Chapter 32: The deadly mistress

The colossal form of the Void Soldier was like a moving mountain. It stood upright like a human, its massive arms brimming with brutal power.

Its visage was grotesque, a deformed head perched atop its corpulent body, with six eyes clustered where its face should have been.

Yet, despite its bulk, its movements were terrifyingly swift.

More importantly, its strength was absolutely monstrous!

Qi Lin, with a resonance rate approaching 50%, could only frantically weave and dart through the forest, using the thick trees for cover and to break the creature’s line of sight.

Had it not been for the dense foliage, he feared he would have long since been swatted to the ground.

However, the Void Soldier relentlessly pursuing him was far more direct and brutal.

Its two massive arms swung like colossal pendulums, capable of snapping even giant trees, which would typically require five or six people to encircle, with a single blow.

“You’re telling me this is the weakest combat unit in the Abyss? Then what kind of monsters are the Void Generals above it? What about the Void Kings? And that legendary Void God, for crying out loud, the Radiant Knight fought these things for ten years and almost won?”

Qi Lin was now questioning his entire existence.

He was, after all, a Transmigrator, blessed with a System.

Ever since arriving in this world, he had enjoyed smooth sailing with the System’s help, not only contracting two Companion Spirit Weapons but also, thanks to the System’s rewards, his physical prowess had surpassed that of an ordinary human.

Full of self-satisfaction, he had expected to dominate the Knight Tournament tryouts, which were, in his opinion, filled with nothing but small fries, and indeed, things had gone quite smoothly.

His 33% resonance rate made him far stronger than any other contestant here; he had even single-handedly wiped out an entire team and contracted one of their Companion Spirit Weapons.

Adding that to his own mature-looking Companion Spirit Weapon, that was how he came to have two.

However, who could have predicted that what should have been a straightforward end to the competition would be marred by such an unexpected turn of events?

A Void Soldier?

Shouldn’t these things be on the front lines, a hundred thousand miles away from this forest?

Why had one suddenly appeared so far behind enemy lines?

He had no idea.

But he knew that if he didn’t find a way to shake off the behemoth behind him, he would surely be done for.

After a ten-minute scan, Shadowheart retrieved a token and opened the 3D map.

Red dots glowed in every direction, yet nothing appeared behind him.

This token clearly lacked the functionality to display Void Soldiers.

After all, not even Lien could have anticipated a Void Soldier suddenly barging into the competition.

“Damn it… The referees must have noticed the situation in the arena by now, so what in the world are they doing?”

Qi Lin desperately dodged left and right, only to suddenly realize he was rapidly approaching one of the red dots.

‘This is bad! No… wait, I can’t deal with this alone; I need help from others!’

Qi Lin had previously tried to avoid other contestants, knowing that these rookies, most of whom hadn’t even reached a 20% resonance rate, stood no chance against the Void Soldier behind him.

But he himself couldn’t defeat it either, could he?

If he could unite these contestants and act as the main attacker, there might just be a chance.

Qi Lin was not one to hesitate, so instead of moving sideways to change direction, he charged directly towards that red dot.

Rustle, rustle, whoosh—

Qi Lin burst out of the treeline, his eyes immediately falling upon three players.

The moment they saw him, various attacks were unleashed in his direction.

However…

Qi Lin was currently piloting his pieced-together armor, and the three players’ attacks failed to inflict any significant damage.

“Stop! Listen to me, don’t fight yet! There’s a much bigger problem we need to deal with right now!” Qi Lin exclaimed urgently.

But even as he explained, the Void Soldier behind him had already caught up.

Thump, thump, thump, thump—

The heavy sounds soon echoed, and its mountain-like body lumbered into the four individuals’ field of vision.

“W-what is that?!” One of the three shrieked in terror.

Another, slightly more composed, pushed up their glasses but couldn’t hide their panic. “It’s… it’s a Void Soldier. Why is it here?”

“Run!” The third person immediately turned and fled, completely abandoning their teammates.

Seeing this, Qi Lin instantly knew he had approached the wrong people.

Rookies were just rookies; they couldn’t be relied upon.

