Abyssal Chronicles

Chapter 648 - 649: A Bold Decision [2/2]

Thank you all for the great support this year, I hope all of you Have an awesome day and a great year ahead.

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Outside Anvika, on the outskirts of the forest.

At some point, a grand and majestic silver-white barrier had appeared in the sky, enveloping the central area of the forest, rendering the interior undetectable from the outside.

However,

While the inside remained undetectable, the intense vibrations from Yumo’s earlier outburst of Shadow power had rapidly spread, affecting the surrounding area.

Near the edge of the forest, a Sunlight Division troop, close to the Forest, bore the brunt of the shockwave. Coupled with the previous terrifying beast wave, this group of about thirty members of the Sunlight Squad had lost their original grace and elegance. Their face and body were now covered in dirt, and their expensive attire was tattered...

The group lay or sat in the wreckage of their camp, gasping for air, occasionally casting frightened glances toward the central area of the dense forest.

Evidently,

After experiencing the two recent shocks, these members of the Church were deeply shaken.

These Sunlight Squad had come to the Forest primarily to protect the Girl of Destiny during her training. Strictly speaking, perhaps they were more there to serve the Girl of Destiny.

After all,

They had brought a multitude of cooking utensils and ingredients...

Moreover, more importantly,

The strength of the Saintess to be had now surpassed what it once was, making their protection unnecessary.

Their duty was to obey the Girl of Destiny’s commands and serve her well during her training.

Therefore,

Strictly speaking, Mengxi wasn’t lying.

Her ability to quickly reach Yumo indeed had much to do with ’fate.’

...

As time passed, the Church members, dazed by the shock, gradually regained their composure. A young church knight, nervously patting his chest, looked toward the distant sky canopy covering the central part of the forest:

"What’s that? What was that tremor just now?"

As he spoke,

The young knight looked to a blonde man beside him, Knight Commander Phillipe, for answers.

"That is the ’Radiant Sanctuary.’"

Facing his subordinate’s inquiry, Phillipe gazed thoughtfully into the distance, responding with some excitement:

"Radiant Sanctuary? What’s that?"

"Young man, you should pay attention in class. How do you not know such a famous technique?"

Phillipe glanced at the young knight beside him with a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

The quality of new knights seemed to be declining lately.

"’Radiant Sanctuary’ is a unique divine technique of the Holy Beast, covering several kilometers in its radius and creating a closed combat space. Inside this space, the Holy Beast and its companions significantly increase in strength. Additionally, the sanctuary has the ability to weaken the Shadow power. Back in the day, it was with this technique, along with the previous generation’s Saintess, that the Holy Beast managed to hold off Higanbana for so long."

"A skill of the Holy Beast? Does that mean Miss Mengxi..."

"Yes."

Phillipe nodded slightly, his eyes filled with excitement:

"Miss Mengxi must have fully assimilated the Holy Beast’s power to use this technique."

Gazing at the magnificent light dome in the distance, Phillipe was filled with emotions.

’Mengxi…’

’Her growth is truly astonishing,’

’Not only breaking through to the seventh level so quickly but also gaining the recognition of the Holy Beast.’

More importantly,

Mengxi, truly the Girl of Destiny, blessed by the goddess, even managed to receive the Holy Beast’s power! After the inheritance ceremony, Mengxi will broke through to the eighth level, becoming one of the top powerhouses on the continent.

They had come to this remote wilderness primarily to help Mengxi familiarize herself with her immense new powers.

Phillipe always believed that Mengxi was the savior prophesied, and seeing her rapid growth, his faith grew even stronger.

He almost felt like dancing with joy.

Of course,

Amidst his excitement, Phillipe was also puzzled.

"But, speaking of which... what was that massive tremor and beast wave just now?"

Rubbing his chin, Phillipe pondered aloud.

The frequency of Mengxi testing her new skills was indeed high.

But,

Doing so suddenly in the middle of the night? That was quite unusual.

...

’Huh?’

’What’s that?’

However, while Phillipe was pondering, the grand light in the distance suddenly twisted and shattered into thousands of fragments, scattering into the sky and vanishing with the wind...

"Hmm? Has the sanctuary been lifted?"

--

Meanwhile, in the center of the forest, as the brilliant light dissipated, Yumo regained consciousness, looking around in bewilderment and disbelief.

Honestly,

While Yumo’s mind had cleared, she still hadn’t fully grasped the situation.

The scene before her was beyond her expectations, incomprehensible. The events that had invaded her mind left her even more confused.

She had been consumed by the Shadow power. Logically, the area around her should have become a dead zone, devoid of life.

Yet,

The forest seemed to have suffered minimal damage.

And,

’This girl, so close to me, is unharmed??’

After carefully sensing Mengxi’s condition, Yumo was surprised to find that she hadn’t suffered any serious injuries. Her life force was still robust; she had just fainted from exhaustion. Seeing the silver-haired girl temporarily safe, Yumo withdrew her hand from Mengxi’s forehead, knelt on the ground, and let out a relieved sigh.

"Phew... Good, she’s alright."

However,

Just after sighing in relief, Yumo crossed her arms over her chest, pondering a very serious question.

’When and how did this girl break through to the early eighth level?!!!’

’That’s too fast!!’

Yumo had already been shocked to hear that Mengxi had successfully advanced to the saint rank. Now, just over a week later, Mengxi had broken through to the eighth level?! Yumo was dumbfounded, continuously pinching her own face to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

In Yumo’s original training plan for Mengxi, breaking through to the saint rank was expected to take a year, and advancing from saint to divine being would take an additional seven years.

And now, Mengxi had completed an eight-year plan in just over a week?!

"Oh my..."

Yumo blinked, feeling a mix of emotions.

Of course,

Not knowing about the inheritance from the Holy Beast, Yumo couldn’t comprehend Mengxi’s miraculous progress rate.

She attributed it to Mengxi’s status as the chosen one of this world.

"Is she really the protagonist of this world?"

’Such a rate of improvement and potential were indeed terrifying...’

’If this progress continued,’

’Mengxi might indeed grow to my level and eventually kill me to complete the trial...’

Moreover,

Thinking about the trial, Yumo frowned again. Regardless of whether she lived or died, she didn’t want Mengxi to conflict with her dear children. Thus, Yumo was contemplating how to keep Mengxi from targeting those kids.

And now, like a flash of inspiration, a bold idea popped into Yumo’s mind.

Although unsure how Mengxi did it, her recovery of sanity was undoubtedly connected to her. Taking such a risk and expending her strength to help her, Mengxi must truly like her...

So then,

"Let’s try this."

Yumo took a deep breath, making a decision in her heart.

’It’s like,’

’Rewarding her...’

’Of course!’

’It’s also for the greater plan!’

The next moment,

The black-haired girl, blushing slightly, clenched her teeth and nervously raised her hand, slowly unbuttoning her collar...