Chapter 66: The Large Wolf Beast

Chapter 66: The Large Wolf Beast

In that instant, the fiery chains surrounding Cecil simultaneously detonated, transforming her into a blazing torch.

Immediately after, a layer of silver frost enveloped the torch from the outside.

Layer upon layer of ice formed around the burning flames, creating sharp spikes that pierced into the icy butterfly's body within.

Cecil let out a pained roar.

Her voice, filled with agony, twisted, making it indistinguishable whether it was human speech or the buzzing of an ice butterfly.

All the crimson mental energy converged towards Cecil but was blocked by the silver slicing barrier.

The starships and aircraft from the military and the capital planet's guard had long since filled the airspace above the amusement park.

Lu Yi stood in the main command room at the forefront, issuing a concise order.

"FIRE."

Cannons illuminated one after another, like rousing war drums.

The hub on the main tower's apex dimmed, and the intermittent red glow emanating from its tip ceased.

The triangular sides of the tower caved in, leaving a jagged gap in the ground.

A cold silver moon hung high above the breach, now free to pour its light unobstructed upon Cecil.

Amidst the dual assault of ice and fire, the Ice Butterfly roared in defiance. Though Cecil's form was charred black, its scarlet wings suddenly expanded, shattering the ice and piercing through the flames.

Layer by layer, its skin peeled away, and its eyeless sockets seemed to brim with blood.

The battle was far from over. Rong Mi reached for the mecha's control panel, but the Ice Butterfly abruptly froze in motion.

In that brief moment, Lu Tianchen's consciousness reasserted dominance.

He turned his head, his eyes aligning with Cheng Wen, who was receiving treatment on the ground. The Ice Butterfly's energy stagnated, allowing the silver-violet energy waves to slice into its body, sharp icicles piercing through like blades.

Like a convicted criminal on a gallows, desperately wicked... or a suffering messiah.

The flames engulfed Lu Tianchen, his limbs collapsing and detaching from his body.

The brilliant light illuminated the surroundings as bright as daylight. Cheng Wen abruptly awoke, pushing away the medical robot, letting out a hoarse howl.

His wounds were still unhealed, and each labored breath from his chest was accompanied by a rattling sound in his throat.

Before him, Lu Tianchen's body was reduced to ashes. The familiar face was swallowed by the glow, and with a thud, a charred head landed on the ground.

The Ice Butterfly's body was entirely consumed by the flames, and eventually, the fire subsided.

Amidst the dancing silver halo, Cheng Wen witnessed the decomposition of that head. The organs belonging to the Ice Butterfly inside the skull were cremated, the bones destroyed. At the center of that emptiness, only a crystalline white residue remained.

The size of a human palm, its shape resembled a burnt piece of withered wood. Yet, it shimmered translucently, like the most precious gem in the world.

That was Lu Tianchen's human Spirit Tree crystal.

Under the moonlight descending from above, a layer of ice began to form around the crystal of the Spirit Tree.

Cheng Wen roared, snapping back to reality. He frantically cried out, "No! Don't! ... Don't shatter it!"

He staggered forward, attempting to shield Lu Tianchen's crystal in his embrace. But his knees gave way, leaving him powerless as he fell to the ground after just one step.

Desperate sobs escaped his lips as he crawled forward, undignified.

"Don't be afraid," Rong Mi's voice sounded by his side. "Lu Yi doesn't intend to destroy it."

"The energy field around us is still chaotic. This layer of ice crystal ensures it remains uncontaminated by other energy waves," the young man explained as he helped Cheng Wen to his feet and led him to stand before Lu Tianchen's mental tree crystal.

"…Give it to me," Cheng Wen's voice was fragmented. "Can you give it to me...?"

"Certainly," Rong Mi crouched down on one knee, supporting Cheng Wen's arm as he encouraged him to reach out and hold the silver, translucent ice sphere.

For a moment, Rong Mi fell silent.

He had witnessed too many deaths.

As a child, the comrades who underwent genetic modifications alongside him didn't survive the adverse reactions and perished within observation pods. For easy access by medical personnel, the observation pods' four walls were made of unobstructed transparent glass. He watched as a friend, with whom he had recently studied the knowledge of therapists, suddenly collapsed, convulsing violently. After a night of struggling, the friend drew their last breath the following day.

The brightly lit observation room left a deep impression upon Rong Mi's heart. That pale, despair-filled, and tormented face within it was his most primitive perception of death.

There were countless nights when he dared not sleep, fearing that such agony would stealthily creep into his bed during the darkness of night.

Later on, he fortunately weathered the adverse reactions and became a true healer, traveling aboard numerous starships and encountering many critically injured patients on the brink of death.

Upon completing his tenure as a therapist, he had bid farewell to numerous comrades-in-arms who had fought alongside him as mecha pilots on the flagship.

