ABRIWMTHM Chapter 54

Chi Yao’s words traveled through the battlefield like his mental power, reaching everyone’s ears.

“Go.”

Chi Yao said.

As the star beast locked its gaze on Shi Xing, preparing to launch its next breakout, it once again took Shi Xing down.

Shi Xing’s eyes were uncontrollably glued to the mental power barrier, and in an instant, the star beast’s mental power collided with the barrier again. Under the blessing of its talent, the explosive brilliance made him involuntarily squeeze his eyes shut for a moment, as if remnants of nonexistent colorful fragments lingered on his irises.

Chi Yao’s mental power enveloped Shi Xing.

As the distance increased, the star beast could no longer see Shi Xing’s figure within its range, and due to the double blockade of the mental power barrier and the shield, it could not perceive the Blue Star human’s mental power. Losing the strong stimulus, the injuries on its back from Chi Yao’s heavy blow rolled over, and blood began to seep out. The star beast finally showed some signs of fatigue, no longer trying to break out, but hovering in mid-air to recuperate.

With the high-intensity battle interrupted, all the officers below couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

This star beast appeared suddenly and moved swiftly; they needed time to discuss and arrange subsequent combat plans.

As Shi Xing landed and felt the softness of the snow beneath him, he found himself still unable to adapt. His legs went weak, but fortunately, Chi Yao didn’t release his hold around his waist, preventing him from stumbling and falling.

Knowing that the feeling of weightlessness wasn’t pleasant for ordinary people, Chi Yao waited until Shi Xing was completely stable before letting go.

Taking a long breath, various senses began to return; Shi Xing only then realized that he was drenched in cold sweat from fear, and his heart was pounding violently from the recent confrontation, unable to calm down.

A group of officers gathered around.

One suggested, “Since the star beast is resting, should we let the young prince leave first?”

As soon as he finished speaking, he received immediate rebuttals from Chi Yao and Tan Bai Shan.

“No way.”

“Not allowed.”

Chi Yao said, “Shi Xing has to stay here. This star beast can cut through space. If we leave now, when the mental power barrier breaks during the battle later, it will chase after the direction Shi Xing left.”

At that time, the main force would still be here, while Shi Xing would be left with hardly anyone beside him, making it easier for the star beast.

Tan Bai Shan looked unhappy as well. “There were no reports of this star beast beyond the boundary line. Its sudden appearance suggests it must have broken through directly from outside the boundary line to enter the star system and reach the Empire.”

In other words, this star beast’s speed could theoretically be even faster.

If it still had a strong perception of Shi Xing…

No, it definitely had a strong perception of Shi Xing’s mental power!

Shi Xing had absorbed the mental power leaked from the previous star beast, which they had shielded multiple times at the first opportunity. Even so, when Shi Xing used his mental power, it still sensed his presence… this was a formidable star beast.

Tan Wen said earnestly, “A 3S-level double-mutated star beast, it’s rare to encounter one even in the Empire’s border area throughout the year.”

“Besides, they are also troublesome types of mutations; lightning variations can penetrate mental power barriers, hitting the mental seas of Empire citizens with great effect; space cutting and teleportation capabilities can obscure positions, catching us off guard. Everyone in combat needs to be extra cautious and cannot act alone.”

Chi Yao nodded, “Group combat will definitely be better.”

This was something Shi Xing understood.

Because the mental power of mutated star beasts could penetrate mental seas, the risks in individual combat were too high. A single mistake could lead to an attack on the mental sea, potentially leaving incurable wounds.

After thinking for a moment, Chi Yao wanted to say something, but Tan Bai Shan cut him off. “Your Highness, don’t act; let us handle it first.”

“Your disorder was suppressed by Shi Xing previously. I heard from Xu Jin that Er Ya’s arrival in the Empire has been delayed due to some accident this year, so… if it’s according to the normal timeline, you should have already entered the disorder period now, right?”

Shi Xing’s heart sank. He didn’t know; no one had told him about this.

But upon careful reflection, there was evidence to follow. When Chi Yao went to the Nest, during the mental power leakage, Xu Jin had mentioned that the therapist in charge of organizing Chi Yao’s mental sea was currently unreachable.

