Monster - Chapter 154
Chapter 154: Center City - Battle of Love-Struck Minds
Without Guide participation, battles between Sentinels are much simpler and more direct. Strength, agility, eyesight, and concealed movements—Tree lacked none of these. The body it had descended into was, in a worldly sense, well-honed through countless trials, so it couldn't possibly be weaker than Lou, who was still influenced by the Main World's rules.
Weapons were one means of concealment. After the pistol's magazine was emptied, Tree drew a short knife from its waist. In the blink of an eye, a sharp dagger also appeared in Lou's hand.
Sentinel combat had always been a combination of close-quarters and long-range fighting.
Tree, inhabiting Kang Yi's body, wore a smile, seemingly eager. The Lines emanating from its body tore through the air, and the entire space echoed with faint whooshing and rustling sounds.
Lou exhaled softly. Her rain-colored eyes, just like Lin Sandie's, had already turned black, becoming ruthless and cold.
Colliding at a speed imperceptible to others, Tree and Lou's bodies swayed forward and backward, dodging Line attacks in unimaginable postures. The short blades in their hands slashed, cut, and sliced. Various combat techniques and moves constantly shifted between offense and defense, either severing the opponent's Lines or striking their body. The fierce battle created a continuous blur of pungent metallic colors, with flashing white sparks, like two ferocious beasts, their most agile bodies unleashing their utmost power in this fight.
How beautiful...
Lin Sandie, forcibly dragged into this battle by Tree, watched Lou fighting "herself." She saw her tied-up long hair flash by, she saw her fiercely hack at "herself" with murderous intent, she saw her every breath, saw the control she exerted. This was a scene she would never have witnessed had she not been entangled.
So this is what that Little Fool looked like when she fought seriously. Yet, in front of her, she only knew how to be unreasonable, to act spoiled and domineering, to be weak and helpless.
But even this side of her, Lin Sandie loved beyond measure.
She felt their heartbeats quicken with the battle, intertwined with love. Lin Sandie watched Lou intently. She and Tree continuously used various means to kill each other, but her love for Lou never faded, seemingly blurring the lines with murderous intent.
How could she not love her?
She was born to love her. Lou had traveled through such a long time, and she herself had missed so many turns, all to love each other. This was something no will, no matter how strong, no murderous intent, no matter how powerful, could erase...
Tree suddenly coughed up blood. Lou's Lines were the first to pierce its chest, and it only paused for a moment before Lou's dagger plunged into the heart of its current body.
If a descended body was defeated, it was defeated. But Tree now felt something was extremely wrong within itself.
"Tree, you are weak," Lou said, striking at its core. Then, several Lines she controlled passed through Kang Yi's brain, definitively ending its life.
Tree's consciousness returned to its original place. In its estimation, there wasn't much difference between itself and Lou; it even had a slight edge over Lou in cultivation. But when it controlled Kang Yi to fight Lou, a thousand affections surged into its heart, intertwining with its murderous intent. In places where it could have delivered a fatal blow, it always found itself distracted.
As soon as its consciousness returned to its dwelling, it saw Lin Sandie still sitting opposite, her left leg crossed over her right, her elbow propped on her chin, looking down at Center City.
"I also didn't expect the story to come to an end so quickly," Lin Sandie's voice remained calm and clear.
"Didn't you ever wonder why I cooperated so readily with wearing the Red Scorpion?" Lin Sandie raised her head, her eyes, like Lou's, had completely turned black. This also meant she had fully become a Guide qualified to enter the Main World. "Was it just for the existence of Leviathan? Do you see me as such a great person?"
"What did you do to me?"
"You influenced me, and I also influenced you. While I may be completely outmatched by you in all other aspects, there is one thing you can absolutely never suppress or take away. What is it?" Lin Sandie's face revealed a devilish smile.
"...The bond with that Sentinel?" Tree's eyelids twitched twice, and a chill slowly crept up its spine.
Lin Sandie blinked.
"Perhaps you considered it, but Pie initially hid my 'dream encounters' too well, making you believe I simply had affection for Lou. Perhaps the kindness I displayed made you believe I was truly willing to sacrifice myself to save Leviathan," Lin Sandie said with a hint of pleasure, yet concealing endless murderous intent. "But the person I want to kill most is you."
"How dare you do that to her!" Lin Sandie's murderous intent erupted, and then she, too, transformed into black mist, vanishing before the stunned Tree.
After slaughtering the mutated monsters of the Rose Society, Lou returned home bewildered and covered in blood. The opponents were so weak that she felt she didn't need to be there, so after killing a dozen monsters, she returned home unenthusiastically before dinner, leaving the rest for Cheng Gui to judge.
