“Use the sphere!”
Wohard’s voice roared across the cavern.
In his eyes, with the furious, reddened Slime King before them and the fragile Elven Maiden at his side—if they didn’t want to end up as the Slime King’s next pile of droppings, there was only one right choice.
Activate the Forcefield Sphere Scroll immediately and wrap themselves in a sturdy shell.
Shadow Walk could help her pull away from danger, but on such a chaotic battlefield, her instincts would only drive her farther from the threat, pulling her out of his knightly protection.
The battlefield would be divided in two: the Slime King would chase after the isolated Miss Sovinia, while he would be left to chase after the Slime King.
***
Yet Sovinia had seen countless battles—she was no stranger to this.
Almost as Wohard’s shout rang out, she had already torn open the Scroll for Shadow Walk. Black Demon Script turned to wisps of smoke at her fingertips, her form instantly blurring.
In the next moment, a gust of wind signaled her sudden reappearance at Wohard’s side.
With a smug smile, she said, “Use what? Sorry, didn’t quite catch that.”
“Boom—!”
The massive body of the Slime King crashed down, smashing the ground where Sovinia had stood.
The stone floor let out a deep, muffled boom, spiderweb cracks radiating out from the impact point.
The whole cavern shuddered violently; dust and fragments rained from the stalactites above. The shockwave sent a blast of air surging toward Sovinia.
Her frail Elven body could not withstand it at all. Her feet slipped out from under her, and her body toppled helplessly to the side.
A strong arm caught her by the waist just in time, steadying her. It was Wohard. The cold, rough touch of his broad breastplate pressed against her, mingled with the scent of sweat and earth from battle.
Damn it… I’m Kimi, the cold-blooded First Heavenly King, and now I’m so weak I need my own nemesis to keep me on my feet.
Sovinia steadied herself quickly, looking toward the Slime King.
The Slime King had missed its target. Its hulking body writhed on the ground, adjusting direction.
Sovinia felt its gaze lock onto her. It was strange—Slimes shouldn’t have faces.
The crimson slime covering the Slime King’s body boiled even more fiercely, like scalding water.
“Careful!”
Wohard growled, pushing Sovinia gently behind him. He gripped his scorched sword tighter and charged at the advancing behemoth.
Before Sovinia could catch her breath, a sizzling sound rose behind her. She turned to look.
Behind her, the Wall of Fire conjured by the Greater Fireball Spell was being extinguished by countless small Slimes hurling themselves into the flames.
They covered the fire with their sticky bodies, hissing as they were burned, filling the air with choking white smoke.
The front rows of Slimes were roasted into blackened gel, but those behind pressed forward relentlessly, trampling the corpses of their kin.
***
A green tide surged across the fire line, crawling from all directions toward Sovinia, the lone target, forming a shrinking encirclement.
In front—a “sea” of Slimes. Behind—the Slime King.
Wohard had to deal with the Slime King fast, or Sovinia would be swamped by the little ones.
She couldn’t just sit and wait for death.
Sovinia sprinted toward Wohard’s Divided Self. In her panic, she resolved to do something, turning and shouting at Wohard’s back, “Go, you dumb dog!”
Her voice, thanks to her Elven body, sounded bright and clear.
Wohard didn’t catch everything, only the two encouraging words: “Alright! Miss Sovinia!”
The sword in his hand burst into brilliant white light: “Holy Slash!”
A concentrated wave of holy sword energy shot from the blade, striking the Slime King’s body with pinpoint precision. It pierced straight through, leaving a narrow crack in the cavern wall behind.
The Slime King’s body was split right down the middle, its dark green fluids mixing with half-digested Demon Race remains, splattering everywhere.
But the expected splitting-in-half didn’t happen.
As the wound was about to cut through completely, the Demon Race corpses inside it suddenly stirred. Mangled bodies stretched out stiff arms, clutching each other like stitching, forcibly pulling the split body back together.
Seeing this, Wohard instantly grabbed a handful of Salt from his pouch and flung it, but for such a huge body, that much salt was like throwing a cup of water on a wildfire—only a few wisps of white smoke rose, having almost no effect.
Damn it! Bad intel!
Sovinia’s heart sank. Most likely, the devoured Demon Race corpses were the cause. No wonder the reward was so generous.
Wohard didn’t hesitate—he raised his sword again. Another Holy Slash roared forth, this time finally destroying that stubborn regeneration.
The Slime King, writhing in unwillingness, finally split into two smaller, but still enormous, “mini” Slime Kings.