Rong Mi vividly recalled the time when the most people had perished.

Their main ship had once been swarmed by a massive butterfly flock, making escape near impossible. One moment, the mecha pilots were clearing threats for their comrades by their sides; the next, they were entangled by the venom sacs of high-ranking ice butterflies, dragged beyond the defensive line and into the swarm, where they self-destructed amidst the icy butterfly energy, detonating into fragments.

With each rotation for rest, the number of people in the mecha team dwindled. Every mecha bore scars from burning and the stains of ice butterfly blood. It was only after the main ship finally broke free and they accounted for survivors that they could confirm who had perished in that battle.

Rong Mi had learned to treat death as an ordinary farewell.

But he knew that everything was different for Cheng Wen.

Both the deceased individuals and the concept of death itself.

He gently patted Cheng Wen's shoulder, offering silent comfort.

The Silver Wolf tilted its head to the side. Its gaze passed over Cheng Wen and landed on the translucent ice ball, where Lu Tianchen's spirit tree resided.

The spirit tree shimmered with a faint light, a remnant of Lu Tianchen's consciousness.

If the spirit tree crystal were properly preserved and promptly treated, Lu Tianchen's entire consciousness could potentially be extracted from it and uploaded into the virtual world.

This was a top-secret project currently undertaken by the Academy of Sciences. There had already been one successful participant.

That individual now thrived in the virtual space, moving about in holographic form within their home. Through a specialized interactive mode, they could manipulate objects and even interact with family members wearing special devices.

However, the selection criteria for this experiment were extremely strict. Ayin found it challenging to convey the intricacies of the process to Rong Mi using its howls. Therefore, it entrusted the matter to Lu Yi, refocusing its attention on the energy field within the tower.

Beside it, Rong Mi had also risen to his feet.

The young man furrowed his brow slightly, surveying their surroundings.

...Cheng Die's fragments of spiritual power had vanished too effortlessly.

Despite Lu Tianchen's assistance, he still felt a lingering unease.

Yet, there was no sign of anything amiss around them.

The once rampaging Ice Butterflies' spirit energy had nearly dissipated, leaving only scattered energy particles that drifted down while curling away into nothingness.

"Ayin," Rong Mi turned to the Silver Wolves. The wolf, having received Rong Mi's command, began sniffing around for any remnants of the Ice Butterfly's energy.

Before Rong Mi, Cheng Wen clutched the crystal tightly in her arms, her body convulsing with uncontrollable tremors. Not far away, Ellen remained unconscious, pinned against the wall.

Rong Mi decided to take them out of here first.

He stood up, about to speak, when his pupils suddenly dilated in alarm.

The ground, which had just ceased its trembling, started shaking once more.

Amidst the rumbling, Ayin turned its head and let out an urgent howl.

"Oooh! Aaah-oooh!"

Flee from there at once!

The wolves lunged anxiously towards Rong Mi.

A vast expanse of ground crumbled beneath her feet, too swiftly for anyone to react.

The vivid red that had just been extinguished spewed upward from the crevices, resembling an underground lava surge or a slumbering demon awoken from beneath the earth.

The support beneath her gave way. Rong Mi stumbled and started to plummet. Her fingers already grasped the mecha's activation button, but the Ice Butterfly energy threads were quicker.

Tens of thousands of venom sacs burst through the floor, an ominous, corrosive red glow enveloping Rong Mi. The Silver Wolves roared in fury, rushing into that incomplete prison with urgency.

The ground tilted, and the dazed Cheng Wen, along with the still-unconscious Ellen, slid towards the chasm.

An even more terrifying convergence of Ice Butterfly energy closed around them, forming a column of light that shot skyward from the base of the building once more!

High above, in the command room of a starship, Lu Yi's brows knitted tightly.

At the amusement park base, the ground was a blanket of silver-white.

The Capital Star Guard scattered high above, on high alert, having already destroyed the base's weaponry and awaiting orders to search the area.

"Isn't it time to descend?" a rookie member of the Capital Star Guard muttered aboard a combat flyer, "Shouldn't we be descending to search the Symbiosis Association's base? We should seize control of any remaining members as soon as possible to prevent a counterattack."

"Hurry for what?" replied the veteran sitting at the controls, "If more Ice Butterflies appear while we're down there, you'll be in danger! The commander is confirming the situation..."

In his peripheral vision, he suddenly noticed an unusual glow.

"Buzz—buzz—buzz—"

The outer wall of the central tower in the base crumbled, revealing the bare central metal support column standing tall.

On the broken Ferris wheel at the top, red indicator lights that had long gone out flickered back to life, eventually connecting end to end and converging once more.

The dormant Doomsday Volcano erupted anew, even more terrifying than before, turning the sky a crimson hue.