Before they came to the Northern Territory, their original destination was the Imperial Capital.

Without the matter of his second awakening of talent, Chi Yao should have gone to see the therapist for treatment upon returning to the Imperial Capital. However…

Usually, no one brought this up, but with Tan Bai Shan suddenly mentioning it, Shi Xing’s heart dropped.

Shi Xing couldn’t help but look at Chi Yao, who just happened to glance back. Those smoke-gray eyes studied him for a moment before turning to Tan Bai Shan. “Draw troops from the base; the Seventh Army is under your command… Just go with your plan and set up the strategy first.”

If it really comes to it, he would still take action.

Tan Bai Shan took orders.

Tan Wen replied, “I drew the troops the moment the star beast appeared; they are on their way here now.”

Just as he finished speaking, a large fleet of the Seventh Army warships arrived in the sky, making everyone present feel more assured.

Chi Yao glanced at Shi Xing again, then raised his head to observe the star beast, assessing, “The star beast has a strong self-healing ability. It is already recovering; it will attempt to break out again in half an hour at most.”

“Develop a plan according to the Seventh Army’s situation and report back to me, Fei Chu.”

Called by name, Fei Chu stepped forward. Chi Yao said, “Just in time to practice formations. If a chaotic battle breaks out later, let’s test it out.”

This meant letting Fei Chu and Fu Qing form a team, focusing on protecting Shi Xing when necessary.

Fei Chu agreed.

Once the orders were issued and the officers began to handle their respective portions, Chi Yao finally found a moment to talk to Shi Xing.

Knowing that Shi Xing wanted to ask something, he pulled him aside and straightforwardly said, “It’s not a matter of coming to the Northern Territory. As long as I’m in the Empire, the therapists will find me on their own. This delay in treatment was purely due to unforeseen circumstances on her side, unable to reach the Empire by the scheduled time.”

Upon hearing this, Shi Xing finally stopped feeling guilty and self-reproaching, but then he realized something. He suddenly said, “Your Highness… based on normal timelines, you’ve already entered the disorder period, right?”

Chi Yao paused, not hiding the truth, and nodded.

He added, “It should be because your healing mental power has been soothing my mental sea, which is why the situation is still manageable.”

It sounded quite reassuring, but Shi Xing was not appeased. He sharply pointed out, “But the disorder period is influenced by the frequency of mental sea replacements; everyone has a fixed replacement frequency. Therefore, the disorder period is also quite fixed.”

In other words, as long as Chi Yao’s mental sea had issues, he would not escape the outbreak of disorder.

Now, even though it looked like the timeline had been pushed back, the actual situation was much worse because time had already entered the cycle…

This meant that Chi Yao’s mental sea could fall into the disorder period at any moment.

And this time was different from the previous minor disputes; it was a wounded mental sea that had been forcefully suppressed for too long, leading to an overall rebound.

Realizing this, Shi Xing felt his heart sink into an abyss.

Chi Yao remained silent, unable to refute.

There was nothing to refute; Shi Xing spoke the truth.

Just after learning all this, Shi Xing, besides digesting the news, obviously also bore some negative emotions. He…

After closing his eyes for a moment, Shi Xing quickly adjusted his emotions and asked Chi Yao, “When did you enter the disorder period?”

“At the end of last month.”

Shi Xing frowned. “When will the therapist arrive?”

Chi Yao replied, “If we calculate based on the fastest speed, she should arrive by the end of this month. Since it’s the beginning of the month now, I’ve already discussed with Xu Jin to return to the Imperial Capital by mid-month.”

Suddenly, Shi Xing sensed something was off. “Is the therapist not in the Empire?”

That shouldn’t be the case; after the disappearance of Blue Star, the only surviving Blue Star Mother Tree in the entire star system is in the Empire. Thus, all Blue Star humans are owned by the Empire, and they can only be found in the Empire.

Chi Yao’s response confirmed his suspicion, “No. She does not belong to the Empire.”

Shi Xing was somewhat bewildered. “Aren’t all therapists supposed to belong to the Empire?”

