Chapter 242: The Humans' Strength

"[Lunarflame Shot]!" Three arrows, brimming with purple flame, flew toward her opponent. The arena was charred black all over, and the ground was littered with Sun Mengmeng's arrows.

The blood demon Yao Chen held a paired blood-red longsword and shortsword in his hands. He moved so quickly that he seemed to shift in and out of existence, then cut each arrow in half.

Sun Mengmeng had found a worthy opponent, though one who was only keeping up with her because of the potions he had ingested.

His framework, techniques, and fighting style were all perfectly incompatible with Sun Mengmeng, who was a long-ranged attacker. He had incredible close-ranged abilities and moved so quickly that she could hardly track his movements, but she wasn't particularly worried. After all, her reserves were strong, and she had hardly used any flashy techniques since the start of the match.

On the other hand, Yao Chen was finding the match a much harder struggle. It had been over ten minutes since he activated a secret technique, and it would last only at most ten more minutes. The moment the buff from the technique expired, he would lose without a doubt.

Furthermore, he had also consumed three strengthening potions, each with a shorter duration than the last. His body was already at its limits, and the immense pain that came as a side-effect was starting to affect his concentration.

In truth, if not for the fact that he had taken a bet with one of his clanmates about being able to defeat a member of Team Zenith, he wouldn't be fighting this hard. There was no time left. He had to strike back now, before his opponent loosed any more arrows at him. Otherwise, he would lose.

"[Eightfold Soulstealing Thrust]!" Yao Chen's speed rose to its limit, and he darted right up to Sun Megmeng's side. His two blades whirled, forming eight clones all around him. Each clone seemed to boast as much strength as his main body had; they surrounded Sun Mengmeng from all directions and charged toward her.

Sun Mengmeng seemed a little flustered; although she had begun launching a technique, it didn't seem as though she would have enough time to do so. Furthermore, she only had three arrows, whereas her opponent had eight clones. It seemed as though the outcome of the battle was obvious.

The blood demon competitors, resting in their waiting room, began to cheer in anticipation.

On the other hand, by the Earthlings' waiting room, Zhang Lie smiled. "The match is over."

.

The eight clones were no more than three meters away from Sun Mengmeng when she suddenly reacted, dematerializing her longbow and replacing it with a set of crescent-bladed knives.

She smiled as flaming armor covered her body. "I'm not just a long-ranged attacker, you know. [Baptism of Hellfire: Full Moon]!"

Sun Mengmeng whirled her blades all around her, forcing the eight clones to retreat and flinging Yao Chen's body into the air. He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood as three arrows pierced his body, pinning him to the ground.

Fortunately, Sun Mengmeng had no intention of killing him, so her arrows hadn't landed anywhere particularly life-threatening, but even so, Yao Chen was yelling out in pain. "I admit defeat! I surrender!"

Just what sort of hunters had come from Earth during this iteration of the Void Cup?! Not only was his opponent a skilled long-ranged attacker, she could even defend herself well in a melee!

Of course, Zhang Lie and the others didn't think much of the win. Everyone present, with the exception of Yun Bing and Chu Feng, were familiar with Sun Mengmeng's skill, but the blood demons clearly weren't.

"What a pity for Yao Chen!" one of the blood demons murmured.

"Indeed, I'm quite surprised she was able to defend against his last attack."

"Rather sly, isn't she? Humans are known for their plotting, after all!"

"This is Yao Chen's first loss in the tournament so far, isn't it? I'm sure it'll be all he thinks about for days," another demon murmured.

"You're all wrong: this wasn't a close match at all. Yao Chen was outmatched from the very beginning!" Yao Yue suddenly exclaimed, correcting the others.

At the same time, Yao Chen, who had just been patched up, was transported back, and he immediately agreed with Yao Yue's words. "Indeed, I was completely defeated by the human girl."

"What?! The humans might be unusually strong during this iteration of the Void Cup, but surely they're not that strong?" one of the blood demons called out, unable to believe this reality. After all, in the past, the blood demons had done very well for themselves during the Void Cup, and they couldn't believe that the humans had improved so much that they could easily defeat them.

