Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 854 The Strugglers (Part 1)

Cold, dark...

I could vaguely sense that something was flowing out of her body.

But at the same time, she could also faintly feel a warm touch firmly enveloping her, making her unconsciously want to get closer, to see clearly the source of that warmth, and finally...

"Miss Sia! Miss Sia!!"

"Cough cough, Argo...brother? And what am I...cough cough!"

In the darkness, Sia weakly opened her eyes. In the dim, murky light, she could barely make out the white-haired boy's face and the surrounding scenery:
"Roar—!!" "Awooooo—!!"

A cacophony of roars echoed from afar. On the darkness-shrouded land, one abyssal creature after another was rushing in from a distance, unleashing a barrage of ranged attacks that created a deafening din that reverberated in her ears.

She was being held weakly in the arms of the white-haired boy, her delicate face pale and bloodless. Her once healthy right arm had disappeared without her noticing, leaving only a blood-stained, tattered sleeve.

She... remembered.

While defending their stronghold, they were attacked by a monstrous abyssal creature of overwhelming power, causing the stronghold to fall. She was also severely injured by that ridiculously strong abyssal creature, and then...

—The white-haired boy who rushed towards her saved her from the creatures of the abyss.

"Really...useless."

A weak, soft murmur faded as the blonde little girl, hearing the cacophony of roars and crashing attacks around her, gently closed her eyes and spoke in a slightly hoarse voice to the white-haired boy:

“That’s enough, Argo…brother.”

"No need...cough cough...don't worry about me anymore, go find...cough cough...find Sister Hunyue and the others yourself, otherwise..."

“I won’t do that, Miss Sia.”

Before Sia could finish speaking, Bell's gentle yet unusually firm voice rang out in her mind, interrupting Sia's words. At the same time, she could feel the other person's grip on her suddenly tighten, as if afraid that she would do something reckless.

"Therefore, please stop saying such things. You are seriously injured and must find Miss Soul Moon immediately to help remove the pollution from the abyss."

As soon as she finished speaking, the blonde little girl bit her lip slightly, her eyes lowered, and her left hand unconsciously tightened its grip on the other person's clothes. Just as she was about to continue her rebuttal—

"found it!"

As if sensing something, the white-haired youth suddenly looked in a certain direction, a calm glint flashing in his crimson pupils.

"I'm sorry, Miss Xia, please bear with us a little longer, the journey ahead may be quite bumpy!"

"I……"

Boom—!

Before the blonde loli could respond, the white-haired boy, who was rapidly weaving through the abyssal creatures, suddenly took a step forward. His figure shot out like an arrow at maximum speed, disappearing from the spot with a whoosh to the blonde loli's somewhat astonished expression.

……

Reef No. 127, a rocky area.

boom! ! !
A tremendous roar erupted from the rugged mountains covered with rubble. In a canyon that could only accommodate a few people, a streak of light trailing brilliant starlight burst forth, engulfing an area of ​​several hundred meters around it.

"Huff...huff, damn it, does anyone have any mana potions left?"

In the canyon that had been razed to the ground, Star Maiden, her left arm hanging limply as if dislocated, and covered in wounds of all sizes, leaned against Soul Moon's back. She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, glanced at the abyssal creatures that had been briefly driven back by her starry sky magic and the re-erected holy light barrier, and gasped for breath, as if she had fallen into some kind of extreme exhaustion.

"This is the last bottle."

"Thank you very much."

A soft sound of a bottle being opened rang out. Xingnu bit her tongue, using the brief pain to dispel the fatigue brought on by her mental energy nearing its limit. Without hesitation, she drank the potion in her hand in one gulp, then let out a long sigh. In a fleeting moment of starlight, she suddenly touched her forehead.

Om-! !

Like a sharp pain piercing the depths of her soul, it flashed by and then vanished, causing Xingnu to instinctively groan before being forcibly restored to a calm state by the inherited secret technique.

the fourth time.

"Is there one use left...?"

