Chapter Thirty-Three: Accidental Injury

Chapter Thirty-Three: Friendly Fire

"Come back, warriors of the Celestial Palace Order." Hua Ye could tell that Liang Bing was truly furious now, all because of those two insignificant Earthlings. Having just rejoined the games between the major civilizations, he couldn't afford to become enemies with Liang Bing so soon. If he and the demons ended up damaging each other, the civilizations waiting to watch him make a fool of himself would laugh themselves to death.

Seeing that only two angels had returned to his side, Hua Ye spread his hands helplessly and continued to address Liang Bing, "You see how it is—a warrior of the Celestial Palace Order for such a trivial Earthling. That's a loss for me. I'll have to make it up from you later." As he spoke, he made an obscene gesture with his hips.

Watching Hua Ye's antics, Liang Bing's face darkened as she hovered in midair. This bastard was incorrigible, every bit as detestable as ever. Keisha, that wretched woman, had truly left behind a disaster.

As Hua Ye walked away, laughing arrogantly, Ruoning seemed as though she wanted to say something to Liang Bing. But when she saw the coldness in Liang Bing's eyes, she gave up and turned to follow in Hua Ye's footsteps.

Though Ruoning had defected from the City of Angels, her respect for Keisha had never wavered; her discontent was only with certain policies of the City of Angels. Compared to Liang Bing, Ruoning was truly innocent.

After Hua Ye left, Liang Bing walked over to Wei Qi and said in a strange tone, "Do you want to become my warrior? You're about to die."

Wei Qi managed a strained laugh. "Ha... cough, you’re the Demon Queen, an enemy coveting Earth. Don’t even think about making me your warrior."

"Good, Wei Qi, I like you. I will have you as my warrior, hahaha!" Amidst her wild laughter, Liang Bing had already decided—this kind of resolute fighter was exactly what she needed. After giving Atto the order through covert communication to retrieve Wei Qi, she gently closed the eyes of the now lifeless Wei Qi.

"Sleep now. When you wake, you'll be a great general among the demons." After closing his eyes, she turned to Qiangwei, who was glaring at her with hatred. Liang Bing quickly waved a hand.

"What's that look for? Wei Qi's death has nothing to do with me. I never laid a hand on him."

"Wasn't that male angel here for you? And you say it has nothing to do with you?" Qiangwei spoke with difficulty because of her injuries, but still shouted in anger. She and Wei Qi had been partners for some time, scouting and carrying out missions together. She had grown quite fond of the man she'd met in that forest cabin. Now, because of Liang Bing, he had lost his precious life.

"Now that you put it that way, perhaps you're right. So, to express my apologies, I'll let Wei Qi become a demon warrior." Liang Bing answered shamelessly.

"You... despicable!" Qiangwei nearly coughed up blood from rage. As Wei Qi's comrade, after so long together, she knew what kind of man he was. As a warrior of Huaxia, he loved his country dearly and despised all who were hostile to it. Now, to turn him into what he hated most in life—this was worse than killing him.

Liang Bing came closer to Qiangwei, who couldn’t move. She teasingly hooked Qiangwei’s chin and said smugly, "Should I take that as a compliment? Being called despicable is the highest praise for a demon like me."

Qiangwei, ashamed and angry, turned her face away. Being teased so flirtatiously by another woman was something she simply couldn't get used to.

Seeing Qiangwei ignore her, Liang Bing shifted tactics and changed the subject. "Where's your little boyfriend? He was just here a moment ago. After such a big battle, why isn’t he with you? Letting you fight alone—so irresponsible." Liang Bing thought she’d found an excellent new topic, one that might even help sow discord between Qiangwei and Yun Yang.

Hearing her mention Yun Yang, Qiangwei thought Liang Bing was about to harm him again. She steeled herself and replied, "I don't know. Do what you will to me, but you won't get a word out of me."

Liang Bing's face darkened at this. She muttered inwardly, Did I only accidentally kill that kid once? Is that really worth such an overreaction?

Had Qiangwei known what Liang Bing was thinking, she might have found the strength to get up and fight her. Accidentally killed him once? Have you no shame?

Of course, Liang Bing kept her thoughts to herself, and Qiangwei would never know them.

Since Qiangwei was so agitated, Liang Bing dropped the topic, helped Qiangwei up, and cradled her in her arms, placing a hand on her chest.

