Chapter 242: The Fearsome Demon Queen Bai Fu, the Distant Strike of the Sovereign
With version 2.0, players began entering the starsea on a large scale, and their footprints soon covered nearly the entire Fringe World.
So, when LoveTrain started livestreaming, the whole Fringe World quickly learned that Bai Fu was fighting someone in the Dark Region.
“What’s she doing in the Dark Region?”
“Maybe she went back to her hometown?”
“She’s fighting? Who is she fighting?”
“The opponent’s exact identity is still unknown, but according to those Undying ones, Bai Fu was blocked by ten Calamity-class enemies.”
Once they roughly grasped the situation, whether it was players watching the livestream or NPCs hearing it from players, they were all stunned.
What, she’s fighting ten? Is her real name Fu Wen?
Although Bai Fu had recently obliterated the Calamity Legion and showcased her astonishing strength, during that battle, she had at most faced four Calamity-class opponents simultaneously. The difference between four and ten was no small gap.
Can she win?
No, more accurately—can she survive?
“Ahahahahaha!”
In the sanatorium, Hampton, lying on a hospital bed under the care of professional robots, jumped straight up from the bed in joy after seeing the related news, bouncing a full two meters high.
Ever since that day he’d vomited blood from anger, he hadn’t been this happy even once.
Faced with a siege by ten Calamity-class enemies, Bai Fu had no chance of survival!
Die, die, serves you right for always stirring up trouble. Now look what a mess you’ve made!
Delightful!
Feeling elated, Hampton wanted to celebrate a bit.
And what’s a celebration without a little drink?
Seeing him indulging himself like this, the caretaker robot quickly stepped forward to stop him, but was pushed away.
Don’t touch me!
Who knows better than me how my own body is doing and whether I can drink, you hunk of scrap?
And so, Hampton continued refreshing the news and various forums for battle updates while downing one drink after another.
One could say, sorrow and frustration were transferable.
At this moment, his own sorrow and frustration had transferred to Andras.
“Damn!”
Andras furrowed his brows deeply.
If Bai Fu suddenly died...
Tch.
Was that something to be thinking about?
He quickly contacted Scarlet Leaf to find out what was going on. But Scarlet Leaf didn’t know the details either, so she contacted Digger Girl.
“Miss Scarlet Leaf, don’t worry. Fu Fu is doing just fine. She’s holding off seven Calamity-class opponents all by herself. If you still don’t believe me, I’ll call Anya and have her tell you.”
Digger Girl nodded.
Since Digger Girl put it that way, she believed her.
Still, she felt some regret. If she were by Bai Fu’s side right now, Bai Fu would’ve had to fight two fewer opponents.
“Anya said Bai Fu can handle it?”
Hearing Scarlet Leaf say this, Andras was in disbelief. Was this not just daydreaming?
He was full of anxiety, but with Bai Fu so far away in the Dark Region, there was nothing he could do even if he wanted to help. All he could do was restrain himself and keep waiting for the outcome.
Hopefully, it wouldn’t take too long?
...
At the same time, in the Taim Civilization, Kostari Governorate.
As the Governor, Neris was among the first to learn that Bai Fu had gotten into a fight.
“She said she was going to give me a big gift, but then suddenly ran off to the Dark Region. What’s in the Dark Region that qualifies as a ‘big gift’?”
Neris summoned his steward and had him go question a few Undying ones to get specifics—what the people fighting Bai Fu looked like, whether they had any special symbols on their persons or ships.
Not long after, the steward returned with the intel he wanted.
“People from the Glorious Forces!”
Neris recognized it at once.
The situation had suddenly turned delicate. Bai Fu had no direct conflict with the Glorious Forces. After her crushing of the Calamity Legion and skyrocketing fame, the Glorious Forces had likely extended an olive branch to her just like he had. Yet now they were fighting.
What was going on?
Neris couldn’t make sense of it.
He had actually seen the photo players had recreated of N2.
But during that assassination operation, no one had seen N2’s real face. Otherwise, N2 couldn’t have escaped into the Dark Region amidst the chaos. So he hadn’t realized that N2 was the assassin who tried to kill the head of state, much less that N2 had ties to the Glorious Forces.
