Chapter 492

Chapter 492: Moral Dilemma

Time slowed down around Shi Jin. She could see the trajectory of the city defense cannonballs, the moment the self-detonating bugs exploded, and the spikes approaching Yan Ming from a distance on the battlefield.

Yan Ming had extensive combat experience, and even in Shi Jin’s slow-motion perspective, he was able to see the enemy’s body quickly crystallizing, forming blood-red translucent chunks for defense against the attacks from the front.

Shi Jin didn’t know if such defense could withstand the piercing damage, but she decided to give it her all.

You can’t gamble on this; just because the opponent looks confident doesn’t mean you should play it safe.

She leaped down from the city wall, using the bodies of the extraordinary beasts—whether alive or dead, whole or broken—to complete jump after jump.

The distance of hundreds of meters quickly reduced to just a few steps. As Shi Jin drew nearer, time on this battlefield flowed even more slowly.

She grabbed Yan Ming by the arm and pulled him out from under the dense showers of attacks.

In the next moment, the flow of time returned to normal.

Hundreds of long spikes screamed through where Yan Ming had been standing, targeting every vital point on him, with some even colliding and shattering against one another.

Even so, the remaining spikes still carried immense power, harvesting the lives of the extraordinary beasts that were approaching to support them in large numbers.

Unfortunately, the lives of these extraordinary beasts were of no concern to anyone; humans regarded them as enemies, and the deaths of enemies only brought a sense of relief. The extraordinary beasts that controlled the armadillos considered themselves superior to these low-level extraordinary beasts, viewing themselves as kin to Clotho, thus looking down upon them.

Under such a dense rain of arrows, the extraordinary beasts fell like wheat in a field.

Shi Jin held onto Yan Ming, witnessing it all.

She hadn’t thought of a good way to solve the problem, but at least… she could take advantage of this indifferent extraordinary beast.

Yan Ming seemed to recognize this issue as well. They exchanged glances and began to act, each trying to attract the beast’s firepower.

Luke flew high above after learning of their plan, marking zones where the extraordinary beasts were concentrated.

The dull sounds of spikes cutting through the air echoed occasionally, and Shi Jin’s plan began to show results.

However, the armadillo extraordinary beast was not foolish; while it didn’t care about the deaths of its kind, it realized the malicious intent of these two humans.

After confirming that these two humans could not kill it, the armadillo chose to ignore their actions, leaving some spikes to chase after and shoot at them while the rest began to gather strength quietly, with more and more needles accumulating inside.

When Shi Jin realized the plan had been discovered, the black spikes swept toward the city wall like a torrential rain.

This was an unprecedented “storm.” All those realizing the event instantly sought to stop it, and this "instant" felt extraordinarily long for Shi Jin.

Based on the parabolic trajectory, if this attack hit the city wall, at least a hundred soldiers would be injured or even killed.

Shi Jin had worked tirelessly all night before joining the fight, barely saving a hundred people, and now all her accumulated "merit" would be undone with this one strike.

So, she chose to unleash her field with all her might, trying to slow down the trajectory of those spikes as much as possible.

But this proved to be of little use; the slowing of time was a highly subjective experience for Shi Jin. Even if she extended the time from launch to hit to a year, those soldiers destined to be hit would remain unaware.

Moreover, the time left for her was merely a minute under her subjective influence.

Shi Jin knew that if anyone could save those soldiers and warriors, it was only herself.

Just as she planned to intercept the spikes that were bound to hit, she caught a glimpse of something moving at the edge of her vision.

Shi Jin was startled and turned to look in that direction, then locked eyes with the armadillo extraordinary beast.

How is this possible?

How can it move within my field?

At that moment, Shi Jin gained a clearer understanding of the power disparity between them.

She had tested her ability’s strength before; against superpowered individuals with levels clearly above hers, her powers would indeed be weakened to some extent. But just now, the beast’s eye had clearly completed a rotation, without any delay, and very quickly.

The spikes that had already severed from the beast had not seemed to be affected—that might be good news—but Shi Jin now felt an eerie numbness.

She watched as the beast’s eyes bulged in an unusual manner, quickly taking on the form of compound eyes, reflecting countless images of her on those translucent surfaces, capturing her every move.

In the following moment, the beast lunged at Shi Jin.

Within Shi Jin’s field, the beast’s movements were inevitably significantly slowed, but even so, it still posed a considerable threat to her.

And Shi Jin could not stop expanding her field; if she did, in the next instant, over a hundred people would die.

Caught between both sides, it seemed that whatever choice she made would be wrong and would lead to a tragic outcome.

What compounded her sorrow was that even if she maintained her field until the last moment, those people were still destined to die, as if all her efforts were in vain.

At that moment, Shi Jin didn’t want to think too much. She just hoped the flow of time would slow down a little more, and her ability would last a little longer…

Not just to come to a standstill; she needed to go further to save everyone here!

—

After his last power upgrade, Luke also gained stronger perception, and at this moment, he understood that Shi Jin was using her ability, though from his viewpoint, it was just a matter of seconds.

As he watched the rain of spikes come flying down, Luke instinctively glanced back.

The attack would not only kill soldiers but also citizens in the city who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

After six to seven million people from the outer city retreated into the inner city, the congestion had reached an unfathomable level; just throwing a pebble would likely bounce off seven or eight heads.

In the face of such an attack, Luke himself was not in any immediate danger; his soft light shield had expanded to its maximum, but it still wasn’t enough to protect many people in the face of the deluge.

What should I do?

The same question lingered in Luke’s mind.

As a superpowered individual possessing two abilities, Luke realized that at this moment, he was unable to do more.

His father’s powers were not truly his own, but Luke did not look down on his father because of that; rather, he respected him even more.

If his father were here, he would certainly give everything he had, and Luke knew that even if just one person was in danger, he would charge forward without a thought!

Luke wanted to be that kind of person, to become the strongest shield capable of protecting humanity.

At that moment, he saw sparks of electricity flashing and felt his body slowly being enveloped by the soft light.