Having forcibly activated her own spiritual potential through a secret technique, the Star Maiden sensed her body and mind nearing collapse. After a brief silence, she looked up at the abyssal creatures that had once again surrounded her outside the holy light barrier, as well as the two lesser overlord-level aberrations that were recovering from their injuries in the back. She took a deep breath, raised her arm again, her starry-sky-streaked long hair flying wildly, just as she was about to unleash a new round of large-scale spells—

Boom——! !

A dazzling pure white flame suddenly burst forth from the edge of the earth, like the dawn rising from the darkness, drawing the attention of the three women and all the abyssal creatures.

That is…!
"Fire...Volt!!!"

boom--! ! !
The next second, a violent pure white flame, like a sea of ​​fire crashing down, erupted along with the sound of a bell, engulfing a large number of abyssal creatures, including the two secondary overlord units. To the astonishment of Xingnu and the others, it crashed into the holy light barrier, covering the figure that was rapidly moving through the sea of ​​fire as it rushed straight in.

“Mr. Argo, you…”

"Idiot! Why did you come back? Are you planning to let us die here in vain?!"

Gazing at the white-haired youth who had rushed into the barrier from the sea of ​​fire, Saintess's lips parted slightly, her eyes flashing, while Soul Moon gritted her teeth, grabbed his collar, and angrily rebuked him with trembling hands.

“I’m sorry, Miss Soul Moon, I can’t abandon you. Besides, Miss Xiya is seriously injured. Only your Silver Moon power can save her.”

Faced with Hun Yue's reprimand, the white-haired boy merely lowered his eyes and showed the three of them the injuries of the blonde little girl who had fainted again at some point.

Upon hearing this, Hun Yue subconsciously looked at the blonde little girl, and her expression changed slightly after sensing the strong abyssal aura emanating from her.

"Miss Sia! No, she needs to be treated immediately, but..."

Saintess, who had also noticed the severity of Sia's injuries, gasped for breath. Just as she was about to kneel down to treat her, she seemed to suddenly remember something, and her hand paused slightly as she looked at the surrounding holy light barrier.

Given Xia's injuries, if they wanted to save the other person's life, both she and Hun Yue would have to concentrate all their energy on healing. But that would mean that Xing Nu and Bell alone wouldn't be able to stop them... Thump!!
Before the Holy Maiden could finish speaking, a heavy thud suddenly fell, startling both her and Soul Moon Star Maiden, who stared in astonishment at the object the white-haired boy had thrown.

This is... a mecha?
"Everyone! Please come up here! Only in this way can I protect you all without fail!!"

As the sharp shout subsided, the white-haired youth, carrying the unconscious blonde little girl, skillfully leaped into the cockpit of the pure white mecha and addressed the Star Girl and the others below.

Upon hearing this, Xingnu and the others exchanged glances, nodded in unison, and without further hesitation, decisively followed the white-haired boy's actions and jumped into the cockpit. As the cockpit door closed, they curiously looked at the white-haired boy standing on the control panel.

"Miss Saintess, Miss Soul Moon, please take charge of treating Miss Xi Ya! Miss Star Maiden, this is a potion that can quickly restore mental energy, please recover as soon as possible!!"

Boom—!

A piercing sound of air being torn apart rang out. Under the dim sky, a pure white mech with a visual module made of red crystal leaped into the air and, like a rabbit, swiftly weaved through the encirclement of abyssal creatures. Meanwhile, the white-haired boy in the cockpit stared intently at the scene on the screen while speaking to Saintess and the others behind him.

"Argo, what exactly are you...?"

"Everyone, please believe me, we will not fall here!"

[Note: The active effect of the title "Survivor in the Abyss" has been activated, granting +15 Luck and a "super-huge" boost to your intuition and premonition of danger!]

"Therefore, no matter what, please everyone must persevere!!"

……

Reef No. 127, underground space.

[WARNING! Damage detected to over 80%; the unit's mobility is severely reduced!]

[WARNING! Damage detected in the energy storage compartment. Current energy level is 7.65%, and it is expected to run out of energy in 4 minutes and 56 seconds!]

Boom——! !

A tremendous roar, like a mountain collapsing, erupted from the dark underground space. A pure white mech with half an arm and half a leg bitten off was seen crashing down from above with the sound of a large number of rocks tumbling down, landing with a thud beside the underground river.