They were born in the Nest and raised by it; every resource for their growth was provided by the Empire. Based on this, the treaty between Blue Star and the Empire also stated that all therapists born in the Empire legally belong to the Empire.

Chi Yao sighed lightly. “That’s another story; you will know in due time.”

Since it was brought up, Chi Yao added, “Er Ya’s rank is SS. Before you, she was the highest-ranking therapist born in the Empire. All of you Blue Star humans in this batch have now entered the maturity period. The Nest will soon arrange for therapists to teach you one-on-one, and I intend for her to be your teacher.”

SS level? If Shi Xing remembered correctly, the highest rank under the Nest’s talent assessment before him was only A…

Shi Xing felt as if he had touched something about the Empire’s secrets.

Before he could think further, a sudden flash of lightning illuminated the sky.

Both of them looked up, and Chi Yao confirmed, “The star beast is recovering quickly.”

The previous burst of thunder and lightning came from the star beast’s body.

Shi Xing quickly regained his composure and firmly grabbed Chi Yao’s arm, urgently saying, “Your Highness, I will follow you and Major General Fei. Marshal Tan is right; if unnecessary, don’t engage today.”

Pausing for a moment, some emotion surged in his eyes but was suppressed as he simply requested, “Is that okay?”

Chi Yao looked at his hand clutching his arm and then back into his blue eyes. “I thought you would say something different.”

This matter was something Shi Xing could not help with. It was beyond his control, and to avoid increasing his treatment pressure, Chi Yao and Xu Jin chose not to tell him.

Shi Xing took a deep breath, extremely calm and clear-headed. “We’ll deal with this star beast first. We can discuss everything else later.”

Seeing the determination surfacing in the young prince’s eyes, Chi Yao felt an inexplicable comfort as he nodded. “Alright.”

He had not misjudged; Shi Xing could shoulder more responsibilities.

And he was not someone who would simply hide under his wings, blocking out all the light.

He reached out and touched Shi Xing’s face. Tan Bai Shan finished his discussion and, holding Shi Xing, strode forward to listen to the plan.

The final decision was to use drones to deplete the star beast before it fully recovered, all while trapped inside the mental power barrier.

Once they had consumed it enough and the mental power barrier couldn’t hold out any longer, they would establish the mental power shield per their plan and engage in group combat.

The sky was filled with swirling dark clouds, and without hesitation, Chi Yao ordered, “Begin the action; we cannot let the star beast take advantage of the thunder and lightning in battle.”

“Understood.”

“Got it.”

“Received.”

The action began.

Countless drones equipped with energy cannons entered the barrier. The star beast quietly hovered at the center of the mental power cage, standing still with its eyes closed, resembling a tranquil sleep.

As they deployed, Tan Bai Shan asked Shi Xing, “Does the young prince need to avoid injuring the beast core as much as possible?”

Before Chi Yao could answer, Shi Xing decisively replied, “No need, focus on killing it quickly; a swift victory is the priority.”

Chi Yao glanced at Shi Xing, and Tan Bai Shan, hearing this, was also taken aback.

Noticing their gazes, Shi Xing explained, “Our preparation isn’t designed to target a 3S-level mutated star beast; with the current urgency, if we aim to leave the beast core intact, the risk is too great. For hunting high-level mutated star beasts, I think it’s safer only if we have a solid assurance.”

Without that assurance, the safety of all soldiers naturally took precedence over everything else.

Chi Yao nodded, not surprised that Shi Xing could express such thoughts.

On the other side, Tan Bai Shan had been merely following the process to inquire and had guessed Chi Yao’s response. He hadn’t expected Shi Xing to speak up, so he paused for a moment before responding affirmatively.

The formation of the drones was complete.

Tan Wen ordered them to fire.

The trial energy cannon emitted a dazzling white light, roaring towards the star beast within the mental power barrier.

“Missed.”

Before the attack had even ended, Chi Yao stated.

The next moment, everyone saw the star beast vanish from its original position, reappearing in another location within the energy barrier.

It used its space-cutting ability to evade.

Tricky, it was indeed tricky.

Tan Wen reacted swiftly. “Increase the number of drones and surround the star beast.”

By changing the drone formations, they could predict the star beast’s possible location.

