Invasion - Chapter 73

Chapter 73

It only took Ni Ji one move to take down his first opponent.

The tall and thin sentinel, in a black sentinel uniform and tactical gloves, quietly entered the arena, and after entering, took down his opponent with a single move, knocking him hard to the ground.

The sentinel he defeated couldn’t get up for a long time, and had to be carried off.

The noisy arena fell silent for a moment.

Ni Ji hadn’t been in the Royal Guard for long, and had been out on missions, so many people didn't know him yet.

"Who is this? Where did he come from?"

"Damn, KO'd in one move."

"Ni Ji, personally recruited by the Commander and Vice-Commander. The King of Soldiers from the northern border."

"He’s the one who led the team into the Golden Tree Contaminated Zone last time."

"Such a fierce aura, why such a ruthless attack? Is he holding a grudge or something?"

Ni Ji stood on the arena, looking down, playing with a small knife in his hand.

The blade was white, not stained with blood, he hadn't even had time to use it.

The sentinel in black stood quietly on the arena, his head lowered, the white blade flipping back and forth between his black fingers.

He kept his eyes on the blade, not looking up at Ji Xuan, not at the whispering audience,

And not at the Guide standing on the high platform.

Only when the next sentinel entered the arena did he suddenly stop flipping the white blade, raising his eyes to look at the newcomer.

The person shivered, inexplicably regretting joining in this excitement.

His opponent was too fierce, his eyes alone showed he wasn’t someone to be trifled with.

What was he even doing here? It was just selecting a guard for a Guide, not competing for a wife.

…

Ni Ji won several matches in a row.

The unfamiliar voices of doubt from the audience had all turned into cheers of support for the strong warrior.

The tentacles had seen him long ago, clinging to the railing, standing up.

【It’s Little Fish, so cute.】

【I said he would come.】

【Why not just choose Little Fish directly? I said he would definitely be willing.】

【Hi, Little Fishy.】

【Will little fish be the strongest sentinel here?】

【I don’t know if he’s the strongest, but he’s definitely the sweetest.】

【No matter what, I want the fish.】

【Yes.】

【Only the fish, I don’t care about anyone else.】

【No one is cuter and more adorable than Big Fish.】

They looked very excited, twisting and turning underground, enthusiastically cheering for their beloved Big Fish and Little Fish, repeatedly declaring that they didn’t want any other mental bodies.

Ni Ji’s next opponent was a female sentinel.

Both were very strong, and after exchanging a few moves, they both released their mental bodies to join the battle.

Ni Ji’s orca, its huge body appearing from the void, shaking its head and tail, its call echoing like a tide.

The female sentinel's mental body was also very large, a fluffy bear-like creature, its color, like the orca’s, black and white.

Chubby, round, with a pair of dark circles around its eyes, it was an ancient, rare beast, its scientific name “Ailuropoda melanoleuca”.

【Wow, so cute!】

【A new discovery, a glutinous rice ball!】

【Want to rub it.】

【Can we play together?】

【Want to take it home.】

【How about we choose her?】

【Agree.】

【Okay.】

【Choose her.】

The tentacles instantly betrayed their previous stance, completely forgetting what they had just said about only wanting the fish.

【There’s no way, who can resist this? We’re only making a mistake that all humans make.】

【Isn't this human nature? You always wanted us to be more human-like.】

【Who can resist a black and white glutinous rice ball?】

The orca and the panda fought. One chubby, the other round, but both were very fierce. Baring their fangs, their claws flying, stirring up dust and smoke.

One the tyrant of the sea, the other a beast of the mountains.

The deep-sea slippery guy versus the little bully of the forest, the battle was fierce, a close match.

The tentacles, on the wall, swayed back and forth.

【It fell, it fell, my roly-poly, quickly help it up.】

【Fish, my fish, let me touch you.】

【Ah, so cute, it rolled twice, roll one more time for me.】

【Big Fish is whimpering, I still love Big Fish.】

In the end, the young woman lost to Ni Ji, reluctantly admitting defeat.

She came down from the arena, dismissed her mental body, and went up to the stands, coming to Lin Yuan’s side.

"My surname is Du, Du Yuanyuan. Nice to meet you, Guide Lin," the sentinel girl smiled, extending her hand to Lin Yuan.

She had just come down from the battlefield, her face still covered with sweat and dust, her eyes bright, smiling.

Lin Yuan reached out and shook her hand.

Du Yuanyuan’s hand was very rough, strong and warm, a sentinel’s hand.

She had short hair, healthy, tanned skin, was tall, with strong muscles.

