Chapter Fifteen: Fierce Battle

Chapter Fifteen: Fierce Battle

At that moment, Green Xiao Mo’s right hand suddenly transformed into a longsword, which she raised to parry. With a metallic clang, their blades met, sending rippling waves through the air like water disturbed by a stone. Ye Bai couldn’t fathom how mere wooden leaves could spark against an iron sword. Xiao Mo flipped backward gracefully in midair and landed elegantly, retreating several steps—clearly, she was slightly outmatched by Green Xiao Mo in terms of strength.

Seeing her advantage, Green Xiao Mo seized the moment, charging forward with her sword while Xiao Mo’s old force was spent and new strength yet to gather. Ye Bai grew anxious, unconsciously pulling a flash grenade from his pocket, his gaze fixed on Xiao Mo.

Xiao Mo’s expression remained serene; she simply drew her right foot back, quietly awaiting the attack. Green Xiao Mo, face twisted with ferocity, seemed ready to cleave Xiao Mo in two. Ye Bai was almost ready to hurl the flash grenade. Suddenly, Xiao Mo’s left hand morphed from a palm to a claw, green elemental energy gathering between her fingers, coiling into the faint shape of a dragon’s head.

With a crisp crack, Green Xiao Mo’s sword snapped in two, leaving only the hilt to graze Xiao Mo’s smooth neck. Ye Bai stared, dumbfounded. Later, he learned that after reaching the beginner’s stage, one could learn martial techniques. As a royal scion, Xiao Mo’s training was naturally extraordinary.

Elemental power surged again, running from hand to sword, forming a whirlwind around the blade. Xiao Mo’s eyes shone with heroic resolve—she had the vigor to rival any man. Spinning, she thrust her sword straight at Green Xiao Mo’s chest.

The blade, charged with elemental force, pierced Green Xiao Mo with ease, like slicing through paper, then swung sideways, scattering dead branches and leaves. Yet Green Xiao Mo showed no emotion, as if her body hadn’t been damaged at all. Green light streamed from her chest, and fallen leaves returned to cover the wound. Xiao Mo had explained earlier that most supernatural beasts kept their crystal core in the chest, though its location could shift at will. Evidently, Xiao Mo had damaged the chest, but the core had moved elsewhere.

Xiao Mo showed no surprise; it was clear she had never intended to strike the core in one blow. Green Xiao Mo, not far away, opened her mouth and let out a guttural chuckle, mocking the woman before her for overestimating herself. In just a few minutes of battle, Green Xiao Mo was already capable of making sounds—a testament to the terrifying nature of the Child of Nature.

Xiao Mo’s delicate face grew grave, clearly unprepared for the beast’s rapidly increasing learning ability. Her hand returned to a claw, elemental energy radiating outward, her footwork deceptive, making her attack direction unclear. With a move called Dragon Claw Seeks the Heart, she lunged for the spot where the green light had emerged, but like before, she only grasped a handful of leaves. The crystal core had shifted again.

Yet Xiao Mo was undeterred. She spun and slashed, severing an arm. If she couldn’t find the core, she would wear down its energy—she refused to believe it was limitless.

First an arm, then a leg, then the head—each wound was healed, but the green light grew less brilliant with every recovery. After so many rounds, even the densest mind would grasp Xiao Mo’s intent.

Now Green Xiao Mo’s eyes glittered with intelligence; she was no longer wooden as before.

Xiao Mo’s repeated attacks had drained nearly half of her elemental power; beads of sweat formed on her brow. Her foundation was solid, but an ordinary person would be fortunate to have a third of their strength left in such a situation.

Xiao Mo summoned her power and swung her sword at Green Xiao Mo’s head. This time, Green Xiao Mo watched the blade descend with a strange gleam in her newly aware eyes.

She did not dodge. Xiao Mo’s sword severed her head cleanly. Normally, Xiao Mo would have withdrawn her sword and stood ready, but now her blade was trapped in the neck, as if an invisible hand gripped its edge.

Suddenly, Green Xiao Mo’s abdomen flared with green light. The surrounding leaves and weeds vanished, and the long-sought crystal core appeared. At that instant, a thick beam of green light shot from the core and struck Xiao Mo’s abdomen. Ye Bai barely had time to react before the blow landed.

Xiao Mo hadn’t expected such a move. Her sword, still lodged in Green Xiao Mo’s neck, was left behind as she was blasted away, her face stunned as she fell among the trees like a butterfly with broken wings.

But Green Xiao Mo showed no mercy, swiftly regenerating and pursuing her prey. At this moment, Ye Bai, still hidden, could no longer remain passive.

Setting aside the fact that Xiao Mo had already saved his life, if she died, he’d lose his guide and would surely perish as well. Ye Bai was not one to forget kindness; he knew well that even a drop of grace should be repaid a thousandfold.

Ye Bai hurled his flash grenade at Green Xiao Mo’s head, no longer caring whether she relied on sight or sensed her target.

The explosion released a blinding white light, so intense that even the midday sun seemed dim. Seizing the moment, Ye Bai dashed toward Xiao Mo.

Xiao Mo lay on the ground, vision blurred, her head ringing, struggling to rise when a hand suddenly wrapped around her waist and lifted her up.

Her mind reeled—she was being carried? Even her father had rarely held her as a child. Now, Xiao Mo was furious, forcing herself to gather her elemental power before she was fully conscious.

“Don’t move, you’re hurt.” Ye Bai’s voice reached her ears, tinged with concern and command. Having never known fatherly love, Xiao Mo involuntarily let her elemental power fade from her hand.

Ye Bai had expected Xiao Mo’s injuries to be serious, but as he lifted her, he found that only her skirt had been evaporated by the green light, exposing the white inner armor beneath, which shimmered despite a few creases. Xiao Mo herself had only a graze on her arm, already treated with green mugwort by Ye Bai, plus some mild concussion and a dazed mind.

When Ye Bai touched her wounded arm, Xiao Mo shivered, her ears turning pink. Foolish Ye Bai thought he had been too rough, apologizing repeatedly and gentling his movements.

Once Ye Bai finished tending her wounds, Xiao Mo opened her eyes, seeking out the supernatural beast still blinded by the flash. Not that she didn’t want to look at Ye Bai, but she feared being caught in his bright, pure gaze.

The supernatural beast was enveloped in green light, surrounded by white particles, the green devouring the white until none remained. Yet Xiao Mo and Ye Bai noticed the leaves on its body had begun to yellow—when they first arrived, even the most decayed leaves appeared fresh thanks to the crystal core.

Xiao Mo turned to Ye Bai, who drew out his last two flash grenades and handed them to her. “These are all I have left,” he said, placing them in her palm.

Ye Bai hadn’t expected Li Fei’s gift to be so effective—no wonder he’d boasted that anyone could escape a supernatural beast with these.

Xiao Mo wasted no time, affixing the grenades to the beast. She knew well the wisdom of striking while the enemy was weak.

With two thunderous blasts, the beast was engulfed in white particles, its green light barely visible. Soon, its howls ceased, and no green could be seen between the white.

Ye Bai and Xiao Mo approached; the once arrogant supernatural beast was now still as a statue. Xiao Mo split it open with her sword, and from within tumbled a white crystal core.

As soon as it hit the ground, green light flickered from the core. Xiao Mo swiftly took a glass-like vial from her waist and sealed the core inside, where the light finally subsided.

Wiping sweat from her brow, Xiao Mo and Ye Bai let out deep breaths. Gazing at the azure sky, Ye Bai murmured, “It’s finally dead,” his voice filled with uncertainty about the future.