Several more drones entered the mental power barrier.

Once again prepared, they fired.

Missed.

They changed formation again but still didn’t hit.

Instead, the mental power barrier showed signs of weakness under the impact of the energy cannon.

The star beast lazily hovered in the air, not in a hurry, using its evasion method very sparingly, activating its abilities only in the moments just before the energy cannon arrived.

Chi Yao had a bad premonition.

In the Northern Territory, where snow and wind prevailed, before anyone noticed, the sky darkened further, and the black clouds rolled silently, secretly accumulating electrical charges.

Chi Yao waved his hand to disperse the clouds twice, but the atmosphere was thick. While he could clear the surface cumulus clouds, it was impossible to rule over the soaring heights of the clouds above.

Time passed, and they had fired an untold number of energy cannons, only grazing the star beast once or twice.

“His speed is too fast!” Tan Chi gritted his teeth.

With the mental power barrier in effect, the soldiers found it difficult to fight. If the barrier were removed, in agile combat, Tan Chi found it hard to predict whether it would be faster than the warship.

At one moment, the star beast stood still, raising its head.

Tan Wen sensed a good opportunity to attack and instructed all drones to charge.

As all energy cannons fired, Shi Xing felt only a blaze of white light in his retina.

But the star beast didn’t evade. As the energy surged toward it, it erupted with thunder and lightning.

In the blink of an eye, Chi Yao realized something, and the sound waves carried by his mental power spread across the battlefield, “Warships outside the mental power barrier, retreat.”

Just as he said this, the star beast let out a long howl, and the accumulated charges in the clouds boiled over, followed by thunder that reverberated throughout the heavens.

The star beast resisted the energy cannon’s attack with its mental power while, at the same time, countless bolts of lightning struck down from the clouds, hitting the mental power barrier as if it were rain. The star beast erupted with formidable thunder and lightning, and at some unknown moment, resonated with the naturally occurring electric charges outside the mental power barrier.

With both inside and outside being subjected to an onslaught of lightning, under the immense pressure, the mental power barrier endured for two seconds before cracking within Shi Xing’s line of sight.

“It’s going to break.”

As Shi Xing finished speaking, the mental power barrier collapsed amid the overwhelming thunder and lightning.

Boom—

Boom, boom, boom—

Lightning penetrated the mental power barrier down to the ground, filling the entire battlefield with stray charges.

“Roar—” The star beast howled again.

The strongest layer of mental power shielding was lifted, and those bright yellow eyes almost instantly focused on Shi Xing.

As Shi Xing was locked on, every hair on his body stood on end. “It’s looking for me!”

Just as he spoke, the star beast leaped, and Shi Xing felt a strong wind thrust him backward.

“Fei Chu!” Chi Yao shouted.

Bang—

The star beast collided head-on with Chi Yao’s mental power barrier once again.

The ground churned with dust, as the energy impact created a deep pit.

Shi Xing was pulled onto a warship by Fei Chu. Before he could steady himself in the operational area of the warship, the intense inertia from the rapid retreat made him feel dizzy again.

It seemed that, in this kind of battle, Blue Star humans found it physically demanding.

Meanwhile, as the ground exploded from the collision, Chi Yao resolutely decided to trap the star beast at a critical moment, but the star beast vanished once more.

Chi Yao’s pupils contracted.

The star beast’s speed had surged again.

Realizing the key point, he quickly processed it in his mind: the star beast’s speed upon entering the Empire had slowed down after a sprint in a vacuum.

Damn it! While they were planning, it had also been recuperating its stamina at the same time.

“Roar—”

When Shi Xing saw those bright yellow eyes appear before him again, his mind went blank.

It was too fast—he had never encountered this kind of relentless pursuit speed.

And this change relied on the star beast’s mutated abilities. Except for Chi Yao, who was chasing it, at a microsecond faster than human reaction time, everyone on the battlefield did not have time to act.

The star beast burst forth again, explodes with blinding lightning.

Those bright yellow eyes focused on Shi Xing, and the frenzied mental power from its attack spread throughout the area.

It was impossible; having just used its spatial ability, the star beast shouldn’t be able to move this quickly…

At that moment, Shi Xing suddenly realized—feint motion.

