Feixiao watched the man before her, who was butchering the Borisin as if they were pigs and dogs.
"Shooting... star..."
The familiar aura emanating from those two short swords made her murmur in a daze.
"Look! The Ketu-Mirage exploded! It's the Reignbow Arbiter! The Reignbow Arbiter has acted!"
Someone pointed to the sky, where the living planet that had been about to fall had suddenly exploded. Everyone thought it was a miracle, a divine sign from the Reignbow Arbiter!
"No... this is definitely not the Reignbow Arbiter..."
Lingshang had also been very excited at first, but she quickly realized it was impossible.
If the Reignbow Arbiter had acted, the destruction would never have been limited to just a single living planet.
Otherwise, the General Yueyu wouldn't have said that standing guard near the "Sky-Peering Mirror" would be certain death.
"The Reignbow Arbiter never speaks to mortals of flesh and blood... They only declare Their edict with an arrow of light."
This was a common saying in the Xianzhou Alliance,
meaning the Reignbow Arbiter never shows mercy.
They only answer calls with an arrow of light, distinguishing neither friend nor foe.
This wasn't the first time the Xianzhou Alliance had asked the Reignbow Arbiter to act, and every time They did, it was accompanied by immense losses.
This time should have been no exception, and everyone had long been mentally prepared to die under that arrow of light.
"...Did he do it?"
Lingshang looked at the Fanghu reinforcement in front of her, who was gleefully cutting down enemies, and a reasonable guess surfaced in her mind.
The Fanghu was the first to face the Denizens of Abundance's joint forces. Their troops had been fighting until now and shouldn't have many left, so how could they possibly have the strength to reinforce other armies?
Besides, General Xuanquan was holding the line elsewhere. The truly combat-capable Xuanzhu Guard should all be with her.
Even if they received news of the Reignbow Arbiter's action and were retreating, they were heading in the complete opposite direction.
From every angle, the man couldn't possibly be a conventional Fanghu soldier.
"The feedback, every blade biting deep, feels great!"
Leon let out a long breath. The feeling of taking revenge was unbelievably satisfying.
Gotta check the damage report when I get out!
"Is everyone alright?"
Leon walked towards them, holding his twin blades.
The twin blades, one blue and one purple, were perfectly clean.
Though every strike cut into flesh, not a single drop of blood stained the blades.
So even though he was armed, he didn't look terrifying. Wearing the Fanghu's banner, he looked like a rebel from the "Blue Sky is Dead" uprising.
"We're fine. Thanks to your timely support, we've averted a disaster."
Seeing this, Lingshang stepped forward, taking the initiative to communicate.
"We are the Qingqiu Guard of the Yaoqing, a unit directly under the command of the General Yueyu. May I ask which branch of the Fanghu military the gentleman soldier belongs to?"
Leon had helped them. Even if he were to discard the Fanghu banner on his forehead, this act alone showed he was on the same side as the Xianzhou.
Lingshang felt that normal communication shouldn't be a problem.
I don't know, they said I'd get school credit for fighting on the battlefield, so I came.
Leon was about to blurt this out but quickly stopped himself.
"Do I look familiar to you?"
Lingshang shook her head.
"Then have you ever heard of someone like me on the Fanghu?"
Lingshang hesitated for a moment, then shook her head again.
Given the power he had just displayed, he had to be at least a Xiaowei Knight-level figure. Such a strong individual couldn't possibly be unknown.
Moreover...
...a name as strange as 'Godly Man' would surely be the subject of after-dinner gossip, yet she had never once heard it mentioned.
A name like that, combined with such strength.
Unless someone was deliberately hiding him, his title would have more or less spread to the other Xianzhou ships, just like the Sword Champion of the Luofu.
"Alright, last question. Do you think I'm a Fanghu soldier?"
Leon nodded, unsurprised by her reaction.
"No."
Lingshang hesitated for a moment before shaking her head for a third time.
Asking such a question basically confirmed it: this person was not from the Fanghu.
Their own home was on the brink of destruction, at a time like this.
What true Fanghu soldier would have the leisure to play guessing games here?
It was a simple matter of exchanging designations.
"I think I am."
To this, Leon just replied with a serious expression.
Lingshang didn't say anything, merely taking a few silent steps back.
The Denizens of Abundance weren't as united as one might think; infighting existed among them as well.
This 'Godly Man' was so evasive about his identity; perhaps he was one of the Denizens of Abundance who looked down on the Borisin.
He might have disguised his identity, intending to use the Xianzhou's hands to eliminate them in one fell swoop during this war.
"Do I really look that much like a bad guy?"
Being cautious was a good thing, but Leon couldn't help but make a wry comment.
Lingshang remained silent as everyone else widened the distance along with her.
He had just saved them,
so logically, they shouldn't be so suspicious of him.
But his refusal to frankly state his origins was deeply unsettling.
At a time like this, it was best to assume the worst when facing a sudden stranger.
"Hah... hah... hah..."
While everyone was on high alert, only the tailless, fox-eared girl panted heavily, dragging her deformed body forward.
"Feixiao!"
Lingshang called out anxiously, trying to stop her.
But the person in question paid no heed, stubbornly continuing forward.
"Shooting... star..."
Feixiao, her vision blurry, mumbled indistinctly.
She stretched out her hand, just as she had on the day she escaped from slavery, reaching for the sky in a vain attempt to catch a fleeting meteor.
Leon saw this.
He politely dropped the cyan short sword to the ground and caught her hand with his now-free right hand.
"Uh, I can't help with all those injuries. I'm not a doctor."
He held her wrist, not understanding what this fox-eared girl wanted.
Feixiao didn't react.
But with his grip providing support, her knees suddenly gave way, and she was about to collapse forward.
Her stamina was long gone; she had been running on sheer willpower until now.
"Hey, don't you dare try to scam your savior, you hear!"
He immediately dropped the other short sword as well and quickly supported her body.
Feixiao gasped for breath, as if she couldn't hear him.
"It's wonderful... This time... I finally caught you..."
She spoke to herself, a strained smile on her face that made her look particularly foolish.
"Shooting... star..."
She had chased the trajectory of the Reignbow Arbiter's arrows of light countless times, each time hoping to be just a little bit faster, but in the end, she could only watch helplessly as they fell.
The thought that the Reignbow Arbiter's might was beyond human comparison
had filled her heart more than once.
But today, she saw a different kind of hope!
She might still not have been faster than a shooting star,
but she had caught him!
At least this shooting star in her hand...
no longer represented a desperate measure that meant killing a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of your own.
Instead, it represented what everyone hoped for...
a true, complete rescue!
"Save the Xianzhou... save everyone... save the General..."
Feixiao's subservient words carried a helpless plea.
She felt as if she had returned to the day of her escape.
She clearly remembered choosing to escape on a day when a shooting star streaked across the sky.
Her situation then was the same as now: she could do nothing and had no one to rely on.
Helpless and alone, besides running for her life, all she had left was the spiritual comfort left by the elders of her cavern-dwelling kin.
"When you see a shooting star, remember to make a wish to it. If you do, your wish will surely come true."
_____
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