Don’t Bite My Spiritual Form – CH11

Chapter 11: The Mental Brand (Part 2)

The instant Oshta jumped down, another bird beastman flew over from the direction of the central street and caught him.

At the same time, communication lines with the other teams connected again.

“The central administrative district is under attack. Hundred Birds City’s defense system control level is requesting support.”

Medical Team: “The number of wounded on the central street keeps increasing. We need logistical equipment support.”

Border Defense Team: “A special situation has appeared in the border forest. Abnormal behavior has appeared in natural creatures. Kashemir Zerg lifeforms have appeared in the eastern forest…”

Command: “Kashemir?”

“Bzzzt…”

Command: “Border Defense Team, reconnect if you copy.”

A busy tone came through. Contact with the border defense team was completely lost.

Jin Chi’an frowned tightly. Looking at the defensive formation formed by several bird beastmen surrounding Oshta, the image of the Zerg mental parasite flashed through his mind. He murmured, “Kashemir…”

“Chi’an, Quetzal’s heartwood was taken by him. We can’t let him leave the city.”

Qin Hua carried the lord of Hundred Birds City and piloted his mecha back to the aircraft with the rest of the team.

As soon as they landed, the lord of Hundred Birds City transformed into a two-hundred-year-old man.

“Save my son first. Please, officer, save my son first.”

Qin Hua looked at him in confusion. “Your son?”

“The crested eagle beastman controlled by him. Please, save my son first.”

Jin Chi’an looked toward the bird beastman who had fallen after taking a railgun strike and hurriedly ran back to the pilot’s seat to control the aircraft’s descent.

A beastman with damaged wings, covered in blood and burn marks, was lying on the lawn. The brand glowing red on his body was slowly fading.

Seeing this, Jin Chi’an immediately injected him with a beastman emergency medical agent. At the same time, he extended his mental tendrils and tried to reconstruct his consciousness cloud.

But the lord of Hundred Birds City, who had followed closely behind, transformed into beast form and spread his enormous wings, shielding the other beneath him. He let out a mournful cry that echoed for miles.

Jin Chi’an, who was about to perform emergency treatment, asked in confusion, “What are you doing? He urgently needs treatment right now. Please immediately let—”

Before Jin Chi’an could finish speaking, a hand reached out from behind and dragged him back several steps.

When he turned around, he saw that all the beastmen in the team were shaking their heads at him, signaling that he did not need to continue treatment.

“What do you mean? With a beastman’s recovery ability, as long as treatment is timely—”

“It’s useless.”

Xi Lian interrupted him.

“It’s not because of his injuries. It’s because his mental brand is disappearing.”

“Beastmen who have formed a mental bond with their partner will all develop a brand. If the mental connection is completely destroyed, the beastman’s mental power will decline until they die.”

“The mental connection has been completely destroyed?”

“Beastmen’s mental brands are divided into two types. One is a one-way brand, and the other is a two-way brand. The condition for destroying a one-way brand is the death of the beneficiary. As for the destruction condition of a two-way brand, it is the death of either party,” Xi Lian explained.

“He is…”

“A one-way brand,” Xi Lian continued. “After a one-way brand is destroyed, it will disappear completely. But a two-way brand remains even after both parties die.”

Jin Chi’an froze briefly. Immediately afterward, Oshta’s back, covered in branded totems, surfaced in his mind. In disbelief, he said, “How is that possible? If that’s the case, the beneficiary of their brands should be Oshta. He was clearly alive and well just now.”

As soon as Jin Chi’an finished speaking, a massive roar suddenly resounded through the sky.

He looked up and saw Hundred Birds City’s outer defensive barrier gradually cracking. Under the cover of countless wild birds blocking shells, Oshta sat quietly on the back of a bird beastman and flew out of Hundred Birds City.

Jin Chi’an spread out his mental network and tried to launch an attack at him, but a voice that struck directly at his consciousness cloud completely interrupted his movement.

“Don’t be too reckless, little Maine Coon. If you attack me, he’ll die.”

Only after the voice fully withdrew from his consciousness cloud did Jin Chi’an relax his body, which had been maintaining a combat posture. He gritted his teeth and looked at the bird beastman beneath Oshta, then asked Xi Lian beside him, “Can one person possess multiple brands?”

“Of course. As long as they are the beneficiary of one-way brands.”

Ignoring the urgent reports from every team coming through the communications line, Jin Chi’an stood in place. His hateful gaze fixed on Oshta, who was flying away, and he crushed the metal injector of the emergency agent in his bare hand until it deformed.

…

“In this attack on the central urban district of Beastman District Three, a total of 21 people were killed and 131 were injured. The city streets suffered severe damage. In addition, the theft of Quetzal’s heartwood caused serious losses to Hundred Birds City’s natural ecosystem.”

At the military meeting between the two races, Jin Chi’an sat beside Lin Chuan and listened to the higher-ups’ pressure tactics. He pretended to remain calm as he stared at Felix diagonally across from him.

Oshta’s face and the beastmen’s mental brands kept surfacing in his mind.

“His mental brand is disappearing…”

“It’s useless…”

“The condition for destroying a one-way brand is the death of the beneficiary…”

“If you attack me, he’ll die…”

“…”

At some point, Jin Chi’an felt that he had begun to care about this marriage partner.

Was it because of the frenzy period?

Or was it because he was a beast form, a white tiger like that little one…

“Awoo…”

“Little tyrant, why are you bullying the other kids again? If you do this again next time, I won’t let you off.”

Jin Chi’an held the little white tiger tightly in his arms and pretended to be angry as he flicked its forehead.