He only had a vague sense that something major was about to erupt.
And he wasn’t the only one. Everyone paying attention to the Taim Civilization felt the same way.
Under normal circumstances, the Glorious Forces had no reason to be in the Dark Region. If they were there, something extraordinary must have happened.
Could that event be the fuse to ignite the Taim Civilization?
...
Contrary to what most people imagined, Bai Fu, who was facing five enemies alone, wasn’t at a disadvantage—she was actually gaining the upper hand.
“So this is me after taking the Rose Blossom Potion and fully enhancing all my Prayer Cards?”
Bai Fu glanced at the dark psionic flame blazing in her palm.
With the buffs from skills like Lock of the Mind, her Inspiration stat had shot up to 4851. If those Calamity-class members of the Glorious Forces saw her Inspiration number, they’d abandon any thoughts of fighting her altogether.
In fact, those five Calamity-class enemies already felt their scalps going numb.
A few dozen seconds ago, when Bai Fu had rushed out and declared she would fight five at once, they’d thought she was out of her mind.
One versus five?
Kid, the world of Calamity-class isn’t that simple. Are you suicidal?
But now they realized the ones being naive were themselves.
In the very first clash, one martial artist among them flashed beside Bai Fu, attempting a finishing move to cripple her.
The result—Bai Fu stood unmoved after taking the “finisher”, her clothes unruffled. Meanwhile, the martial artist who took three palm strikes from her froze up and collapsed on the spot.
The others had to give it their all to drag their companion back before Bai Fu’s next attack landed.
Good news: their teammate wasn’t dead yet.
Bad news: he only had one breath left in him. If they delayed treatment, he would die for sure.
This was a Calamity-class martial artist—taken to the brink of death with a single move. Who wouldn’t feel fear at such a sight?
At this point, to the eyes of the Calamity-class members of the Glorious Forces, Bai Fu was no longer a holy saintess but a terrifying demon queen with a dark scepter, tiny fangs, and devil wings!
“Calm down. There’s no way Bai Fu can use a move like that again so soon. Unless she’s a Sovereign, and if she were, we’d already be dead.”
The lead High Calamity’s words calmed the others quite a bit.
That did make sense?
Bai Fu, holding the Dark Scepter, smiled.
The reason she was able to nearly kill a ten-thousand-HP Calamity-class martial artist with a single strike was entirely due to using [True Punishment] + [Dark Burn].
As everyone knew, the truest form of damage in this world—was true damage!
With True Punishment’s buff, Dark Burn’s panel damage of 99,979 turned into solid real damage.
Even a Sovereign would cry out after taking that, let alone a Calamity-class martial artist with ten thousand HP!
The opposing High Calamity was quick to respond. He was right: she couldn’t use that combo again in the short term.
To cast those two skills, she had to sacrifice 10% of her HP and 15% of her MP. Also, True Punishment had a 10-minute cooldown, and Dark Burn had a 4-minute cooldown. By the time they were off cooldown, Lock of the Mind’s effects would have long worn off, and her Inspiration would drop by 682 points. Even if she used the skills again, the damage would drop significantly.
However, that High Calamity overlooked one problem.
“If it’s burst damage, you can’t beat me. If it’s attrition, you still can’t beat me. I’m no dainty little psionic prayercaster!”
Bai Fu instantly unleashed Eye of Grief, Dark Vortex, and the Psionic Evolution Tree Diagram.
The Eye of Grief gazed in all directions, lowering the enemies’ maximum stamina and stamina recovery rate, forcing them into a constant state of [Grief].
The Dark Vortex stuck close like a shadow, pulling and eroding enemies with dark psionic power, reducing all their stats.
The Psionic Evolution Tree Diagram’s copied skill had been temporarily swapped from [Life Drain] to [Septicemia Curse], preventing the enemies from regenerating health.
A huge pile of debuffs landed directly on the Calamity-class members of the Glorious Forces, leaving them utterly disoriented.
“When my Inspiration drops, your stats will have dropped too. I’ll still have the advantage!”
Bai Fu giggled, then charged into the enemy ranks with Streamblade Cyclone and Dark Force Field active.