Her personality straightforward and cheerful, a bright and lively girl.

"Although I lost, I still want to try my luck here," she gestured at herself. "Look at me, I’m a girl, straight, and into men. If we work together, we’ll definitely have better chemistry, and I can also save you a lot of trouble."

Lin Yuan admitted that she was a little persuaded, a cute panda, a cute girl.

If Ni Ji hadn’t looked over at this moment, she might have actually agreed.

Even though Ni Ji was very far away, as if he had heard something, seemingly casually, he glanced over.

Just one glance, then he looked away, so short it was like an illusion.

His back to Lin Yuan, he stood alone on the arena, tall and thin, holding that short blade, his back somehow looking a little lonely.

Lin Yuan, caught by that look, felt a pang of guilt, as if she had wronged someone, although she didn't understand where this feeling was coming from.

Even the chattering tentacles quieted down, and in front of the “panda” they had recently taken a liking to, they even managed to remain polite.

So Lin Yuan politely declined Du Yuanyuan.

Du Yuanyuan’s personality was very straightforward, having tried and failed, she let it go.

"Actually, everyone just wanted to meet you. They also want to see how a Guide fights in a contaminated zone,” she leaned against the railing of the stands, watching the selection matches with Lin Yuan.

“There are many contaminated zones, I'll continue going to them," Lin Yuan said to her. "There will be plenty of opportunities to fight together.”

On the arena, the final match of the selection was about to begin.

Yun Luo, with his bionic prosthetic arm, slowly walked onto the stage, facing Ni Ji.

The two stood across the wide arena, their eyes meeting.

Ni Ji recognized this person.

He had knelt down on one knee outside Lin Yuan’s gate and kissed her hand.

At that time, he hadn’t had a mechanical arm yet, his arm missing, looking thin and bony, pathetic, evoking sympathy.

So, he was also from the Royal Guard, participating in this selection, and had even made it to the finals.

The lights overhead shone down on the two sentinels on the arena, the two tall sentinels staring at each other, even the light seemed to turn cold.

"That orca is very strong, a rare expert. Don’t be fooled by his silence, he’s very determined to win, incredibly fierce in battle," Du Yuanyuan said to Lin Yuan, "But Captain Yun is also very strong, one of the top warriors in our team, it’s really hard to say who will win between the two of them, we have a good show to watch."

"What's Yun Luo's mental body?" Lin Yuan had seen Yun Luo in the Golden Tree Contaminated Zone, he had been very disheveled, and very strong, leaving a deep impression on her.

"His, it's very special, you’ll see soon."

The orca floating in mid-air let out a wary cry.

Across from it, behind Yun Luo, a crack slowly opened in the void.

A black horse with a long horn on its forehead stepped out, its gait elegant, its call clear.

Its body lean, its hooves swift, a long horn on its forehead, its entire body pure black.

A pure black unicorn.

【Ah!】

【So beautiful!】

【What’s going on, I like it too.】

【Such dark, shiny fur.】

【Want to rub it.】

【Want to ride it.】

【Its horn poked me.】

【Sob, sob, are you betraying Little Fish?】

The two sentinels on the arena, having fought their way through, had reached the final match.

Their opponents in every match had been experts of the Royal Guard, they were inevitably disheveled, each with some injuries.

But neither of them showed any intention of giving up.

The orca with the black back and white belly, and the black unicorn, each stood behind their owner, facing each other.

Ni Ji took off his gloves, staining his white blade with an eerie blood red.

Yun Luo’s cold mechanical hand moved, the grinding sound of metal armor against human flesh.

"I won’t give up," Yun Luo stared at the enemy before him, "She saved my life, going to a place like the Land of No Eyes, I swear to protect her with my life."

Ni Ji, who had been silent throughout the many matches, never saying a word, suddenly smiled.

At this moment, he radiated killing intent, his hand holding the demon blade, the giant black whale behind him.

His smile at this time, like the steep snow-capped peak touched by the honey-colored morning sun.

"If you think that — then you've already lost," Ni Ji said, "She doesn’t need anyone’s protection, she needs a comrade, a partner, only the strong are qualified to stand by her side, to be her match."

"For you to say this, it means you’ve never seen her on the battlefield," he added in a low voice,

"I have."

That look, both provocative and disparaging, very different from his usual gentleness and shyness in front of Lin Yuan.

【Eh, Little Fish also has this side to him?】

【A little mischievous.】

【I like it.】

【I wonder what he tastes like now.】

【Probably a little sour, sweet and sour fish.】

【He should be spicy, he looks very spicy.】

【I want to sneak down and have a taste.】

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