creak—

The already leaning towering ancient tree, having lost the support of the vines, let out an overburdened groan and then, with thunderous momentum, slowly collapsed toward the center of the battlefield!

“Hit the dirt!”

The masked traitor's face changed drastically. He never imagined someone would intervene in the battle in such a way!

On the other side, Wang Xianzhi had already burst into the Pathfinders' backline like a graceful butterfly.

Her sword remained sheathed until the moment it struck, and when it did, it was a lethal flash of cold light!

She didn't go for the kill, but used an extremely refined technique, using the blade, the hilt, and even the scabbard to precisely strike the casting nodes on the wrists, throats, and chests of those Shamans!

“Ugh!” “Ah!”

After a few muffled groans, the casting of the three chanting Shamans was instantly interrupted. The energy within them became chaotic due to the backlash, causing them to temporarily lose their combat effectiveness.

These two sudden developments were like two stones thrown onto a chessboard, instantly plunging the entire battle into unprecedented chaos!

The traitors had to retreat to avoid the collapsing giant tree.

The Pathfinders were thrown into disarray because of the attack on the Shamans in the rear. Their leader let out a roar and was forced to divert part of his forces back for defense and rescue.

A brief... power vacuum appeared across the entire battlefield!

Everyone's attention was drawn to these two sudden incidents!

And at the core of this vacuum was the masked traitor holding the 'Living Soil', exposed in the center of the clearing while trying to avoid the giant tree!

This was the moment!

Zhang Qilin, who had been as still as a statue, moved!

He made no sound. His entire being was like a shadow merging with the darkness, cutting straight into the battlefield at a speed almost impossible for the human eye to track!

His footwork was eerie and profound, as if every step landed on a specific node in space, perfectly avoiding all the intersecting energy beams and flying debris.

By the time the masked traitor recovered from the shock of the tree's collapse and sensed that lethal, familiar killing intent, it was already too late.

He only saw a pair of obsidian eyes, cold to the extreme and devoid of any emotion, appearing right before him.

And a... black gold ancient blade, which at some unknown point was already pressed against his throat, radiating an ominous aura.

“You...”

The masked man's pupils suddenly constricted!

He had considered that Zhang Qilin might appear, but he never expected him to appear before him in such a thunderous and incredible manner!

He didn't even have time to react!

“Give me the ‘Living Soil’.”

Zhang Qilin's voice had no warmth, as if it were a judgment from the depths of the underworld.

Cold sweat broke out on the masked man's forehead. He could feel that if he made any sudden move, the blade at his throat would slice through his neck without hesitation.

He didn't doubt that for a second.

However, he was absolutely unwilling to just hand over the 'Living Soil' like this!

“You think you've won...”

A strange smile suddenly curled at the corner of the masked man's mouth.

The hand holding the 'Living Soil' suddenly clenched!

Crack!

On his wrist, a metal bracelet hidden under his combat suit instantly shattered!

A violent black energy, filled with an aura of chaos and destruction, erupted from within his body!

“Let's... die together!”

He had actually triggered some kind of suicidal attack! Using his own life, he detonated the Chaos Power within him, bestowed by the being behind the 'Gate'!

This power was far more refined and violent than the energy of those skeletal soldiers in the South Heaven Gate!

The black energy, like ink dripping into clear water, was about to instantly devour and pollute the 'Living Soil' in his hand and the nearby Zhang Qilin!

However, just a moment before that black energy could erupt.

Zhang Qilin's other hand moved.

His slender left hand, which had just regained its color, moved with extreme speed. His index and middle fingers pressed together and struck the masked man's brow like a bolt of lightning!

At his fingertips flickered a faint but extremely pure... golden light.

“Break.”

An ancient syllable escaped Zhang Qilin's mouth.

That voice seemed to carry the universal truths where words become reality.

Hum—!

The violent Chaos energy about to explode within the masked man was instantly snuffed out like a punctured balloon!

The golden light, like a sacred brand, pierced directly from his brow through his mental core, completely severing his connection with the being behind the 'Gate'!

The madness and tyranny in his eyes instantly faded, replaced by endless fear and confusion.

“You... you can actually... sever the ‘Blessing’...”

These were the last words he left in this world.

In the next second, Zhang Qilin's black gold ancient blade gave a gentle swipe.

A head soared into the sky.

Blood stained the ground red.

Zhang Qilin's left hand reached out and steadily caught the 'Living Soil' before it could fall.

A warm energy, filled with majestic vitality, flowed from his palm into his body. His dried-up meridians, like a long-parched riverbed, received long-awaited nourishment.

His pale complexion regained a hint of color at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The entire process, from his strike to the end, took only three short seconds!

Within three seconds, he seized the treasure and killed the man in one smooth motion!

It was so fast that the chaotic battlefield fell into a momentary standstill.

“Leader!”

The remaining traitors let out cries of horror. They looked at their leader's headless corpse, their eyes filled with disbelief!

“The Holy Relic!”

The leader of the Pathfinders also saw this scene. His gaze was fixed dead on the 'Living Soil' in Zhang Qilin's hand, greed and anger intertwining in his eyes.

Before one wave could settle, another rose!

Zhang Qilin instantly became the focus of all firepower on the battlefield!

“Little Brother! Over here!”

At this critical juncture, Fatty's roar came from the rear flank!

He and Song Yiqing had successfully circled around to the prearranged location.

Zhang Qilin didn't hesitate. He exerted force through his feet, and his body shot backward like a cannonball, instantly leaving the center of the battlefield.

“Retreat!”

Lin Tianyi and Wang Xianzhi had already understood. The moment Zhang Qilin succeeded, they began to provide alternating cover and retreat toward Fatty's direction!

“Don't let them get away!”

“Chase them! Kill the person who took the Holy Relic!”

After their brief shock, the traitors and the Pathfinders actually targeted Zhang Qilin's escaping group in unison, frantically chasing them from two directions!

A thrilling treasure grab instantly evolved into a life-and-death... jungle battle royale!