Chapter 274

Chapter 274: The Outcome Is Decided

"This works well. Stealth One doesn’t know how to hold back either, so if you get serious, she’ll match your intensity. Should things escalate, Sister Magic Rainbow will intervene to stop it."

"Oh… right."

Weak Sound nodded vacantly.

Red Pupil promptly nudged her forward.

"R-Ready? Sis… j-just come at me directly!"

Little Weak Ant’s face flushed crimson from her stammered challenge. Clamping her mouth shut, she lunged headlong at her opponent!

Stealth One was still contemplating her response when the sudden attack startled her. She swiftly shifted into combat mode, a keen dagger materializing in her palm.

Unlike Army Lady, her innate skills and superior agility lent themselves to assassin techniques – she’d always favored the dagger’s lethal grace over cumbersome swords.

Yet constrained by her Disguise’s diminished attributes, she instinctively tempered her speed.

The blade had barely cleared its sheath when Weak Sound crashed into her arms.

The sudden embrace of soft fragrance froze Stealth One momentarily.

"You…"

What was this?

Affection? Coquetry?

The answer came not in words but in brutal force. Powerful limbs hoisted Stealth One skyward before hurling her through the air.

Wind roared past her ears.

Adjusting her posture mid-air, she slammed into the barrier, a cough escaping her lips involuntarily. Dull pain throbbed in her chest.

Little Sound meant business.

However, Weak Sound’s true level only surpassed her displayed stats by about a dozen ranks. Manageable, provided Stealth One matched her seriousness… if she chose to engage fully.

"Stealth One! D-Don’t… don’t get careless! Underestimating foes gets you killed!"

The strained warning came from behind.

She stole a glance at Army Lady.

The golden-haired warrior princess gnashed her silver teeth, her lovely features contorted into monstrous severity – a grotesque mask born of forced concern.

Atrocious acting.

Is this brat picking a fight?

Should I eliminate her first?

"H-Here I come!"

Weak Sound’s declaration snapped Stealth One’s focus back.

What she saw next made her breath catch.

Weak Sound had truly unleashed her combat form. Activating Morph Transformation, her delicate hands and legs morphed into chitinous insect limbs.

It seemed she had also partially activated "Magnification," her small hands transforming into thick, elongated forelimbs nearly matching her own height. When raised, they resembled two massive greatswords. The girl’s stature instantly grew taller as her legs morformed into ant-like appendages.

"What… what is that creature?"

"A monster! Truly a monster! Heavens, I actually mistook her for an ordinary human child earlier!"

The bizarre yet terrifying visage completely erased her previously fragile appearance, sending ripples of panic through the watching crowd.

In the next heartbeat,

Weak Sound – now half-human, half-ant – disappeared from her position.

It was "Speeding," the advanced version of the "Quick Movement" skill… Just as this realization formed, Weak Sound materialized directly before her opponent.

The colossal forelimbs tore through the air in a sweeping strike!

Though capable of evasion, Stealth One deliberately matched her defensive posture to her displayed capabilities, raising her dagger with calculated precision.

BOOM!!!

A monstrous impact reverberated through the air. Rather than resisting, Stealth One allowed the force to propel her backward. To human observers, she appeared brutally struck by the chitinous limb, hurtling like artillery shell into the towering Magic Shield dozens of meters above ground.

Though only experiencing mild chest discomfort, Stealth One activated her "Magic Backpack" like Army Lady had done earlier. A prepared blood pouch materialized in her mouth as she plummeted earthward.

After crash-landing and staggering upright, she crunched the blood pouch between her teeth.

"Gah!"

She spat a crimson arc while panting dramatically. "I’m fine… Wait, no! I-I’m still alive?"

Perhaps unsettled by this gruesome display, Weak Sound initially recoiled in concern before catching herself. Forcing severity into her expression, she shouted, "This isn’t over!" and lunged forward again.

Stealth One manifested a second dagger in her left hand, meeting the charge with gritted teeth. Their collision echoed across the battlefield.

Both ant-legs and forelimbs became lethal weapons in Weak Sound’s arsenal. Despite Stealth One’s narrower level gap compared to previous opponents, she found herself relentlessly pushed backward. Each parry against the chitinous limbs sent shockwaves through her blades.

"Why… does she feel stronger than our last enemy?"

"She’s fighting seriously now! The previous opponent held back!"

"Damnation… Can our human race never overcome these monsters?"

"Are we facing defeat again?"

As feared, after another crushing blow, Stealth One’s right dagger went spinning from her numb fingers. The follow-up strike hammered into her torso, launching her across the arena. She impacted the ground hard enough to elicit a genuine wince of pain.

In that moment, Weak Sound’s head completed its transformation – a nightmarish antoid skull with razor-sharp mandibles emerged, crowning what now resembled a human-torsoed monstrosity. She pounced, ant-legs stabbing into the ground flanking Stealth One’s prone form.

The transformed Weak Sound lowered her insectile head, glistening mandibles framing Stealth One’s throat. Translucent drool pattered rhythmically beside the fallen warrior’s ear.

«Enough, my child.»

Magic Rainbow’s Psychic Call resonated in every mind present.

Weak Sound blinked, mandibles retracting as she scrambled backward. Activating "Transformation," she shrunk back into her timid humanoid form. "I… I didn’t mean to…" she stammered, eyes glistening.

"You’re formidable. I yield," Stealth One declared preemptively. The minor injuries meant nothing – she’d endured worse hunting Class A Monsters in deep forests, surviving multiple near-fatal encounters. Though Stealth Ants generally disdained other ant breeds, Weak Sound remained an exception. Unlike their "bully-the-weak" matriarch, this shy-seeming sister paradoxically inspired fierce protectiveness within the colony.

«Judgment is rendered,» Magic Rainbow’s voice thundered. «By pact, humanity shall kneel before their new sovereign!»

Chaos erupted – not just among the gate’s soldiers and adventurers, but throughout the entire city.