The whistling wind roared in his ears. His vision filled only with the detestable, incredibly arrogant Xianzhou girl. The effects of Moon-Rage rapidly faded, clearing his blood-red sight. A question-filled contemplation, brief yet seemingly endless, finally yielded a definite answer.
It seemed he had been subjected to 'separate head action'.
Of course, what would be a fatal wound for ordinary beings was not such a severe injury for Hoolay, blessed by Abundance. Even the Xianzhou's Punishment of the Uninterrupted Sword Tree hadn't been able to truly subdue him over hundreds of years. As long as he had sufficient sustenance, regenerating limbs was a trivial matter for this legendary Borisin Warleader.
Almost instantaneously, flesh knit back together, restoring him to his original state. He threw back his head and let out a wolf howl.
"I don't know what little tricks you played, but a descendant of Dulan cannot be defeated so easily!"
In response, [Qingque] showed a hint of resignation, sighing: "The formidable vitality granted by that entity is indeed troublesome... Even decapitation heals so easily..."
"Hmph, this is the blessing bestowed upon us, the progeny of Dulan!" Hoolay declared proudly, simultaneously waving his hand to signal the Borisin wolf soldiers. "Attack! Seize this arrogant Xianzhou whelp!"
"Tear her... to pieces!" As he spoke, a glint of caution and cunning flashed in the legendary Borisin leader's eyes.
Hoolay certainly wasn't afraid. As the most orthodox Borisin, the leader of his people, fear was alien to him. However, despite not fearing the Xianzhou girl before him, the inexplicable decapitation moments earlier had indeed made Hoolay wary. Therefore, it was clearly necessary to let his wolf soldiers first probe this 'Qingque' whelp's methods.
Hearing the command, the Borisin wolf soldiers howled excitedly, oblivious to their Warleader's intentions, or perhaps, uncaring even if they knew. After all, they had long yearned to tear this arrogant Xianzhou whelp—who had openly humiliated their beloved Warleader—to shreds!
"Testing the waters, huh..." Watching the Borisin wolf soldiers charge towards her, the girl [Qingque] scratched her cheek and complained, "What a hassle."
The next moment, he beckoned with his index finger.
Swish—
The howling, charging Borisin wolf soldiers didn't even have time to react. Like layers being cut in an image editor, they were instantly segmented. And that was just the beginning—one split into two, two into four, vertically, horizontally, constantly expanding.
In a mere instant, those Borisin wolf soldiers vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed.
This nightmarish scene sent a chill down Hoolay's spine.
"Alright, then~ Next up, it's your turn." The girl smiled, but this smile instilled... fear in the legendary Borisin Warleader.
Yes, fear. An emotion previously unimaginable for Hoolay.
Even during his battle with Jingliu back then, such a thought had never crossed his mind. Hoolay believed that even death itself couldn't make him feel fear. Following the ancient wolf code, he was always the one to inspire fear, never the weakling fearing others.
But at this moment, facing an unknown Xianzhou girl, Hoolay felt this emotion bloom for the first time. It was as if, after witnessing the previous scene, he had truly been subdued by her power, recognizing himself as the weakling destined to be trampled.
Realizing this emotion, Hoolay was terrified, yet simultaneously enraged. After all, acknowledging his own weakness was, in fact, this legendary Warleader's greatest fear. Death could not make him afraid, pain could not make him yield, but the very strength he worshipped—the moment it fell short, that instilled immense terror in Hoolay.
"What... are you afraid of?" The elegant mask at her waist shifted slightly with her movement. The pretty girl smiled as she asked, the emotionally neutral inquiry striking Hoolay's heart like a battering ram, causing his massive body to tremble uncontrollably.
"Die!" Ashamed of this emotion, terrified by this fear, seeing [Qingque] approaching, now mere steps away, Hoolay seemed to drive away this disgraceful cowardice with rage, choosing fury over all else.
In the past, his strength fueled his strength, his anger fueled his anger.
Now, his perceived strength made him weak, his fear fueled his anger.
