Chapter 44: King of Marksmen

The staircase was a complete mess, but at least there were no monsters lurking about.

However, as soon as he neared the second floor, Kong Zhe immediately heard a series of furious roars from within. Judging by the sounds, there had to be at least seven or eight monsters inside, seemingly fighting over something.

This made him suspicious. If there were only humans up there, there would be no need for so many monsters to crowd together in such a scramble.

Peeking from behind the door at the top of the stairs, Kong Zhe quickly understood why.

On the western side of the second floor, a woman was floating in midair, her body glowing with golden light.

She was in the midst of awakening!

It was the radiance of awakening that had drawn the monsters there.

To monsters, the body of an awakened one was a most nourishing delicacy, far more potent than that of ordinary humans and capable of accelerating their evolution.

Thus, this woman was now enduring the very ordeal Kong Zhe himself had only recently survived.

Watching her, Kong Zhe couldn’t help but feel anxious for her sake. She was truly unfortunate; during his own awakening, at least there had only been a single fishman. Now, however, she was besieged by eight monsters at once!

Recalling the pain he suffered under the fishman’s assault, Kong Zhe could barely bring himself to look. The agony she was enduring now must be many times his own.

Yet, he couldn’t help but admire her as well. Despite the ferocity of the attack, the woman gritted her teeth and made not a sound.

She must have understood that crying out would only attract even more monsters. But even so, to possess such formidable self-control—this woman was no ordinary person.

After some thought, Kong Zhe decided to step in and help.

It wasn’t out of kindness. His true aim was the initial reward granted to the awakened.

The apocalypse had only just begun a day ago; by his reckoning, an awakening at this time would still place her among the top twenty in Gold City.

If so, she would at least receive a Silver Treasure Chest. Even for Kong Zhe, such a reward was extremely precious.

Besides, there were only eight monsters. With his current attributes, and with Little Dog’s help, he was eighty percent confident they could handle them.

When he saved her life, it wouldn’t be too much to ask her for the Silver Chest, would it?

“Little Dog, go!”

With his mind made up, Kong Zhe didn’t hesitate. He raised his blade and charged in alongside Little Dog.

“Woof! Woof!”

A few monsters, busy tearing at the woman, turned at the sudden commotion. Seeing only a kobold shaman howling as it charged, they lost interest and resumed their attack on the woman.

To them, it was obvious—the kobold was after the woman too. Monsters might squabble among themselves, but when humans were present, they always prioritized the kill.

None of them expected Little Dog to attack the outermost monster first.

Wham!

With a single blow, Little Dog knocked an unsuspecting gnoll unconscious and continued to pummel its head without pause.

At the same time, just a short distance away, a figure wielding a blade appeared out of thin air.

It was all so abrupt that none of the monsters reacted in time.

That figure, of course, was Kong Zhe, who had used his spatial card to follow closely behind Little Dog and approach the monsters.

Wasting no time, Kong Zhe struck while the monsters were still stunned, slashing viciously at a lizardman’s waist and cleaving its body in two.

The lizardman was tenacious, even in that state refusing to die. Its lower half writhed, while its upper half snarled and lunged at Kong Zhe, jaws snapping in rage.

Kong Zhe dodged nimbly and struck again, his horizontal slash piercing the creature’s heart.

The lizard convulsed, then lay still. As a level one monster, it was no challenge for Kong Zhe now.

Meanwhile, Little Dog had taken advantage of the chaos to finish off the gnoll wielding iron chains.

Now, the remaining monsters could no longer remain calm. They paused their assault on the woman and turned, roaring their fury at Kong Zhe and Little Dog.

Of the six remaining monsters, only three charged at them; the other three hesitated, then resumed their attack on the woman.

After all, both were awakened, and any one of them would suffice. But Kong Zhe looked like trouble, while the woman was helpless and unable to resist.

Kong Zhe’s heart leapt with joy. As long as they didn’t all attack together, the pressure would be much less.

Little Dog rushed forward and valiantly engaged a level two fishman.

The remaining two monsters bypassed Little Dog and lunged straight for Kong Zhe.

He did not flinch, raising his blade to meet them. In the past, facing two level two monsters at once would have been unthinkable. But now, with his greatly enhanced physique and a Distorted Light card in hand, he was more than a match.

The two monsters howled and charged, but just as they were about to reach him, Kong Zhe’s figure suddenly vanished.

