Such a big accusation, and you just want to pin it on me

Another dozen minutes passed.

Liu Yuan nestled close to Su Qi, her small head resting against his arm as drowsiness began to overtake her.

After everything they had endured, she was utterly exhausted.

The beast tide’s assault had noticeably weakened, with only sporadic high-tier Source Beasts still stubbornly battering the barrier. But the disturbances grew fainter, no longer posing a fundamental threat.

"It seems the situation is far more optimistic than we anticipated," remarked a monitoring technician, his tone laced with relief.

Chen Yuan nodded, a weary smile tugging at his lips. "Notify all non-combat personnel—they can rest in shifts. The guard teams will remain on alert but reduce manpower by half and begin rotating—"

"Woo-woo—"

A sound, not loud but piercingly shrill, abruptly echoed through the command hall!

Then came a rapid series of alarms from the control console!

"Warning! Warning! Abnormal energy fluctuations detected in Sector C-4!"

"Energy intensity in Sector C-4 is spiking rapidly!"

"What the hell?!" Chen Yuan’s smile froze.

On the main console, the indicator light for Sector C-4 abruptly shifted from green to a glaring crimson.

Before Chen Yuan could even finish his order about rotating shifts, he lunged toward the main surveillance screen, his eyes locked onto the display.

"Why the hell is C-4 showing a black screen?!"

"Old Wang, are you so tired you’ve lost your damn mind?"

"Check the issue now!"

Old Wang, who had earlier argued with Chen Yuan, stammered apologies. "Sorry, sorry—I’m just too exhausted… I didn’t notice. I’m running diagnostics now!"

After a tense two and a half minutes of delay,

the screen finally displayed a blurry image of Sector C-4.

But instead of the expected horde of Source Beasts, the scene showed… people?

Clad in uniform dark attire and crude masks, they busily hauled objects into the area. Upon closer inspection, it became clear—these were strategic resources looted from abandoned shelters, now piled onto a cleared patch of ground.

At the center of the clearing, a massive, twisted symbol—etched in unknown bones and glowing liquid—pulsed with an ominous yellow light.

A dozen or so "Heralds" encircled the symbol, arms raised as they chanted in unison:

"With bones as kindling, with blood as fuel."

"When stars crumble to dust between Your fingers."

"When time shrivels to scars beneath Your feet."

"The one who cracks the shell must first shatter the world’s egg."

"From these scorched lands, a new sprout shall rise—"

"When You open eyes forged from annihilation…"

"What… is this?" Liu Yuan clutched Su Qi’s arm, her small face filled with unease.

Su Qi’s eyelashes flickered almost imperceptibly.

He knew that even among deities, there were hierarchies.

But the Ashen Lord…

Was it really this terrifying?

What kind of invocation was this?

When stars crumble to dust between Your fingers…

Su Qi’s greatest trump card was the relic of the 'Lord of Stars.'

If this was real, then choosing a comfortable way to die might be the only option left.

As the Heralds’ chants grew more fervent, the space above Sector C-4 twisted violently, as if gripped by an invisible hand. The energy field flickered erratically, fine cracks beginning to form.

Even worse, the red dots representing Source Beasts on the monitor—like sharks scenting blood—suddenly turned frenzied. Their speed and density multiplied as they surged toward headquarters.

"Damn it!" Chen Yuan nearly slammed his fist onto the console but held back, fearing he’d damage the equipment. "These bastards are communing with their damned master for blessings."

"They might seize control of the Source Beasts!"

"A coordinated beast tide is an entirely different level of threat!"

Yet the bad news kept coming.

Another feed from the perimeter surveillance showed a figure that made Chen Yuan’s pupils constrict—

A second, slightly smaller but no less terrifying, Tenth-tier Source Beast.

Covered in dark-green scales, a single horn jutting from its head, its crimson eyes burned like enormous lanterns.

It hovered silently in the ashen wastes, eight hundred meters from the headquarters barrier, coldly observing the chaos.

It didn’t approach, as if aware of the headquarters’ capability to slay Tenth-tier creatures.

Instead, it bombarded them from afar with spells.

Less efficient than close combat,

but far safer.

Like an experienced hunter, it paced its prey, waiting for exhaustion to expose a fatal weakness.

Chen Yuan’s heart sank.

This Tenth-tier beast alone was a massive threat.

But by staying just out of reach, it rendered Su Qi’s earth-shattering shot useless.

Su Qi’s spiritual energy had likely recovered enough for one more strike.

But at this distance, hitting the target was nearly impossible.

Yet if he didn’t act, the barrier would crumble under the combined assault of the frenzied beasts and the beast’s relentless bombardment.

"Chen Yuan…" A subordinate’s face paled. "Should we… launch an attack to disrupt their ritual? This feels unsustainable."

Chen Yuan glared at the Heralds on-screen, fury blazing in his eyes.

But reason told him dividing their already stretched defenses would play right into the enemy’s hands.

And who knew what other tricks these Heralds had up their sleeves?

"Goddamn it, this is a trap in broad daylight!" Chen Yuan cursed under his breath, veins bulging at his temples.

He felt ensnared in an invisible net—the more he struggled, the tighter it constricted.

Humanity’s strength seemed pitifully frail against the organized beast tide and these sinister Heralds.

His gaze drifted unconsciously toward Old Wang, the technician responsible for monitoring Sector C-4.

Old Wang kept his head low, fingers flying across the console, sweat beading on his forehead.

Yet an inexplicable unease prickled at Chen Yuan.

The ritual in C-4 had appeared too abruptly.

Had they detected it earlier, when defenses were still robust, they could have countered it.

Unless…

"Old Wang!"

The middle-aged man’s body stiffened almost imperceptibly before he slowly looked up. "Yeah, Chen Yuan? What is it?"

"Sector C-4 was under your watch."

Chen Yuan’s voice was quiet but carried the weight of an impending storm.

"We’ve worked together for over a decade. I don’t want to make this ugly."

"Explain yourself."

"This isn’t a mistake you’d normally make."

"Why betray Great Xia after all these years?"

Every eye in the command hall locked onto them, the air thick enough to drown in.

Chen Yuan added further, "And about those incidents that forcibly manipulated my emotions—I kept an eye out and realized it wasn’t a widespread phenomenon. It only happened here and in a few other squads."

"It didn’t affect the entire Origin Realm, meaning that method isn’t as miraculous as we thought."

"Honestly, it’s even a bit crude."

Old Wang’s expression darkened. "You’re telling me you’ve never made a single mistake under pressure, Chen Yuan?"

"Are you implying I’m colluding with the Descenders?"

"Damn it, I could say the same about you!"

He lunged forward, aiming a punch at Chen Yuan, only for Chen Yuan to effortlessly kick him flying.

Old Wang wasn’t having it. "Dammit, the resources they used for the ritual were all strategic reserves from our sanctuary!"

"Doesn’t that make you look way more suspicious than me?"

"Yeah, the blackout in Zone C4 was my fault, but was that the main issue? You were the one who ordered a full retreat, abandoning all the resources, weren’t you?"

"Otherwise, how would they have gotten their hands on the supplies for the ritual?"

"No matter how powerful those Descenders are, they couldn’t have smuggled in massive amounts of resources right under our noses!"

"You’re really trying to pin this whole mess on me, huh?"