Planet Atlan-13571, Cloud Knights Command Center.
Mo Tingquan was methodically dispatching the various detachments when Qi Zhimu's communication suddenly patched in.
"What is the situation on your end?"
"The detachment was nearly wiped out. Only two were rescued."
"Enemy scale?"
"The Rhinoceround Hound Great Nest Father is dead."
"...I understand."
Those few short sentences provided more than enough information.
The battlefield was just that cruel.
With the detachment nearly annihilated, Mo Tingquan felt a heavy grief in his heart, yet he was helpless; no one could predict what kind of enemy they would encounter the next second.
He just hadn't expected that a Great Nest Father of the Rhinoceround pack would be hiding on this planet.
"When will you return to the command center? We need..."
"Within three days. You remain in charge of dispatching; I have other matters to attend to."
"Has the General issued new orders?"
"No. I'm going to kill Abominations."
"...Currently, there are too many detachments executing sub-missions on Planet Atlan-13571. Regulations require the chief commander to be present..."
"Following the reasonable orders of the chief commander is also a Cloud Knights regulation."
"..."
Interrupted before he could finish, Mo Tingquan found the communication cut off in the next second and couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Well, his words were blunt but the logic was sound.
He understood Qi Zhimu's logic at this moment.
Because if it were him, he would probably do the same; otherwise, holding that breath in for too long might truly trigger the Mara-Struck state.
Based on current battle estimates, liberating Atlan-13571 would still take half a system month.
But Mo Tingquan never imagined—couldn't have possibly imagined—that Liberation Day would arrive much sooner.
While many Cloud Knights detachments were locked in bloody combat with Abominations, a blood-soaked figure suddenly charged out from a certain direction.
Without a word, the bloody shadow lunged into the heart of the battlefield, ruthlessly reaping the lives of the Abominations.
Wherever he passed, any Abomination was reduced to ash.
The aura radiating from that blood-red afterimage and the scenes he created sent chills down people's spines and made their hair stand on end.
Had they not caught a glimpse of the unique insignia of a Yaoqing Cloud Knight Vanguard on his blood-stained armor, many would likely have been unable to resist swinging their blades at him.
That aura was far too similar to an Abomination of Abundance.
But despite the similarity, no one actually entertained that thought.
On this planet infested with Abominations, there was only one Cloud Knight Vanguard with such combat power.
Combined with the fact that the Vanguard stationed in the command center had been replaced by Mo Tingquan, the answer was self-evident.
In less than three days, not only was there not a single Abomination of Abundance left on Atlan-13571, but not even a shadow of one could be found.
However, Qi Zhimu was currently in a state of being partially out of contact.
Only Sleeping Snow and Clear Cold, who had returned to the command center early, told everyone not to worry about him.
And only they understood what Qi Zhimu was doing at this moment.
The sub-mission for Atlan-13571 ended more than ten days early. Shortly after the battle report reached the main fleet ship, new orders arrived.
Detachment 1, led by Qi Zhimu and Mo Tingquan, could return to the main ship at any time for rest and resupply.
Clearing the battlefield and tallying battle losses would still take time; the detachment was expected to return in five days.
Sleeping Snow and Clear Cold temporarily detached from the main force on the grounds of having received orders from Qi Zhimu.
Mo Tingquan didn't ask, nor did he think much of it.
Besides being detachment captains, the two sisters were also Qi Zhimu's personal guards... Far from land, thousands of meters deep on the seabed.
Qi Zhimu seemed half-mad, launching aimless attacks and constantly stirring up monstrous waves.
Had Sleeping Snow not reacted swiftly and maneuvered the starship away, they would surely have been swept away by the massive waves.
"Sister, let me go down."
"Mhm."
Clear Cold leaped into the sea, braving the terrifying currents and undercurrents as she dove deeper toward the seabed.
In the past, without the aid of special equipment, she could never have dove into the depths of several thousand meters so calmly.
But now, it was no longer difficult.
She and her sister were no longer who they once were.
But just as they had said, they would never regret it.
The seabed was pitch black, and the water currents were violent and chaotic.
Clear Cold's vision was extremely limited; she could only lock onto Qi Zhimu's position through perception.
Hours later, the seabed finally gradually calmed down, allowing her to approach.
However, the scene before her shook her to the core.
Punch after punch, Qi Zhimu was repeatedly shattering his own head and torso.
The shattered parts restored themselves in the next second, over and over again.
To say "the next second" was an understatement; "instantly" would be more accurate.
Such terrifying regenerative power would make any Xianzhou native treat him as a formidable enemy.
Yet in Clear Cold's eyes, heart, and throughout her entire being, only endless pity and sorrow welled up.
Yueque, Azure City... Shuhu's presence was in both of those Abundance wars, causing Lord Zhimu to lose his family and ultimately be left with nothing.
He had yet to complete his revenge against Shuhu, but he was forced to face the fate of the Long-lived Species: the Mara-Struck state.
Once taken by the Ten Lords Tribunal for Interment and meeting an untimely end, how could he talk about revenge?
To combat the Mara-Struck state and gain power... he did not hesitate to touch the taboo, activating the forbidden Self-Actualization Aspect Method, transforming himself into this current appearance that looked more like an Abomination than an Abomination of Abundance.
Falling into the irreversible abyss with Qi Zhimu, Clear Cold and Sleeping Snow's consciousnesses had briefly merged with his, allowing them to know the secrets buried in his past.
On the day Azure City fell, he already had one foot in the mara affliction.
The anchor that supported him to keep going was the silent entrustment from Qiu Zhiyan before she lost her sanity: Jingliu.
That was his mother's final request, and he was unwilling—and unable—to fail it.
Thus, a man who originally had nothing left to lose and no price he wouldn't pay, once again possessed a duty different from revenge, one he could choose to abandon.
After rescuing the girl named Jingliu, he didn't have to plan a future for her.
Even if Jingliu spent her whole life mired in nightmares she couldn't escape, at least she could continue to live on the Xianzhou.
But Qi Zhimu did not do that.
When the girl asked him to teach her his arts, he taught her.
Gradually, the girl occupied the greater part of his heart, becoming a vital anchor for him to retain the last thread of sanity in this body.
She even became... a fear reborn in his mind and the depths of his soul.
He had lost everything; he could not bear to lose anymore.
Otherwise... the broken mirror could never be mended.
How tragic...?
Clear Cold felt a whirlwind of emotions in her heart.
The descendants of the Qi Family spent their lives facing loss.
Lady Qiu Zhiyan was afraid of losing her last relative and begged Lord Zhimu to retire from the military and live for centuries as an ordinary citizen.
But in the end, she still embraced her fate in an unacceptable form, vanishing forever from Lord Zhimu's world.
Now, Lord Zhimu was walking the same path as his mother.
He could not—and dared not—imagine a future without Jingliu.
So, he chose to be selfish, choosing to make things difficult for Jingliu, delaying the time she would participate in large-scale battles.
But in this selfishness and harshness, there was ultimately a deep concern for her... If there were a choice, who would want the person they care about to walk on the edge of life and death?