Chapter 71: Xie Qiang, Run!
Peeking her head out slightly from behind Mo Yin, Xie Qiang saw Sen Ji’s tiger-like eyes flashing with a murderous light, as if he were picking out a choice piece of prey. His gaze swept dangerously over her, Mo Yin, and Shu Fenghua.
Then, he lifted his hands—which had transformed into tiger claws—from Hong Que’s chest. Like a starving tiger, he pounced toward the three of them.
Mo Yin drew his long sword with a shing and met Sen Ji head-on.
Sen Ji let out a low, threatening growl. His sharp tiger claws scraped against the cold white blade, creating an ear-piercing metallic screech. Then, those claws simply grabbed the sword and hurled both the blade and Mo Yin away.
Mo Yin was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing through a dozen walls. On the ground, Hong Que arched his back in pain. “Dammit, Sen Ji! Why are you hitting so hard!”
“Xie Qiang! What are you standing there for! Purify him!”
The red-haired youth shouted irritably, “I’ll grab his arms from behind in a moment, and you purify him from the front!”
Xie Qiang blinked hard, not quite trusting his combat capability. “Are you sure you can pin him down?”
“Are you looking down on me?! I’m an S-class Sentinel from the direct bloodline of the Zhuque family—” Hong Que scrambled up from the ground, his tall frame tensing. He looked like a bird of prey ready to strike. “I’ll count to three, and we’ll go together—”
“Three, two, one—”
Hong Que charged at Sen Ji, his arms open to trap Sen Ji’s upper body.
To everyone’s surprise, in the next second, that head of fluffy red hair was caught firmly by Sen Ji’s hand. Sen Ji turned his head slowly, his icy gaze landing on Hong Que’s face.
Hong Que: “…”
Hong Que: “Xie Qiang, run!”
Xie Qiang, who had already run halfway, quickly skidded back. She watched helplessly as the frenzied Sen Ji raised his arm and slammed Hong Que’s head violently into the ground.
After knocking Hong Que unconscious, he tossed him aside as heartlessly as he had tossed Mo Yin.
Another hole appeared in the already battered walls. Mo Yin hadn’t returned from his hole either; he was likely knocked out just like Hong Que.
Shu Fenghua was trembling violently. She grabbed Xie Qiang’s arm tightly and turned to lead her toward the base’s drill grounds. “Your Highness, let’s go! Just hold on for two more minutes, and the Sentinels will come to save us!”
Xie Qiang was stunned for a moment, but she quickly understood Shu Fenghua’s meaning.
Ordinary Sentinels obviously couldn’t defeat a frenzied SSS-class Sentinel, but they could become the poplars that stood against a sandstorm. They would use their own lives to slow down Sen Ji’s slaughter, trading their lives for a chance for the high-level Guide to escape.
Xie Qiang couldn’t let that happen.
As she ran, she turned her head back.
Her cat-like eyes flickered slightly, then scanned Sen Ji’s body like a scanner. The man was currently fully clad in a combat suit; the buttons were fastened tight and hard to undo, and his sleeves were wrapped tightly around his wrists, leaving not a single patch of skin exposed.
Even his black tactical gloves only revealed a tiny bit of the back of his hand—not nearly enough to purify him to a safe level in a short amount of time.
Looking at it this way, the only part of Sen Ji that could be used for purification was that handsome face of his.
Xie Qiang measured the height difference between them and her own jumping ability. After reaching a conclusion, her small face darkened.
Her hand would probably be torn in half before she could even touch him!
Dammit, was there any other way?
Seeing Sen Ji pounce like a mad tiger, she sucked in a cold breath, yanked her hand away from Shu Fenghua, and actively ran toward Sen Ji.
Staying with Shu Fenghua would only make Sen Ji’s target clearer. She had to split up with Shu Fenghua and simultaneously change her own direction to force Sen Ji to alter his original trajectory…
Just one second. If only he would hesitate for one second…
The Sentinel pouncing at Xie Qiang did indeed hesitate for a brief moment in mid-air. Then, he landed on the ground halfway through his leap, missing Shu Fenghua’s back.
But he was much closer to Xie Qiang now.
“Your Highness!” Shu Fenghua’s heart leaped into her throat. She never imagined that Xie Qiang would take the initiative to approach the frenzied Sen Ji just to save her.
Uwahhh, how can the Princess be so kind? I’m just an A-class Guide; if I die, I die. But you are an S-class Guide and the next heir to the Empire! Anyone can die, but you cannot!
“Your Highness, I’m coming to save you!” Shu Fenghua shed tears as she ripped off her white coat—which was hindering her movement—and threw it to the ground, charging toward Xie Qiang. “Sen Ji! If you want to kill the Princess, you’ll have to step over my corpse first!”
“Roar…”
The frenzied Sentinel didn’t care about the woman running toward him from a distance. He reached out directly to grab Xie Qiang’s throat. Xie Qiang retreated in a panic, but unfortunately, she tripped over a stone and fell backward.
The tiger claws narrowly missed her throat, but the sharp tips still sliced through her delicate skin, leaving two bloody lines of varying lengths.
With his pounce missing, the man let out an angry low growl and looked down at the girl on the ground.
Xie Qiang fell hard on her bottom, grimacing in pain, but she didn’t have time to complain. She stared intently at Sen Ji’s right foot as it rose to stomp on her head, her fingers almost digging into her own palms.
Not enough time, just a little more!
Her right arm trembled violently. Just as the combat boot was about to hit Xie Qiang’s face, she summoned all her strength and screamed at the top of her lungs, “Sen Ji—Stop!”
The man’s raised right foot stopped abruptly.
He shifted his boot slightly and looked down at Xie Qiang with bloodshot eyes. However, instead of seeing the girl on the ground, a mental manifestation in the form of a Ragdoll cat pounced onto his face with claws out.
“Meow—!”
The little Ragdoll cat splayed its limbs, its soft belly hugging Sen Ji’s face tightly. Its long, fluffy tail slapped against his chest over and over. “Meow meow meow!”
A massive amount of warm mental power flooded into Sen Ji’s head from the little cat’s body. The hallucinations of the bloody battlefield began to dissolve, and the chaotic screams and screeches in his mind gradually faded. His body swayed slightly as his lost consciousness began to claw its way back.
Seeing that Sen Ji had stopped attacking, Xie Qiang wiped her face in relief. Then, she quickly tore off the man’s gloves, placed his hands on the sides of her neck, and reached out to unbutton his shirt.
Just a little more… she had almost failed to manifest her little Ragdoll cat in time to avoid being stomped to death by Sen Ji.
Fortunately, when she called his name just now, Sen Ji paused his attack, giving her enough time.
But why were these buttons so hard to undo?!
Xie Qiang stood on her tiptoes, biting at a button with her small teeth in frustration. Finally, she managed to bite the damn thing off. She pulled open Sen Ji’s combat suit and pressed her palms against his chest, sending a torrent of purifying mental energy into him.
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