Chương 244: Starfrost

Upon hearing the familiar voice calling her name, Xingxian opened her eyes somewhat dazedly. The first thing she saw was Yinxue's delicate face, which was filled with anxiety and worry.

—I—am alright?

Although the back that was hit was throbbing with unbearable pain, every bone in it seemed to be screaming in agony.

However, being able to clearly feel pain at this time is actually a good sign, indicating that her body has not completely lost consciousness due to the fatal injury.

"But—why?"

With Yin Xue's help, Xing Xian slowly sat up and subconsciously looked at the light purple combat suit she was wearing, only to be surprised to find that there was no obvious damage on it.

If Mirror Lord had used ethereal energy to attack him, then the combat suit, made of pure magic, would inevitably have been corroded and damaged after being attacked by an attack with a completely opposite power attribute, and it's not impossible that it would have become tattered and broken.

What exactly happened?

"Xingxian, are you alright?!" Yinxue looked at Xingxian's dazed expression and couldn't help but ask again with concern, "I just saw that bastard kick you a long way!"

One of them was—kicked away? Jing Jue really didn't use his virtual energy, but kicked me away with a pure physical attack?

Xingxian was filled with confusion, completely unable to understand why the other party would do this.

She shook her head slightly, indicating to Yin Xue that she was fine, and then immediately turned her wary gaze to the white figure wearing a smiling mask not far away.

After sending Xingxian flying with a swift whip kick, Jingjue did not continue his attack on her. Instead, he turned around and kicked the Eclipse Species that was still struggling in the pit several times, seemingly venting some kind of dissatisfaction.

He even stomped his gleaming leather shoes on the Eclipse's head, saying coldly, "Useless thing! I spent so much effort training you, and this is how you repay me? You can't even defeat a patrol officer who's just recovered from serious injuries and has used up most of his magic power. You're truly—trash!"

"Waaah————" The powerful Eclipse Beast trembled violently after being kicked, but it dared not struggle or resist in the face of its master's absolute pressure.

It lay prostrate on the ground, like the lowest servant, uttering a plaintive and fearful whimper from deep within its throat.

Jingjue snorted coldly, seemingly annoyed even by glancing at it: "Go back and heal your wounds, you piece of trash."

Immediately, he raised his hand and summoned a smooth mirror in front of him. The World-Eroding Species was immediately granted a pardon and dragged its broken body into the mirror, then disappeared.

After doing all this, Jingjue slowly turned around again, looking at Xingxian and Yinxue, who were on guard, with his eyes full of mockery and malice.

"Yinxue, hurry up and leave here with Liuli, you are no match for him!" Xingxian reacted immediately and whispered urgently to her companion beside her, while trying to push her away.

"He didn't kill me outright, so I'm most likely his target. If you leave now, he probably won't chase after you."

"What a joke?! I don't want to!" Yin Xue bit her lower lip tightly, her emerald green eyes burning with a stubborn flame. Instead of backing down, she stepped forward and shielded Xing Xian behind her.

Without hesitation, she raised her emerald wand, pointing it directly at Mirror Lord in the distance, and said with unwavering determination, "Do you think I'm the kind of person who would abandon my companions and run away alone?!"

"Are you an idiot?! This is not the time to be fussing over such pointless pride!" Seeing Yin Xue's stubbornness, Xing Xian was both anxious and angry. She struggled to stand up, but the sharp pain in her back caused her to fall back down.

"You have to go back and relay this message to Xiaoying! Staying here will only lead to us being captured together, putting Xiaoying in an even more precarious situation, won't it?!"

"No matter what, I absolutely will not leave!" Yin Xue's attitude was equally firm.

"Besides, Xiao Li is currently responsible for drawing away those monsters. If she also runs away, it will only allow those monsters to escape to other places, causing even greater chaos!"

"But—" Xingxian still hesitated. She couldn't bear to watch her companions die here in vain.

"It's alright," Yin Xue seemed to see through her worries and forced a smile to comfort her, "I will try my best to hold on as long as possible, and then—Xiao Ying will come to save us."

"She—she will definitely come!"

Xingxian stared at Yinxue in disbelief, at the almost blind trust in Xiaoying in her eyes, and wanted to say something more.

But not far away, Jing Jue's mocking voice drifted over: "Hehe—my dear Inspector, aren't you curious why I didn't use my ethereal energy to attack you just now?"

Both of them tensed up at the same time, looking at Jingjue with wary expressions. They didn't answer, and Yinxue held his wand horizontally in front of his chest, the light at the tip of the wand shining even brighter, ready to defend at any moment.

"Heh heh—that's because you're too weak right now." Jingjue spread his hands, his tone full of condescending pity.

"If I use even a little bit of my ethereal energy, you'll be dead for sure."

"And my desire to possess your intoxicating power hasn't changed yet, so I can't kill you right now, my dear—Collection."

"6

"As for you—" Mirror Lord elegantly swung the long whip crackling with lightning in his hand, his voice instantly turning icy, "I'm afraid you won't be so lucky. Do you remember your presumptuous provocation before?"

"How could I not remember? I said I'd settle the score with you sooner or later!" Although Yin Xue could feel her body trembling slightly with fear, she still gritted her teeth and retorted defiantly, "You dark and perverted monster wearing a strange mask!"

"I truly admire your courage. I hope you will remain so strong as you face death."

Jingjue walked forward gracefully, his long whip crackling with electricity as he dragged it across the ground, making a terrifying "crackling" sound.

"I'm going to make that damned outcast experience the pain of losing a comrade, and let him feel the helplessness of having power but being unable to protect anything."

"And it all started with you, the one who uttered those boastful words to me!"

