Xia Duo's Rage

At the same time, as a Nature Priest, Moen's power was greatly enhanced under the protection of the World Tree. From the moment the battle began, she had already imbued the four of them with the Power of Nature, maximizing their strength and endurance.

They were currently situated beneath the World Tree itself, and Moen’s state as a Nature Priest was at its absolute peak.

Under her guidance, the very earth seemed to come alive. Countless vines and roots erupted from the soil, spreading toward the enemy like spirit snakes.

These vines not only provided extra cover for the group but also served as lethal weapons. They precisely pierced the monsters immobilized by Starlight, pinning them firmly to the ground.

As Moen exerted more power, the rigid vines began to contract, binding the monsters' bodies tightly until they were eventually crushed into heaps of meat paste.

However, much like the giant monster Angela had faced before, while these opponents did not possess such uncanny regenerative abilities, the aftermath of their deaths was equally baffling.

When these monsters were completely defeated and lost their life force, they did not bleed crimson like ordinary creatures, nor did they leave behind mangled corpses.

Instead, their bodies seemed to lose the support of bone and flesh, rapidly dissolving into pools of grey sludge. This transformation happened so fast that it was almost impossible to react to.

The moment the grey sludge touched the ground, it was drawn by some invisible force and quickly merged into the earth, vanishing without a trace.

“Moen, can you tell what kind of creatures these are?”

Faced with such an eerie way of dying, Starlight couldn't help but ask. However, even Moen, who was deeply knowledgeable about biology, could not give him a satisfactory answer.

“I'm afraid not... The physical structure of these monsters is unlike any creature I'm familiar with. Their aura is mixed with death power, making their original characteristics blurred and indistinct. The only thing I can barely recognize is that their skeletal structure bears a slight resemblance to certain lizard-like creatures, but that is clearly not their true identity.” Moen’s tone betrayed a hint of helplessness and confusion.

In stark contrast, the battle on Po Kong's side was proceeding exceptionally smoothly.

Although those monsters were shrouded in an aura of death and possessed incredible resistance to conventional elemental magic, they were as defenseless as paper before Po Kong’s War God Battle Qi.

Every swing of his sword was accompanied by a surging tide of golden War God power, crushing the monsters one by one and demonstrating unparalleled combat prowess. Any monster that dared to block his path was torn to shreds, allowing him to quickly catch up with Xia Duo, who had plunged deep into the enemy ranks.

By this time, Xia Duo was like a raging flame, recklessly charging toward the squad that had been overwhelmed by the monsters.

However, when she finally arrived, the sight before her eyes felt like a knife to the heart. Despair submerged her like a cold tide.

The faces she was once familiar with, the comrades she had fought and trained with, were now reduced to fragments in the mouths of monsters, scattered across the ground. Not a single intact body remained.

“You all... deserve to die!”

Xia Duo’s roar echoed through the night, carrying endless hatred and pain.

Even her clear blue eyes were stained with a hint of crimson, as if they might spit fire and incinerate everything around her.

She swung her weapon frantically, hacking several monsters still gnawing on the corpses into meat paste, but even more monsters swarmed toward her.

Faced with this overwhelming assault, although Xia Duo was in agony, she did not completely lose her head to hatred. She knew that at this moment, she needed to remain calm and vigilant more than ever.

Before the monsters could close in, Xia Duo had already vanished from her spot like a lightning-fast phantom.

Her movements were light and agile, each shift perfectly evading a monster's attack, while the weapon in her hand mercilessly claimed the heads of two others.

Despite Xia Duo’s strength being superior to the monsters, an accident eventually occurred in the midst of this sustained, high-intensity combat.

Crack! Ting!

A crisp but ominous sound suddenly rang out across the battlefield. As Xia Duo’s short blade pierced a monster’s body, it became lodged in the gaps of its bones.

In her haste, she yanked it back with all her might, only for the already notched short blade to let out a mournful cry before snapping into two pieces.

In that split second of hesitation, the monsters caught up to her. A sharp claw instantly tore through Xia Duo’s outer clothing, carving a startling wound on her shoulder. Blood immediately gushed out, staining her shirt red.

Feeling the pain hit her like an electric shock, Xia Duo gritted her teeth and quickly adjusted her stance. She used the remaining weapon in her other hand to block with all her strength, barely stopping a monster’s gaping maw from reaching her.

However, this move left a flaw in her flank, and her defense was no longer impenetrable.

Just as the monster was about to pin her to the ground, Po Kong finally arrived. With a powerful horizontal slash, he cut all the surrounding monsters in half.

“Little Shadow! Are you okay? Stop, let me see!”

Po Kong’s voice carried unquestionable concern. After knocking back the surrounding monsters with a single blow, he immediately leaned down to pull Xia Duo up from the ground.

When his gaze fell upon the wound on Xia Duo’s shoulder—over ten centimeters long and staining her clothes red—a flash of shock, anger, and heartache surged in Po Kong’s eyes.

“I’m fine! Let me go!”

Xia Duo’s voice was firm, but her pale face betrayed her true condition.

With a sharp jerk, she broke free from Po Kong’s grip. She quickly snatched up a longsword dropped by a fallen comrade and charged into the monster swarm once more.

Seeing that he couldn't stop her, Po Kong was reluctant, but he understood that now was not the time for an argument. He took a deep breath and followed closely behind Xia Duo. Together, the two of them were like twin daggers plunging into the grey-black tide.

With Po Kong joining her, the tide of battle reversed instantly. The two coordinated perfectly, and amidst the flying sword light, every attack claimed a monster's life.

In just a few minutes, the originally numerous monsters were slaughtered clean by their combined efforts. Even Starlight and Moen, who had caught up, marveled at their efficiency.

But as the monsters' remains turned into grey sludge and merged into the earth, only a heart-wrenching scene remained on the battlefield.

All that was left before them were the mangled remains of the slain elves and blood everywhere. The blood pooled into rivers, staining the once peaceful land, and the air was thick with the scent of iron and sorrow.

Xia Duo’s gaze fell blankly on the carnage. Her heart felt as though it were being crushed by a giant boulder, making it hard to breathe.

A deep sense of powerlessness welled up within her, bringing a level of despair and pain she had never felt before.

She bit her lip hard, trying to use the pain to wake herself up and keep the tears from falling. However, her body continued to tremble uncontrollably.

It wasn't until dozens of seconds later that Xia Duo gradually pulled herself out of her grief. She bent down and picked up a standard-issue longbow from the belongings of a former colleague, her fingers lightly stroking the cold bow as if saying a final goodbye to the deceased.

Then, she turned her head to look into the distance at the city ravaged by war. Gritting her teeth, she prepared to step onto the battlefield once more.

Before she could take two steps, Po Kong’s tall figure blocked her path. He firmly grabbed Xia Duo’s wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

Xia Duo tried to struggle free, but this time, her strength was no match for Po Kong’s grip.

In the struggle, she accidentally aggravated the wound on her shoulder. The sharp pain made her furrow her brows involuntarily, a flash of agony crossing her face.