The razor-sharp claws, seemingly fierce, moved sluggishly—at least, never before in Hoolay's life had these potent Borisin weapons appeared so laughable.
His massive form halted abruptly, as if frozen in time.
A curve formed on the girl's lips. He surveyed the immobile giant before him with immense satisfaction, like admiring a piece of art.
A beckoning index finger gently touched the chest of the beastly form teeming with vitality, tracing a slight line.
An ominous blood-red glow emerged from the mark left by that finger, revealing itself.
"Is this the Abominations of Abundance that supported Hoolay through eight hundred years in the The Shackling Prison ?" A curious, appreciative voice sounded from the side. Looking over, it was Jing Yuan approaching. He gazed at the crimson substance on Hoolay's chest, his eyes filled with surprise.
"Yes, a product of the Teeming Moon, much like the fruit of the Ambrosial Arbor. The Crimson Moon."
"This eerie light... just being near it makes me feel restless... If not for the protection granted by the Reignbow Arbiter's power, sigh..." Jing Yuan frowned, sighing repeatedly as he urged, "Quickly put it away."
Hearing this, the girl [Qingque] smiled, rapping her knuckle gently on the Crimson Moon. The light immediately dimmed, its vitality retracting.
"He is..."
"A little trick I researched. It can bind both the spirit and the body simultaneously... Hmm, let's just call it the Immobilization Technique!"
"Now, Hoolay is completely immobilized." Hands clasped behind his back, [Qingque]'s tone was full of certainty, yet also tinged with amusement: "Abominations of Abundance, while troublesome to kill due to their extraordinary vitality, are surprisingly weak against restraining abilities."
"...Indeed..." Jing Yuan agreed deeply. He glanced at the immobile Hoolay, then seemed to recall something, sighing, "It's just a pity the Alliance has never excelled at restraining techniques."
The best way to deal with Abundance abominations—these tanks of flesh—was naturally control, not direct damage. Although the Xianzhou Alliance knew this principle, unfortunately... neither their Path alignment nor their technology tree had much connection to control. After all, as followers of The Hunt, they naturally favored direct, effective violence, just like Lan.
Factions truly skilled in control and restriction were more along the lines of the Garden of Recollection or The Harmony—Paths with a 'softer' style.
Why could Jingliu beat Hoolay black and blue back then? Wasn't it precisely because of her ice-based swordsmanship, restricting Hoolay's movement and rendering him immobile? If it were a battle of attrition, even Jingliu, a Xianzhou native and thus quite tanky herself, would have struggled to deal with an ultimate tank like Hoolay.
"No matter~" [Qingque] grinned, producing a Celestial Jade Tablet from seemingly nowhere, then lightly tapped the immobilized Hoolay with it.
The next moment, Hoolay dissolved into light and was drawn into the tablet. On the Celestial Jade Tablet, an image of Hoolay now appeared.
"This is...?"
"A special 'Celestial Jade Tablet'. Its effect... is just as you see, General. It can 'seal' the target within."
"...You came up with this?"
"Sort of. But speaking of which, I owe thanks to Elder Huaiyan for that technique from the Zhuming."
The Zhuming excelled at smelting. Due to their focus on sealing, they possessed a unique technological path involving forging Demon Blades using Heliobus. [Qingque]'s little invention was inspired by the Heliobus sealing techniques Huaiyan had brought from the Zhuming.
It utilized Aether Editing for coordinate transfer, Heliobus sealing techniques for mental confinement, and as for the physical aspect, it borrowed from various sources—some from a certain concrete-pouring old gentleman (Welt), some from a certain god of Elation (Aha), and some from a certain mother of myriad stars (Xipe).
One could say the 'Celestial Jade Tablet'... hmm, considering its effect, perhaps 'Celestial Prison Tablet' was more fitting—was a creative little invention combining the strengths of many Paths.
"Using this, regardless of whether one excels at sealing or restriction techniques, enemies can be easily 'captured'."
"Hmm~ Hoolay is pretty much dealt with. Since he's a key prisoner, I should personally escort him back... Or perhaps you'd like to make arrangements, General? But... I suspect you'd rather go assist General Feixiao?"
