"Borisin?"
Twilight looked puzzled, seemingly not understanding what Phantylia was saying. She then glanced bewilderedly at the people slowly surrounding them in the crowd. "You mean... these people?"
Seeing Twilight's reaction, Phantylia felt certain and quickly added fuel to the fire. "Yes, exactly them! Don't be fooled by their appearance; they've used some method to disguise themselves as us Foxians! They're all crazed murderers! This time, they must have infiltrated deliberately to rescue their leader from the Shackling Prison! I was just captured by them to lead the way and barely managed to escape..."
Tears welled up in Phantylia's eyes. Looking like a wronged little wife, she tugged at Twilight's sleeve, almost on the verge of whimpering. "Now that their leader has been rescued, if we don't seize this chance to capture them and they really escape, the consequences will be endless!"
Seeing Twilight frown but seemingly not taking immediate action, Phantylia quickly added, "These people must have had inside help to sneak into the Luofu. Perhaps the General and Mr. Caelus being trapped is related to them!"
Hearing that this might be connected to the Express crew's current situation, Twilight hesitated, then finally nodded as if having made a decision. "Understood. You go notify the others to hide first. I'll handle things here. If possible, please try to contact Caelus and the others..."
Seeing Twilight agree to deal with these Borisin, Phantylia nodded quickly, barely suppressing her joy as she hurried away.
Excellent. The intel stating Twilight was powerful but mentally naive was true. After diverting the rest of the Express crew, leaving only Twilight behind, she could easily manipulate her.
The Astral Express's Emanator possessed formidable combat strength, capable of easily altering an entire planet's environment. Even Sunday, who sought to reclaim the throne of Order, was defeated by her and became a prisoner—this news was already known by any knowledgeable faction in the galaxy, and Phantylia was no exception.
Phantylia was somewhat narcissistic, but not brainless. As a civilized person who preferred talking over violence, she knew she was definitely no match for Twilight in a real fight. Even if Twilight looked sickly now, who knew if she might suddenly power up? As a prudent villainous cadre, she would absolutely not appear before Twilight as an enemy until she was confirmed dead.
Therefore, knowing the opponent's detailed situation, Phantylia's next step was to continuously induce her to use her power until she exhausted herself... Then, she would guide the returning Express crew to achieve her own goals.
"Sickly girl, blame your own bad luck. Who asked that thing to choose to talk to you—"
The scene of a clueless soldier approaching Twilight to spout nonsense didn't happen. Before his claws could tear towards Twilight, he was sent flying backwards, crashing into a wall.
"Cough, cough..."
Coughing heavily a few times, Twilight wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, then silently straightened up, her eyes crimson like blood.
Nearing death now, her physical condition had begun to drag down her power output. Without resorting to desperate measures, she couldn't even walk properly, let alone fight normally. Now, facing these Borisin and Hoolay, she had no choice but to push her body further, forcibly summoning her strength despite the cost.
The enemies opposite her were weak. A group of Borisin grunts plus Hoolay, the Borisin leader who couldn't even beat Jingliu. This level of strength, placed before the Twilight of half a year ago, could be wiped out with a single slap.
But times had changed; one couldn't always dwell on the past... The fact was, without system hacks, if Twilight wanted to fight now, whether against an Emanator or grunts, she had to burn half her health bar first.
But this suited Twilight just fine. After all, she still felt she was living a bit too long... In her opinion, a few more days were enough. The remaining lifespan was just wasted potential; better to spend it extravagantly.
After the sudden eruption of combat, the surrounding crowd instantly scattered. Even with the Cloud Knights maintaining order, the nearby figures scrambled away in the blink of an eye, leaving only chaos behind, along with Twilight standing her ground and the surrounding Borisin.
"...You are strong," a tall wolf-like figure slowly emerged from a nearby alley, gazing solemnly at Twilight, surrounded by wary Borisin guards.
It was none other than the Borisin Warleader, Hoolay.
Looking at the seemingly frail figure before him, although Hoolay maintained a calm exterior, inwardly, every hair on his body was practically standing on end.
He realized his underestimation of his kinsmen's foolishness was still too great. Being deceived by that Lord Ravager and the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus into acting as pawns was bad enough, but now they were tricked by that Foxian into provoking such a terrifying existence...
He would die. Hoolay was confident that if he dared to attack the person before him, his head would be torn off and kicked around like a ball within three moves.
No choice, have to see if negotiation is possible first—
"You—"
BOOM!
Hoolay had barely uttered the first word when a fierce gust of wind assaulted him. Forgetting everything else, he desperately rolled aside, dodging the whistling attack. By the time he stood up again, he realized his arm was gone.
And all this happened simply because Twilight threw a punch in his direction.
Such was the chasm between individuals.
"The stench of blood on you is too strong," Twilight slowly clenched her fist. "Uncle Yang said those who kill wantonly are bad guys."
Come to think of it, Twilight realized she hadn't actually killed anyone yet, mostly just taking out some Antimatter Legion Voidrangers or Doomsday Beasts... Unfortunately, it seemed before long, she could compete with Unit Three for the title of kill count king.
As for interrupting Hoolay's words, it certainly wasn't because Twilight was impolite and wouldn't let others speak, nor because she, as a righteous Nameless, couldn't be bothered listening to bad guys—the reason was simple.
She was still counting on being tricked by Phantylia and dying from exhaustion. If Hoolay exposed Phantylia's plot, where would she find her stage?
Seeing Twilight's gaze, Hoolay also knew there was no room left for negotiation. Finally, with a desolate laugh, he revealed his claws and roared, "All kinsmen, wreak havoc! Regardless of which faction stands before us! Even if we cannot escape, leave our claw marks on all who hunt us—Borisin will never be slaves!!!"
BOOM!
Twilight looked at Hoolay, now kicked into a messy pulp on the ground [TL Note: Pun on Hoolay's name 呼雷 (Hu Lei - Calling Thunder) and 呼雨田 (Hu Yu Tian - Calling Rain Field, sounding similar but meaning a mess)], then glanced at the bloodstain on her skirt hem, frowning.
She specifically gave this person time for last words, yet he still splattered blood on her skirt. Wasn't that repaying kindness with malice?
"Benefactor, thank you so much for saving this humble one's life!" The moment Hoolay died, Phantylia, who had vanished moments ago, suddenly popped out from nowhere, approaching Twilight with gratitude and urgency.
"But the battle cry that Hoolay uttered just now has been heard by other hidden Borisin on the Xianzhou! They will surely cause chaos everywhere... The General and the elite Cloud Knights are difficult to contact, and the Xianzhou is currently short-staffed... With the lives of billions on the Xianzhou at stake, Benefactor, I wonder if you could possibly...?"
Well now, does she think I'm stupid, so she's just dropping the act entirely?
When Hoolay was just kicked to death, he didn't have a microphone; how could other Borisin possibly hear his voice? At most, only the few dozen nearby heard—unless someone secretly amplified it, like Phantylia herself.
Besides, knowing her physical condition was poor, yet still prodding her into battle, practically ensuring she died faster...
But this suited Twilight's intentions perfectly.