The Path of Sovereignty

“Such meager resistance proves utterly inadequate, wouldn’t you agree?”

The calamity beasts, manifesting as colossal apes and saber-toothed tigers, instantly froze into solid ice the moment they lunged at An Lan.

Subsequently, they were ground into fine sand by the biting winds, leaving only a few clanging sounds as scattered pieces of equipment fell to the ground.

“……”

Only the crisp sound of falling gear drew Frost Snow Sovereign’s gaze to that spot for a fleeting moment.

She quickly dismissed it. They were merely trash, unworthy of her bending down.

Her eyes fixed on the wall, or perhaps on the deeper reaches beyond it, a smile of keen interest gracing her lips.

“Since it’s an invitation, there’s no need to be so shy. Hiding yourself away isn’t good; it only excites me further.”

A frost spear materialized, and with a mere flick of An Lan’s finger, it launched itself at the wall of light.

There was no thunderous impact, only a silent, mutual consumption and strangulation of their respective laws.

In but a moment, a man-sized breach was forcibly torn through the light wall.

“My little prey, I’m coming for you~”

With these words, spoken to an unknown recipient, she stepped through.

****

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

Furthermore, on the Path of Sovereignty, there is no concept of yielding. Any obstruction, be it human, divine, demon, or monster, is simply annihilated.

****

“Host, the dungeon’s defense mechanism has entered its second phase. Room characteristics have been activated, dividing them into Trap Rooms and Combat Rooms.”

Su Xiaoqian explained the current situation.

Trap Rooms contain no calamity beasts but are rife with various traps, inflicting intruders within the area with a range of abnormal statuses, including but not limited to freezing, burning, weakening, and slowing.

Combat Rooms, conversely, provide various buffs to calamity beasts, such as increased attack power, enhanced defense, or gigantism, with many different types.

According to the data, there’s also a special type of room: one without calamity beasts and harmless to intruders, yet possessing various unique uses for the ‘dungeon’ itself.

To understand each room’s function, special markers will appear within them, allowing their effects to be identified.

“The room the Host is currently in is a Combat Room, ‘Thorns’. Whenever a calamity beast deals damage, it receives additional retaliatory damage.”

“This means if a calamity beast hits the Host once, the room will manifest a thorn to prick the Host. This is an unavoidable attack, though its damage can be reduced by defense, as it’s not true damage.”

Red Spider Lily blinked, deep in thought, as she watched the calamity beasts that had just appeared be swiftly eliminated. She grasped the concept perfectly.

‘So, Combat Rooms are actually safe?’

“……”

“Host, that is absolutely correct.” Su Xiaoqian gave a thumbs up.

****

“Ah… what’s happening? What is going on? What did I step on? Are there really so many landmines here?”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“No! No! No!”

The relentless explosions produced vast plumes of smoke. Tan Yuhan, disregarding all decorum, clung to He Mo, who had just burst his shirt, revealing a layer of gilded muscle that made him appear a full size larger.

“Little Brother He, quickly, faster!”

[Male and female, confined space, male disheveled, female shouting ‘no’ and ‘faster’]

[Uh… you certainly know how to summarize.]

[Are there really all sorts of freaks on the internet? Don’t mistake vulgarity for humor!]

[Exactly! Exactly! My heart was in my throat, then I saw your comment and couldn’t hold back a laugh.]

[Speaking of which, why did it suddenly become so dangerous?]

He Mo, pulling Tan Yuhan along, burst out of the Trap Room marked with explosives.

However, upon entering the next area, a jolt of electricity surged up from the soles of their feet.

Bang!

Instantly, both of them, now with blackened faces and explosive hair, stared at each other.

“……”

“……”

[Don’t say it. Is it possible that this is actually quite comedic?]

****

…………………………………..A Divide in Time…………………………………..

“Rose Cannon (Modified). Shotgun!” White Rose frowned. With teammates by her side this time, she no longer recklessly activated her Flower Domain.

Innumerable white light fists materialized. Thanks to the suppression and tracking properties of the Rose Mark, none of the calamity beasts were missed; all of them met their end.

This was a successful operation. Without Saint Lily or Dandelion, Hyacinth and Redbud had bought them enough time. Their three-person combat team had secured victory through their own efforts.

White Rose observed her two teammates, who leaned on each other, looking somewhat fatigued. Amidst the many vexations of the day, she finally found a sense of ease, a hint of comfort.

A gentle, innocent smile graced her lips. Though her proud demeanor remained, it softened her expression, making her seem approachable.

“Mm…” She clenched her fist, her expression hesitant, her gaze shifting to the calamity beasts that had dissolved into points of light.

‘I seem to have grown stronger,’ she mused. ‘This isn’t a delusion; it’s precisely from these calamity beasts.’

If that were the case, by simply eliminating more calamity beasts, wouldn’t she directly achieve her ‘goal’ and truly surpass Saint Lily?

“……”

“White Rose? White Rose?” A hand waved before her eyes.

“Ah! Hyacinth?” White Rose somewhat snapped back to reality. “What? What’s wrong? Is something the matter?”

“Hmm, nothing much. I just saw you spacing out. Oh, by the way, online rumors say this might be a ‘dungeon,’ and defeating calamity beasts can grant experience points. But Redbud and I haven’t felt anything. White Rose, have you?”

“Ah… this…” White Rose was momentarily stunned. ‘Could it be that only the one who delivers the killing blow gains experience?’ Her usually slow mind immediately latched onto this thought.

“White Rose?”

“Ah… I’m not really sure, haha~ Maybe, maybe not~” White Rose uttered the words, then paused, herself surprised, covering it with an awkward laugh.

“Is that so?” Hyacinth didn’t press further, merely remarking, “After all, White Rose has a thick skin~”

“……” White Rose remained silent.

“Anyway, Hyacinth, that was good teamwork this time. Let’s continue like this from now on!” She then proposed with a smile.

If experience was only gained by the killer, then she needed to grow stronger first. Once she was stronger, she could protect them better.

She hadn’t denied it, but it might jeopardize their hard-won cooperation, which as a leader, she had to avoid.

“Mm, I think so too.” Hyacinth nodded in agreement.

“……”

At that moment, Redbud timidly raised her hand. “Um… Sister Lily is safe now, so should we just stay here? It seems the monsters have been cleared, and won’t reappear for a while.”

“……”

“We didn’t come here for Saint Lily; we came to follow in Frost Snow Sovereign’s footsteps.” White Rose frowned.

“Can we rest a bit longer? I feel like my magic is running low~” Redbud added.

“Magic can recover at any time, whether you’re sitting or walking.” White Rose looked at her. “Redbud, you should train more. Your defense almost left an opening just now. If Hyacinth hadn’t covered for you, it could have affected our team coordination.”

“Ugh~” Redbud pouted, feeling a little wronged. She was still a newcomer, not a close-combat type, and had only just ‘sprouted’. Her magic was low, and she only had one ability. It was already difficult enough to summon the courage to stand at the front, yet she was still being criticized.

“And precisely because you’re weak, you need to accumulate more combat experience. You can grow strong very quickly.”

“……”

Redbud felt increasingly disheartened by White Rose’s words. She then looked at Hyacinth, who, under her gaze, thought for a moment.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with what White Rose said? Redbud, White Rose is also doing this for your own good. And if this really is a ‘dungeon,’ maybe you can become strong very quickly. You don’t want to always rely on others, do you?”

Redbud, rendered speechless, nodded silently.

If she could truly grow stronger…