Before he finished speaking, accompanied by a series of explosions, Jingjue swung his lightning whip, leaving afterimages as he fiercely lashed it at Yinxue in front of him.

Yin Xue immediately unleashed all the magic power within her body, creating a hemispherical emerald green magic barrier in front of her, firmly protecting herself and Xing Xian behind her.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The lightning whip lashed the barrier relentlessly, the immense pressure causing the ground beneath their feet to crack inch by inch.

The emerald green barrier, now sunken and cracked like a spiderweb under the relentless onslaught, seemed on the verge of shattering at any moment.

Yin Xue immediately poured more magic into maintaining the barrier, but her face turned pale at a visible speed due to the rapid depletion of magic.

"Too weak, so weak that I feel sorry for him!" Jingjue sneered, raising his long whip high, all the lightning gathered at the tip of the whip, and then suddenly swung it down with great force!

"boom-!!!!!"

A deafening clap of thunder rang out, and the silvery snow barrier shattered instantly.

She let out a muffled groan and collapsed to the ground, where the ground beneath her cracked like a spiderweb as it could not withstand the dissipating energy.

"puff----" The moment the barrier shattered, Yin Xue felt a sweet taste in her throat, and her vision began to blur, almost causing her to faint.

But with her strong willpower, she managed to prop up her swaying body and once again stood in front of Xingxian, her face showing a stubborn expression as she trembled and raised her wand.

"Hahaha—hahahaha! This is exactly the expression I wanted to see! It's so delicious!"

Seeing her struggling to reach her limit yet refusing to give up, Jingjue covered his face and couldn't help but laugh heartily, as if he were watching the most exciting drama.

Then, he tilted his head and stared directly at the other person, his voice instantly turning icy cold: "So, you'd better—hold on tight and let me enjoy this a little longer!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a black lightning bolt, condensed to its maximum, formed at his fingertips and then rushed toward Yin Xue, who had almost lost the ability to resist, at an astonishing speed.

Yin Xue trembled as she created another magical barrier that appeared far more fragile than before. The barrier shattered instantly upon contact with the black lightning, like a bubble in the sunlight.

At the same time, Yin Xue collapsed backward due to the overwhelming force, falling into Xing Xian's arms and completely losing consciousness.

Just as the destructive power was about to engulf the two, Xingxian suddenly condensed a pale purple ray of magic, which neutralized the remaining power of the black lightning.

And this also consumed all the magic power that Yin Xue had accumulated during the time she had gained.

Xingxian instinctively hugged Yinxue in her arms, and looking at Jingjue walking slowly towards her, she felt an unprecedented despair in her heart.

"Let her go," Mirror Lord said with a low laugh.

"You're a magical girl destined to become one of my precious collectibles, and I don't want to accidentally damage you during my 'recycling' process."

"As for her, what was her name again? Oh—Yin Xue. She's just a piece of stardust that you can find anywhere. Even if you accidentally break her, it won't matter."

Xingxian glared fiercely at Jingjue, without saying a word or letting go of Yinxue in her arms. Instead, she hugged her even tighter.

"Ah—what a touching sentiment." Seeing this, Jingjue chuckled and once again hovered his hand a few centimeters from her forehead.

"Get some rest. Just like yesterday, this time—that annoying Lonely Shadow won't bother us again."

.

A familiar and irresistible drowsiness began to surge up like a tide, blurring Xingxian's consciousness and causing her head to droop weakly.

No—this feeling—I hate it!

Xingxian screamed wildly in her heart, resisting the corrosive force that was eroding her.

She wasn't afraid of dying in battle, but when she realized that she might never wake up again, or that she would never see her comrades, whom she had only known for a short time but whom she already cherished, or even see her hands stained with their blood, she felt an uncontrollable fear.

Just as Xingxian's consciousness was about to completely sink into darkness, a streak of pinkish-gold light pierced the sky and accurately struck Jingjue, who was wearing a smug smile.

Jingjue's expression changed drastically. He could clearly feel the terrifying magic power contained in the beam of light, enough to threaten him. He could only quickly give up control of Xingxian and leap backward in a sorry state, narrowly avoiding this fatal blow.

The next moment, a petite figure in pink and gold slowly descended from the sky, her long boots lightly touching the ground, and she stood steadily in front of Yin Xue, who had fallen into a coma, and Xing Xian, who was filled with shock.

The magnificent wand in her hand, gleaming with dazzling light, was pointed directly at Mirror Lord, who was looking at them warily from a distance.

Xingxian raised her head with some difficulty, trying to see the appearance of the person who came.

That silhouette, that magnificent combat suit in predominantly pink and white—it seemed to remind her of something incredibly important in her memory.

The figures, as dazzling as the sun, slowly overlapped.

"Could it be... Senior Xing Shuang?" Xing Xian murmured, her voice trembling with disbelief and excitement.

However, when she tried to open her eyes wider and take a closer look at the other person's appearance, she was somewhat disappointed to find that the other person was not the mature and reliable figure she remembered.

Although the combat suits were all the same color, her figure—was rather petite.

"Who are you----" As if hearing Xingxian's call, the mysterious magical girl who had suddenly appeared slowly turned around. She looked at Xingxian, and on her exquisitely beautiful face, which was as delicate as a doll, she revealed a gentle smile that made people feel incredibly at ease.

Those deep purple eyes, as dark as the night sky, made Xingxian's heart tremble violently, as if struck hard by something.

Then, a melodious voice, unfamiliar yet capable of inexplicably making Xingxian's soul tremble, gently rang in her ear.

"Take a good rest."

"Leave the rest to me."

So it was said, Starfrost.