The next instant, one monster felt a tremendous force slam into its chest. It was sent flying by a savage kick. Kong Zhe appeared in its place, relentlessly hacking at it as it tumbled. In just a few strikes, the fishman’s health was halved.

The other monster was still trying to process what had happened.

In a two-on-one situation, the key was to create a one-on-one opportunity. When fighting alone, none of these monsters could match him.

Of course, such circumstances couldn’t last. The other monster, realizing it had been deceived, flew into a rage and charged at Kong Zhe with jaws agape.

This time, Kong Zhe had no choice but to take the blow head-on—his magical energy was already depleted.

Taking heavy damage, Kong Zhe finally managed to slay both monsters.

Little Dog also finished off its opponent just in time.

To his delight, Kong Zhe noticed his experience bar jump when Little Dog killed the fishman.

“So Little Dog’s kills count for experience too!”

This was an unexpected bonus—he wouldn’t have to hold back and let Little Dog take the last hit in the future.

“Ugh…”

A muffled groan grabbed his attention. Kong Zhe turned instinctively and saw that the woman’s awakening had ended. The golden glow faded, and her body hit the floor with a thud.

At that moment, the three remaining monsters launched an even fiercer assault upon her.

She tried to fight back, but having just awakened and facing three monsters at once, she was completely overwhelmed. Her body was swiftly battered from every side.

This time, there was no golden radiance to heal her. Agonizing pain wracked her body, and finally, she could no longer hold back a scream.

“Damn!”

Kong Zhe’s expression changed. He hadn’t expected her awakening to end at that exact moment. Now, the woman was helplessly writhing in pain, her health plummeting under the onslaught.

Without time to think, Kong Zhe dashed forward, kicked a fishman flying, and slashed at another monster to force it back. Little Dog charged in, engaging the final monster.

With only two level one monsters left to face, the pressure was much less.

In short order, man and dog dispatched the remaining monsters. Little Dog was wounded, and Kong Zhe had lost two-thirds of his health, but it was nothing they couldn’t handle—Little Dog could heal, and Kong Zhe had enough experience to level up. He immediately pressed the upgrade button.

As a golden light enveloped him, his health and depleted energy were instantly restored to full.

Little Dog hopped around, healing itself as well. Kong Zhe paid it no mind; he didn’t even bother to collect the monsters’ loot but rushed straight to the woman’s side.

One look at her, and he sighed.

It was a pity. Her health had already fallen to zero. Though her chest still rose and fell faintly, Kong Zhe knew she was beyond saving.

Her life energy had shattered. Even Little Dog’s healing could do nothing. The only thing keeping her alive now was an astonishing force of will.

For the first time, Kong Zhe truly admired this woman. Most people would die instantly when their health reached zero; to endure even a moment longer spoke of an incredible obsession.

But what was the point? Death was now inevitable. To continue like this was only prolonging her suffering.

Shaking his head, Kong Zhe slowly drew a dagger from his belt. The only thing he could do now was help her find release.

Besides, if she simply died on her own, the kill would count for the monsters and nothing would drop. Only if he struck the final blow himself might the Silver Chest appear.

“Forgive me, but this is for your own good.”

With a soft sigh, Kong Zhe raised the dagger.

But just then, he felt a tug at his pant leg. Looking down, he saw that the woman had opened her eyes, her face pale as death, and was looking up at him, forcing out a few feeble syllables:

“…Help…me…please…”

Kong Zhe stared in shock. She should have been at death’s door, completely unable to move—yet she still had the strength to speak.

This woman must have an extraordinary attachment to life.

With a sigh, Kong Zhe’s gaze fell on a small teardrop-shaped mole beside her eye. The familiar feature triggered a memory.

…That person was from Gold City too.

Her face was streaked with blood and her hair hung in disarray, making her features hard to discern, but the outline of her face was unmistakable.

The more he looked, the more certain he became that she resembled someone he knew.

Could it be… was it really her…?

He couldn’t help but reach out and brush her hair aside to confirm her identity.

A moment later, Kong Zhe’s expression turned odd.

He could now be certain: he did know this woman.

Her name was Su Meiqin. In his previous life, she was a legendary figure, one of the most powerful awakened humans, renowned as the King of Spear Masters—a title not for firearms but for mastery of the spear as a cold weapon.