The Dark Force Field, while possessing multiple offensive capabilities, also provided a 50% damage reduction (excluding psychic damage and other special types). Its only drawback was the high psionic consumption upon activation—percentage-based consumption.
So, let Yulia suffer a bit.
After all, she had plenty of psionic energy. Squeezing her a bit wouldn’t matter, and after the battle, she could just squeeze it back.
“What kind of monster is this?”
The esper from the Glorious Forces was about to go numb. At this point, all they could do was hope the other two Calamity-class could quickly finish off Bai Fu's Psionic Legion and come over to help.
“Well done!”
Aboard the Silent Night in the distance, Cyprus beamed with joy as she watched.
The stronger Bai Fu was, the higher the chance her revenge would succeed.
Thinking of this, she happily ate two more bites of melon.
“What a pity I’ve only just recovered to Rank A. Otherwise, if I joined the battle, I could’ve dealt with them in a minute or two… huh?”
As she was bragging to Anya, Cyprus suddenly felt a chill run down her back.
The cold sensation came abruptly, seizing her by the neck. That chill carried a distinct, familiar flavor.
It was...
“That traitor!”
Cyprus screamed.
At that moment, Anya also noticed something wrong. She hastily tossed her melon aside and turned just in time to see a crimson shadow charging toward Cyprus.
She didn’t get a clear look, but she felt instinctively that if that thing hit Cyprus, Cyprus would be done for.
Though Cyprus was a gluttonous little freeloader who wasn’t helping their boss much now, she still carried a massive piece of the pie on her. If they could consume it, it would greatly benefit their boss.
Anya panicked.
Cyprus panicked too.
The only one smiling was the Dark Region Zerg Empress.
She had been hiding on Ulysses for a long time. Of course, it wasn’t her real body there—just a very weak avatar. A Calamity-class avatar would uncontrollably emit energy waves and be easily detected.
Weak was fine. She never expected to use the avatar to kill Cyprus. Cyprus was often glued to Bai Fu. Trying to kill Cyprus under Bai Fu’s nose was a fantasy. Her only aim was to monitor Cyprus through the avatar.
When she heard Cyprus would be following Bai Fu into the Dark Region, she thought it might be an opportunity. She smuggled the avatar onto the Silent Night to use it as a locator, pinpointing Cyprus’s position and assessing if her real body could strike.
However, the Silent Night flew in the opposite direction of her hiding place, and she thought she’d wasted her efforts again.
Unexpectedly, on the way back, the situation changed. Bai Fu was ambushed, and all eyes were on her.
She suddenly realized—wasn’t this the opportunity she’d always hoped for?
Though weak, her avatar might still be able to kill Cyprus in a surprise attack, turning her back into the Dissociative Potion Matrix she once was. Then, all she had to do was scatter the remnants into deep space, and Cyprus wouldn’t be able to resurrect anytime soon.
Excited, the Dark Region Zerg Empress controlled her avatar to charge at Cyprus.
Die, die, die!
She was just 0.5 seconds away from dispersing Cyprus!
She trembled with excitement.
But just then, a strange purple electric arc flashed in from the side—so fast that the Dark Region Zerg Empress’s avatar was pierced before she even saw it clearly.
Zap—
A flash of purple light burst midair. The avatar of the Dark Region Zerg Empress let out a shriek and crashed to the ground, lifeless—a corpse.
“?”
The spaceship went dead silent. You could hear a pin drop. No one expected things to unfold this way.
Over ten seconds later, Cyprus screamed again. She pointed at the avatar’s corpse.
“It really was that traitor!”
Then she pointed at Anya, who had unleashed the purple arc.
“Punishment Needle! That was definitely the Punishment Needle! Where did you get it?!”
“What Punishment Needle? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Seeing that Cyprus recognized the Punishment Needle, Anya pretended to play dumb.
But Cyprus wasn’t truly dumb—how could she not tell Anya was lying?
“Don’t fool me. I recognize it. That’s definitely the Punishment Needle, because it used to be a divine artifact worshipped by our Dark Region Zerg. Our ancestors found it in the Psychic Sanctuary!”
Anya didn’t respond.
