ABFMV Chapter 13

Xu Linlang shut her eyes in frustration. Her plan had completely failed—she hadn’t found the kitten, and instead she had managed to offend the very villain who, in the future, was destined to kill her.

Now she was trapped inside this cavern with no way of knowing when, or if, she could get out.

It was absolutely the worst-case scenario.

She scanned her surroundings, trying to find even the smallest chance of escape, but came up empty-handed.

Just then, a thunderous crash echoed from deep within the cave.

Xu Linlang’s head snapped toward the sound. Bracing herself against the ground, she rose unsteadily to her feet and began inching backward, one step at a time.

The noise coming from within was disturbingly strange, like the roar of a wild beast awakening from slumber.

She wanted to find somewhere—anywhere—to hide, but the cavern was bare, without even a crevice she could squeeze into.

As panic welled up inside her, the cave shook violently. A deafening roar split the air, followed by a black shadow plummeting down from above.

Dust and sand exploded into the air, rising nearly a meter high. Xu Linlang coughed, squinting and covering her nose against the choking grit.

What on earth was happening?

Don’t tell me… some kind of terrifying beast actually lives here?

The more she thought about it, the more her fear grew. Her retreat quickened until her back slammed against the steep rock wall. No way out.

As the dust finally began to settle, a pair of glowing, blood-red eyes locked onto her. Their owner’s grotesque face and enormous, jagged mandibles came into view—

This was no ordinary beast.

It looked like some horrifying hybrid of animal and insect.

The moment it saw her, its mandibles spread wide as if she were a delicacy, and the stench of rot on its breath nearly made her gag.

This thing was going to eat her.

Realizing that, Xu Linlang slipped her hands behind her back and pressed the emergency defense switch on her personal terminal.

With a sharp boom, a translucent shield erupted outward at the speed of light.

The monster’s scythe-like limbs came slashing down, only to be violently repelled by the shield.

Xu Linlang exhaled in shaky relief. At least for now, she was safe from being torn apart.

But the comfort didn’t last long. The beast reared back and raised its limbs again, readying another strike.

It had been asleep far too long, deprived of human flesh. The scent in front of it was too intoxicating to resist.

It was starving—and she was its feast.

With a guttural screech, the creature lunged, slashing at her shield with renewed frenzy. Xu Linlang covered her eyes and screamed, unable to watch.

Thank God, the barrier held. But when the blow glanced off, the impact carved two massive craters into the cavern wall.

The harder it failed, the harder it struck, pouring all its energy into breaking through.

Though the shield remained intact, Xu Linlang’s heartbeat pounded in rhythm with each jarring impact.

She felt like her sanctuary could collapse at any second—that one more strike would be enough to shatter it.

Curling up inside the barrier, she hugged her knees and pressed her palms over her ears.

She couldn’t look. She couldn’t listen. That was all she could do now.

This was worse than any nightmare—ten thousand times worse.

Then, all of a sudden, the shield stopped trembling. The monster was no longer attacking.

Confused and still trembling, Xu Linlang dared to lift her head. From her angle, the beast’s red eyes were glowing, calculating.

And soon, she understood why.

Instead of striking, it began pounding against the shield, forcing it to bounce and ricochet like a ball against the cavern walls.

That was the flaw of a mobile shield.

Her body was thrown around inside, every collision rattling her bones.

The beast seemed to enjoy it, venting its earlier rage while sparing its strength by letting the cliffs do the damage.

Back and forth, over and over—until Xu Linlang was completely disoriented, tortured to the brink of collapse.

A desperate thought crossed her mind: maybe she should just shut the shield down and let it kill her.

But her survival instinct burned stronger. She checked the terminal’s readout—the shield was still intact.

That meant the creature’s brute force wasn’t breaking through. The worst that could happen was her being stuck here.

All she could do was wait. Wait for the beast to lose interest, then find her chance to escape.

But something worse was about to happen.

When acidic drool dripped from its mandibles onto the shield, the barrier began to sizzle and corrode.

What had seemed indestructible was now splitting along the path of the dripping slime.

Xu Linlang leapt aside just in time as a drop fell to the ground with a sinister hiss, searing itself into the rock—and into her heart.

The beast realized it too and grew more frenzied, spattering more acid until nearly half the shield had been eaten away.

Whether from starvation or excitement, its hunger was now uncontrollable. It wanted her now.

The shield fizzled and cracked, splitting apart into fragments.

Xu Linlang lost her last refuge.

With a violent thrust, one of the monster’s limbs pierced her right leg, pinning her to the ground. Agony ripped through her body as her muscles convulsed.

Her screams tore at her throat until her voice broke, sweat pouring down her back and neck as she gasped for air.

The scent of fresh blood only drove the beast wilder. Its eyes gleamed with ravenous anticipation.

It clacked its mandibles, ready to tear her apart and devour her whole.

But just as it raised another limb to stab her heart—

A hand caught it mid-strike.

The beast’s head jerked toward the newcomer: another human. Its excitement doubled—two meals instead of one!

Qi Ye’s narrow golden eyes half-closed as he took in the sight of Xu Linlang, unconscious from pain. Rage blazed uncontrollably in his pupils.

The creature’s blade-like limb sliced into his palm, blood running hot and red down its surface.

That only made the beast hungrier, its eyes glowing brighter with thirst.

But the boy, whom it thought was prey, only smirked.

A lock of silver hair slid down his face as he moved, and then—horns and beast-like ears sprouted from his head. Massive wings unfurled from his back, scales shimmering faintly along his neck.

A primal fear, born of bloodline dominance, made the beast stumble backward.

Who was this human?
Why did he carry the traits of other races?

Before it could wonder further, Qi Ye ripped its limb clean from its body.

The beast howled in agony, writhing violently, before glaring up with bloodshot eyes and shrieking in rage.

With a single powerful beat of his wings, Qi Ye soared upward, then tore free the limb that had impaled Xu Linlang’s leg and flung it aside in disgust.

He glared at the disfigured monstrosity, hatred burning.

It had dared to harm the one person he wanted to protect. Unforgivable.

His wings snapped once, hurling him downward. His heel slammed onto the beast’s skull, snapping its neck with brutal force.

Green blood gushed from its maw as its body crumpled to the ground.

With one hand, Qi Ye hoisted its massive corpse and hurled it far away.

Then his eyes fell to Xu Linlang’s bloodied leg. For the first time, he froze in helplessness.

How ironic. The same boy who killed without hesitation now felt powerless in the face of her wound.

He knelt, his enormous wings folding around them both like a shield, drawing her gently into his arms.

Looking at her pale face, he carefully extracted the creature’s limb from her leg.

She remained unconscious, not even flinching.

Qi Ye frowned. Was she still breathing?

He bent down, ear hovering at her lips. Relief washed through him when he caught the faintest trace of breath.

Thank God… it was only her leg. If he treated it properly, her life wasn’t in danger.

Her white dress was soaked through with blood, scarlet where it should have been pure. The Marshal’s cherished daughter now lay broken in a dark cavern.

Qi Ye pressed his forehead against her hair, his lips brushing her ear as he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Sorry for leaving you alone here.
Sorry for not believing you.
Sorry for letting you get hurt.

Even as he said it, he knew—no amount of apologies could ever make up for what had happened.

The moment he’d woken up in the thicket, he realized just how wrong he had been.

Xu Linlang hadn’t poisoned him. She had saved him.