"Tsk." Blue Bird's Thunder Spear swept out, and a phantom thunder dragon roared forth, colliding with the pale beam and exploding into a sky full of ionized sparks.

But more guardians had already surged in from all directions. They coordinated perfectly—some pinning them down with long-range bombardments, others closing in with melee thrusts. Their attack patterns were rigid yet efficient, completely ignoring any damage they took.

It was as if they existed only to execute the single command of clearing out intruders.

"We can't get bogged down!" Spatial veins flowed within Bai Cheng's silver eyes as she pressed a palm onto the speedboat's deck. "Spatial Warp—target: directly above the anchor!"

Silver light flashed violently as the speedboat and everyone on it vanished into thin air, narrowly avoiding three intersecting energy blades.

A second later, they appeared above the Giant Compass deep within the star reef.

Below, the broken star rail anchor was within reach.

Observing it up close, its antiquity and damage were even more apparent.

Several cracks had already spread along the edge of the compass, and twisted silver-gray air currents constantly leaked from the break. These currents rose into the air and intertwined with the celestial phenomena; they were the very source causing the Law Ripples to shift.

But at this moment, what was even more heart-wrenching was the scene around the compass:

Over a dozen corpses of Star Reef Guardians lay scattered on the ground, their shells charred and broken, clearly having undergone an intense battle.

In the center of the remains, three figures wearing dark blue uniforms and Enforcement Officer insignias were leaning against the compass base. They were shrouded in a thin defensive barrier, their faces pale and their breathing ragged.

They had actually arrived here earlier than Bai Cheng and the others, and seemed to have sustained significant injuries in their battle against the guardians.

The middle-aged Enforcement Officer in the lead looked up. Seeing Bai Cheng's group appear so abruptly, his pupils shrank. "It's you... the remnants of the Constellation?"

Bai Cheng landed, her silver eyes scanning the scene, instantly grasping the situation. "You destroyed the anchor and activated the guardians, and now you're trapped here yourselves."

The middle-aged Enforcement Officer grit his teeth. "The star rail anchor must be destroyed... those are orders from above."

"And after it's destroyed?" Leng Ningxue's icy gaze was like a blade. ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) "Will you just let the Emerald Sea's law network completely collapse, triggering a global Tidal Rampage?

By then, every living thing in this sea, including you Enforcement Officers yourselves, will be torn apart by the Chaotic Laws."

The middle-aged Enforcement Officer fell silent, a hint of struggle flashing in his eyes.

Lu Duo suddenly pointed to the side of the compass base. "There... something is moving."

Everyone looked closely and saw a dark silver creation the size of a palm, shaped like a mechanical spider, slowly crawling out from the shadows of the base. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Its eight legs were long and slender, and a miniature Surveillance Rune was embedded in its back, currently flashing with an eerie red light.

"A Remote-controlled Probe..." Zi Yuan slightly raised her long blade. "Someone is watching us through it."

The probe's red light flared, and a hoarse, majestic mental wave forced its way into everyone's consciousness:

"The star rail anchor, a shackle left behind by the era."

"Destroying it and releasing the bound ancient tidal laws is a necessary step to purify this world."

"Enforcement Officers, carry out your orders. As for you... embers of the Constellation, since you've walked into the trap, bury yourselves in the void along with this anchor."

Before the words finished, the probe violently self-destructed!

It wasn't a physical impact, but a targeted Law Interference Pulse that instantly pierced the Enforcement Officers' fragile defensive barrier and darted like a venomous snake toward the break in the star rail anchor—

It intended to trigger the unstable energy remaining within the anchor, creating a Law Explosion that would affect the entire Annihilation Star Reef!

"Stop it!" Bai Cheng's silver eyes brightened as her Power of Space erupted in full force, attempting to freeze the flow of time in that area.

But the pulse was too fast, and the distance too short.

At the critical moment, the middle-aged Enforcement Officer lunged forward, using his body to shield the anchor from the pulse!

"Sir!" the other two Enforcement Officers cried out.

The pulse pierced the middle-aged Enforcement Officer's chest. He let out a muffled groan as the laws around him fell into violent disorder, yet he desperately held his ground against the compass base, roaring hoarsely:

"No... this order is wrong... The Tidal Rampage... will first swallow the Civilian Settlement Islands on the periphery..."

He turned, his blood-stained gaze meeting Bai Cheng's. In his eyes was despair, but also a final moment of clarity:

"The anchor... cannot be completely destroyed... Repair... is possible..."

His voice cut off abruptly.

His body began to crystallize under the pulse's erosion, quickly spreading into a pale humanoid statue, with only his final outstretched arm stubbornly pointing to a certain spot on the compass.

There, a line of ancient text was carved, nearly worn away:

"When the star rail breaks, the tides reverse; when the Anchor Heart continues, all things find order."

"Anchor Heart..." Bai Cheng's silver eyes narrowed. "Does it refer to the Drive Core at the center of the compass? As long as the core is undamaged, there's a possibility of repairing the anchor?"

But now, the aftermath of the probe's self-destruction had triggered a chain reaction.

The entire star rail anchor shook violently, silver-gray air currents gushing like a fountain from the break, and countless cracks split across the pale crystal ground.

More Star Reef Guardians surged from underground, while the Law Ripples in the sky began to twist and swirl, brewing a destructive Tidal Storm!

"No time!" Blue Bird's Thunder Spear exploded with lightning, knocking back two lunging guardians. "Either we retreat, or we take a gamble!"

The stardust crystal in Bai Cheng's palm grew scalding hot.

A trickle of faith surged through her body, resonating with a faint yet resilient ancient intent deep within the anchor.

It was the final protective obsession left by the civilization that forged this anchor, like the belief in a guiding lamp, silent for a millennium but not yet completely extinguished.

She looked up at the collapsing pale sky, at the endless tide of guardians, and at the ancient compass on the brink of collapse.

Her silver hair danced wildly in the rampaging energy turbulence, but her gaze was as calm as an abyss.

"Zi Yuan, Blue Bird, clear a path for me."

"Ningxue, calculate the position of the Anchor Heart and the Energy Map required for repair."

"Lu Duo, Yu Nian, prepare Life Resonance to stabilize my soul output."

"Red Flame, Huang Yu, Lan Xiaoyu, deploy the train's maximum power defense barrier and hold for thirty breaths."

She stepped forward toward the roaring center of the compass, her voice piercing through the storm and reaching everyone's ears clearly:

"We repair the anchor."