Volume One, Chapter 13: The First Battle

The three of them sprinted swiftly in the direction indicated by the spacetime locator. With the combat suits enhancing their abilities, their speed increased dramatically. The scenery beside them blurred rapidly as Li Yan glanced at the data displayed on his suit; their speed had already reached three hundred kilometers per hour.

Yet, he felt he could go faster, sensing that he had not yet reached his limit.

With that thought, Li Yan suddenly unleashed a burst of energy, propelling himself forward like a bullet.

Seeing this, Yue Chengze hurriedly warned, “Don’t rush too fast; keep your speed aligned with ours.”

He had anticipated Li Yan’s behavior—being a fusion of four entities, Li Yan’s overall capabilities far surpassed theirs. When he unleashed his power, his speed would only increase. If Li Yan continued to grow and fully mastered the power of the quadruple time markers, he would become even faster and stronger.

Although he and Wu Xu had found a treasure, if it wasn’t properly controlled, it could easily cause trouble.

“Alright, alright, I just got a bit excited,” Li Yan quickly slowed down.

The three soon arrived at the marked location.

Not far off, two colossal Void Devourers, each nearly three meters tall and covered in chaotic black scales, with gaping blood-red maws, were gnawing at a fragile spacetime node.

Sensing their approach, the two beasts ceased their feeding and turned to face Li Yan and his companions. Their bloodshot, frenzied eyes shone like twin headlights, staring directly at the trio.

In that instant, Li Yan, Yue Chengze, and Wu Xu seemed insignificant, as if these two Void Devourers could swallow them whole with a single bite.

“First, seal the area with the quantum net to prevent their escape. Li Yan, watch from the side and don’t rush in. Let Wu Xu and me handle this,” Yue Chengze said, swiftly leaping several hundred meters away to form a pincer attack with Wu Xu.

Wu Xu had anticipated this; after pressing a button on the spacetime locator, he tossed it into the air.

An invisible net immediately enveloped a ten-mile radius.

The two Void Devourers were completely trapped within.

A roar erupted.

Though low in intelligence, the beasts now understood the three were adversaries. Their bloodshot eyes grew even more wild. Opening their massive jaws, they snapped forward, aiming to swallow the intruders whole.

“Trash, I’ll deal with you. Sixfold enhancement!” Wu Xu adjusted his combat suit quickly and struck a powerful punch at the charging Void Devourer.

With a resounding crack, his fist struck the beast’s jaw, sending its massive body hurtling backward.

After a few rolls on the ground, the beast got up, shook its head, and roared as it charged Wu Xu again.

Meanwhile, Yue Chengze materialized a long energy blade in his hand and clashed fiercely with the other Void Devourer. Dust and stones flew as the ground trembled.

Li Yan watched their battle with a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

What kind of organization had he joined?

He remembered Yue Chengze saying they were only to capture reborn or transmigrated individuals like themselves. Why were they fighting monsters like these?

But as he watched, a surge of impulse welled up inside him—he wanted to join the fray and battle these creatures himself.

His combat suit was his greatest asset; as long as the energy held, it would protect him well.

Yue Chengze’s swings with the long blade were broad and seemingly clumsy, but each strike was effective. The scales on the Void Devourer he battled cracked open, oozing dark green fluid.

Wu Xu preferred a more direct, hand-to-hand fighting style. The Void Devourer facing him was shedding scales under his relentless punches and clearly losing ground.

Li Yan gained a deeper understanding of their strength.

“Wu Xu, stop playing around. Finish this quickly!” Yue Chengze shouted, slashing fiercely into the beast’s body.

Wu Xu replied, “I just want our new teammate to have a good look. This guy’s almost done. Eightfold enhancement!”

Suddenly, a massive axe appeared in his hands, and he swung it down hard on the beast.

Both had plenty of experience dealing with Void Devourers; two low-level ones were not too difficult to handle.

Soon, they had the upper hand, and victory was only a matter of time.

Suddenly, Li Yan felt the quantum net flicker.

A loud roar followed.

“Huh?”

He instinctively looked toward the source of the sound.

Outside the quantum net, a nearly five-meter-tall Void Devourer was battering against the barrier.

“How is there a third one? I thought only two were detected,” Yue Chengze noticed the beast assaulting the net.

Wu Xu said he didn’t know either and asked, “Wasn’t the mission assigned to you?”

Wu Xu glanced at the unexpected beast and called out urgently, “This one’s nearly evolved to mid-level. The quantum net I set up can only hold off typical low-level Void Devourers.”

No sooner had he spoken than the beast broke a sizable gap in the net.

Yue Chengze panicked and shouted, “Finish the fight quickly! We can’t let them unite.”

They had to swiftly deal with the two low-level beasts first, then join forces to face the nearly mid-level Void Devourer.

While two low-level Void Devourers posed some difficulty, they were manageable.

But a beast approaching mid-level evolution was a whole different matter; its strength was a qualitative leap beyond the others. Even together, defeating it would cost them greatly.

In the past, such enemies required cooperation from two or three teams.

There was clearly a mistake with the intelligence provided by the Order Bureau, but there was no time to dwell on that now.

Crackling sounds echoed as the quantum net continued to be breached.

Li Yan’s body tensed instinctively upon seeing the beast.

Judging from Yue Chengze and Wu Xu’s expressions, this Void Devourer was not an easy foe.

At that moment, the two losing Void Devourers, seeing reinforcements, launched a desperate counterattack, holding Yue Chengze and Wu Xu in place.

“Li Yan, be careful! Use the quantum space cannon on it!” Yue Chengze shouted.

Hearing this, Li Yan hastily fiddled with his combat suit.

“Quantum space cannon? How do I activate that again? Where was the button? I remember training on this...” He was so flustered he forgot how to deploy it.

Yue Chengze and Wu Xu exchanged a glance, their hearts sinking.

A rookie was still a rookie; unexpected situations unsettled him.

Their attacks grew fiercer—they had to defeat the two Void Devourers before the big one broke through the net.

With a crack, the quantum net shattered completely.

A thunderous roar followed as the towering Void Devourer charged at the trio.

“Li Yan, be careful! Retreat! Send a distress signal!” Yue Chengze shouted urgently.

Li Yan noticed the combat suit interface displayed a standard long blade, the same as Yue Chengze’s.

“No matter. I’ll do it like this. Tenfold enhancement.”

He pushed the suit’s power to its maximum.

Suddenly, Li Yan felt a tremendous surge of energy coursing through him, as if he could punch down a derelict building.

Gripping the long blade with both hands, his body bent slightly, muscles in his legs coiled tight.

As the Void Devourer closed in, Li Yan’s heart pounded wildly—fear, excitement, and an inexplicable fighting spirit stirred within him.

It was as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Boom!

Li Yan stomped the ground hard, creating a massive crater beneath him.

He then launched himself forward like a projectile.

“Die!”

His blade clashed against the Void Devourer.

Instead of slicing through flesh and scale, it struck like hitting solid diamond, sparks flying in all directions.

Both man and beast were knocked backward, crashing into the ground with heavy thuds, each leaving a crater.

The nearly mid-level Void Devourer shook its massive head, its abdominal scales split wide open by the strike.

This small figure was no ordinary opponent.

Yue Chengze and Wu Xu watched the scene, both somewhat stunned.

This rookie was a bit reckless.