Suddenly lifted and then groped, Qiangwei cried out in panic, "What are you doing? I don't like women—I have a boyfriend—you, you, you—"

Startled by her reaction, Liang Bing snapped, "What’s going on in that head of yours? I’m healing you."

Through covert communication, she ordered Yuqin: Begin remote healing; treat Qiangwei.

Seeing that Liang Bing was preparing to heal Qiangwei, Yuqin didn’t even need a command. She had already started the remote treatment. As the daughter of a general, Qiangwei had always been someone Yuqin liked, and regardless, she couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

Elsewhere, after Leina had blasted nearly all the Gluttonous attack ships to bits, those that survived were so terrified they fled the atmosphere at more than double their incoming speed, without even waiting for orders from the flagship.

Seeing that the dark swarm of over ten thousand Gluttonous attack ships had been reduced to fewer than a thousand by Leina’s blows, all fleeing as if pursued, Ge Xiaolun finally breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly remembering something, he looked down and saw he was holding a charred humanoid form in his hands. He was shocked—this was a new soldier for the Super Soldier Alliance, someone who had just fought by his side, whose name he hadn’t even learned.

Carefully cradling Yun Yang, Ge Xiaolun carried him over to Zhixin. "Zhixin, we were hit by Leina’s energy. I'm fine, but look at him—can you save him?"

Leina, seeing the blackened figure in Ge Xiaolun’s arms, immediately realized she’d made a mistake. She had assumed Yun Yang’s body was as tough as Ge Xiaolun’s and had fired her energy accordingly. Who’d have thought Yun Yang couldn’t withstand it at all? Realizing what she’d done, she tried to sneak away.

"He still has vital signs. The energy in his body is quickly repairing his injuries, so his life isn’t in immediate danger. But we need to treat him quickly." Zhixin checked Yun Yang’s condition and gave her assessment, though her Insight Eye couldn’t show her any more details.

With Zhixin’s response, Ge Xiaolun flexed his wings and flew straight for the camp.

Zhao Xin, having witnessed Leina’s attempt to flee, hurried over and said earnestly, "Sister Na, your energy control still needs work. You just knocked out a new comrade the moment you met him. Poor guy."

Leina, blocked by Zhao Xin and hearing his words, immediately scowled and retorted, "How was I supposed to know he wasn’t as tough as that loser Ge Xiaolun? It was a crisis! And you’ve grown bold, daring to tease your big sister now."

Dodging her retaliatory kick, Zhao Xin darted to Zhixin’s side and called teasingly, "Wife, let’s go! The captain’s made a mistake and won’t let anyone talk about it—she’s out to silence your husband!"

Meanwhile, Ge Xiaolun landed in the middle of camp, shouting, "Doctor! Doctor! We have a seriously wounded man!"

Ever since the last beheading operation, where he’d felt powerless to help the wounded, Ge Xiaolun had crammed battlefield medicine and biology. On his way back, he’d used the Xionggene to give Yun Yang a rough treatment. Thanks to Ge Xiaolun’s efforts and Yun Yang’s own healing abilities, Yun Yang’s condition was no longer so grim, though he was still badly burned.

In less than half a minute, a battlefield medic rushed over with a stretcher, carefully placed Yun Yang on it, and wheeled him away. Watching them go, Ge Xiaolun once again resolved to study medicine—then he could save people with ease.

Lying in the hospital bed, Yun Yang was tended to by a young nurse who cleaned away the charred skin, revealing the bloody muscle beneath. Startled, she covered her mouth. She’d seen her share of gruesome injuries, but someone with nearly all their skin carbonized was a first.

Still, with the professionalism of a battlefield medic, she meticulously completed the debridement. Normally, the next step would be suturing, but with so little skin left, she was at a loss. In the end, under the supervision of a senior doctor, they wrapped Yun Yang up as tightly as a mummy.

Thus ended Yun Yang’s first, far from dignified, collaboration with the power of the Milky Way. Ge Xiaolun sat in the tent, wracked with guilt, blaming himself for Yun Yang’s injuries. If he had pulled Yun Yang behind him in time and shielded him from the blast, things might have been different.

At the same time, Ge Xiaolun realized he had no effective way to handle large numbers of enemies. He resolved to develop an area-of-effect skill—otherwise, he’d be helpless against overwhelming odds or powerful foes like the demon Atto. Clearly, Ge Xiaolun still hadn’t forgotten the humiliating defeat by Atto, nor the helplessness of watching Angel Yan be slain before his eyes.