Chapter 23: Settlement

One blood tendril, two blood tendrils, three blood tendrils.

Inside the mill, everywhere you looked, it was crawling with writhing, grasping blood tendrils, and the wailing cries of Monsoon members.

The filthy color made one’s heart uneasy.

Until that flower bloomed.

[Shaman Sequence 117 – Blossoms]

One flower, two flowers, three flowers.

The blood tendrils froze.

The gnarled, muscular surface dried and cracked, taking on a texture like parched soil.

Tender sprouts broke through the surface, growing along the blood tendrils, feeding on the wicked blood, and blooming with intoxicating colors.

Like red spider lilies on the other shore, they stood tall between life and death—graceful and slender.

“Roooaaar—”

The Flesh Mill let out a pained howl.

It felt countless fine roots spreading inside its body, like thousands upon thousands of needles piercing its most sensitive nerves.

It had once fed on the flesh and blood of other creatures, and now it was the nourishment for those flowers.

That was its fate, the cycle of life but the girl had simply sped up the process.

More and more new sprouts burst through its blood vessels, racing to bloom.

The once filthy flesh disappeared at a visible pace.

Taking its place was cluster upon cluster of manjusaka.

“Heaven…”

The tendrils shriveled, and the Monsoon members fell to the ground one by one, gasping for breath.

They stared, stunned, at the scene before them.

It was something they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

Beautiful, elegant blossoms bloomed atop a filthy carpet; those terrifying, sickening things were broken down by the roots and transformed into a sea of flowers blanketing the mill.

A faint, calming fragrance lingered in the air.

The flesh receded, devoured cleanly, and the entire building was wrapped in flowers.

Working here would feel like a dream.

[Raid Completed]

[Base Reward Points: 1000 (with double points bonus applied).]

[In this temporary raid task, your contribution was 95%, earning you an additional 9500 points (with double points bonus applied).]

“It’s done! It’s done! The puppets stopped moving!”

Nanalia cheered as she rushed into the Flesh Mill.

“Whoa—”

Inside the mill was a sea of blossoms, and the visual impact made even the shaman gasp in awe.

She absolutely loved it here.

—After all, she hadn’t seen what those flowers had fed on.

She’d been standing guard outside.

“Teacher…”

Wu Xiaomi collapsed gently onto Nanalia’s shoulder.

So tired.

She had released Sequence 117 entirely on her own, without relying on the Spirit of Abundance for support.

It felt like her body had been hollowed out.

Weightless, as if even her bone marrow had been drained.

“You’ve got a nosebleed… probably from excessive depletion of spiritual energy. Open your mouth.”

Nanalia knelt on one knee, letting Wu Xiaomi rest her head on her lap, and unscrewed the medicine bottle cap.

She carefully let the medicine flow into the girl’s throat in a slow, thin stream, to prevent choking.

Phew…

That felt a bit better.

But still tired.

And kind of hungry. She wanted tomato and egg noodle soup.

“We won!”

“Yesss—!”

“Long live Monsoon! Long live Xiao Mila!”

“Long live!”

After confirming there were no fatalities, the Monsoon members began to cheer and celebrate.

Though many had broken bones or dislocated joints from the tendrils, after what they’d just gone through, surviving was already a huge stroke of luck.

Missing an arm or leg? No big deal.

It could be healed anyway.

“Ha! That Ah Feng totally lost it—he even peed himself.”

“That was sweet! And your pants are wet too, okay?! Look who’s talking!”

“That’s sweet!”

“Yeah, right!”

Now that they had survived, the injured Monsoon members started teasing each other.

Wiping the cold sweat of pain from their brows, they forced out grins and hurled every sarcastic insult they could muster, laughing at each other’s sorry state.

“First bone break—shouldn’t we take a souvenir photo?”

“Yeah, let’s do it!”

They held up broken fingers and arms in peace signs.

Wu Xiaomi, lying on Nanalia’s lap, raised her hand too, placing it sideways beside her temple.

Muxi furiously scolded the injured idiots raising their arms—those bastards were just making more work for the medics!

Captain Ah Lei held his sword high.

The camera framed everyone: the refugee kids like Wu Xiaomi, the furious village chief Muxi, and Nanalia, who looked completely done with everything.

They sat and lay in the flower field, bathed in moonlight, wrapped in a soft glow.

“Click—”

The image froze.

……

Thanks to the help of Sequence powers, Village Chief Muxi’s treatment was swift.

Within ten minutes or so, the Monsoon members were mostly back on their feet.

“Three hours until we return—let’s go grab some food.”

Former group admin and current vice-captain-slash-photographer Ah Feng made the suggestion.

Raid points could be exchanged for currency in the continent of Naelifa, so raiders usually had a few coins to spend.

“Wonder if Kang Jie and the others are done yet.” Ah Lei walked at the front, “No way they’re slower than us, right?”

“They don’t have Xiao Mila with them this time,” Ah Feng chuckled. “We do.”

“True~”

Hearing her name, Wu Xiaomi perked up her ears in confusion.

She was munching on a bun.

There was a bit of some unknown plant stuck to her face.

The puppet crisis had been resolved, and the now-powerless puppets were packed up to be auctioned off later.

Harvest Village had returned to order.

Wu Xiaomi had eagerly bought a big bun, cradling it in both hands.

Even though it was a cold, leftover bun from the previous night, she was still eating it happily.

“This time, it’s all thanks to Xiao Mila,” Ah Lei said with big-brotherly pride, reaching out to ruffle Wu Xiaomi’s hair.

But under the jealous, fiery glares of the other members, who looked ready to eat him alive, he quickly pulled his hand back.

Wu Xiaomi didn’t know how to respond to the thanks, so she simply lowered her head and kept gnawing on the bun.

Hm?

Something was… missing.

“—Stupid Luobo, did you sneak a bite?”

Where was the meat? 

That one precious bit of ground meat inside the bun? She’d been saving it for the last bite!

“How should I know…” Xiao Luobo puffed up her cheeks and looked away.

Unwilling, Wu Xiaomi ate the final bite of the bun.

Still hungry.

“Let’s go, grab a bite somewhere—maybe we’ll run into Kang Jie and the others.”

“Captain, you know Kang Jie?” Wu Xiaomi asked softly.

“Mm~ I was there when he gave his speech,” Ah Lei said, “At the time, I thought, this guy… yeah, he’s got the gift for it. So I added him as a friend.”

Oh.

Yeah, that made sense.

“Yo, look who’s actually here!”

There weren’t many restaurants in Harvest Village, and Ah Lei had picked the one right at the Ember gathering point.

But the restaurant wasn’t exactly calm.

Inside, the members were split into two camps, weapons drawn, sequence powers poised to strike, the tension razor-sharp.

At the center of it all sat two men, facing each other.

Leader of Ember—Kang Jie.

Leader of Ark—Han Nuo.

“…Uh, maybe we shouldn’t go in?” Ah Lei stood at the entrance, looking a little awkward.

Two armies squared off and here they were, a third party walking in uninvited?

But there was no time for hesitation.

A small shadow stepped forward, fragrant breeze trailing behind, and walked right into the eye of the storm.

It was Wu Xiaomi.

She would never forget the ones sacrificed by Han Nuo, tricked into entering that deadly barrier.

She’d never forget that shove.

Whoever had pushed her, masked or not… given Han Nuo’s style, it was safe to assume Ark was behind it.

It was time to settle the score.