FI CH 25

Chapter 25: Battlefield Memory (VI)

The next morning, the three of them continued up the mountain.

They didn’t encounter too many obstacles along the way, and before long, they reached the summit. From here, they could overlook the entire battlefield. Countless soldiers were positioned below—both allies and enemies spread out across various ridges and slopes. The tension in the air was palpable, and even Bai Hua, who was standing this far away, could still feel the oppressive atmosphere.

Feng Xu pointed to a tent stationed at the center of the command zone.

“That’s where Lin Yuan is. He’s been leading the frontlines from that location.”

Bai Hua and Kurosawa looked in the direction he indicated. The tent was heavily guarded, with patrols circling the perimeter.

“Can we go over?” Bai Hua asked.

“We can try,” Feng Xu said. “But once we get closer, the security will definitely be tighter. If we barge in, it’ll attract too much attention. Let me go first—I’ve met Lin Yuan before. If I can talk to him directly, maybe he’ll allow us in.”

“Be careful,” Kurosawa said.

Feng Xu nodded and headed down the slope alone.

Bai Hua and Kurosawa didn’t move, standing at a distance to watch from afar.

After a few minutes, they saw Feng Xu walk up to the guards and speak to them. At first, the guards appeared vigilant, but when Feng Xu mentioned his name and background, their expressions eased. One of them quickly entered the tent to report. A few moments later, the guard returned and signaled Feng Xu to go inside.

“He made it in,” Bai Hua said softly.

Kurosawa didn’t respond. Instead, he asked, “How do you feel right now?”

Bai Hua glanced at him. “What do you mean?”

“Now that you’re this close to Lin Yuan, are you nervous?”

“Not really.” Bai Hua lowered his gaze. “I just want to know—why did he change?”

Kurosawa didn’t answer. The answer to that question was something only Lin Yuan himself could give.

Perhaps because the great battle was drawing near, none of the three felt sleepy that night.

Maybe it had been too long since Feng Xu last had company, because he suddenly seemed in the mood to talk. He looked at the other two and, as if unable to resist his curiosity, asked, “Are you two a couple?”

Bai Hua glanced at Kurosawa, then quickly denied it, “No, we’re just partners.”

“But you seem very close.”

Their mental link had already been severed to avoid unnecessary energy drain, so Bai Hua had no way of knowing what Kurosawa thought upon hearing that. Still, he stuck to stating the objective truth, “We just have a high compatibility.”

“Is that so…” For a moment, Bai Hua thought he saw a hint of sorrow flash across Feng Xu’s face, though he didn’t have time to confirm it before Feng Xu asked his next question, “Are you two able to resist heat cycles?”

That question was extremely awkward.

Kurosawa seemed to sense Bai Hua’s discomfort and chuckled lightly, “We have suppressants.”

“Oh, right, I forgot.” Feng Xu laughed apologetically.

Kurosawa seemed to have found an opening for conversation and asked, “You’ve known Lin Yuan for a long time?”

At that, Feng Xu’s expression softened with nostalgia.

“Yes. We grew up together. We only parted ways when we awakened and started training separately.”

Kurosawa asked, “A late awakening?”

That night, the three of them took turns keeping watch. Just before dawn, they all heard an explosion not far from where they were camped.

As soon as Bai Hua opened his eyes, he saw Feng Xu suddenly dashing toward the source of the explosion.

He immediately glanced at Kurosawa.

Kurosawa nodded in signal. “Let’s follow him.”

As they chased after Feng Xu, the two of them completed their mental link on the run.

Kurosawa made a quick estimate of the time. This was exactly when the final battle was supposed to erupt—everyone was converging on the Wild Mountain, fighting their way through while supporting one another. This explosion felt like a signal, announcing that the war had entered its final phase. There was no need to conserve strength anymore, and nothing left to hold back for.

They could faintly hear roars of battle from the summit—shouts loud enough to shake the heavens. If they hadn’t heard it with their own ears, it would’ve been difficult to imagine how earth-shatteringly intense that scene must be.

That was likely why Feng Xu had run ahead without hesitation—because Lin Yuan was on the front lines, the most dangerous place of all.

But before they could catch up to him, they ran into an ambush—two enemy sentinels and guides, both already badly injured.

Bai Hua scanned their injuries at a glance—these two were seriously wounded. Even if rescued, there was no chance of survival. And yet they still wanted to take at least one more enemy down with them in their final moments. Even if they couldn’t kill, just delaying the enemy was worth it. In a battle this urgent, every second counted, and even minimal support could prove invaluable.

Though the enemy’s determination was moving, Bai Hua and Kurosawa didn’t intend to waste time here. Still, it took them a few minutes to take care of the situation.

By the time they arrived at the main battlefield, the fighting had already begun.

The battlefield’s center had become strange, seemingly fragmented into multiple zones. It was the effect of overlapping mental landscapes.

Kurosawa immediately warned Bai Hua, “Don’t wander around. You could easily walk into a trap.”

Bai Hua answered with a short response and scanned the battlefield with sharp eyes, missing no detail. He tried to locate Lin Yuan or Feng Xu in the chaos, but it was all in vain. No matter how sharp a sentinel’s eyesight was, it was useless if he couldn’t see the inner workings of the mental landscape. It was as good as being blind.

At that moment, he remembered their derivative ability and said aloud, “Kurosawa…”

“I know,” Kurosawa replied.

They immediately found a hidden but panoramic vantage point from which they could observe the battlefield.

Bai Hua asked, “Is this spot safe?”

“There’s no such thing as a safe place on the battlefield. All I can do is stay on high alert to prevent ambushes. Besides training, our purpose for coming here was to obtain critical information—taking some risks is inevitable.”