However, in those few seconds of delay, the Void Soldier had already launched its attack.

Its arm, like a colossal copper pillar, whipped through the air with a fearsome whoosh, swinging down towards Qi Lin’s ‘frail’ half-mech.

“Damn it! I have to block this!” Qi Lin roared, summoning all his strength to raise a shield arm, attempting to block the incoming blow.

The next second.

Bang!

With a dull thud, Qi Lin was sent flying by that massive slap.

“Pwah!” A mouthful of blood spewed out, arcing faintly through the air.

Qi Lin crashed through three trees, his head fuzzy, and for a moment, he lay motionless.

But the Void Soldier would not stop.

The other two players were already trembling, their legs refusing to obey, unable even to run.

“Run!”

“Master, run!” His two Companion Spirit Weapons cried out anxiously, but their owners were already frozen in terror, one of them even collapsing to the ground.

“Master!” X2 Two sweet voices cried out as the two Companion Spirit Weapons transformed into the largest armor forms they could manifest, attempting to protect their owners.

However, as that massive arm slammed down from above, their thinly materialized armor proved laughably fragile, like paper.

Boom—

Amidst a deafening crash, a large crater appeared on the ground.

Within the pit lay two mangled corpses and two bodies dissolving into points of light.

But just then, the Void Soldier seemed to notice something.

It suddenly let out a furious roar, then dropped to the ground, its grotesque maw snapping open, biting down on the gradually dissipating points of light.

Crunch—

The points of light were entirely swallowed.

The two Spirit Race members, unable even to return to the Mother Tree, became the Void Soldier’s meal.

At that moment, Qi Lin shook his head, finally regaining some consciousness.

As he opened his eyes, he witnessed the sight of the dissipating points of light being devoured.

“Motherfucker! What the hell are you doing?!” His eyes were bloodshot.

“I get it, I f*cking get it! The Abyss is nothing but a bunch of destructive scum, those adorable girls! Just like that, they were eaten by it! I… I… I’ll fight you to the death!”

He roared, then turned and ran.

Are you kidding me?

He couldn’t suddenly unleash a ‘Cosmo’ fueled by anger; how could he possibly win?

That last slap had already caused cracks in the left side of his mech, indicating Shadowheart was injured.

Moreover, that blow had completely shattered his left arm.

He had now fully recognized the vast disparity between himself and the Void Soldier.

He couldn’t fight it.

There was no way he could fight it!

He had to find people!

The full map scan was complete, but the map’s functions were always available.

Qi Lin pinpointed the direction of the exit and rushed towards it at full speed.

He vaguely recalled there being another team nearby; if he encountered them, he would try to convince them to leave together.

Surely, they wouldn’t throw away their lives for a mere competition, would they?

Fortunately, this time the Void Soldier did not pursue him but instead ran off in another direction.

Unfortunately… in the direction the Void Soldier was heading, there were likely other contestants.

“Faster, even faster! A-Li, use your top speed!” He urged his Companion Spirit Weapon, Liyan, the ‘Blazing Flame’ Spirit Race member, who had transformed into his leg armor and was previously identified as a mature woman.

If he could just be a little faster, perhaps he could save another contestant from dying.

And just as he was hurrying towards the exit, another loud bang erupted behind him.

In a daze, Qi Lin thought he heard a series of screams.

“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Why is it like this?! I… I’m a Transmigrator, shouldn’t a Transmigrator be a savior? Why can’t I do anything?!”

****

Meanwhile, Melina and her two companions stood inside a giant tree hollow, contemplating what had just happened.

Fortunately, Melo, the veteran, was with them, preventing them from falling into complete ignorance.

“If I heard correctly, that cry just now was likely from a Void Soldier.” Melo’s expression was exceptionally grave.

If there was anyone in this arena who understood Abyssal creatures best at this moment, it was undoubtedly her, the seasoned veteran.

For the past ten years, she had dealt with those monsters daily; the Void Soldiers she had killed numbered in the hundreds of thousands, if not more.

The Void Generals she had slain were probably enough to fill three or four tryouts of the same scale.

Even Void Kings, she had killed before.

