Chapter Ninety-Six: Another Cycle!

To be able to approach her so silently under the dense electric currents of the alien serpents, unnoticed until the other spoke, meant there was no doubt about the intruder’s level. Audacia’s whole body stiffened; she didn’t even react instinctively, only tried to breathe deeply, calming her mind and body.

Slowly, she turned to face the speaker. The newcomer wore a crimson robe, his visage hidden beneath a cloak that shimmered with emptiness, making it impossible to discern his appearance. Around him floated faint, arcane runes, which only deepened Audacia’s despair—a sorcerer, able to close in without a sound, the implications of such skill were utterly hopeless.

Audacia gritted her silver teeth. “I never imagined a mere sentinel like me would alarm someone of your stature.”

A figure of epic rank! As Shadow, Guo Lang felt a wave of despair, muttering inwardly, “Damn, must it really be this extreme?”

“Your logic is rather interesting.” The crimson-robed void’s voice was hoarse, laced with static, as if more than one being spoke—a deeply unsettling sound.

“I’ve studied your language and customs. I’ve found you have some bizarre rules. For example, now—are you mocking me for bullying the weak? Aren’t elves supposed to revere nature? Shouldn’t survival of the fittest be perfectly reasonable? Isn’t it common for young creatures to be devoured by adult beasts in the wild?”

A strange cackle sounded nearby. Another figure, dressed identically to the one who’d been pinned moments earlier, appeared beside Audacia, closing in with a savage gleam in his eyes.

Audacia looked at him with calm composure; as a member of the Windrunner family, her honor allowed not a shred of fear even before imminent death. Elves slain in battle return to nature’s embrace, honored annually by countless kin, for dying on the battlefield is a warrior’s glory.

“Is it so amusing?” The crimson-robed void suddenly turned toward the cackling stalker; beneath the cloak, from that inscrutable darkness, came a chilling coldness.

The stalker froze, his smile stiffening, standing awkwardly.

“Same rank, countering attributes—ordinarily, even if you couldn’t defeat your opponent, you should be able to withdraw unscathed. Yet your brother brought disgrace upon our void kin!”

The stalker emitted a harsh, resentful hiss.

The crimson-robed void nodded, observing his expression and cry, as if finally comprehending. “Ah, I understand now—this emotion, right? In your civilization, it evolved into the notions of honor and shame?”

Audacia’s face grew colder, and she sneered. “From your words, it seems you’re conducting some research? Should I interpret this to mean your barbaric race lacks civilization?”

Her sharp retort froze the atmosphere. The crimson-robed void fell silent—no rebuttal, whether out of disdain or inability to respond.

Clearly, this was not the moment for such words. Guo Lang grew anxious: did this girl have no sense of weakness? The opponent could crush her at any moment—couldn’t she be more discreet?

“Young elf, I’ve thought it over. Let us settle this according to your customs.” After a long silence, the crimson-robed void spoke.

Audacia, puzzled, cautiously asked, “What do you mean?”

“Do you see him?” The crimson-robed figure pointed to the stalker, whose face twisted into a fierce grin. The crimson-robed one continued, “Isn’t your society fond of duels of honor? The victor receives proper respect and treatment. You and he shall duel fairly—if you win, I’ll let you go.”

That was the beast clan’s rule, and Audacia wanted to retort, but despite her simplicity, she wasn’t so foolish as to lose her wits now. She nodded gravely, then called her alien serpent, preparing to widen the distance.

But the serpent, more agile than Audacia herself, was snatched by the crimson-robed void as it flew to her side. Its pale skin turned violet, rotting visibly—the creature couldn’t even utter a scream before death.

“Little Grey!” Audacia’s pupils contracted; she glared in rage. “Is this your so-called fair duel?”

“Hm…” The intruder gently squeezed, and the decayed serpent turned to dust, drifting on the wind. Staring at Audacia, his faceless countenance unwavering, he said, “Yes, a fair duel. Your creature made the duel unfair.”

Damn it! Both Guo Lang and Audacia cursed inwardly. What did he mean by fair—was it only fair if they fought hand-to-hand with daggers?

Audacia’s face grew as cold as ice, the violet glow in her eyes turning chilling.

They stepped onto an open patch. The stalker performed a warrior’s salute, almost ceremoniously. Audacia paused for two seconds, then asked, “Do you have a name?”

The stalker hesitated, stared at her, and said nothing.

Audacia sneered. “So you don’t. Then what’s the point of your salute? When hunting, we collect pelts, fangs, claws, skulls as trophies, but facing civilized beings, we remember battles by name. Since you saluted, I won’t treat this as a fight against a beast.”

She returned the salute, drew a finely crafted elven short sword, and solemnly declared, “My name is Audacia Windrunner. Let me make it clear: among us, to kill a Windrunner of equal rank is a great honor.”

Her words stunned both void figures and Guo Lang—such arrogance, but her tone made it sound entirely appropriate.

“Audacia… Windrunner.” The stalker’s voice was rough and heavy, struggling to mimic the ancient elven tongue, as if engraving the name into his heart. His face burned with battle fervor.

As Shadow, Guo Lang couldn’t help but ready himself defensively. As a ranger, forced to duel a stalker with a sword and close-combat skills!

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The crimson-robed void no longer intervened in the duel, nor needed to—ranger classes are unsuited for duels. Their vocation is survival, utilizing the environment against opponents. The duel’s boundaries were fixed, and without the aid of his contracted beast, how could he possibly overcome a void royal stalker? Back in the darkness, Guo Lang was dazed. To be fair, anyone in this situation would fare no better; it was a death trap. Yet he’d never tried—if it were him, with his experience and decent swordsmanship, perhaps…

Yet another voice in his mind exposed the fantasy: forget it, your bronze knight sword skills aren’t enough to turn the tide. The Windrunner’s melee prowess was exceptional, even superior to most ordinary assassins. But alas, she faced a void stalker.

Still, Guo Lang was unwilling. If it were him, he’d have avoided danger from the start, never ending up in this fatal predicament. The task was too unfair; his will and ability were useless here. Wasn’t the mission supposed to test the participant’s own qualities? What could possibly be tested—luck?

Guo Lang couldn’t fathom it, nor endure the current environment.

“Follower Guo Lang… Task failed. Transferring to next host… Transfer complete. Follower Guo Lang, now inhabiting new host. Host information: Name: Evian Whisperer, Profession: Wood Sprite, Position: Logistics Officer, Background: Corruption Tide.”

This new information made Guo Lang’s expression darken. He replied immediately, “I refuse to proceed—I want to abandon this task!”

“This legacy task contains ancient contract conditions. If the host abandons the task, permanent loss of real-world ownership will occur. Do you confirm abandonment?”

“What?” Guo Lang was stunned. What were these ancient contract conditions? He’d never heard of such restrictions for a legacy task—was it exclusive to the Shadow Whisperer? Why wasn’t it mentioned beforehand? What did loss of ownership mean—eternal captivity here?

Guo Lang felt as though he’d fallen into a pit.

“Follower Guo Lang, do you abandon the task?”

Xiao Tao’s cold electronic tone froze Guo Lang; it felt different from the usual playful Xiao Tao. A subtle terror crept in—he sensed this prompt might not be Xiao Tao’s at all. The voice was nearly identical, but something in the mood was off.

But… could even this be replaced? A chill rose in Guo Lang’s heart…