CHAPTER 375: AMBUSH

The strange remains remained motionless, seemingly acquiescent. The lead female warrior nodded, then signaled for a retreat.

Just when the remains were unprepared, dozens of female warriors nearby immediately took action. Formidable blade auras of various shapes, sharp and full of killing intent, slashed from all directions towards the location of the remains.

Boom, boom, boom...

Countless explosions and impact sounds resounded, creating a deep pit where the remains were situated. The pit was several meters deep, not much shallower than the crater formed by the previous impact of the thunderous dragon.

The two men held captive were directly cut into pieces by the powerful blade auras, not uttering a single scream, dying swiftly.

"This thing should be dead, right?"

Watching the blasted pit, the lead female warrior scratched her head, sounding somewhat uncertain.

However, the strange remains seemed indeed unresponsive. They hadn’t anticipated the direct assault by the female warriors, receiving a barrage of over a hundred powerful blade auras.

Some female warriors even unleashed several consecutive blade auras, forming an uninterrupted series of attacks.

Numerous female warriors surrounded the edge of the pit, watching as the dust settled underground.

The remains had completely shattered and disappeared, leaving only a few tiny charred fragments scattered at the bottom of the pit.

At the very bottom of the pit, there was a fist-sized, brightly shining green crystal, extremely dazzling.

After a couple of female warriors exchanged words, they jumped directly into the pit and retrieved the green crystal from the bottom.

"Disgraceful, trying to fight us with that brain of yours?"

"Fool, it’s so laughable. What’s the point of holding hostages, and why two men? If it weren’t for the Lord’s orders, I’d want to exterminate these pests. Who does he think he is?"

"Hahaha... It’s a pity that this thing has no face. Otherwise, seeing its bewildered expression would be quite amusing."

The female warriors gathered around the pit, some unable to contain their laughter. They initially thought it would take some effort, but the creature ended up holding two men hostage, almost inviting them to launch a surprise attack.

"Alright, enough with the laughter, clean up the battlefield!"

The leading captain also found it amusing, waving her hand as she looked at the green crystal handed to her by her subordinates.

In the sky above, the Legion Commander turned her head and glanced down. Seeing the female warriors below successfully dealing with the remains, she finally felt at ease. Although those female warriors protecting ordinary people had relatively lower strength and weren’t suitable for battling the giant vine, dealing with the remains, almost blown to pieces by her, seemed like an easy task for them.

Next, she could fully focus on facing this bizarre vine plant.

The giant vine, beaten and broken, had its colossal body continuously deteriorating. If it weren’t for its somewhat replenishing ability, it would have likely been obliterated by the combined forces of numerous female warriors, along with a lightning-wielding esper.

Even so, the girl in the sky keenly sensed that the vine’s recovery speed was weakening. In the previous battles, this vine could rapidly regenerate nearly half of its damaged body in just over ten seconds.

However, at this point, even after more than a minute had passed, the previously ruptured half of its tendril hadn’t fully recovered. Instead, it was slowly eroding away under the relentless onslaught of the blade auras.

"Accelerate! We’ll be able to end this battle soon!" The girl’s face lit up with joy.

After battling for so long, she was on the verge of exhaustion. It’s important to note that the use of esper abilities is not without limits, especially with such extensive manipulation of lightning dragons, which requires both mental focus and the mobilization of internal esper powers. After such an extended period of combat, she felt that she could hardly hold on any longer.

"Finally, it’s over. I’m utterly exhausted. How can this thing have such strong vitality!"

Exerting her last bit of strength to release a lightning dragon over ten meters long, she completely shattered the remaining roots of the vine. The girl wobbled a bit, controlling her descent to the ground, finally able to catch her breath.

Several female warriors nearby, disregarding their own fatigue, quickly ran up to assist, supporting the Legion Commander who seemed somewhat drained.

"Commander, are you okay?"

Several female warriors exclaimed, their faces showing concern as they hurriedly approached.

"I’m fine. It’s just a bit of exhaustion from excessive use of esper abilities. I just need some rest, and I’ll be fine."

The girl’s complexion was somewhat pale. She waved her hand lightly and, with the help of the female warriors by her side, stood up.

Looking at the ruins around them and the dozen or so fallen female warrior corpses, an indescribable sadness filled her heart. The combat prowess of this vine monster wasn’t overwhelmingly strong, but its extraordinary vitality made it challenging. Even she had almost depleted her esper abilities to kill it.

The female warriors who assisted her, although powerful, still fell short of her level. Despite their collective strength, there were still casualties and injuries.

Suppressing the emotions within her, the girl turned her head. She knew that such losses were inevitable, especially in battles of this magnitude.

Fortunately, she had led the legion through numerous battles, so she could manage to stabilize her emotions. Several female warriors with good relationships silently approached, cleaning up the bodies of their fallen sisters and preserving them for burial according to the orders of their leader. For these female warriors, perhaps this was what they wished for—to rest eternally by their leader’s side.

However, compared to the loss of personnel, the damage to the base’s structures, equipment, and public facilities was even more severe. Nearly half of the inner city lay in ruins, with debris scattered everywhere, reminiscent of the state of the city before Order reclaimed it.

Most buildings in the outer city remained relatively intact, with only a few sections of the city walls collapsing. If the main battlefield were on the ground, the losses would likely have been even more severe.

Sighing, the young girl directed other female warriors to clean up the shattered base buildings and drove the frightened males to repair the damaged walls and structures. Meanwhile, the Legion Commander walked towards the distant, shattered remains of the gray-white plant.

During the battle, these plant remains would quickly disappear once they fell to the ground, as if they were being devoured. However, towards the end of the battle, even the cracked vines were not completely devoured.

Now that the battle was over, many gray-white vine remains were scattered throughout the city. The girl paid no attention to these remains and headed straight for the central part of the base, where the gray-white vines had initially sprouted—where the roots of the giant vine were located.

In contrast to other areas, the roots of the vines were not white. The shattered roots, twisted and entwined, were covered in green tendrils, creating a complex and intricate network.

It looked like thousands of green serpentine vines, intricately intertwined to form the core of this vine, creating an extremely eerie appearance.

Approaching closer, the girl could see that even after being shattered, these vine plants remained incredibly bizarre, with lingering vitality. A green root, about the size of a small car, had countless green tendrils entwined together, wriggling and struggling, a sight that could induce instant fear in anyone with a phobia of crowded spaces.

Frowning, the girl approached. From these shattered vine roots, she sensed a strong vitality, an exceptionally active life force, reminiscent of a vast ocean.

"So strange, it feels like the wood-based abilities bestowed by the master, permeating with the breath of life everywhere, and it’s so intense!" The girl stood here taking a deep breath, feeling a sense of restlessness, comfort throughout her body, and an accelerated recovery of her lightning-based abilities.

"Such a great find!" Her eyes lit up. The rich vitality alone was a treasure, promoting the recovery of abilities. Moreover, the enormous life force could be used for healing.

The incredible recovery speed of the previous plant was astonishing, fully restoring its massive body in just a dozen seconds, even more terrifying than regenerating from dismemberment.

The girl was excited, ready to carefully study it when, from a distance, a sharp and clear eagle cry echoed. In the blink of an eye, a golden figure, over a hundred meters tall, resembling a colossal creature, stood directly in the center of the base.