But that was in the past, when she was the glorious Radiant Knight!

As the lowest-ranking cannon fodder in the Abyssal forces—the Void Soldier—she wouldn’t even give them a second glance in the past; they would die in droves as she passed, and a single shower of light could clear an entire battlefield.

Yet for her now, or rather… for Melina, that once-despised grunt was now the most deadly danger!

Thorned Kiss suppressed her power, and Melina was unable to unleash her full capabilities.

The others now all focused their gaze on her, and Melo reluctantly addressed them.

“If it were up to me, my advice would be… to abandon this competition and leave the arena.”

“Withdraw.”

Melina was somewhat unwilling. “Are… are we really not strong enough? Hasn’t Wyatt already reached 27% resonance? And Sephylia is subtly nearing 25%.

“Besides, I can do it too; I’ll just endure the pain again after the competition ends.”

She looked at Melo. “Melo, you can unleash your full power; don’t worry about me!”

Melo stroked Melina’s hair, sighing helplessly. “Void Soldiers aren’t something that can be solved with a single light cannon. In your current state, Miss, the cost of defeating that Void Soldier wouldn’t just be a bit of pain like that night, but rather…”

Thorned Kiss, while using pain as punishment, had a limit to human pain tolerance.

People could genuinely die from pain!

For Melina now, such pain could very well claim her life!

“Phew… It’s decided!” Sephylia let out a long breath.

She was the leader of this small team; no matter what the three of them chose, the final decision rested with her.

“I’m sorry, Melina, but it seems we won’t be able to finish the competition this time.” She said apologetically, then changed her tone. “We must leave here as quickly as possible, find the referees, and inform them of the situation.

“And if that ‘Shimmer’ law enforcement officer is still around, she should be able to handle it, right?”

Melo nodded. “That ‘Shimmer’ Spirit Master can definitely deal with the Void Soldier; you can rest assured about that.”

Sephylia continued, “If that’s the case, then we should leave here even more quickly. Before that red dot, who is currently engaging the Void Soldier, gets killed, we need to get the competition officials to deal with it. Otherwise, many people will die here.”

Then, she looked at Wyatt. “Wyatt, your speed is the fastest, and your self-preservation ability is the strongest. I want you to go find other teams and inform them about the Void Soldier. You only need to tell them; whether they believe you or not is up to them. And you must pay attention to your own safety; that’s the most important thing, understand?”

Wyatt didn’t reply; his figure had already vanished into the shadows.

“Let’s go, we’re leaving now.” Sephylia patted Melina’s shoulder and was the first to step out of the tree hollow.

Melina was unwilling, but she also knew Sephylia’s choice was the right one.

However, just as the two were about to head towards the entrance, a rumbling sound approached rapidly from afar.

“Damn it! Is it the Void Soldier? Has it come over here?” Sephylia instantly materialized her Radiant War Hammer, ready for battle.

Melina’s small face turned pale, and her hand trembled on her sword hilt.

But as the sound drew closer, what appeared before the two was not the Void Soldier’s colossal form, but rather…

“Hey! Don’t attack yet! Listen to me, quickly leave the arena! A Void Soldier has broken in!” Qi Lin shouted loudly, trying to warn the two.

Seeing two vibrant young women, he assumed this was a crippled team and saw no reason not to advise them to leave immediately.

“Spirit Armament!?” Sephylia stared in astonishment at Qi Lin’s exaggerated, pieced-together armor.

“No, it’s not a complete ‘Spirit Armament.’ Why do this person’s spiritual energy fluctuations feel so chaotic?” Melo wondered curiously.

“Why are you two just standing there? Go! Forget it, I can’t bother with you; I need to immediately notify the officials about the Void Soldier. Fend for yourselves.”

With that, he was about to leave.

But just then, Sephylia suddenly shouted, “Hey! Why don’t you take us with you! We’re also going to find the referees!”

“Huh? What?” Qi Lin paused.

However, seeing that Sephylia and Melina had both put away their weapons, he didn’t think much of it and had the two young women sit on his mech’s shoulders, one on each side.

“Hold on tight!” He yelled, then sped off at full velocity towards the exit once more.