“If you want to enter my territory, you play by my rules,” the Lust Dark Demon Queen said, raising a hand to halt the humanoid Digital Sprites.
“Of course,” Gu Bei agreed on behalf of the group.
The contestants could take this city if they committed to it, but the cost would be steep. Their real target was Han Wu and the Giant Crest. Everything else was secondary. If fighting the Dark Demon Queen cost them most of their forces, they’d never pull off the actual objective.
“I decide who enters. I will kill anyone who sets one foot inside my territory without my permission,” the Dark Demon Queen declared.
One contestant stepped forward to protest. “Who do you think you—”
“Lady Dark Demon Queen, you have the final say,” Gu Bei cut in, bodily blocking the contestant and turning to glare at the guy.
The contestant feared the Destruction Clan’s reputation more than any Digital Sprite, and promptly shut his mouth.
The Dark Demon Queen nodded, then swayed forward a couple of steps, surveying the crowd of contestants.
“You, you, you, and you, plus you,” she said, her slender finger pointing out five from the group, including Gu Bei. “The five of you may enter.”
“Why do they get to go in and we don’t?” someone immediately objected.
“Because you’re ugly. You’re too hideous to set foot in my territory,” the Dark Demon Queen replied without a shred of mercy.
The objector nearly exploded with rage. Where was the decency? One didn’t go around slapping people in the face, nor did they go around calling people out on their sore spots! When did Digital Sprites become so cutthroat?
The others had their own complaints. If only five of them could enter, that meant the rest of them couldn’t seize Han Wu. These families weren’t about to walk away empty-handed after coming all this way and even losing contestants in the process.
“Once the five of us are inside, we’ll flush Han Wu out.” Gu Bei reassured them. “Then we’ll settle things among ourselves to decide who gets the Giant Crest.”
“Destruction Clan, you’d better keep your word! Otherwise, the Life Family won’t stand for it.”
“Neither will the Light Family!”
Under threat from the assembled contestants, Gu Bei had no choice but to comply. The Destruction Clan was as strong as any other family, but they had no God King backing them. If an entire faction turned against them, the consequences would be devastating.
“I’m a man of my word. I won’t deceive anyone,” Gu Bei promised.
The other four chosen contestants pledged the same, going so far as to swear on their families’ names before the rest of the group agreed to let them go.
Watching the broadcast, the excluded families donated small amounts of Divine Essence to the five chosen contestants as compensation. Battling Han Wu would certainly cost them, and the donations served as an advance payment. Gu Bei alone received 700,000 Divine Essence in donations, which only boosted his confidence further.
As the five contestants led their Digital Sprites toward the ruined city, the Dark Demon Queen stopped them again. “Non-humanoid Digital Sprites are forbidden from entering.”
“You’re pushing your luck!” one of the five snapped. How dare a mere Digital Sprite try to stop them at every turn?
The Dark Demon Queen’s expression darkened. Dense shadows descended on the man, forming a pitch-black coffin around him. The muffled sounds from within gave way to silence only three seconds later.
The coffin then dispersed to reveal the contestant’s corpse. His skin had turned purple, as though he had been suffocated. Stranger still, his protective barrier was intact with its durability untouched. He hadn’t taken a single direct hit before death, which meant the forced teleportation mechanism had never triggered.
This brutal death was enough to make every contestant realize that the Lust Dark Demon Queen was no ordinary Digital Sprite. She was a Microcosm-rank life form. While killing all of them was likely beyond her, picking off a few would be effortless.
“I won’t tolerate disrespect again,” the Dark Demon Queen said flatly.
This time, no one dared voice a complaint, not wanting to be the next to die.
“The four of you may bring only humanoid, semi-humanoid, or human-featured Digital Sprites into my territory. All other forms are banned,” the Dark Demon Queen instructed.
The other three quickly agreed. Gu Bei, however, glanced at the Iron Gorillasprite beside him with some concern.
He had built several evolution paths, but his core unit was the gorilla. Nearly every Digital Sprite he owned looked like a gorilla. Besides the Iron Gorillasprite, he had the ultimate Gorilla Gunner, the Berserk Gorillasprite, and the King Gorillasprite. If none of them could enter, he may as well not go at all.
“May I ask, what Digital Sprites count as resembling humans?” Gu Bei inquired.
The Dark Demon Queen had some appreciation for this particular contestant. Not only had he stayed calm and composed, but he also hadn’t insulted her.
Thus, she did him the favor of genuinely studying the four ultimate gorilla Digital Sprites standing beside Gu Bei. Each one was clearly intelligent, grinning widely and trying to win her favor. When her gaze swept over Iron Gorillasprite’s chiseled, bodybuilder-like physique, the Dark Demon Queen caught herself licking her lips.[1]
“Come in, then,” she finally relented.
Gu Bei was thrilled. Catching Han Wu wouldn’t be a problem with his full strength. Once he caught him, the Giant Crest would go up for fair competition, as promised, but everything else Han Wu owned remained up for grabs. Those spoils would be split among Gu Bei and the other three without anyone else having a say.
Using the special materials from Han Wu’s collection to enhance his own evolution paths would allow him to create all sorts of powerful Digital Sprites, dramatically improving his odds in the overall competition. This was what Gu Bei was truly betting on.
1. Ayo?! ☜