Just one Holy Slash left.
Sovinia did the math in her head, praying that Wohard had held back and underreported his Holy Slash uses.
The Slimes were now almost within reach.
They didn’t move quickly, but there were far too many, forming a slick green carpet surging toward Sovinia.
They seemed to hate her, the one who had burned their kin with fire, with a passion.
She glanced at the Sacrificial Dagger in her hand, then at the incoming Slime flood. She felt as powerless as an ant trying to stop a chariot.
She was stuck. Only when Wohard finished the Slime King could she hope for rescue. But he had only one Holy Slash left, and…
She couldn’t leave her fate in someone else’s hands!
Sovinia scanned the battlefield quickly. Her eyes landed on the two “mini” Slime Kings.
As they split, some Demon Race corpses and weapons were flung out, scattered nearby.
“Quick! Throw me that Double-handed Sword over there!”
She pointed to a Demon Standard Sword half-exposed in a pile of corpses, shouting to Wohard amid the melee.
“Use the Forcefield Sphere!” Wohard shouted back, unleashing his last Holy Slash to split one of the “mini” Slime Kings again, easing his own predicament for a moment.
The other “mini” Slime King seized the chance to spew a torrent of gluey slime at him—he dodged, but only half in time.
Even so, in the midst of evasion, he flicked the Demon Standard Sword expertly toward Sovinia with his sword tip.
The sword arced through the air. Sovinia caught it, as precisely as a dog snatching a plate.
Heroes really are useful dumb dogs.
She thought to herself, gripping the hilt with both hands.
The hilt felt cold and rough. The blade was wide and heavy—she could barely lift it with both hands. Standing alone before the encroaching Slime swarm, she looked incredibly small.
But she had no intention to fight yet.
***
“Tell your Divided Self to kick me!” she shouted to Wohard again. “Kick me to where I burned the Slimes earlier!”
Wohard was struggling to parry the onslaught from two large Slimes and a “mini” Slime King. He glanced back at her, incredulous.
“What? That’s suicide!”
Kick the unarmed princess into the mob? Was she insane?
Sovinia had no time to explain.
She pulled out her final Scroll and tore it open without hesitation.
The Demon Script on the Scroll glowed with an eerie light, and a translucent sphere instantly enveloped her.
The Forcefield Sphere formed just as a medium Slime lunged at her, its whole body splatting against the sphere’s surface but unable to get through, wriggling futilely on the smooth barrier.
The Forcefield Sphere cut off the stench and squelching from outside—and all danger with it.
Sovinia was safe, but she didn’t stop. She turned to the waiting Divided Self, waving desperately through the sphere.
She pointed at her feet, made a kicking motion, then hunched over, arms across her chest, rolling inside the sphere…
She looked just like a hamster in a ball, frantically gesturing her owner to roll her to the food bowl.
Finally, Wohard’s Divided Self moved and kicked the “Sovinia-brand” hamster ball.
“Thud!”
With a dull thump, Sovinia’s world spun crazily. The Forcefield Sphere spun her at high speed.
She rolled right over the Slime “sea,” the surface of the sphere echoing with endless “squelch, squelch” as countless bodies slid past beneath her, visible through streaks of green slime.
It felt… like sailing a ship over a sea of filth.
A nauseating thought flashed through her mind.
The spinning journey didn’t last long. After crushing a swathe of Slimes, the sphere’s momentum slowed and finally thudded against the cave wall, coming to a stop.
***
The wild spinning left Sovinia dizzy and nauseous. She lay inside the sphere, taking a second to recover her sense of balance.
She lifted her head and peered out through the still-clear upper part of the sphere. She saw a scatter of blackened remains.
She had arrived at her destination.
Here, the air was thick with the smell of burned protein. The ground was covered with the charred remains left by the fire…
And with spoils.
There were Cards. Gray Cards, each with a huge question mark on the front, quietly waiting to be drawn.
She knew she needed to assemble a Card Deck she could use.
Sovinia placed her hand gently on the inner wall of the Forcefield Sphere and summoned her golden finger.
“Infinite Change Cards, activate!”
***
The Slime King chases the isolated Miss Sovinia, while he chases the Slime King: Just like when facing an assassin—your squishy teammate gets scared and flashes away under the tower, the assassin chases them, and you, as the warrior, chase after the assassin.
Once the assassin kills your squishy teammate, your teammate types: “Didn’t protect the carry?”