Cyprus muttered, “It’s not like I was going to fight you for it. I already said, if you guys help me restore my strength, I’ll tell you the biggest secret of the Dark Region Zerg. That secret is the Psychic Sanctuary. Mm, no, I shouldn’t say more. Anyway, I don’t plan to fight you for it.”
Anya half-believed, half-doubted. “That needle was found by the boss on Indigo Star. It’s been on Indigo Star for hundreds of years. How old are you?”
“Over five hundred. Why?”
“...”
“Is five hundred that old? And technically, I was killed by that traitor when I was a teenager. My real age might not be older than you.”
“Nonsense. No matter how you count it, you’re older than me.”
“Is that the point? I’m telling you, the Punishment Needle is a real trea—wait, something’s not right!”
As she spoke, Cyprus flapped her wings and flew to the porthole.
The situation in deep space had changed.
When the Dark Region Zerg Empress launched her sneak attack, Bai Fu noticed something amiss and quickly retreated from the battlefield.
The Calamity-class members of the Glorious Forces didn’t pursue. They were already battered and thought Bai Fu was deliberately baiting them. Seeing her withdraw, they also pulled back.
But as they withdrew, they didn’t stay idle—they used the ship’s ultralong-range communicator to contact headquarters for orders.
The situation was now so dire that their own strength was no longer enough.
Upon receiving the report, the Glorious Forces’ spokesperson turned pale and immediately contacted his superior.
As expected, he got a brutal scolding.
Seven against one—and they needed emergency backup?
What kind of interstellar joke was this?!
The spokesperson was speechless.
To be fair, he had taken this matter seriously. Upon learning N2 had gone rogue, he’d immediately sent ten Calamity-class, but even that wasn’t enough. What else could he do?
Fortunately, his superior didn’t scold for long.
Yelling wouldn’t solve the issue. Regardless of whether N2 was bluffing or truly knew something, he couldn’t be allowed to live.
“I will invite a Sovereign to eliminate N2. Do not disconnect the communicator, and make sure those in the Dark Region don’t disconnect either.”
“Yes.”
The spokesperson nodded immediately.
Seconds later—
Buzz.
A strange electric hum came from the other end of the communicator.
Then, something eerie happened.
In the midst of battle with the Glorious Forces’ Calamity-class, N2 suddenly froze. Bai Fu saw a giant damage number—“–37861”—appear over his head.
There was an energy fluctuation. But from whom?
Bai Fu’s expression changed drastically.
There was no time to react.
The Calamity-class next to N2 seized the moment and unleashed a barrage of attacks.
“–9671”
The final black damage number floated up, and N2 dropped dead on the spot.
Seeing N2 dead, the Glorious Forces’ Calamity-class quickly fled. They had no intention of continuing the fight with Bai Fu.
Damn it!
Bai Fu burned with fury.
Now that N2 was dead, how was she supposed to complete the mission she had just accepted?
She commanded the Psionic Legion to charge.
Unfortunately, the enemy was dead set on escaping. In the end, she only managed to capture two.
“This monster!”
Onboard their ship, the surviving Glorious Forces members gnashed their teeth. Ten against three, and they’d lost three. Seven ran. Once the news spread, how could they ever show their faces again?
This mission had been a total disaster. The only good news was that the Sovereign who struck N2 had read his memories and confirmed he hadn’t told Bai Fu who the mastermind was.
“Let’s get out of here. I don’t want to see Bai Fu’s face for even one more second.”
The ship’s warp engine fired, and they vanished in an instant.
On the other side, Bai Fu silently looked at N2’s corpse.
“Forget it. The mission didn’t declare failure outright, which means there’s still another way to find out who the mastermind is.”
Just as she was about to return to the ship, she suddenly received a message from Anya.
“Boss, Cyprus says N2 just died, and his mental fragments haven’t fully dissipated yet. If we use the Punishment Needle on him now, we can read his memories.”
“!”
Anya’s words stunned Bai Fu.
Then she clenched her fist and smiled.
The tide had completely turned!
Now, not only could she learn who the mastermind was—the mastermind probably didn’t even know she knew. She had returned to the shadows from the light. This advantage was as good as being a prophet of the plot.
“Looks like this main quest involving the Taim Civilization is going to pay off big time.”