Immediately afterward, he was completely defeated by the young white tiger acting spoiled, and he affectionately kissed the tip of its nose.

As the image in his mind shifted, Jin Chi’an found himself in a sea of fire. Countless Kashemir Zergs were slaughtering one another around him.

He saw a slightly younger version of himself holding several little fluffballs and fleeing the scene.

However, that little white tiger squeezed out of his arms and desperately ran toward the pile of Kashemir Zergs.

Jin Chi’an instantly felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. He tried to rush forward and pull the little white tiger into his arms, but his consciousness was bound by countless hands emerging from the ground, unable to move.

“Jin Chi’an, Jin Chi’an…”

Jin Chi’an came back to himself. Bead-sized drops of sweat slid down from his forehead, and he was panting heavily.

Seeing that his eyes were no longer empty, Lin Chuan complained, “What’s wrong with you? You were spacing out the whole time during the meeting just now.”

“I’m fine.”

“As long as you’re fine. Remember to submit the report to the royal family later when we get back.”

“Mm.”

Jin Chi’an raised his head and looked over. His gaze stopped on the empty row of seats opposite him. The meeting room after the meeting had ended looked especially cold and deserted.

Jin Chi’an sighed, stood up, and left with Lin Chuan.

“You probably didn’t read this report either, so I’ll repeat it to you again,” Lin Chuan said helplessly. “Previously, because the Zerg race hadn’t shown a physical form, we only judged the enemy’s strength as an Zerg race. But this time, we can basically confirm that the other party is the Kashemir Zerg race.”

Lin Chuan glanced sideways at Jin Chi’an, probing his expression.

“Jin Chi’an, if it really doesn’t work, you should go back. As for Teacher Amelie, I’ll—”

“No need.”

Jin Chi’an turned his head and met his gaze firmly.

Seeing his decisive tone, Lin Chuan could not continue persuading him.

“Then I’ll keep going. During today’s operation, all the sentinels and guides in the border defense team went missing. Among the remaining beastmen, only one survived. According to him, after the Kashemir Zergs killed everyone, those sentinels and guides stood up again abnormally…”

“Direct mental control through Zerg invasion,” Jin Chi’an answered.

“Yes, that’s what it means.”

Lin Chuan continued, “Also, the thing you asked me to investigate has results now…”

Late at night, in the early hours before dawn, the door to Jin Chi’an and the others’ dormitory was easily opened. A white tiger squeezed in through the crack.

At this moment, Lin Chuan was lying on his back on the sofa in the corner, quietly admiring the white tiger’s invasion.

Seeing the other party gently push the door shut and quietly arrive in front of Jin Chi’an’s door in one smooth sequence, Lin Chuan could not help laughing. He teased, “Yo, this is the first time I’ve seen someone break into a widows’ village at night so gently.”

Perhaps irritated by the way he spoke loudly, the white tiger lowered its head and made a dissatisfied “huff” sound.

Seeing this, Lin Chuan said no more. He only reminded him quietly, “Although you two are already married, and I don’t care whether you like him or have some other purpose, I’m just reminding you: don’t use this appearance of yours to do whatever you want. In his heart, you’ll never compare to that little one.”

After saying that, Lin Chuan turned and went back to his room, leaving only the white tiger standing there.

The white tiger drooped his head. The phrase “that little one” slowly took root in his heart. The beast’s territorial instincts made him mentally tear the kitten that looked like Puff into pieces.

Only after his emotions stabilized again did he open the door and step into Jin Chi’an’s room.

The sleeping Jin Chi’an was not having an easy time either. A series of nightmares trapped him in sleep. Only when an itchy sensation came from his neck was he awakened from his dreams, slowly opening his eyes.

Jin Chi’an stared in astonishment at the white tiger sharing the same bed before him. For a moment, the image of a young white tiger flashed through his eyes.

Seeing that he had woken up, the white tiger unnaturally retreated slowly back to the floor.

A hint of suspicion appeared in Jin Chi’an’s eyes as he looked at him. Judging by the way the white tiger behaved during frenzy periods, he should only keep acting spoiled and cling to him endlessly. It was very rare for him to have such a sense of boundaries.

Jin Chi’an stared at him directly. Perhaps because his gaze was too intense, the white tiger took a few small steps back, and his ears folded into airplane ears.

It was precisely because of this that Jin Chi’an saw the mental brand glowing red behind his ear.

Jin Chi’an’s heart immediately skipped a beat. Then he changed into the gentle manner he usually used toward the white tiger during frenzy periods.

“Good boy. Come here.”

Hearing this, Felix wagged his tail and approached Jin Chi’an’s embrace.

Having succeeded, Jin Chi’an immediately rubbed his tiger head, while his gaze drifted toward the branded totem behind his ear.

The blood-red mental brand stung his eyes painfully. Lin Chuan’s earlier words kept echoing beside his ears.

“You asked me to investigate it, and there are results.”

Lin Chuan took out the copy of the totem that Jin Chi’an had drawn.

“This is a beastman’s branded totem. I’m sure you understand more or less by now. But according to what you said about the red light, that is what a one-way brand looks like while both sides are still alive. Both parties have it. It only gradually disappears after the beneficiary dies. But while it exists, the other party will completely obey the beneficiary’s instructions. It’s most likely a kind of submission relationship. Ordinary beastman partners won’t contract a one-way brand.”

Jin Chi’an stared blankly at the totem behind the white tiger’s ear, his eyes gradually darkening.

The image of Felix letting Oshta go surfaced in his mind.

It seemed that at that time, red light had also reflected in his eyes.

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