“Devour! Deprive!”
Black light surged, and the demon corpses instantly turned to ash.
“Hmm... It only increased by this little bit?”
Qimeng smacked her lips, feeling a bit disappointed.
“An Extraordinary Rank is no longer enough to level me up. I’ll probably have to consume a Dominator Rank.”
Qimeng looked up in the direction the woman had gone, licking the corner of her lips.
“That greatsword woman is at least at the Dominator Rank! She really is a delicious, major supplement...”
“Since she's heading to the Demon Tower anyway, I might as well follow her along the way. If she gets killed by demons on the road, I'll just recycle her. If she doesn't run into any suitable opponents... hehe, yours truly might have to take action personally~”
Having made up her mind, Qimeng quietly followed her like a little ghost.
After walking for a while, Qimeng realized that this woman was a complete and utter lunatic!
In a camp up ahead, a few human adventurers exchanged some heated words with her over a campsite.
As a result, the woman drew her sword without a second thought, sending the leader's head flying with a single slash!
Blood splattered across half the camp!
“Damn, that’s brutal... She feels more like a villain than I do, and I'm a magical beast lord,” Qimeng muttered, squatting on a tree trunk.
However, being too arrogant clearly came with a price.
Before long, dozens of enraged adventurers surrounded her, cornering her in a clearing in the wild forest!
“Everyone, charge together! Surround and kill this woman!”
“You scum who leveled up by murdering and robbing people! Did you think no one could stop you?!”
An adventurer pointed at the gem-studded greatsword in her hand and roared in anger.
“That sacred gem sword is the national treasure of the Gem Kingdom! Years ago, this wicked woman snuck into the royal family as a consort to climb the ranks. She assassinated the former king of the Gem Kingdom, stole the divine weapon from the treasury, and killed and plundered her way to where she is now!”
“A wicked woman through and through!”
“Hehe, who would have thought you’d flee to the Great Black Magic Forest! If the appearance of the Demon Tower hadn't lured you out, the entire continent wouldn't have been able to find you!”
“The Gem Kingdom’s bounty for her head is an S-rank quest! Retrieving the gem sword is another S-rank quest! That’s a double S-rank bounty, brothers! Kill her, and we’ll be set for the rest of our lives! Kill her!!”
Dozens of adventurers charged forward with bloodshot eyes!
Up in the treetops, Qimeng watched the show with a grin.
“Wow, a double S-rank jackpot? Keep it up, everyone. Let’s see who gets to be yours truly’s next delicious meal~”
The battle in the clearing erupted!
Facing the siege of dozens of elite adventurers, the sword-wielding woman snorted coldly, and the gem-studded greatsword in her hand lit up with a brilliant, multicolored radiance.
“Get lost!”
She sidestepped a thrusting spearhead, swinging her greatsword horizontally in one fluid motion. The heavy blade struck flat, sending three heavily armored warriors at the front flying along with their shields!
However, there were simply too many attackers.
Fireballs, ice spikes, and concealed arrows rained down in a dense, relentless barrage. Even with her superb swordsmanship, she suffered several wounds on her shoulders and back after killing two A-rank adventurers in retaliation.
The woman panted heavily. Utilizing the opening created by her elemental sword qi slash to force the crowd back, she turned and retreated into the wild forest.
She thought she could catch her breath after losing this group, but reality was far harsher than she imagined.
She was being hunted!
No matter how hidden a cave she ducked into, or how she waded through streams to mask her scent, a new adventurer party or demon search party would surround her in less than half an hour!
The non-stop skirmishes left her without a single moment to rest and heal her wounds.
“Damn it! How are these flies clinging to me so tightly?!”
Leaning against a rocky cliff, the woman panted heavily as blood dripped down the fuller of her greatsword onto the ground.
Even with her Dominator Rank foundation, she couldn't withstand this kind of endless attrition!
Who among those gathered around the Demon Tower at this time was a decent person? The advantage of numbers was too overwhelming.
A sudden pang of regret welled up in her heart.
If she had known... she wouldn't have come to join the commotion around the Demon Tower.
She had crawled and struggled all the way, not hesitating to betray her companions and scheme against her lover, paying such a devastating price just to step into the ranks of the world's powerhouses.
She had worked so hard... Was she really going to suffer a pathetic defeat and die in this godforsaken place today?
In her daze, the scene of her assassinating the former king of the Gem Kingdom years ago suddenly flashed in her mind.
That day, the old man’s chest had been pierced by the gem-studded greatsword, and he lay in a pool of blood. Yet, the way he looked at her... there wasn't a trace of hatred.
Only deep pity.
“Tch... How disgusting!”
The woman grit her teeth and spat fiercely.
“Pity me? What right do you have to pity me! If you truly loved me, why didn't you proactively bestow the national treasure upon me?! You just wanted to lock me down with status! So you got what you deserved! Your death was entirely justified!”
Just as she was caught in her paranoid spiral of emotions—
“Found her! She's here!”
A roar tore through the wild forest!
Blood-red demonic energy blasted open the concealed cliff face, and a demon general wielding a blood-colored spear charged out at the head of a squad.
Blood-red dark magic swirled around the demon’s body; he was surprisingly another Dominator Rank powerhouse!
“Damned human woman, prepare to die!”
“Ha... Even you want to trample on me? Get lost!”
The woman shrieked, her bloodshot eyes filled with nothing but killing intent. Squeezing every last drop of mana from her body, she gripped the gem-studded greatsword and unleashed a strike with all her might!
The multicolored radiance and blood-red demonic energy collided in the valley!
Boom!
The shockwave from their full-power clash overturned the surrounding withered trees.
Half a minute later, the dust cleared.
The Dominator Rank demon general had fallen, a gaping hole pierced through his chest.
But his dying counterattack had also run his spear straight through the woman's abdomen!
Thud.
The woman fell to one knee, the gem-studded greatsword slipping from her grasp and clattering into the dirt.
Blood gushed out, carrying away her strength and body heat.
Her vision rapidly darkened, leaving nothing but her own faint, ragged breathing in her ears.
Am I... going to die?
I can't accept this...
Just then, the light before her eyes suddenly dimmed.
The cold wind ceased.
By the flickering embers of a nearby campfire, a female swordsman clad in light silver-white armor and wearing a mask that exposed only her eyes stood before her.
A human... and a female swordsman, too!
The eyes of the woman, who had been on the verge of despair, suddenly lit up with the hope of survival.
She reached out a blood-stained, delicate hand toward the other's foot, her voice trembling as she begged.
“Save... Save me! If you save me... I can give you all my gold! I'll be your slave, your bodyguard... anything! Please... save me!”
This was her only hope!
However, the female swordsman in silver-white armor merely looked down, quietly watching her.
The eyes hidden behind the mask held not a shred of sympathy, nor even a ripple of emotion, as if she were merely looking at a stone.
Qimeng spoke softly.
“Did you never wonder... why your enemies always managed to find you along the way, no matter how tightly you hid?”
Rate on N.U.