When she arrived back at her home in the Black Goat Walled City, Lin Sandie was making soup, looking much better than before.
"I'm back."
"Is that your blood?" Lin Sandie asked, frowning slightly as she smelled the blood on Lou.
"No, I'll go wash up. Don't cook, I'll do it," Lou quickly ran to the bathroom, not even changing her shoes, wanting to quickly wash off the blood.
"Was the opponent difficult?" Lin Sandie leaned against the bathroom door, asking through the glass door.
"Kang Yi, the one Tree descended into, was a bit difficult. The others were all easy. I don't know what happened, I thought Tree would descend into more bodies, but it didn't appear again after that," the sound of splashing water and Lou's muffled voice came from inside the bathroom. "Oh, and your ex-girlfriend's husband was also killed by me."
Lin Sandie was silent for a moment. "You don't need to go out again. If there are any monsters, just let Cheng Gui judge them."
"Huh? Do you know what happened?"
It felt like she couldn't bring herself to say that Tree couldn't bring itself to kill Lou because of the deep bond between them.
Lin Sandie thought for a moment. "I'm a Guide now."
"Huh?"
"I'm a Guide now. The rules of the Main World have recognized me as meeting the requirements for a Guide and have granted me the qualification of a Guide..."
"What!?" The bathroom door burst open. Lou was soaking wet, her head covered in a lot of shampoo foam.
Lin Sandie pushed her back in, closing the door again, but she didn't leave. She continued to lean against the doorframe and said, "Check if your mission shows as completed."
"Not yet, but the completion rate is 95%. This morning it was only 50%, what the hell? It seems there's still one body from a previous Leviathan exploration team that hasn't been found? Why is it stuck here?" Lou was completely confused.
"Anyway, Tree won't be a problem anymore. I'll explain later."
"Okay."
When Lou came out, Lin Sandie had already prepared the ingredients; Lou just needed to stir-fry them.
"You're a Guide now. Can you officially Bind with me?" Lou asked, holding the spatula, perhaps because the atmosphere was good.
However, asking to Bind in this atmosphere was too unromantic. Binding required... well, you know.
Lin Sandie took the plates from the sterilizer to the counter. "We'll see."
Lou's heart sank, and she dejectedly continued to stir-fry the dishes in the pot, thinking that Lin Sandie still hadn't forgiven her.
After dinner, Lin Sandie finally explained what she had been planning all along.
During her time with Lou, Lin Sandie had discovered that Sentinels' minds tended towards combat and frontline work; they weren't very interested in deep thought, or rather, their thoughts didn't go too deep. And Tree's essence was also that of a Sentinel, and a rather arrogant one at that.
Lin Sandie's goal was never the survival of Leviathan. The moment she knew Lou was the Little Fool, her entire goal became singular: she wanted to protect Lou. Her second goal was revenge.
Revenge for Tree impersonating Zhao Anfu to deceive Lou.
With the first goal, what she needed to do became clear. Although difficult and painful, as long as she could Bind with Tree, it would absolutely be unable to crush Lou, even if this was its home turf, because the bond between her and Lou could no longer be severed. Not even a true god could cut their bond.
The 'Scorpion' also became the item that Bound Lin Sandie and Tree. This item was initially something Tree wanted to research to suppress its own madness, and she was such a perfect candidate. No one was more suitable to be Tree's inhibitor than her.
Now, Tree could neither kill her, because killing Lin Sandie would be suicide, nor could it crush Lou. It would only become Lin Sandie's nourishment, gradually rotting and slowly dying under her influence.
This was Lin Sandie's revenge. A simple death was too cheap for Tree.
However, when telling Lou, Lin Sandie still didn't explicitly state the bond between them or her desire to protect her. Firstly, it would sound a bit like she was talking without consequence, as she always seemed to be the weaker and protected party. Secondly, when facing Lou, she was still very shy. Even if she didn't show it, the thought that Lou was the Little Fool she had raised, and how crazy she had been towards her in the Disorder Land, made her feel overwhelmed by shyness.
"So, Tree actually isn't very smart, which allowed you to exploit a loophole," Lou said with a smile. Although Lin Sandie's words implied that Lou wasn't very smart either, she didn't mind at all.
"I will devour it," Lin Sandie used a cold term, yet calmly ate the meal Lou had prepared.
"Lin Sandie, you're amazing," Lou's eyes sparkled, and she looked at Lin Sandie with immense, heartfelt admiration, just like when she was a child.
Lin Sandie finally couldn't help but blush at the ears.
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