From an innocent Passerby A in the [Streetlamp] incident to a witness to the [Whale of Wailing], she had finally enjoyed a stretch of normal life, only to enter an Assessment and get randomly dumped straight into a pile of disasters.
That would have been bad enough, but damn it, someone from the [Void Order] just had to show up and cause trouble. Then rescue was blocked, and the whole area was sealed off.
Ye Buyu pinched the spot beneath her nose, overcome with grief. "I'm only first tier. First tier!"
Even a pig deserved time to grow before it was slaughtered.
The evacuating examinees glanced over, staring at Ye Buyu with their jaws hanging open, wondering whether they had misheard. What the hell did she mean, first tier?!
"The Wind-Thunder Cantor has started moving. Head southeast. The other examinees will meet you there."
Following the Observation Group's directions, the examinees in the dense forest evacuated in an orderly fashion. But the gale closed in faster than they had imagined. Broken tree trunks tore up from the ground, and greens so dark they were almost black stained the expanding tornado a jumble of colors.
It looked like an enormous mohawk covered in countless dead branches and fallen leaves.
And sporting that mohawk was no ordinary fellow, but a disaster whose body had been recast in level-six liquid shaping metal. Calling it a Gundam fighter jet crackling with lightning would hardly have been an exaggeration.
"I really want to report it for driving without a license," Ye Buyu grumbled. Behind her, thunder shook heaven and earth in rolling waves. Even without looking back, she could feel death coming for her.
Why was that thing so terrifying?
Little Whale leisurely began explaining. "If it were just an ordinary level-based disaster, you could still put up a fight. But the Wind-Thunder Cantor has already transcended levels and become a Blessed One. That's not something weaklings like you can handle.
"Disasters have their own paths of growth, too. Ordinary disasters act purely on instinct and obsession, but most disasters also have their own territories and factions.
"Once they move beyond their ignorant beginnings, disasters above level five have a chance to receive a shred of recognition from the will of a higher-level Calamity of the same origin. That grants them power and lets them advance to become Blessed Ones.
"By obtaining more blessings from a Calamity through sacrifices and prayers, they can evolve from Blessed Ones into Priests.
"As a Priest's faction expands and it acquires its own territory, it can advance to become a Lord. The kings to whom Lords pledge their obedience and loyalty stand even higher, personally crowned by a Calamity Lord.
"Behind the Crowned Ones stand the true rulers, whether formless or tangible: Calamities."
Little Whale raised its head haughtily. "So do you understand my value now? The remains of a Level Ten Calamity are enough to destroy an entire continent!"
Ye Buyu's lips twitched. If you can deal with that Wind-Thunder Cantor, I'll admit you're amazing.
"Not happening." Little Whale laughed mercilessly. "I'm just a remnant. You're lucky I can protect you from mental intrusion. You want me to work for free, too? Absolutely not."
Little Whale clicked its tongue and shook its head. "Even the lowest-level Blessed One requires you to have Fourth Tier strength to stand a chance.
Let me think. Fourth Tier humans can fight Blessed Ones, Fifth Order humans can take on Priests, sixth tiers can clash with Lords, and seventh tiers can face kings. Eighth tier... that's impossible in the Present World."
Ye Buyu tuned out Little Whale's rambling. None of it was useful. She was only first tier right now. What did eighth tier have to do with her?
She would be lucky enough not to end up roasted like a pig by a disaster.
But there was no doubt that the Wind-Thunder Cantor had skipped ahead several patches and its stats had ballooned. Add a sneaky Void Cultist, and beating them up would be child's play.
It was an utterly one-sided mismatch.
"We can't keep going like this. The Wind-Thunder Cantor is moving too fast. Someone has to buy us time." Mu Bingge stopped, pushed Ye Buyu toward Su Wuwei, then turned and drew a long whip.
"Take her and go. I'll hold it off."
"But you haven't reached fourth tier yet." Ye Buyu grabbed her arm.
"Almost." Mu Bingge gazed at the raging winds in the distance, then turned and patted Ye Buyu. "Don't worry. I'll catch up soon."
With that, she took her whip and headed into the gale, stepping up against its flow on mirrors of water.
Su Wuwei frowned, but merely nodded and started moving with Ye Buyu. Dithering at a time like this was asking to die.
"Let's go first. At the very least, we can't hold her back."
Ye Buyu nodded, then took to her heels without hesitation. She ran so fast her feet practically flew, nearly keeping pace with the other second-tier examinees.
Su Wuwei's mouth twitched, and he covered his face in speechless disbelief. "I actually thought she'd hesitate. Bad judgment on my part."
Ye Buyu simply didn't want to waste Mu Bingge's kindness. The faster they evacuated, the less danger Mu Bingge would face.
Besides... as a first tier, there was very little she could do.
Thinking of those materials, she gritted her teeth. "I have to advance a tier to have any chance of winning."
The Observation Group wasn't idle either. They were frantically searching for a way out.
Suddenly, an observer stood up in delight. "Team leader! Examinee Kou Ying has found something!"
He zoomed in on the feed and pointed at the small mountain. "Kou Ying just contacted us and said there's a Teleportation Channel here.
"This isn't some sleeping magical-beast-type disaster at all. It's an abandoned interstellar warship, and there's a passage inside that we can connect to!
"Team leader, the examinees can be saved!"
Overjoyed, the team leader opened the feed from Kou Ying's location. After seeing the device capable of establishing a Teleportation Channel, he gripped the observer beside him. "Keep in touch with Kou Ying and help him establish the Teleportation Channel!"
He worked the terminal, plotted the shortest route, and swiftly notified all the examinees.
"Attention, all examinees. Kou Ying has determined the true nature of the magical-beast-type disaster. It is a buried, abandoned warship. The Observation Group is doing everything it can to establish a Teleportation Channel. Everyone proceed to this location for an orderly evacuation!"
Su Wuwei abruptly looked toward the colossal shape. A buried interstellar warship?
Ye Buyu's earlier words suddenly flashed through his mind. She had said it was a mountain...
It all lined up!
Viewed normally, wouldn't a warship covered in rock and soil look exactly like a strange mountain?
He glanced sideways at Ye Buyu, unable to hide his astonishment. "You really could see its true nature at a glance."
The instant Ye Buyu saw the message on her terminal, she let out an exquisitely eloquent curse.
"Fuck, that thing's a warship?"
She had known there was more to that mountain than met the eye, but she hadn't expected this.
Following the instructions, the examinees suppressed their unease, steeled themselves, and climbed into the magical beast's mouth-the enormous, pitch-black cave.
Twisted tentacles sprawled through the interior, looking hideous in the dim light.
Ye Buyu ignored them entirely, pushing the tentacles aside as she walked in.
Even the flames in Su Wuwei's hand faltered for an instant. "You're just going straight through?"
Ye Buyu looked back. "What's wrong? Aren't these just dead branches?"
As she spoke, she snapped one off with a crack and trod it underfoot, then looked at the others with an utterly innocent expression.
Everyone was speechless. ...Don't do something so brutal with such an innocent face!
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