Ruan Linzhan, a military man, walks with a straight posture, resembling a sharp blade that deters anyone from approaching.
Ruan Shu couldn't help stealing glances at him.
His hair, like hers, was white, but his skin was a deep brown, not exactly black, but tending towards a rich hue.
His snow-white hair was slightly long, his facial features were well-defined, and his eyes were a striking purple. Despite his darker skin tone, he possessed a captivating beauty, exuding an exotic charm.
He seemed akin to a deity from ancient Egyptian mythology.
The wind tousled his forehead, revealing white patterns amidst his hair.
The stripes resembled those of a tiger but also hinted at auspicious cloud patterns, adding an aura of mystery.
Ruan Linzhan noticed the little one he was holding stealing glances at him. Whenever he slightly lowered his head, the child would quickly retreat.
Perhaps caught in the act of peeking, the girl blushed slightly.
"Commander, there's a mutated blackberry vine here."
Seeing him approach, most eyes fell on the small figure he carried.
The commander's dark skin sharply contrasted with the girl's fair complexion, even though patches of her clothing were stained red with blood, making it impossible to ignore.
The difference between them was too significant to ignore.
Under the scrutiny of many eyes, Ruan Shu subtly leaned closer into the embrace of the person holding her.
"Don't harm that mutated plant."
Ruan Linzhan spoke up. No one was using overly dangerous weapons; it was just that the mutated plant seemed unusually powerful and agitated.
In less than a minute of conversation, several people had already been captivated and influenced by it.
Fortunately, being star beasts, they were robust enough to quickly get back on their feet, albeit with a layer of dust.
"Little vine!" Ruan Shu's delicate face showed signs of anxiety as she finally summoned the courage to call out to the mutated plant, which was currently in a frenzied search for someone.
She had used her loudest voice.
As soon as she shouted, everyone's attention shifted toward her.
Ruan Shu burrowed deeper into Ruan Linzhan's embrace, wondering why everyone was looking at her like that.
In truth, many soldiers were now wondering: who was she calling "Little Vine"? The name lacked any imposing presence.
Soon enough, they found out. The mutated blackberry vine, which had previously been thrashing about, swiftly advanced towards their commander and the child.
"Commander, watch out!"
Ruan Linzhan didn't move, watching as the mutated vine stopped not in front of them but in front of the girl.
To everyone's astonishment, the mutated blackberry vine rapidly shrank, transforming into a serpent-like form and landing in the girl's blood-stained hands.
Ruan Shu had injured her palm while fleeing, and it was still painful, but she endured it without complaint.
But the little vine felt sorry for her.
The young mistress was so delicate; she had shed tears over a tiny prick from a needle earlier, and now she bore multiple wounds.
The little vine twisted its body, carefully avoiding Ruan Shu's injuries, affectionately rubbing against her to offer comfort.
Ruan Shu gently touched the vine tip, placing it on her wrist amidst the astonished gazes of onlookers.
"Could you help me contact my father and the others?"
"Mm."
Ruan Linzhan withdrew his gaze, staring at her face for two seconds before nodding in agreement; he had intended to contact them anyway.
He delegated others to assist in clearing and processing the battlefield, then initiated a video call with his younger uncle.
At this moment, not too far from the main star in the cosmos, Ruan Xiao led the Third Legion, along with other legions, in encircling invading star pirates and insect beasts.
On the back of a giant white kirin-tiger, mechanical wings sprouted, flying alongside a higher-level insect's body. With one claw, he crushed its head.
His eyes gleamed with murderous intent as he stared at the higher-level insect beasts attempting to flee. In a flash, he dashed to another insect beast's position, his hook-like appendages piercing through its head as he descended.
"Don't even think about escaping. If you dare, I'll kill you!"
From the star pirate's starship emerged a massive crocodile-like star beast, which seemed to be a species resembling a crocodile and a dinosaur.
Its eyes were crazed crimson, and it held a young larva in its mouth, threatening the insect beasts attempting to escape.
Upon seeing the larva in its mouth, the insect beasts visibly went mad. Their multifaceted eyes were filled with hatred and murderous intent, yet they were restrained by something that prevented them from acting on it.
Thus, they redirected their hatred toward the Star Beast Legion.
And they did so with a resolve to die.
Ruan Xiao squinted at the star beasts in the distance. Obviously, the larva in its mouth was likely the newly born king of the entire swarm, explaining why so many higher-level insect beasts were willing to risk their lives to come this close to the main star.
Ruan Xiao intended to address the rebels in that area.
Indeed, those attacking the main star were star pirates, but they were rebels committed to overthrowing the current royal family and ruling themselves.
They worshipped the Dark Beast God, ancient star beasts driven away during a great war thousands of years ago.
But now, there were too many insect beasts; every time he tried to move towards them, several higher-level insect beasts would entangle him.
Behind the scenes, the rebels showed signs of intense intent to kill and excitement. Even if they were unable to succeed that day, they would be content as long as they could inflict severe harm on the main star's residents.
It would be best to eliminate several leaders of the main star system.
"Roar..."
Just then, a dragon's roar echoed, carrying immense pressure and anger. Even the higher-level insect beasts felt the threat.
The excitement in the rebel star beast's eyes froze, and it turned to flee into its starship. A black dragon claw extended from the void, grabbing the rebel's head.
Snap…
In its astonished expression, its head was instantly crushed.
Including the larva.
The death aura of the larva king spread out, causing the insect beasts in the universe to go completely insane, their red compound eyes filled with a thirst for slaughter.
The black dragon appeared in space, spewing several fireballs imbued with its fiery breath. The scorching heat distorted the air in the area, accurately targeting the insect creatures.
In an instant, the insect beasts were reduced to ashes.
As it turned around, the dragon flew towards the escaping starships, and nearly every one of them had half of its hull destroyed by a single claw strike.
As the creature used its claws to pry open the hatch, it breathed fire inside the starship, leaving those aboard unable to even contemplate escaping.
The entire starship exploded into fragments, floating in space within a matter of seconds.
In the face of absolute power, these conspirators had no chance.
The other marshals led their troops in slaughtering the remaining insect beasts.
Since they dared to come, they shouldn't even think about leaving. These short-sighted and defensive star creatures would not show mercy to any foe.