I Reincarnated into a Single-celled Organism! - Chapter 212

“More incoming!” Fate gave a warning as another beast in the shape of a massive scorpion closed the distance.

Thankfully, the scorpion was pretty large. The entrance to the cavern was narrowed to a point where only one sage beast of its size could pass through at a time. This created a bottleneck where Fate and I just managed to be able to hold back the onslaught of creatures. They ended up blocking each other and spent as much time fighting for their place in line as they did moving forward. Most of them reached up, exhausted and covered in wounds, and couldn’t flee because there were a dozen monsters behind them pushing them onward.

Even their bodies had begun to pile up, acting as a layer of flesh for us to find cover. The cave also served to further restrict their movements, meaning that as soon as they neared us, they were vulnerable to attack. This was the only reason that we were able to mount a reasonable defense against them with the mere power of two Flawless.

Fate’s blade was a blur of silver, her movements fluid and graceful as she danced around the creatures, her every strike precise and deadly. I, on the other hand, relied on my brute strength and agility, my sword a whirlwind of steel as I hacked and slashed my way through the horde. I kept my movements simple and to the point, matching Fate nearly kill for kill. This way, I wouldn’t stand out abnormally. Together, we formed a formidable defense, our blades a symphony of death and destruction, but the relentless assault was still wearing Fate down, and even I felt mentally exhausted as the hours wore on.

“Spirit, to your left!” Fate called out, her voice devoid of the strength it might have had at the beginning but laced with a hint of urgency.

I spun, my sword arcing through the air as I decapitated a snarling wolf-like creature. Its body crumpled to the ground, its blood mingling with the ichor of its fallen comrades.

“Thanks,” I grunted, my breath coming in ragged gasps. “You okay?”

Fate nodded, her eyes scanning the horde for the next threat. “I’m good. I think we might be getting to the end of this.”

Although she said that, the stalemate continued for what felt like an eternity, the sage beasts throwing themselves against our defenses in a futile attempt to break through. My greatest concern wasn’t myself, but Fate. I was already quite shocked that she was able to hold on for so long. Many of these beasts were stronger than her, and we only took them out using a few hidden strikes of my own. Although I had the stamina to last for weeks, I wasn’t sure how much longer she would hold out. I was just hoping that the moment she collapsed, I would be able to reach her before she ended up getting injured.

That moment seemed to come. Fate slipped as some kind of goat-like creature with six legs charged her. I cursed, trying to disengage from a chameleon-like creature that kept changing its colors, making it hard to see and strike. Just before I could reach her, though, I felt a sudden surge of free energy. Fate’s energy level began to rise spontaneously, giving off waves of power and heat. This was Gibbs’ Free energy. I had read about this before. This kind of exergonic reaction only happened when some evolved.

Fate seemed to burst with energy, and she sent her blade down, severing the goat in half with ease. The rising energy also seemed to push back the other sage beasts, causing them to become more cautious. It was clear that she had broken through into the next evolutionary realm. She was no longer flawless, but a champion! She had already been close before beginning this journey, but a combination of fighting for her life past her limits and the thick cloud of passive energy induced by all the free energy lost from the hordes of dead sage beasts created the ideal conditions to push her into her next evolutionary state!

The enemies, even the chameleon I had been engaged with, seemed to begin to retreat. I walked over to Fate, shocked to see her brimming with energy. Even her battle wounds were healing at a visible rate. Evolution was practically like a level-up in a video game. Of course, I knew this wasn’t true. I had evolved myself countless times, so I already knew what to expect here.

Her face was red, and she was still panting, but I could tell it wasn’t from exhaustion, but the strain her body was under breaking through in this manner.

“Are you okay?” I asked her.

She looked at me and then nodded. “I can keep going for now. You can stay behind me. I can continue for a while yet.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary.” I turned to the entrance, frowning.

That was because the sound of clashing steel and the roar of battle reached our ears. The monsters were fleeing because the human groups had finally made it to the entrance, their weapons clashing against the remaining sage beasts, forcing those smart enough to escape. At the head of this group was the leader of the Domini family, a tall, imposing figure with a sword that seemed to drink in the light, fighting his way through the horde. Beside him was the mercenary leader, his armor gleaming like polished gold, his axe a whirlwind of destruction.

As they fought, their voices carried over the din of battle, their words a stark contrast to the brutality around them.

“Hmm? Is that the energy of someone evolving? There must be people ahead of us. How did they get there so quickly?”

“Worried, old serpent?” The mercenary chuckled. “Think someone might take your treasures before I do?”

“At least you admit it is mine. First, you betrayed our agreement, and now you seek to openly rob me. Is this the nature of the Goldentooth Mercenaries?” the Domini leader asked.

“Our contract was for me to lock down the city and prevent any groups from heading up the mountain. I fulfilled our agreement, but it never said anything about not fighting for wealth or to stay out of your way.”

“Fulfilled it? Is that what you call the group behind us, still fighting their way up?”

“That was… an unfortunate mishap. One, I plan to rectify. No security is 100%. Aren’t my men still suppressing them, though? They’ve barely ascended half the mountain.”

