The roar of heavy machine guns was deafening, tracer rounds carving fierce arcs across the night sky like the God of Death’s scythe.
But those drones were not without resilience.
They were numerous and coordinated, constantly shifting formations, trying to break through the armored vehicles’ firepower blockade. Some drones even recklessly dive-bombed the vehicles, attempting a mutual destruction.
One drone was shot down, exploding in midair with fragments flying everywhere. Boom—!
But more drones surged forward like moths to a flame, their assault growing fiercer.
Ye Lan’s figure flickered in and out of sight beside one of the armored vehicles.
She held a rifle, firing calmly, precisely taking down one drone after another.
Her posture was straight, like the most dazzling rose on the battlefield—dangerous and deadly.
Mu Xi hid behind the rocks, watching Ye Lan’s figure, her heart a mix of emotions.
Hatred still burned strong, but a complex feeling was added.
‘This woman—powerful, dangerous, domineering, overbearing… but when facing danger, she always charges to the front.’
‘Even toward prey like me, who hates her to the core, would she unhesitatingly shield me?’
That thought only flashed by before Mu Xi quickly suppressed it.
‘I must not waver! Everything Ye Lan does is only to control me, enslave me! I must never be fooled by this false strength!’
‘Now is the best chance to escape! While Ye Lan is tied up with the drones, while the Escort Team has no time for me…’
Mu Xi slowly stood up. She gritted her teeth, enduring the sharp pain in her ankle, supporting herself on the rocks, looking around for a direction to flee.
The wreckage on the ground had nothing. ‘Even if they catch me again, so be it!’ The Desert was vast, the night deep—aside from the rolling dunes and scattered wreckage, she had to go! Even aimless walking was better than being caught by Ye Lan!
She looked around, trying to find an escape route.
Mu Xi took a deep breath and was about to take a step when suddenly, a sharper whistling sound came from the distant night sky! Completely different from the drones’ hum, sharper, more… deadly.
The sound was piercing, with the unique texture of metal grinding.
Mu Xi jerked her head up, following the sound.
In the distant night sky, row upon row of dense points of light appeared, like a sudden cluster of stars, closing in at an astonishing speed!
Those points grew larger and clearer, gradually revealing their menacing outlines.
They were a group of aircraft—far more numerous than the previous drones, larger, better armed!
Like a black oppressive cloud, they blotted out the starlight, bearing down with a suffocating pressure!
Ye Lan and her Escort Team also clearly noticed this sudden change.
The roar of heavy machine guns abruptly ceased, replaced by the terrified shouts of the escorts:
“Level… extremely high level! Requesting support! Requesting support!!”
Ye Lan’s figure also froze.
She looked up at the black shadow in the night sky, and for the first time, a serious expression appeared in her phoenix eyes. A rare trace of panic.
And Mu Xi, watching this apocalyptic scene, felt her heart turn cold.
“Damn it…” she muttered, her voice trembling.
A new crisis had arrived.
And this time, the crisis seemed far more terrifying than Ye Lan.
The black shadow overhead brought a despair far greater than the previous swarm of drones.
The piercing metallic roar tore through the night sky, as if scraping directly on her eardrums, causing physical pain.
Mu Xi’s heart clenched, an icy chill spreading along her spine to every limb.
Escape?
Escape where?
This Desert, in the face of those overwhelming aircraft, was laughably small.
Any attempt to flee was no different from a grain of sand trying to resist a storm.
The instinct to survive overwhelmed all complex emotions.
Hatred still churned, but the shadow of death was more real, more pressing.
She gripped the cold gun in her hand—once a symbol of her resistance, now utterly insignificant.
Its muzzle could aim at Ye Lan, but it couldn’t shoot down any of those grim black shapes in the sky.
Ye Lan…
That woman, that devil who imprisoned her, tortured her, claimed to love her.
Mu Xi raised her eyes, looking at the figure still standing by the armored vehicle.
Ye Lan had put away her rifle. Her escorts were screaming in desperation over the comms, begging for support that would never come.
In the night sky, a new attack had begun—no longer sporadic tracer rounds, but denser, deadlier beams descending from the sky with the breath of destruction!
Boom!
A loud explosion detonated not far away, kicking up a cloud of sand. The shockwave, carrying blistering heat, slammed into Mu Xi, throwing her hard against the rock. The sharp pain in her ankle made her grunt.
‘I can’t die here. Absolutely not!’
‘I haven’t made Ye Lan pay yet!’ That thought was the only spark in the darkness, supporting her unsteady body.
She wasn’t stupid; she knew where the only path to survival lay.
Ironically, it was right beside the person she hated most.
No hesitation, not even time to hate her choice.
Mu Xi gritted her teeth, enduring the tearing pain in her ankle, pushed away the rock in front, and staggered toward Ye Lan.
Every step landed on gravel and sand, the agony nearly making her faint.
But the will to live drove her forward, ever forward.
The wind, explosions, and tearing metal wove a chaotic symphony in her ears.
Ye Lan clearly saw her too.
Amid the flames and explosions, amidst the panicked shouts of the escorts, Ye Lan spun around.
Those phoenix eyes, always brimming with arrogance and possessiveness, sharpened into a point when they saw Mu Xi charging toward her.
At almost the same moment, a blinding energy beam shot silently from the sky like a venomous snake, aimed at Mu Xi! Too fast for anyone to react!
Mu Xi’s pupils contracted, her body froze, the cold of death instantly enveloping her.
But the anticipated pain never came.
A figure with a fierce wind stood boldly in front of her.
It was Ye Lan.
Shhh—!
The energy beam struck Ye Lan’s back squarely.
Her combat suit scorched a charred hole instantly, flesh and blood visible.
She didn’t even turn to look at the wound; instead, she reached back and pulled Mu Xi into her arms.
Ye Lan’s body only swayed slightly, not even a cry of pain.
It was a forceful, unrefusable embrace.
With the smell of gunpowder, and a hint… of blood.
Mu Xi’s head hit Ye Lan’s hard breastplate, dazed.
She could feel the arm holding her was tightly tensed, yet as steady as a rock.
“Retreat! Everyone, get in the car! Move!” Ye Lan’s voice held the authority of command, cutting through the deafening explosions.
Carrying Mu Xi, she turned and rushed toward the nearest armored vehicle.
Bullets and energy beams fell like dense rain around them, kicking up puffs of sand.
Ye Lan’s stride didn’t falter; her body blocked all possible attacks for Mu Xi in her arms.
Mu Xi was tightly protected in Ye Lan’s embrace, only able to see Ye Lan’s cold, hard jawline and the chaotic scene rushing backward.
She could clearly feel the wind as Ye Lan ran with her, scraping against her cheek, carrying sand and the scent of blood.
She could clearly feel the tension in Ye Lan’s back muscles, and the heat and wetness from the energy beam wound, detectable even through the combat suit.
“Lady Ye Lan!” a worried voice came from an escort.
The heavy door of the armored vehicle slid open as they approached, and an anxious voice from inside called out.
Without a pause, Ye Lan held Mu Xi and ducked into the cramped back row of the compartment.