The star beast hadn’t used all its strength when rushing towards Chi Yao; its goal was to separate Shi Xing from Chi Yao.

All this occurred in one or two seconds.

Realizing this, the surrounding scene instantaneously turned into a silent black-and-white picture.

Shi Xing’s heart rate slowed, and everything in the world seemed to be paused before him.

The quick-paced clash of high-level mental powers unfolded desperately, with nearby soldiers and officers witnessed it, while those further away, on the warships, had yet to react to the star beast changing direction for a secondary pursuit.

Chi Yao was still far off, with his speed not matching the star beast’s, but as long as he didn’t exceed the star beast’s space-cutting ability, there was no way to reach it before the impending attack.

Fei Chu formed his mental power blade, watching the star beast chase towards him, preparing to rush up to protect Shi Xing at all costs.

Surrounding him was Fei Chu’s small team from the First Army, and at this moment, they all fell within the area of the star beast’s attack.

Behind them was a small team led by Tan Yan, who was rushing in to provide support as they fled in this direction. Knowing whether to be grateful or distressed, they were also caught within the star beast’s range of lightning attacks.

Having witnessed the breakdown of the mental power barrier, Shi Xing was certain that this time, the star beast’s frenzied mental power attack wouldn’t just hit his warship but would cover all surrounding warships as well.

But that was not the worst part.

The worst was that Shi Xing felt a familiar presence.

He didn’t know why he recognized it, but he just did.

This time, the attack comprised a regular mental power attack, plus the frenzied mental power that could penetrate the mental sea, combined into a charged strike.

If it were merely a pure mental power attack, with the physical quality of Empire citizens, they could be injured at most, and still have a chance for survival.

But if combined with the frenzied mental power of a mutated star beast…

Not only Fei Chu, but everyone on this warship would suffer a severe blow to their mental seas.

He couldn’t… allow this to happen.

He…

As the black and white faded, the world before him was once more painted with color.

Just as Fei Chu was about to leap out of the warship for close combat with the star beast, Shi Xing firmly gripped his arm, drawing him back with force he didn’t know where it came from, and pulled him along.

In the next moment, a strange mental power barrier expanded from Shi Xing’s palm, rapidly enlarging to cover their warship.

Fei Chu stared wide-eyed at the swirling energy currents interweaving on the shield, a type he had never seen before.

He felt it was familiar; then it dawned on him that earlier, when Shi Xing absorbed the mental power of the star beast, he had also been enveloped by this kind of chaos. This was…

“Retreat!” Shi Xing shouted loudly.

The special shield expanded into a square shape, and as Shi Xing pushed forward, the shield promptly positioned itself between the warships and the speeding star beast.

At the same time, the star beast was surrounded by lightning, its attack laced with frenzied mental power, surged toward them with overwhelming force.

Shi Xing heard Chi Yao calling his name from afar.

Fei Chu had missed the best timing to jump out, exerting all his mental power to maintain a circular barrier, enclosing Shi Xing within his protective range.

In everyone’s sight, the star beast’s mental power made contact with Shi Xing’s shield.

The mental power directly penetrated the shield…

Hmm??!

Boom—

The star beast’s mental power rushed in, violently colliding with the barrier established by the Empire.

All the warships were instantly sent flying from the energy impact.

Fei Chu had experienced the pain of his mental sea being attacked before. Positioned before Shi Xing, just as he prepared to risk it all to protect him, the mental power struck against his shield, yet he felt none of the familiar piercing sensations.

Fei Chu froze.

His intact mental sea felt the collision, bursting forth with hidden potential; his small shield not only did not shatter but thickened under the expanding distance.

Before he could even comprehend what was happening, Fei Chu wouldn’t be called a Major General anymore.

Looking back, the hovering mental power barrier carrying chaotic energy still persisted, but…

In Fei Chu’s perception, the normal attacking mental power from the star beast passed through the barrier, but the frenzied mental power capable of penetrating the mental sea did not.

It was firmly blocked by the shield, captured, and at some unknown moment, obliterated upon it.

This barrier created by Shi Xing was just what was needed to block the attack directed at the mental sea!