NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 248: Defenses Breached
The aerial battle was nothing more than a distant rumble of thunder to the ordinary citizens below, causing a brief startle but attracting no real attention.
In the alley leading to the arcade, Ren, having reverted to his concealed form, leaned against the wall, his face alarmingly pale.
"Cough, cough." Uncontrollable pain churned in his mind, as if his brain were being scrambled. A metallic taste filled his mouth, and he coughed up blood.
Taixu Sword God's mental attack truly lived up to its reputation. Ren's mental defenses were inherently weak, making it a strain to endure the mental onslaught meant for Kiana without any preparation.
Of course, this was because Ren's current body was merely a normal vessel created by the Herrscher of Reason's power, not a Domination puppet. Its resistance to Honkai energy was significantly lower.
"As expected of a natural-born sword wielder. Even Fu Hua, the originator, would probably struggle to reach this level." Wiping the blood from his lips, Ren drew upon the Herrscher of Reason's core, channeling the chaotic Sword Qi within him into it. Even his disguised crimson eyes visibly dimmed.
If he had followed his usual cautious nature, Ren would have made thorough preparations before confronting Sword God. He wondered if he had lost his mind momentarily, choosing to endure the attack head-on.
Perhaps, seeing Kiana on the verge of serious injury, a flicker of panic had indeed surfaced in his heart, leading to such a reckless action.
Naturally, Ren wouldn't acknowledge this possibility. He repeatedly told himself that he had only done it to experience the power of Taixu Sword God more accurately, finally convincing himself of the fabricated reasoning.
"Let's just call it a temporary change in the data collection method." Mentally classifying his impulsive act, Ren wiped away the traces of blood. Only after completely suppressing his injuries did he slowly return to the arcade.
Upon arriving, he spotted the girl sitting in front of the game machine from afar.
Despite also enduring Taixu Sword God, Li Sushang seemed completely unaffected. She sat quietly before the machine Ren had been using, anxiously glancing around.
Clearly, Ren's prolonged absence had made her uneasy.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Ren greeted her, handing her the candied haws as if nothing had happened, taking a seat beside her.
Seeing Ren, Li Sushang visibly relaxed. However, she didn't immediately accept the treat, instead looking at him hesitantly. "Are you hiding something from me?"
"What do you mean?" Ren, prepared for such a question, calmly deflected, "After all, this is our first meeting. Isn't it normal to have secrets?"
"That's not what I meant." Seemingly realizing her words had caused a misunderstanding, Li Sushang quickly stood up to explain, "During the fight just now, I smelled the scent of my handkerchief. I was just wondering if you had been there at some point. I didn't mean to pry into your personal affairs."
A miscalculation. This girl's perception is incredibly sharp.
Shaking his head slightly, maintaining a calm expression, Ren replied, "I'm sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean. I was just buying you candied haws. I wasn't paying attention to your game." He then took out the hairpin and handkerchief he had used as bandages. "Speaking of your handkerchief, here you go."
He offered them to Li Sushang along with the candied haws.
"Is that so?" Taking the items with a hint of suspicion, Li Sushang seemed to accept Ren's explanation.
But in the next second, she suddenly leaned closer to Ren, grabbing his arm with one hand while reaching into his pocket with the other, retrieving the mask he had hidden.
"Caught you! This mask…"
"What about the mask? It came free with the game coins." An innocent-looking Ren blinked in confusion, staring at Li Sushang.
The bright yellow mask had two pointed ears folded together like a bow. It was clearly just a Homu mask, bearing no resemblance to the Crimson Empress whatsoever.
"Ahaha, I thought it was a Crimson Empress mask. Speaking of which, I really like the Crimson Empress." Casually returning the mask to Ren, Li Sushang scratched her head to alleviate the awkwardness.
She didn't notice the single bead of sweat trickling down Ren's temple.
Good thing I was cautious enough to intentionally leave a corner of the Homu mask exposed. Otherwise, with her intuition, she would have likely become suspicious even without concrete proof. A well-placed decoy can sometimes lead to unexpected misdirection.
"The Crimson Empress, huh? Unfortunately, they only have Genshin Impact and Homu themed masks here. I'll keep an eye out for you next time."
"There's no need. The Homu mask is quite cute too." Lightly flicking her finger against the candied haws, she separated them into two portions. Li Sushang handed half to Ren, then extended her small tongue to lick the sweet and sour hawthorn, her eyes closing contentedly.
"I bought this for you…" Holding up her half of the stick with only two haws remaining, Li Sushang smiled. "This much is enough for me. When Master was still around, she would often only leave me the two sourest ones. I'm not your master, so I suppose I can give you a few more."
Holding the half-eaten candied haws, Ren sighed inwardly.
In the end, Li Sushang was just a naive child, still holding onto the innocent mindset of 500 years ago. If his lies were exposed, she would probably be very disappointed.
However, this thought was fleeting. Ren's goal was only the Taixu Sword God. He hadn't tried to steal her martial arts secrets or deceive her feelings. Even if the truth came out, she would only feel some anger. In comparison, he should probably feel more guilty towards Kiana…
No, why am I thinking about her again?
"By the way, there was a girl with white hair looking for 'Ren' earlier. Do you know her?"
"White hair?" Ren pretended to think carefully, then shook his head. "I don't recall anyone like that."
He smiled. "There are so many people in the world. It's normal to have someone with the same name as me. Even if there is, it must be someone from my past. Everything from before vanished in that fire. I'm a completely new person now."
"That's good. I thought she was your enemy. Seems like it was a false alarm."
After quickly finishing the candied haws, Li Sushang's attention returned to the game machine. With Ren's return, her worries had subsided. She had just gotten the hang of the game before Kiana's interruption, and her gaming enthusiasm was reignited.
And when Ren handed her a whole box of game coins, the girl's eyes lit up.
"My account level is too high for a beginner. Let me create a new account just for you. How about using your name as the game ID?" Having been discovered by Kiana once, Ren didn't dare to be careless anymore. It was best to keep his information hidden.
He took over from Li Sushang, tapped a few buttons on the game panel, and a new character bearing the name [Li Sushang] appeared on the screen.
"How do you know my name?"
"I saw it on your ID card when I… borrowed it earlier," Ren explained. In reality, he hadn't thought that far ahead; he had just typed in the name subconsciously.
"I see."
While Ren was playing games with Li Sushang, things weren't so peaceful outside ARC City. Honkai beasts, drawn by the Herrscher's aura, were stealthily approaching the urban area.
As soon as they crossed the blockade, the defensive installations stationed there unleashed powerful electrical currents, eliminating the beasts.
However, as the number of Honkai beasts increased, gradually exceeding the defensive capacity of the installations, the wandering beasts finally breached the blockade.