Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 387 Viral Attack

As soon as the vanguard captain raised his hand, the members of the vanguard team immediately dispersed into smaller groups.

Before stepping through the teleportation array, they had already received their respective tasks, which were to explore the spiritual energy field on this planet and find the stress nodes located in various parts of the planet—if the planet is likened to a finely operating golem, then each node can be seen as a gear located in the golem's joints.

Once the nodes are pinned down, it's like jamming the gears. Even the most powerful golem will stop on the spot and won't be able to exert any force.

This was the solution the elves devised as quickly as possible after receiving the power of the ancestral spirit: first, nail down the suddenly appearing planet, and then slowly divide and dismember it to avoid the enormous destruction that would result from a planetary collision.

"I'm just not used to this sunlight yet."

In the distant desert, an elven warrior named Suleiman raised his hand to shield his eyes from the scorching sunlight.

Whether it was due to the planet's inherent hostility or some other reason, the sunlight currently shining on him was far less warm and gentle than the sunlight back home—but this kind of sunlight, which could scorch a person to death, could not harm him, after all, he was currently under the protection and blessings bestowed upon him by mages and priests.

And there's also that handful of soil from my hometown, tucked close to my heart.

When the whole world is hostile to you, the only thing you can rely on is the support from your hometown.

"So...why do you have to be our enemy?"

Suleiman was somewhat confused. He didn't understand why such a cataclysmic disaster had to happen. His home planet had always been in its proper orbit among the stars, so how could a planet suddenly be stuck in its orbit? However, this question only lasted for a brief moment before disappearing in a daze.

Instead, the ancestral spirits gave their previous instructions.

The ancestral spirits, or rather, their homeland, or their original planet itself, clearly conveyed to them the gravity of the situation. There was no time to think about anything else; to survive, they had to destroy the giant star in front of them—of course, the planet itself might not be destroyed in the collision, and the ancestral spirits also made this clear.

However, the situation is less certain for the elves who live on the earth.

"For our hometown, and for future generations."

With this in mind, the elven warrior Suleiman's resolve was strengthened once again.

Unlike the elven warriors who specialize in melee skills but have not actually received systematic training, the empire's regular warriors are generally proficient in both martial and literary arts—the latter referring to various combat skills. Their close-quarters combat is even more ferocious than that of most warriors.

As for the text, it refers to knowledge about magic.

Highly skilled elven warriors can even rival professional mages in their study of magic, and Suleiman, chosen as the vanguard, is naturally one of them. As one of the best selected for the Royal Guard in his youth, Suleiman is undoubtedly a genius.

This genius was also reflected in his actions; he almost immediately targeted a stress node in the spiritual energy field.

"In our local dialect, it's like an egg that can't be kept out of the air."

The elven warrior Suleiman, suspended in mid-air, surveyed the desert oasis not far away, where springs were bubbling up.

The elven mages of my hometown once conducted an experiment out of curiosity. It was an experiment on chocobo eggs, which were one of the elves' staple foods and had sturdy shells. However, these eggs would still rot if left for a long time, which puzzled the elven scholars.

It wasn't until an elven mage magnified the surface of the eggshell dozens of times that the elves saw the tiny holes that covered the eggshell.

The eggshell wasn't nearly as sturdy as the elves had initially thought; it was riddled with cracks, though the cracks were so small that the elves hadn't noticed them before. As for what happened later, the elves not only found out...

They even applied this knowledge to other areas.

For example, now.

In the elves' worldview, the planet itself is like a chocobo egg. The rocks and soil on the surface can be seen as the eggshell itself, while the lava beneath the surface is the egg white inside the shell. As for the yolk, the elves haven't gone that far yet, since they're not inclined to do anything rebellious to their homeland.

But, now...

"Perhaps, we can give it a try."

Thinking this, Suleiman drew the sword from his waist.

The amethyst inlaid on the hilt of the sword emitted magical fluctuations, and the runes on the blade lit up one after another. Clearly, this sword could not only be used for close combat, but was also a top-notch staff. Now, after landing on the ground, the elven warrior Suleiman took advantage of the earthquake to bury himself alive and forcefully plunged the blade into the spring.

The surging of the sword blade traveled down the spring, piercing through the underground water veins and even stirring up the scalding magma along the way.

"Not enough...more!"

Drawing the dagger from his waist, Suleiman even slashed his own palm, smearing the blood on the blade and making the runes on it shine even brighter—this was a technique called Blood Sacrifice, which could temporarily and greatly enhance his magical power, although the price would be his lifespan. Before coming here, Suleiman had already prepared himself to die here.

However, Suleiman did not die after risking his life.

With a tremendous surge of magical power, the terrifying earthquake that had shaken the entire desert ceased.

"As expected... it worked."

In just a moment, Suleiman had aged considerably, but the elven warrior laughed instead.

Immediately afterwards, he took out the bottle from his pocket.

What he carried in his arms was the water and soil of his hometown. This was originally the most ordinary water and soil, without any magical fluctuations. However, after Suleiman poured the soil into the water and then poured the muddy water into his mouth, his old face visibly regained some vitality.

This is the support from his hometown; the land and water of his hometown are protecting him, and this is not just empty talk.

As the life force emanating from the earth itself coursed around him, the elven warrior, who was on the verge of death, was miraculously pulled back from the brink by this mouthful of muddy water.

The ground beneath his feet was temporarily pinned down by that sword strike.

"I wonder how the other comrades are doing..."

With that thought in mind, Suleiman flew directly into the distance, preparing to support other vanguard members.

But just as he found another teammate, a battle broke out.

(End of this chapter)