The girl's words snapped Jing Yuan out of his contemplation. He looked surprised, then glanced towards the sky and sighed: "Yes, it's time to welcome those less-than-friendly guests."
Although the presence of a Destruction Emanator like Phantylia was indeed a significant threat to the Xianzhou, and Hoolay's escape attempt and the Borisin infiltration were major incidents... if that was all, why would General Yao Guang of the Yuque issue such a severe warning? The last time a similar warning was given, it was during the Third Abundance War. How could this incident conclude so anticlimactically?
Phantylia... was merely the beginning.
In fact, the true enemy was already approaching.
Outside the star region where the Luofu and Yaoqing were docked.
Feixiao, having rushed from the Luofu and taken position, stood sternly on the bridge of the Qingqiu Guard flagship of the Yaoqing Cloud Knight Fleet. Her gaze was fixed on the rapidly approaching small black dot revealed by observation.
Zooming in revealed the terrifying war machine of the Antimatter Legion... the 'Doomsday Beast', a planet-killer weapon cobbled together by the Legion from fragments of ancient beasts.
"Doomsday Beast... and Overlord Vanguards... Hmph, is this Celenova Ravager's force?" Squinting at the dangerous enemies, Feixiao grunted, her face grim.
In truth, the Xianzhou was no stranger to conflict with the Antimatter Legion. Both the Zhuming and the Yaoqing had clashed with them numerous times, though mostly in small-scale skirmishes, rarely engaging in full-frontal battles. As for identifying the Legion's command structure—different Legion forces often had different compositions.
Celenova Lord Ravager was one of Feixiao's most familiar opponents. Seeing the configuration of these Legion units, she could tell at a glance it was the handiwork of that Lord Ravager most skilled in conquest.
"Any news from the Cloud-Piercer Caravans?"
"Word from the Cloud-Piercer Caravans indicates sightings of Legion War Chariot units... Lord Ravager Ironclad Ravager is likely also participating in this battle."
"As for others... no signs of other Legion Lord Ravagers have been observed yet."
"Ironclad Ravager... Celenova Ravager... Hmph..." Muttering the names, Feixiao felt a headache coming on.
However, she then felt a surge of relief—relief at Phantylia's impatience.
In fact, Phantylia was originally meant to be part of this Legion assault.
Her role was to infiltrate the Xianzhou interior and cause chaos from within when the Legion attacked. At that point, the Xianzhou's morale would plummet with their home base compromised, forcing the Generals on the front lines to urgently redeploy forces back for defense.
The result was obvious... Redeploying troops would inevitably create openings on the front line, allowing the Legion to exploit the Xianzhou's weak points and strike at vital areas.
Essentially, after discovering the Antimatter Legion's approach and Phantylia's infiltration, the Xianzhou Generals pieced together the Legion's sinister plan.
Yet, this plan was incredibly difficult for the Alliance to counter. The Legion appeared and disappeared without warning, and Heliobus like Phantylia were notoriously difficult to guard against.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Phantylia compromising the home base was almost a certainty, just like Shuhu's surprise attack on the Luofu back then.
Moreover, unlike the Luofu of the past, the current Luofu was plagued by internal strife and external threats—it was at its weakest. This was precisely why the Alliance had dispatched the Yaoqing during the Luofu's Luminary Wardance: to prevent the vulnerable Luofu from being attacked.
But if the Generals of both Xianzhou ships were occupied holding the front line, leaving the homeland undefended by Emanators, Phantylia would undoubtedly succeed in her infiltration.
Without question, the Legion had presented the Alliance with an almost guaranteed losing scenario.
Feixiao considered the Legion's deployment, feeling fortunate yet simultaneously wearing a mocking expression.
Likely, the Legion's strategists never imagined that their seemingly flawless plan, their ultimate trump card—Phantylia, responsible for the internal attack, theoretically guaranteed to succeed—would ironically become the Xianzhou Alliance's breakthrough point.
An image of a certain someone flashed in her mind: "Everything... thanks to that child..."