At the canyon pass, Mo Tingquan, who had been fighting fiercely against the enemy, was now kneeling on the ground, letting out agonizing roars.
Countless golden branches sprouted from his flesh, growing wildly, extending leaves, and shattering his battle armor inch by inch.
"Ahhhh——"
Mo Tingquan clutched his head, his nails digging deep into his scalp, as if trying to physically tear out the maddening voice in his mind.
But he couldn't.
The golden branches and leaves quickly covered his entire body, and his once clear and spirited eyes were gradually replaced by a turbid, blood-red hue.
"Senior Mo Tingquan..." Jingliu tightened her grip on the sword in her hand.
She knew the rules; every Cloud Knight knew.
Once a comrade falls into mara affliction, they are no longer a fellow soldier but an Abomination that must be eliminated.
But... this was Mo Tingquan.
He was the only remaining Cloud Knight Vanguard from Azure City besides her master, and also her master's comrade of hundreds of years.
After centuries, the number of surviving Azure City Natives was already few and far between.
Mo Tingquan struggled to lift his head and look into the distance. On his face, now unrecognizable from its former appearance, a faint, weak, almost pleading expression flickered for the last time.
Jingliu felt the sword in her hand weigh as heavy as a thousand pounds.
Just as she gritted her teeth and resolved to act, a blurry shadow swept past her side.
Thud!
The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh was faint, yet unmistakably clear.
Qi Zhimu appeared before Mo Tingquan, his sword precisely stabbing into his elixir organ, the sword intent spreading and shattering it.
The roars abruptly ceased.
Mo Tingquan's body stiffened, the blood-red in his eyes receding like a tide, restoring his sanity.
Looking at his old comrade of hundreds of years before him, the corners of his mouth twitched with difficulty, as if trying to force a relieved smile.
Two seconds later, he slowly fell backward, the golden branches covering his body rapidly withering and scattering with the wind.
Qi Zhimu stood holding his sword, unmoving for a long time.
He lowered his gaze to Mo Tingquan's gradually cooling corpse, his face expressionless, as if he had just slain an ordinary enemy.
"Master..."
Witnessing this scene, a rare pang of sorrow passed through Jingliu's heart, her eyes complex.
"This is the fate of the Long-lived Species of the Xianzhou."
Qi Zhimu did not turn around, his back to Jingliu, his voice terrifyingly calm.
"In the future, I might become like this too."
He paused, his tone carrying an undeniable command.
"If one day I fall into mara affliction on the battlefield, you must act just as your master did today, without any mercy. Do you understand?"
Jingliu shuddered.
If that day came, would she have to... kill her master with her own hands?
If at that time, that was the only release for her master... Shadows fell over Jingliu's face, as images that still haunted her nightmares resurfaced in her mind.
That day, her master had ended his mother's life with his own hands.
The difference was, back then, he had not stepped forward actively but waited for his mother to approach him.
And the similarity was... there had not been the slightest hesitation in drawing the sword.
"Yes... Master..."
Jingliu replied softly.
She did not notice that deep within her master's eyes, a terrifying brutality was churning.
Qi Zhimu thrust his sword into the ground, bent down, and gathered the remains of his former comrade.
Another one gone... Only a few of Azure City's remnants had left descendants before passing, but more fell into mara affliction at six or seven hundred years old, to be received and extinguished by the judges of the Ten Lords Tribunal.
Up to the present star calendar year 6745, after Mo Tingquan fell into mara affliction, only 88 remained alive, all already at high-risk ages.
Perhaps in not many years, the descendants of Azure City's remnants would, with the passage of time, gradually forget that long-shattered Ancestral Homeland.
Qi Zhimu straightened up again, stomping his foot hard on the ground!
The earth trembled.
An invisible wave spread out, sweeping over countless Borisin bodies. The moment it made contact, all the Borisin turned to ashes.
The wave contracted back, carrying the power familiar to Qi Zhimu, and fell silent.
The Abominations were completely annihilated, and the crisis was finally resolved.
Counting the casualties, the unit led by Mo Tingquan totaled three million, with just over seventy thousand sacrifices.
In the desperate situation of being ambushed by Hoolay, keeping the losses this low was the utmost he could achieve.
He did not betray the will of The Hunt, nor the Xianzhou, nor the comrades who entrusted their lives and trust to him, fighting to the very end.
The master and disciple did not immediately lead the troops back to Yaoqing Xianzhou but slaughtered all the Abominations in the entire Yinghuo Star Sector before embarking on the return journey.
The sacrifice of a Cloud Knight Vanguard was a heavy loss, even for the martial Yaoqing.
In the Cloud Knights, at most two Vanguards are promoted every five years.
In the Cloud Knights' Exclusive Memorial Cavern, flowing clouds hung like plain silk, surrounding the verdant, tranquil mountains.
White cranes skimmed over the mirror-like lake, their long cries echoing, accentuating the solemnity and peace of this place.
General Zhuiyun posthumously awarded Mo Tingquan the honor of martyr, buried him with grandeur, and recorded his name in the Xianzhou's Annals of Heroes and Martyrs, to be revered by future generations forever.
Qi Zhimu and the others saluted in unison, their expressions varied, but the heaviness in their eyes was the same... The next day, Qi Zhimu visited the General's Mansion alone.
"You want to retire from the military?"
After hearing his request, General Zhuiyun was slightly taken aback, only then realizing the profound exhaustion and helplessness hidden beneath countless illustrious military achievements.
It had been 445 years since Azure City's destruction.
Back then, Qi Zhimu was 600 years old; now he was 1,045 years old.
Throughout the entire history of the Xianzhou Alliance, Cloud Knights who lived to this age were few and far between.
Moreover, over all these years, he had never shown signs of falling into mara affliction.
"Yes, General."
Qi Zhimu's expression was calm, his words concise.
"Your subordinate has surpassed a thousand years by several decades. Though I wish to continue fighting, my body is gradually feeling unable to sustain it."
"This is your subordinate's Post-Battle Inspection Report. Please review it, General."
Zhuiyun took the report transmitted from the Jade Token Terminal, examined it carefully, and couldn't help but sigh deeply.
The report showed that while Qi Zhimu's spirit was unimpaired, it was no longer as stable as in previous years.
Besides the Medical Conclusions from the Alchemy Commission, there were also Divination Annotations from the Divination Commission.
Both reports ultimately pointed out: if Qi Zhimu continued to view life and death lightly as before and threw himself into Hunt expeditions, the probability of him falling into mara affliction on the battlefield was no less than seventy percent.
And as battles grew fiercer and more frequent, this probability would still rise.
By both emotion and reason, he should no longer fight.
It was time to step down from the front lines and return to an ordinary life.
"Vanguard Qi Zhimu, thank you for your centuries of service to the Alliance and to Yaoqing Xianzhou."
Zhuiyun closed the report, his expression solemn, and bowed respectfully to Qi Zhimu.
"From today onward, you are honorably discharged."
...After learning of Qi Zhimu's retirement, the dark cloud of worry and fear intertwined in Jingliu's heart grew heavier and denser.
Looking back suddenly, she belatedly realized: her master, who had been on Hunt expeditions day after day for centuries, was already at a high-risk age.
She had not yet achieved her goals, but how many years her master had left, no one could know.
The thought of possibly losing Qi Zhimu, witnessing him fall into mara affliction and be received into extinction in the future... made Jingliu feel even breathing became incredibly difficult... No, that future... must not happen!
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