"You all saw my match against the team leader of the Earthlings, Zhang Lie, didn't you?" Yao Yue asked.

Everyone nodded.

"Indeed, he seemed rather strong, but you didn't lose by much, Team Leader!"

"What? Our team leader didn't lose—she was Zhang Lie's equal in strength, and she surrendered out of courtesy!"

Two of the blood demons gave their own perspective on the fight, and the other blood demons nodded. They didn't think Yao Yue would lose out against any of the young leaders of the four prime races.

Zhang Lie wasn't weak, but he wasn't too much stronger than they were, either. All of them seemed to have forgotten how Zhang Lie had managed to crack the arm of the nightdemons' young leader, Pu Kui, yesterday. And while they didn't understand just how overwhelmed Yao Yue was when she faced him, Yao Yue herself did.

"You're all wrong. Let me be clear: I am no match for Zhang Lie! His skills eclipse me by so much that there would be nothing I could do to him in a serious battle. Do you understand?" Yao Yue's firm words shocked the blood demons, who were still somewhat unable to believe her.

The defeated Yao Chen added, "I think our team leader is right. That was how I felt when facing my opponent, too. They're very strong, unusually strong, stronger than any opponent I've met. It's not a feeling you'll understand until you experience it for yourself.

"The young woman I was facing hadn't used her true strength, even till the very end. In fact, if you meet any of the human competitors, I might even recommend surrendering and saving your strength."

The blood demons' waiting room turned silent.

"There's nothing to be upset about—just don't underestimate the humans. The source of their strength is in their limit fragments. If we can establish a good relationship with them, we can do the same. There are only nine Earthling competitors in the Void Cup, but the ones we really have to pay attention to are Zhang Lie and the members of Team Zenith. There's only a small chance that we'll encounter them, so I expect that you'll all advance without fail," Yao Yue added, seeing that everyone seemed a little dispirited.

"Yes, Team Leader!"

She and the blood demons weren't the only ones thinking about the Earthlings' explosive strength. The magma demons, who had fought quite a few of the hunters from Earth, felt much the same way.

"Fu Long, are the humans really as strong as the rumors claim?"

After watching Sun Mengmeng's fight, a magma stag cocked its head at Fu Long, who was recuperating from his wounds.

"Captain, after watching that fight, can't you tell? That archer seems to be even stronger than the opponent I faced, but not by much."

The stag nodded. "Indeed, but she's fire-attuned. If we end up having to face her, she likely won't be able to do much against us. As for the other hunters, well... if we encounter the thunder- or light-attuned hunter, I suggest we surrender immediately. Our goal is to get into the top hundred, and to do so, we only need three wins. Don't let me down!"

The magma demons and windthieves both came to the same conclusion, as did other top races. The middling and lower-ranked races naturally did the same.

On the other hand, there were those who were itching to challenge the hunters of Earth, like the prideful Phoenix of the winged.

"Hong Yu, what do you think about the Earthling competitors?"

Phoenix glanced at Hong Yu in distaste. He had just browsed the forum that had been set up for the Void Cup, only to find that most of the threads within were discussing how frightening the humans were.

Hong Yu was his most trusted companion, as well as the most logical and intelligent person he knew.

"Would you like to hear the truth?" Hong Yu asked.

"Of course!"

"In that case, it's true that the humans this year are really quite strong, even stronger than the forum makes it appear."

"Surely not?" Phoenix frowned, his distaste evident from his expression.

"Young Master, I know you're prejudiced against them, but please don't underestimate the humans. The theory of limit fragments that Zhang Lie advanced will be the future of all the races of the Milky Way. I just spoke to Yao Yue. Do you know what she thinks of Zhang Lie after their fight?"

"What did she say?" Phoenix did know Yao Yue, so he was quite interested in her opinion.

"She said that her strength was incomparable to Zhang Lie's; he was so much stronger that any comparison would be meaningless."

Phoenix fell silent.