A red beam, roughly the diameter of the flyer, split from the volcano's center and extended outward in the air like the venom gland of an Ice Butterfly hunting its prey, swiftly lashing out towards the starships and flyers hovering above.

"Beep-beep-beep—"

A frenzied energy alarm echoed from the bridge and the command center.

"Admiral Lu Yi!" The captain of the Capital Star's guard spoke urgently through the comm, "The Ice Butterfly psionic detection system is overloaded! We can't determine the enemy's energy level..."

"Rise in altitude," Lu Yi commanded calmly, issuing the order swiftly. His palm pressed against the main cannon input, causing the silver light to intensify as the field was reinforced layer by layer.

His gaze fixated on the core where red light burst forth. "Everyone, retreat backward."

More Ice Butterfly energy surged out.

Guardian warships lifted swiftly, scattering in all directions.

Residents of the amusement district, roused from their sleep and following the guards' instructions, turned back with terrified expressions, their eyes reflecting an apocalyptic scene.

Red beams of light pierced the heavens, breaking through the clouds and soaring into the altitude.

From within those pillars of light, countless ice butterflies fluttered their wings, escaping to spread outwards.

The silver moon, which had previously hovered above the amusement park, ascended higher into the sky, radiating a brilliant sunlight-like glow. It froze and crushed the multitude of ice butterflies that had escaped the red light's grasp.

That silvery aura was icy and ferocious, dispersing irregularly in all directions, relentlessly pursuing the butterflies. Yet, its inner layer was gradually condensing and contracting, forming an icy wall around the crimson beam of light.

Inside the starship, Lu Yi supported himself on the control panel, navigating through the chaotic energy field to locate the Silver Wolves.

"Admiral! We should retreat as well!" Sun Tong shouted from the cockpit, "The small starship's stability is too poor! The energy fluctuations here have exceeded safe levels! I'm afraid we might crash..."

"No, we won't," Lu Yi replied coldly. "Hold onto the steering wheel."

"Keep moving forward."

The mental energy detection device had malfunctioned. If he were to retreat now, he wouldn't be able to perceive the energy field around the main tower at all.

Sun Tong: "..."

If the one standing in the command room hadn't been her own legion commander, Sun Tong would have accused him of reckless behavior and unleashed a torrent of abuse!

Yet, he knew that Lu Yi's order was anything but a whimsical notion.

The moment he speaks, his request must be fulfilled without question.

Sun Tong gritted his teeth and pushed the control stick forward. The closer they got to the central energy surge, the more violently the starship shook.

Lu Yi reached out to steady himself on the console. His palm had long turned pitch black, with the Ice Butterfly poison creeping upward, outlining a grim, gray butterfly pattern on his neck.

Lu Yi paid no heed to it.

Due to the injury in his mental domain, his mental sensitivity was already diminished. He was now pouring too much of his mental energy into the ship, rendering him momentarily unable to locate the Silver Wolves.

The admiral's breathing quickened as he closed his eyes, cutting off visual input. Focusing solely on his mental vision, he sternly called out, "Ayin."

"Ayin!"

"Arwooo!!!"

Amidst the cacophony of colliding energies, the Silver Wolves' howl suddenly pierced through the chaos.

From the very heart of the thick, red beam, a speck of silver erupted, like a silver sphere breaking free from the tip of a needle.

Within the glow, a massive silhouette began to vaguely emerge.

Its size surpassed even the military's compact starships. Its silver fur shimmered, and its physique was muscular with razor-sharp claws.

It was no longer a pup that could be embraced with two hands; it was a majestic adult Silver Wolf.

Its howl echoed long and strong, its body agile as it leaped against the moon, piercing through the red glow, ascending towards the sky.

In that instant, everyone on the battlefield held their breath.

They watched the Ice Plain Silver Wolf stepping through the air, with a young man seated firmly on its back.

It seemed like a creature straight out of a mythological book.

"…Ayin?!"

The young man's eyes shone bright.

With a tight grip on the wolf's fur to steady himself, he said in disbelief, "Your size... You've recovered?!"

"AoOOOOO!!!"

Ayin raised its head in response.

It stretched its body and ran towards Lu Yi's spacecraft.

Rong Mi knelt on the wolf's back, pressing her palm against its lustrous, dense fur, unable to resist giving it a hearty rub.

The fur of an adult Icefield Silver Wolf was long and shimmered with a cold silver hue, exuding an air of mystique and grandeur.

Rong Mi felt as if she were sinking into a luxuriously woven fur blanket.

However, the adult wolf's fur wasn't as soft as when it was a cub, having a slightly stiff texture, making the "blanket" less cozy.

After spending so much time with the juvenile wolf, Rong Mi had almost forgotten what Ayin looked like from afar when they first met on the icefield.