"Phew... We should be safe here for now. Everyone, please stay in the mechs for the time being. Although there aren't as many abyssal creatures underground, the concentration of abyssal energy is much higher than on the surface. Moving around rashly could result in serious erosion."

Om-! !

The hatch opened, and the white-haired youth stepped out of the cockpit. He tossed out several rock magic scrolls, completely sealing off the passage carved out by the mech above. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and turn to remind the Star Maiden and the others in the cockpit.

"Hmm, but I didn't expect you, Argo, to have such a trump card up your sleeve? And this underground space..."

As Xingnu spoke, she glanced around at the environment outside the cockpit, her beautiful eyes flickering slightly.

Although the concentration was very low, as a mage, she could clearly sense that this underground space was obviously a convergence point of elemental power.

"This is information I exchanged with Mr. Mingyu before I came here. When they were stationed on this base planet, they specifically located the element-rich areas on this planet."

"As for this mecha... I asked the craftsmen in the fortress to help me build it. I originally just wanted to be on the safe side, but now it seems that it was fortunate that I prepared it at the time."

Bell gently stroked the battered mech, now scarred and battered from the half-hour escape, a complex look appearing in his crimson eyes, as if recalling some memories.

"By the way, is Miss Sia alright?"

"She's alright for now, thanks to Mr. Argo for bringing her here in time. If it had been any later, Miss Hunyue and I probably wouldn't have been able to help."

As Saintess spoke, she gently stroked the forehead of the blonde little girl lying on her lap twice. Upon hearing this, Bell breathed a sigh of relief, and his anxious heart finally calmed down.

"So, what do we do next?"

After briefly assessing the current situation, Hunyue looked at the people in the cockpit and said:

"With the elemental concentration here, we can only last for half a day at most before we fall into the same situation as other places. At that time, we will still have to return to the ground."

As soon as the words were spoken, the atmosphere in the entire cockpit suddenly fell silent. The Star Girl, the white-haired boy, and the others were all silent, some with their heads down and others with their eyes lowered. They were all clearly aware of the problem that Soul Moon had mentioned.

They were not an exceptional group like Black Sword, who had no weaknesses. Among the people present, apart from the white-haired boy and Soul Moon, the abyss resistance and abyss erosion resistance of the others were far from sufficient to support their activities in the underground space.

If they were to venture to the surface, in their current state, surrounded by abyssal creatures, they would only last half a day before being devoured. In this situation, if they were to find a way to survive…

"Is our only hope that external rescue can arrive in time...?"

Saintess murmured, her gaze unconsciously turning towards the white-haired boy. Not only her, but also Star Maiden and Soul Moon's eyes all converged on the white-haired boy as she finished speaking.

External rescue efforts.

Although they were from the outside world, in reality, everyone present knew very well that only a handful of people on the entire expedition were capable of launching a rescue operation under such circumstances.

The external echelon.

Aside from these individuals, everyone else in this disaster is merely a weakling struggling to even protect themselves. Given the large number of contractors in need of rescue, the most likely reason for prioritizing their rescue is the white-haired youth's relationship with a certain member of the extra-tier team. However…

“I suggest we don’t have too much hope for that,” Star Maiden said calmly, her gaze sweeping over the white-haired boy. “I don’t think Black Sword would disregard everyone else and come all the way here to rescue us, who are the furthest from the World Fortress, just because of Argo.”

"Although we haven't had much contact, that guy doesn't seem like the kind of person who would abandon the bigger picture for simple personal feelings. Rather, he gives me the impression of someone who would discard all distractions in a crisis and pinpoint the root of the problem. Argo should know this better than I do."

“Indeed… Although Brother Black Sword is a very good person, if there are more important things to do, he will definitely prioritize completing those things before considering anything else.”

"If a large number of people need to be rescued at the same time, I think... if he can't be sure that we can be saved 100%, he would probably be more inclined to ensure the efficiency of the rescue, that is, to prioritize rescuing those strongholds that are closer to the world fortress, rather than our side."

Bell spoke, and Soul Moon and the others fell silent. Just then, a somewhat weak voice rang out:

"If that's the case, then we just need to change our strategy, right?"

……

(End of this chapter)