Chapter 108: Holding Her, Protecting Her
Yun Sheng didn’t fall.
A hand reached out from behind and to her side, gripping her upper arm firmly.
The grip was tight, but not enough to cause pain.
Yun Sheng steadied herself and instinctively opened her mouth to thank him.
But before the words could leave her throat, before she could even make a sound...
The second wave of the spiritual attack came!
The invisible force, like a ten-thousand-ton hammer, smashed directly into her defenseless spiritual landscape.
At the same time, a piercing soundwave, sharp as a blade, swept out from the depths of the gray mist, slicing through the air and rattling her eardrums.
"AHHH!!!"
Several nearby trainees clutched their heads and squatted down. Some collapsed to their knees, blood trickling from their eyes, ears, and noses.
Yun Sheng’s spiritual power was already weak. The barrier she had barely managed to erect shattered like thin paper under the blow.
She let out a muffled grunt. Veins throbbed at her temples as a sharp pain exploded from deep within her spiritual landscape.
A figure stepped half a pace in front of her, completely shielding her with his body.
Immediately after, a solid, heavy, silver Spirit Barrier erupted from him as its center.
The overwhelming spiritual attack crashed against this barrier like a furious wave against a reef, shattering and dissipating in vain.
Yun Sheng stood within the silver halo, completely unharmed.
The silver glow seemed to have a healing effect as well. It seeped into the depths of her spirit, thread by thread, and the needle-like pricks of pain slowly subsided under its influence.
Meanwhile, not far away, the battle had already begun.
Spiritual power erupted from the captain, and the phantom of an enormous, pitch-black python materialized behind him.
That was his spiritual body, the Iron-scaled Python.
It opened its massive maw, revealing terrifying fangs, and rammed into the nearest group of Split Ridge Lizards. A sweep of its thick tail sent three of the giant beasts flying.
"Release your spiritual bodies!" the captain commanded.
As soon as he finished speaking, a dozen or so phantoms of spiritual bodies shot into the air.
A silver-backed giant wolf pounced on a cluster of Bone-piercing Vines, its claws tearing three of them to shreds.
A Red Feathered Falcon with a wingspan of over five meters descended from the sky, its talons piercing the skull of a corrosive worm.
There was also a golden, leopard-like spiritual body moving with incredible speed. It weaved through the horde of pollutants, and with every flash of movement, a Split Ridge Lizard fell.
The spiritual bodies, each with a unique form, worked in perfect sync with their masters. They were like sharp blades, slicing and tearing through the layers of pollutants.
The tide of battle turned in an instant.
"Trainees!"
The instructor’s voice came from the rear. It was hoarse, yet it carried the distinct exhilaration of having survived a close call.
"Now is the perfect time to gain some real combat experience! Spread out among the Sentinels, monitor their spiritual power consumption, and provide soothing and support where appropriate. Learn how to coordinate with combat Sentinels. Don’t just stand there and watch!"
Cheng Nian was the first to react. She jogged over to the master of the silver-backed giant wolf and cautiously extended her own spiritual power, attempting to sense his level of exhaustion.
The other trainees began to move as well, scattering in twos and threes. Like fledglings just learning to walk, they tentatively approached the ferocious spiritual bodies.
Only Yun Sheng remained still.
She stood within the silver barrier created by White Tiger, watching the other trainees’ clumsy but earnest attempts. A complex emotion flickered in her eyes.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to learn.
The problem was, she had no spiritual body, so she couldn’t soothe the Sentinels.
Her meager spiritual power was already stretched to its limit just forming a thin needle for an attack. If she went over, she would only be a burden.
"You go, too."
White Tiger’s voice, as detached as ever, sounded by her ear.
Yun Sheng looked up at him and said softly, "I don’t have a spiritual body. I can’t soothe the Sentinels or coordinate with them."
White Tiger turned and glanced at her.
"Then keep attacking. See where your limits are. I’ll stand by and watch. Give it a try."
