Chapter 5: The Ice and Fire Tournament (Part Four)

Chapter 5: The Ice and Fire Tournament (Part Four)

The commentator swallowed, suppressing his excitement.

"...Blizzards are the favored activity weather of Ice Butterflies. Our holographic interactive projection perfectly simulates this." He took a few seconds to steady his voice before turning to face the camera, addressing the microphone with a dry tone, "Ice Butterflies on the barren planet are venturing out to hunt. They are converging from all directions... towards a single direction."

"We can observe... hundreds, if not thousands, of ice butterflies fluttering in the direction of the icy mountain range where contestant Rong Mi is located!"

Audience: "..."

"…Did I hear that correctly? A thousand of them?! …That exceeds the norm, doesn't it?"

"What's with the holographic projection algorithm? Why do they all need Rong Mi?"

"Could it be because Rong Mi was exposed to some unique pheromones during her encounter at the Ice Butterfly Cocoon site? …The algorithm must be based on the ice butterflies' behavior patterns."

"Report! I just came from another live stream. Another team has encountered ice butterflies as well! I saw those mecha pilots desperately calling for rescue! One of them had their mecha completely destroyed… The holographic interactive projection is that intense?!"

"…Uh, uh, this holographic projection is frightening. The ice butterflies on this insectoid planet probably look something like that, right?!"

"I wonder if the holographic projection only features basic Ice Butterflies, or if it includes advanced ones and even Sub-Butterflies?" A knowledgeable commentator in the chat was curious about the contextual background of the competition. "If the latter two types appear, will they be portrayed just as realistically?!"

Humanity had classified Ice Butterflies into a series of ranks.

The most common were the basic Ice Butterflies, whose intelligence equaled that of a four or five-year-old child, lacking much cognitive ability.

Then came the advanced Ice Butterflies, divided into five levels from one to five. Beyond them were the Sub-Butterflies, which could transform into humanoid forms.

Ice Butterflies evolved by assimilating unique energy. Upon reaching the Sub-Butterfly stage, their vitality and lethality were astonishing. They could even create spatial wormholes by absorbing vast amounts of energy, allowing them to traverse the universe and launch long-range attacks on other planets.

As one of the main responsibilities of the mecha pilots aboard the "Divine Maiden" warship, Rong Mi's task was to disembark and explore each barren planet they encountered during their nomadic journey. The objective was to detect any existence of Arachnids or high-ranking Ice Butterflies.

If found, an immediate call for assistance from the main ship would ensue, initiating a swift extermination to prevent them from gathering large swarms of low-ranking Ice Butterflies and launching surprise attacks on the fleet.

Each encounter with Arachnids or imminent high-ranking Ice Butterflies had resulted in severe casualties for their fleet.

Rong Mi wasn't overly concerned about encountering an Arachnid on this barren planet.

The maturation conditions for an Arachnid were extremely stringent. On average, out of a billion Ice Butterflies, only one could ascend to become an Arachnid, a process that took hundreds of years. To stumble upon one randomly upon rebirth would be akin to winning the lottery.

However, whether there were high-level Ice Butterflies in the underground lair of this desolate planet was something Rong Mi couldn't determine.

What he needed to consider most at the moment was how to break through the encirclement of the multitude of low-level Ice Butterflies.

As the previous butterfly fell from being hit, Rong Mi's gun had already shifted to its next target, ready to fire again.

The intervals between each shot were incredibly brief, as if they were fired in rapid succession.

Rong Mi kept shooting, and the heat emitted from the laser gun's barrel melted the snow on the metal shell into shimmering droplets.

Hundreds of Ice Butterflies fell to his sniper attacks, but even more joined their ranks from behind.

Rong Mi remained calm, but judging from the sheer number of butterflies in the distance, he knew it was impossible to wipe out the swarm before his laser gun overheated and became useless.

What was even more troublesome was that he had no idea how many Ice Butterflies were still lurking beneath the surface.

Rong Mi thought to himself, This planet shouldn't host any survival contests; the military fleet should be sent in for a direct extermination!

Despite these thoughts, his actions didn't slow down; if anything, they accelerated. However, his speed in eliminating the butterflies was slightly slower than their swift movement.

Only because of the heavy casualties upfront did the swarm seem to slow down significantly.

Despite the sluggish pace, they were still gradually drawing near.

They entered Gu Ming's mental perception range.

Upon getting a clear view of the swarm, even Gu Ming, who was hiding behind the mecha, couldn't help widening his eyes.

A few minutes later, the live-stream camera captured the scene.

Gu Ming: "......."

Audience in the live-stream: "......."

"Help... Help!" someone muttered, "My trypophobia is acting up!"

Compared to the viewers behind the screens, Gu Ming was hit harder by the sight.

"....Damn it!" Gu Ming couldn't help but swear.

Due to family circumstances, he knew more about Ice Butterfly than others did.

Perhaps some competitors might dismiss it as merely an interactive holographic projection, but he instantly sensed something amiss.

What was surging before him was the genuine, palpable energy wave of Ice Butterfly.

He was a club mecha pilot from a Safe Zone. Although he had ventured to resource planets for mining... he had never encountered a real Ice Butterfly before!

In the face of those overwhelming scarlet butterfly wings, Gu Ming's limbs went numb, as if he had lost control over his body.

