The Final Battle and a Faint Hope

Aboard the command mothership, Seti finally caught his breath after a brief respite. Forcing himself to rally his spirits, he resumed command of the defensive battle.

There was both good news and bad news to deliver. The good news was that Jörmungaṇḍr, a legendary leviathan known for its devastating, wide-ranging attacks, had finally been delivered a fatal blow. After being relentlessly worn down, it was ultimately finished off by the sudden appearance of Kraken.

The bad news, however, was that their elite forces, already severely depleted, now had to face another legendary colossal beast, the Kraken, which was in perfect condition.

Seti had already foreseen the worst-case scenario.

They found themselves trapped, caught between the frenzied, desperate struggle of Jörmungaṇḍr’s kin and the ferocious, surging advance of Kraken’s lineage.

After this battle, it was highly probable that Pharos’s high-ranking hunters would face complete annihilation.

Seti coughed into his hand, then casually flicked away the dark crimson stain between his fingers. His gaze remained fixed on the colossal creature wreaking havoc in the distance.

Kraken’s external features resembled a hybrid of a squid and an octopus. While considerably smaller than Jörmungaṇḍr, it still dwarfed ordinary sea beasts. With its submerged length, it measured at least several hundred meters in height.

As things stood, it was either a swift, decisive battle or a strategic retreat.

Should they prolong the engagement, the sea beasts from both sides would inevitably form a pincer attack, placing them at an extreme disadvantage.

The latter option would only treat the symptoms, merely shifting the battlefield to the coast of Pharos. As for the former…

Seti gripped the communication device, his voice grim.

“Silver Kite, Jiang Chen, can Kraken be dealt with?”

“It’s a bit troublesome, and it will require time,” Ming Yu replied, breathless, her gaze sweeping across the distant battlefield from her aerial vantage point. “Also, I’m afraid old man Jiang won’t be able to answer you.”

“Jiang Chen? What’s his situation right now?”

…

The atmosphere plunged into a deathly silence. Faintly, one could still discern the shadow of his former self on that blood-stained, twisted face.

His heart had ceased its beating forever.

Ming Yu, uncharacteristically, felt a pang of profound sadness.

To her, Jiang Chen had been both a mentor and a friend.

Their friendship spanned over two decades, their personalities complementing each other perfectly. They could speak freely about anything, without reservation.

And now, Jiang Chen, her comrade-in-arms, had extinguished the flame of his life, all for his beloved Pharos.

“Old instructor,” she murmured, “you look quite striking like this.”

She sighed softly, a profound ache settling in her heart.

After a moment of contemplation, she signaled for Jiang Chen’s body to be returned to the mothership first.

Ming Yu did not wish for her old friend’s body to be devoured by the sea beasts, so she temporarily withdrew from the front line. Soon, the grotesquely distorted remains landed on the deck, entering Seti’s field of vision.

However, Seti merely glanced at it indifferently before retracting his gaze, his eyes returning to Ming Yu’s face.

“His sacrifice holds immense value,” he said softly, approaching Ming Yu with a measured pace and lowering his head slightly. “Among the many citizens of Pharos, there will always be those you care about.”

“If a legendary colossal beast were to storm into the city clusters, Dresa serves as a stark warning. The sea beasts would devour everything until their hunger was sated.”

“Therefore, I ask this of you.”

****

Seven genetic injections were administered into her body all at once. The potent medicine raged through her like an enraged beast, relentlessly tearing through her bodily tissues, only for them to regenerate, again and again.

Clutching the blade Jiang Chen had gifted her, Ming Yu stood alone in the waters before Kraken. The crimson blade hovered above the surface, while a circle of white mist continuously rose around it.

For some reason, she suddenly felt a profound sense of relief.

This was it.

The final battle.

In merely a little over ten minutes, this ultimate battle reached its conclusion.

Ming Yu, her eyes rimmed with red, stood precariously on Kraken’s carcass. She felt an overwhelming urge to weep, yet not a single tear would fall. Instead, she could only stare blankly at White Feather cradled in her arms.

In her arms, White Feather’s wings of freedom, meant for the sky, no longer stirred. Its pristine white feathers were now thoroughly drenched in blood.

In that critical moment, White Feather had shielded Ming Yu with its body, blocking Kraken’s retaliatory tentacle. This act shattered Ming Yu’s certain death, creating the crucial opportunity for a decisive kill.

“I told you,” she whispered, “you would die…”

“Why did you come back…?”

“White Feather…”

Ming Yu’s lips trembled as the blade in her hand clattered to the ground. Her pale fingers gently stroked White Feather’s feathers, attempting to wipe away the thin layer of blood.

Unbeknownst to her, White Feather had grown so large.

Its neck, once small enough to cradle in one hand, now required both hands to grasp.

She had already lost a confidant of over two decades. Now, she was about to lose a comrade-in-arms whom she could trust implicitly with her back.

This sensation was unbearable, and Ming Yu had experienced it many times before.

Nothing had changed.

If only she could be stronger, would everything have turned out differently?

Just as Ming Yu’s mind drifted, a familiar, weak voice echoed in her thoughts.

‘Ming Yu…’ (referring to her by name)

In that instant, her dazed eyes snapped into sharp focus.

Ming Yu stared intently at White Feather in her arms.

According to her senses, White Feather’s heart had stopped beating, and it had lost all signs of life.

Perhaps, its brain had not yet fully succumbed.

In that very moment, Ming Yu suddenly perceived something, and her previously heavy heart stirred with renewed vigor. ‘Wait, this is… psychic energy? White Feather possesses psychic energy?’

‘No wonder, no wonder it could break free from mental control. If that’s the case, then perhaps White Feather can still be saved.’

“White Feather, don’t speak,” Ming Yu commanded, her voice urgent. “Listen carefully and do exactly as I say!”

Having made up her mind, Ming Yu swiftly imparted all the techniques of ‘Ouroboros Rebirth’ to White Feather. She instructed it to immediately circulate its psychic energy according to the method.

Soon, a phantom shadow emerged from White Feather’s body. Ming Yu quickly clasped it in her palm, but instead of absorbing it, she used all her remaining psychic energy to seal it intact within her consciousness.

Without a physical vessel, a soul would rapidly dissipate.

These were all insights from ‘Ouroboros Rebirth’.

What Ming Yu needed to do was temporarily allow White Feather to hibernate within her own body. This would buy her time to find a suitable organic vessel for White Feather.

“White Feather, you’ve worked hard,” she murmured. “Rest well.”

‘Mm-hmm…’ (White Feather’s response)

With that, the faint voice vanished completely.

Having accomplished all this, Ming Yu finally relaxed, but an overwhelming dizziness flooded her mind. The after-effects of the genetic augmentation were beginning to manifest.

Thud—

Her body collapsed rigidly onto Kraken’s carcass. Amidst the rusty, sanguine scent, she lost consciousness.

****

Star Ring Base, Satellite Monitoring Room.

Everyone present, including Augu, was utterly flabbergasted, their eyes wide with disbelief. They could scarcely believe the scene they had just witnessed.

A human, through individual strength, had hunted down a terrifyingly powerful colossal beast.

The impact of this event was no less profound than the scene Augu had witnessed in the Void Realm previously.

She was nothing short of a monster draped in human skin.