Bai Hua quickly scanned the surroundings once again. After confirming that everything was fine, he nodded. “I understand.”

When the two of them activated their derivative abilities again to observe the battlefield, all the spaces within their view became crystal clear. Just in this one small area alone, there were no fewer than dozens of mental landscapes. Some of them had partially overlapped or fused together, producing countless variations, like a maze. Others were controlled by the will of their creators, competing with or even devouring each other.

Bai Hua hadn’t known that mental landscapes could be used in this way, and for a moment, he was stunned. But he quickly came back to his senses and began scanning for Lin Yuan or Feng Xu.

A remarkable person stands out no matter where they are. Bai Hua didn’t take long to spot Lin Yuan, right in the heart of the most intense battlefield.

Ten years ago, Lin Yuan had still been very young, his face yet to lose the softness of youth. He lacked the calm maturity of the present, but he carried more raw passion and drive. Yet the determination in his eyes was exactly the same as it was now. His opponent was none other than the leader of the rebel forces at the time—Wang Zi. The two of them were locked in a fierce duel, both wounded, yet refusing to take their eyes off each other.

Bai Hua knew that state well—it was the fervor right before one went berserk. He stared intently at Lin Yuan, and in his mind, the voice of that man echoed once more in the rainforest: “You too…”

I too—so that means Lin Yuan too.

He knew very well what Lin Yuan had been implying, and without realizing it, he clenched his fists.

Kurosawa could sense that Bai Hua was becoming emotionally agitated—his mental defenses grew even more fortified, as if instinctively rejecting any intrusion. Their mental link nearly snapped from the strain, but Kurosawa held it steady. He didn’t forcefully try to read Bai Hua’s thoughts. Instead, he gently called his name: “Bai Hua.”

Bai Hua flinched slightly, and his emotions gradually calmed. “Sorry… I got distracted.”

Kurosawa didn’t ask why. He only said, “Feng Xu is over there.”

Bai Hua followed Kurosawa’s line of sight and saw Feng Xu inside one of the mental landscapes, already quite close to Lin Yuan’s position. After observing for a moment, he asked, “How did he know where Lin Yuan was?”

Kurosawa replied, “He has a sharp sixth sense. Even if he can’t see, he can still find him.”

As they spoke, a sudden change occurred on the battlefield—Wang Zi, realizing he couldn’t win, seemed to want to drag Lin Yuan to the grave with him. He wrapped his arms tightly around Lin Yuan’s waist and charged straight toward the cliff’s edge, refusing to let go. In terms of size and strength, Lin Yuan was slightly weaker than Wang Zi. Combined with his injuries, he was actually being dragged along against his will.

The cliff was far too high—no matter how strong a Sentinel’s physique was, falling from this height would mean certain death.

Seeing this, Bai Hua instinctively grew tense. But deep down, he knew he wasn’t actually worried about Lin Yuan’s safety. What he truly wanted… was to see what Lin Yuan would do.

As the two of them focused intently on the battlefield, someone quietly approached from behind. The moment they stepped into Kurosawa’s perceptual range, he didn’t turn around—didn’t even make a single move.

At the cliff’s edge, Lin Yuan and Wang Zi were still locked in a deadly stalemate, exhausting all their strength. All that remained now was a brutal brawl with bare hands. Lin Yuan’s foot slipped off the edge multiple times—he nearly fell—but managed to hold onto the cliffside and hang on.

By then, Feng Xu had already arrived. Without any hesitation, he launched a mental attack at Wang Zi. After seeing him collapse and fail to get up, Feng Xu immediately crouched at the edge, reaching out to pull Lin Yuan back up.

Seeing this, Bai Hua could almost already guess what would happen next—Feng Xu would die saving Lin Yuan. Because the next second, Wang Zi—who had only been pretending to be knocked out—was already standing behind Feng Xu.

In that very moment, Bai Hua clearly saw the change in Lin Yuan’s expression. His eyes turned pitch black, and an overwhelming killing intent surged out like a tidal wave.

Wang Zi’s eyes widened in fear and disbelief. He instinctively staggered back—but Lin Yuan immediately grabbed him by the ankle and, with terrifying strength, threw him off the cliff.

Then, Lin Yuan grabbed Feng Xu’s hand—not to let Feng Xu pull him up, but to drag him down with him.

Bai Hua didn’t even have time to be shocked by what he just saw—his mental link was suddenly severed.

He froze. As his senses came flooding back, he immediately realized—there was a third presence nearby. He whipped his head around.

Behind Kurosawa lay a corpse—clearly a sniper from the battlefield. Snipers typically took high ground to eliminate any survivors.

Bai Hua turned to Kurosawa. The thick scent of blood and pheromones lingered in the air.

“You—”

“Sorry.” Kurosawa gave a faint smile as he fell forward, collapsing onto Bai Hua. “I miscalculated.”

As soon as he finished speaking, his entire body vanished—forcibly ejected from the mental landscape. The metallic tang of blood and the familiar scent of his pheromones vanished with him.

Bai Hua knew what this meant.

His partner had died.

He stared blankly at the enemy’s corpse in front of him. As his thoughts slowly cleared, the realization hit him—Kurosawa hadn’t miscalculated. He had likely done it on purpose.

Because this clue might be extremely important, Kurosawa had forced himself to maintain his derivative ability while also dealing with the enemy behind them. Simply put, he had entrusted this heavy responsibility to Bai Hua.

Even though Bai Hua knew this was just training—just a simulation—seeing Kurosawa make the same choice again stirred a mess of emotions in his heart.

Not just because Kurosawa had shown complete trust in him…

But because, even when faced with a deadly dilemma, Kurosawa had still thought about protecting him first.

(To be continued…)