Paralyzed by terror, he was frozen in place, on the verge of fainting from sheer fright.

But then, he saw the armor ahead.

The armor, firing shot after shot in rapid succession.

Each bullet hitting its mark, each one ending the life of an ice butterfly with a single blow.

It was as if a barrier had been erected by a lone figure, impervious to the icy creatures.

More implausible than the swarming ice butterflies that seemed to materialize from nowhere.

Gu Ming gradually suppressed his fear amidst this bizarre scene.

However, he was not much more at ease.

For the number of ice butterflies arriving... was simply overwhelming.

They kept coming in an endless stream.

Yet, human mental strength and mecha energy... were both limited.

*

The weather on the Desolate Star was terrible, with the snowstorm showing no sign of abating after battering the area for half a day.

Cracks were starting to spread across the snowfield's surface.

Countless ice butterflies were being irresistibly drawn, recklessly following one another into a single formation.

A formation marching directly towards Rong Mi.

Beyond the snow-capped mountains, Rong Mi's laser rifle had overheated, its black metal exterior now glowing with an iron-like dark red from within.

With a soft clank, Rong Mi discarded an empty energy cartridge.

Immediately following was the thud of the laser gun hitting the ground, its usefulness exhausted.

"This contest is a bit too intense," Rong Mi grumbled, unable to hold back his frustration.

Without the laser rifle, he could still engage in combat using his psychic powers.

The psychic energy slots around his mecha activated, emitting a deep purple energy that blossomed into sparks, enveloping the ice butterflies.

As Rong Mi's score climbed, so did the number of ice butterflies drawn to him like an endless stream, simultaneously posing a significant threat and boosting his ranking with each one eliminated.

However, Rong Mi found Ice Butterfly's actions highly irrational.

Ice Butterfly delighted in hunting amidst blizzards.

Unless there was a special reason, they wouldn't relentlessly pursue a single prey, risking life and limb.

There must be something about him that was attracting the Ice Butterflies.

But Rong Mi had just inhabited this body and lacked sufficient information about his surroundings, unable to determine what exactly was drawing the Ice Butterflies to him.

He furrowed his brows slightly, pondering ways to break the current deadlock.

The amplification of mental energy in this mecha was too low, resulting in a limited coverage area for his mental senses. He could only deal with the nearby Ice Butterflies and was powerless against distant foes.

If he couldn't eliminate the distant Ice Butterflies, he would be stuck in a relentless cycle of swiftly killing the approaching ones without respite.

If this stalemate persisted, and the Ice Butterflies kept appearing nonstop... he'd likely end up as their meal.

Rong Mi: That would be a wasted rebirth!

The laser blade in the mecha's hand spun, yet his expression remained cool and composed as he swiftly found a solution in his mind.

He decided to take a bold and risky move to achieve a permanent resolution.

Rong Mi possessed remarkable mental strength. At maximum output, his mental energy flared like a vast fire, rapidly spreading in all directions.

If he could intentionally exceed the maximum safety threshold while his mental energy was still abundant and forcefully amplify its output, he could trigger a brief state of mental overload.

During this overload, the intensity of his mental strength increased dramatically, allowing it to saturate the entire snowfield.

Let flames engulf the snowy landscape, seeping into the earth, transforming this realm into a deep amethyst inferno.

The price is that, should one lose control after overloading, it could lead to a disordered mental domain, a rampant psionic energy.

This is an exceedingly perilous endeavor.

Both humans and star beasts... they all dread any ailment connected to the mental domain.

For the consequences are utterly terrifying.

In the case of a mental domain disorder, one could fall into a coma at best, or suffer a collapse leading to death at worst.

For those with inherently high levels of mental power, an explosion during the energy burst could affect not just their minds, but also their bodies and the surrounding areas, reducing everything to ashes in an instant.

Rong Mi had only recently been reborn and didn't fancy turning himself into fireworks anytime soon.

But he was an adventurous person, and he had ample confidence in himself.

Moreover, if he didn't deliberately overload his mental domain now, waiting until it became fatigued in a prolonged battle, he wouldn't even have the chance to make a desperate attempt through overloading.

"I'll probably briefly lose consciousness and have a splitting headache for a few days," Rong Mi muttered to himself, effortlessly making his decision.

Rong Mi gently exhaled.

The wind around the black mecha suddenly ceased.

The tempest raged afar, but the vicinity of Rong Mi was suddenly tranquilized, frozen in time.

Each snowflake suspended mid-air, as if upheld by microscopic particles.

A faint purplish-glow began to shimmer subtly in the atmosphere.

The viewers in the live stream couldn't perceive this subtle transformation through their cameras, but Gu Ming, hidden behind the wreckage of the mecha, gradually widened his eyes.

He sensed a formidable surge of mental energy erupting from Rong Mi, resembling a flame about to engulf everything in its path.

Yet, at the very moment Rong Mi's mental energy was on the verge of explosion, an unexpected twist occurred.

Close by or far off, all visible and mentally perceivable objects momentarily distorted.

In a blink, a powerful energy wave, distinct from both Rong Mi's and Ice Butterfly's mental energy, arrived from the distance. It was cold like the eternal winds of an ancient wilderness, sweeping across all things and enveloping the snowfield.