Now, as the wolf regained its strength, her memories began to resurface, and she realized that the seemingly large Silver Wolf, viewed from afar, was even more enormous up close!

And majestic too.

Its back was broad, wide enough for two people to sit side by side.

Behind Rong Mi, Ellen and Cheng Wen were still seated on the wolf's back.

The First Legion's squad leader, dazed, stirred from his stupor to witness the floating silver light in the air, his expression one of confusion.

Beside him, Cheng Wen had been knocked unconscious by the second energy burst of the Ice Butterfly, yet she still clutched tightly onto Lu Tianchen's spirit tree crystal.

The silver light condensed into sharp ice blades beside the wolf, slicing through large swaths of the red glow.

Rong Mi glanced at the fleet ahead, then vigorously rubbed the neck of the Silver Wolf, saying, "Ayin, take them over first."

The crimson pillars of light spewing from underground multiplied, persistently expanding in all directions. The central column grew even more intense.

The frost-covered ground cracked with a brittle sound. Rong Mi stretched out a hand to catch a falling silver snowflake from the sky.

It was the manifestation of Lu Yi's spiritual power, akin to the silver moon.

The admiral led the fleet, continuously employing area-of-effect attacks.

Rong Mi recalled that during the previous encounter with the Ice Butterfly, Lu Yi had told him... he couldn't see clearly.

He couldn't discern the focal point of the Ice Butterfly's energy core.

Evidently, neither the military nor the security forces possessed the ability to navigate through such chaotic energy fields and approach the heart of the Ice Butterfly's power.

In fact, it was only when the Ice Butterfly's energy burst anew that Rong Mi finally caught a clue.

"Buzz... Buzz... Buzz... Buzz!"

From within the crimson beam, the resonant hum of the Ice Butterfly echoed. The fierce winds at high altitude whipped the young man's clothing into a flutter.

Bending forward, Rong Mi approached the wolf's ear closely.

The large Silver Wolf had large, pointed ears that must have felt delightful to rub.

"Hey, Lu Yi?" As he initiated a call on his wolf communicator, he pressed the button on the comm device on his arm.

The wolf's ear twitched gently.

Inside the starship, Lu Yi pressed a button near his ear and turned to gesture at the communication console.

Upon entering the amusement park facility, his communicator signal was disrupted, and with the unstable energy field now, it was even more impossible to connect.

However, Lu Yi's starship was equipped with a specialized communication station, pre-programmed with Rong Mi's communicator number as per Lu Yi's request. Upon receiving Rong Mi's transmission, it promptly amplified the signal.

"Static... static..."

The noise in the channel gradually faded. Moments later, Rong Mi heard the general's cool voice.

"Around," Lu Yi replied. "Are you unharmed?"

It had only been a day since Rong Mi last heard Lu Yi's voice. Yet at that moment, he felt as if he hadn't conversed with the general for ages.

His lips curled up involuntarily upon hearing Lu Yi's voice.

"No!" the young man answered with a smile. He pulled out the space button from around his neck, gesturing towards the silver-gray starship at the forefront of the encirclement, acknowledging Lu Yi in the cockpit.

"There are no Butterfly Spirit fragments on Lu Tianchen," Rong Mi said. "Perhaps Cecil deemed Lu Tianchen's body too decayed to bear its full power. Thus, it placed the genuine energy fragments elsewhere."

"At the very bottom of the main tower," Rong Mi continued.

"Wait here, I'll activate my mecha to retrieve it!"

He spoke nonchalantly, his smile even bordering on casual, as if he was unaware of the potential dangers in his action.

But he couldn't possibly be unaware.

Lu Yi's gaze flickered slightly. After a moment of silence, he said straightforwardly, "Alright."

"After obtaining the carrier of the mental energy fragment, ascend to an altitude of three stellar miles above ground," he stated briefly. "I'll coordinate with the security team to help you eliminate the butterfly's mental energy core."

Rong Mi responded promptly, "Great!"

The young man agreed wholeheartedly.

Lu Yi's arrangement suited Rong Mi's intentions perfectly.

"Ao." The Silver Wolf turned its head to look at him, its ice-blue eyes reflecting Rong Mi's figure, revealing a hint of unease.

Rong Mi patted its neck soothingly, saying, "Don't be afraid."

"Ayin, help me load the injured onto the medical warship."

"I'll be right back!"

Rong Mi rose from the wolf's back and took a step backward.

Facing away from the center of the crimson light column, he leaped downward.

Mid-air, a metallic glint flashed.

The mecha's spatial button activated, and a silver mecha suddenly emerged, catching Rong Mi in its embrace.

As the young man donned the piloting helmet, the mecha's head lights illuminated, and vibrant purple spirit energy indicators circled around its body.

Under Rong Mi's control, the massive steel creation came to life.

A fearless warrior, clad in armor, brandished a gleaming blade in hand.