“They wouldn’t have even gone far if you were following your contract. Do you think the Domini family will stand for this?”

“Once I acquire this wealth, I’ll have the power and strength to move any paragon family. You think the family will risk retaliating against that?

“Are you so confident you’ll succeed here?”

“At the base of this mountain, I have an entire army. At a single command, they will secure this mountain and every treasure on it. Do you think you have a chance? Isn’t it better that you give up?”

“An army? Hah! They are low-level thugs. You’re the only member of your mercenary troop with any strength. The rest are just meat shields. You are outclassed. A thousand ants die just as easily under the foot of something larger.”

The mercenary laughed, a harsh, grating sound. “We have our ways of dealing with the powerful, Domini. You would do well to remember that. This is not a battle you can win.”

The Domini leader’s response was lost as a sage beast lunged at him, its jaws snapping mere inches from his face. He decapitated it with a single stroke, his blade singing as it cut through flesh and bone. That seemed to be the last sage beast between them and us. The mercenary leader saw us at the same time, and then his eyes widened in surprise before a grin spread across his face.

“Well, well, well,” he drawled, putting his axe on his shoulder as he began to stroll toward us. “If it isn’t the little Lou girl and her pet. I must admit, I’m surprised you survived. That must mean you two must have… hahaha, what a joke…”

His expression was both lewd and a bit angry. Fate couldn’t help but blush at his words, looking away shamefully. This mercenary was the only one who knew Fate had been dosed with aphrodisiac. That meant that the only way she was still standing there lucid was that she had managed to get rid of the aphrodisiac. Once the goldtooth spoke with familiarity, the Domini looked us both over with interest.

“She just broke through; she is now a Champion. That still leaves you too weak for this fight, girl,” he spoke calmly. “I do not have a quarrel with the Lou family. We only hired the goldentooth to keep other families from approaching the mountain. If they did anything to offend you, I hope you don’t hold it against us.”

“Spoken like a true snake.” The mercenary leader glared at the insignia he wore on his armor, that of a snake eating its tail.

“Unlike you ruffians, we honor agreements,” he shot back. “As a sign of respect to your fledgling paragon family, I will allow you to leave unharmed. You must give up any notion of receiving any rewards from this battle, and speak to your elder below and convince him to retreat as well.”

Fate bristled at his words, her grip tightening on her sword. “We made a promise, and we will not abandon it. The Lou family does not back down from a challenge.”

“Fate, go.”

Fate blinked in surprise, turning to me. “Y-you want to give up? We made a promise?”

“You just broke through. Look above you.”

She finally looked up, noticing that storm clouds were quickly accumulating. Even the Fiery Apex Eagle, still flying above, looked uneasy.

“Th-that…”

“You evolved… and you know what that means next. A third tribulation is no joke. You must go and finish your evolution. If your tribulation were to break out here, not only would you die, but you might collapse the entire mountain and hurt all of us.”

After a moment, she gave a slight nod.

“W-we’ll go.”

“Whoever said we?” the mercenary cut in. “He said you can go. This bastard is staying!”

“What? No!” Fate looked panicked. “You made a promise.”

“He made a promise,” the mercenary nodded at Domini. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re not on the same team. Be lucky, I also don’t want to be caught in your tribulation, or I wouldn’t let you leave either. As for this bastard, he took an opportunity away from me, and I plan for some payback.”

I chuckled. “That’s fine with me…”

“Spirit, no!” She shook her head. “These two are already at the starting stages of prestiged. You can’t fight them. You can’t even resist.”

“Weren’t you just willing to go head-on when it was the two of us a moment ago?” I asked, causing her to blink before I softened my expression. “I have a way of escaping, Fate. Remember, we never expected to win. Trust me. You must leave. Convince your family to retreat. This is not a battle they can win.”

Fate hesitated, her eyes flicking between the two prestiged men and me. Finally, she nodded, her eyes uncharacteristically wet. “Very well. I will go. B-be safe.”

She slowly began to walk out of the cave entrance. As she passed the mercenary leader, he smiled at her.

The mercenary leader chuckled, a sound devoid of warmth. “I will kill him immediately. You should have accepted my offer.”

Fate’s eyes flashed with anger, then she turned to the Domini leader. “Spirit is engaged to Abigail Capala. He is the future young lord of the main line of the Capala family. You said you didn’t mind offending the Lou family, but would you face the wrath of the Capala name?”

“Is this true?” The Domini leader asked in surprise, but then, after a quick glance at me, he gave a small nod. “I make no promises. I’ll try to look after your friend. After I kill the mercenary and that eagle, if he somehow survives, I promise I’ll return him to you.”

Fate looked a bit relieved. With a final, lingering look, Fate turned and fled, her footsteps echoing as she disappeared into the depths of the cavern. I couldn’t help but shake my head. She was trying to protect me until the end. Of course, she didn’t know I didn’t need it. In truth, I felt a bit excited. I had never had such a battle before. Facing two prestiged men, a sense of anticipation coursed through my veins. This was a challenge I had been waiting for, a test of my true strength. I was eager to see just how far I could push myself.