Yun Sheng stared at him, stunned.
’He’ll stand by and watch... That means if I make a mistake and a pollutant counterattacks, or if I run out of spiritual power and end up in danger...’
’He’ll protect me!’
For some reason, that realization made her heart skip a beat.
"Okay, I’ll try."
Yun Sheng took a deep breath, walked past White Tiger, and stood in front of him.
Two steps away, the metallic scent of blood filled the battlefield.
A few meters away, two corrosive worms were squirming, trying to get around the Iron-scaled Python’s attack range.
Yun Sheng closed her eyes.
The thin needles of spiritual power began to form.
Before, when facing these pollutants, she had only dared to form one needle at a time—two at the absolute most.
She was afraid that the attack would fail and she’d overexert herself, getting hurt in the process.
But now, there was someone standing three steps behind her.
’He won’t let anything happen to me.’
That thought was like a pillar of support, giving Yun Sheng the courage to try.
She gritted her teeth and squeezed out every last bit of spiritual power from the depths of her spiritual landscape, forming four thin needles. She locked onto the area just below the two worms’ mouths simultaneously!
The first and second needles pierced their targets, and both worms went rigid.
The third and fourth followed close behind, piercing through the center of their foreheads.
The two giant beasts collapsed with a crash, less than three meters from her feet.
A sharp pain stabbed at her temples, like countless needles, but Yun Sheng couldn’t help but smile. She turned to face the man behind her.
"I did it..."
Her voice held a hint of elation she herself hadn’t noticed.
"Watch out!"
White Tiger’s cold, sharp voice rang out as he suddenly burst into motion, his speed so fast he was like an afterimage.
Before Yun Sheng could even blink, a warm hand seized her by the waist and yanked her forcefully into a solid embrace.
The next second, an incredibly sharp Spiritual Blade grazed past her back, striking the spot where she had just been standing and carving a deep, charred gash in the ground.
Her eyes widened in shock. If White Tiger hadn’t saved her just now, she would be dead!
White Tiger held her.
One hand was clamped on her waist, the tightening grip feeling as if he wanted to crush her into his very being.
His other hand pressed against the back of her head, holding her face securely against his chest.
It was too close.
So close that Yun Sheng’s every breath was filled with his cold, clean scent. So close that her heartbeat mingled with his, and it was impossible to tell which was faster.
"Don’t move."
White Tiger’s voice came from above her—low, hoarse, and strained, like a taut string.
Yun Sheng froze in his arms, not daring to move a muscle.
Soon, the attack she had just dodged came again.
White Tiger held her and sidestepped. As he moved, Yun Sheng’s back brushed against his chest. She could feel the violent thumping of his heart, and it seemed to be beating even faster than her own.
"What is that?" Yun Sheng’s voice was muffled against his chest, trembling slightly.
"A C-level variant, the Shadow Lizard. It was the source of the earlier spiritual attack."
As soon as he finished speaking, a black afterimage shot out from behind a pile of rubble.
It was a mutated pollutant that resembled a giant lizard. It was a size smaller than a Split Ridge Lizard, but more than twice as fast.
It weaved through the rubble like a fish in water, wreathed in distorted fluctuations of spiritual power. Each time it moved, it left a brief, residual phantom in its place.
The Shadow Lizard was well-deserving of its name.
White Tiger held Yun Sheng and dodged to the side. The creature’s claws scraped past his combat suit and raked against the rock wall behind them, leaving a deep, scorched mark.
Yun Sheng was held tight in his arms as he moved swiftly across the battlefield.
The surrounding scenery blurred into indistinct lines. The wind howled past her ears, and the sharp hisses of the pollutants and the roars of the Sentinel Spirit Bodies blended into a chaotic symphony.
But the loudest sound in her ears was his heartbeat.
Thump, thump, thumping heavily against her eardrums.
"Put me down," Yun Sheng’s voice, muffled against his chest, trembled faintly. "You can’t fight while holding me like this."