Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic monster!

The man remained silent, simply standing there. If they wanted to get to help, they had to pass through here; otherwise, they would have to take a long detour. In other words…

"What reason do you have that you can't back down... right...?"

The captain looked at the man, and he seemed to understand. Despite their brief exchange, he felt he knew something. He turned and bowed to his teammates.

"I'm sorry, everyone," the captain apologized earnestly. "This is the most we can do. I think we should go back."

"..."

His teammates stared at their captain in disbelief. The captain knew that his thoughts were probably just wishful thinking, but he still wanted to ask his teammates to leave with him.

"Haa... I really can't do anything with you."

"We're just causing trouble for others, let's go."

"You'll pay for the victory celebration banquet, Captain."

"Let's go, let's go back! Time to wrap up!"

The captain himself was taken aback, but his teammates didn't show any dissatisfaction. They all said they wanted to go back and even started discussing how to use the reward. Everyone put away their weapons and headed back, leaving the captain alone and bewildered.

"Hey? Captain? What are you doing? We're not waiting for you."

One of them turned around and called to him, which brought him back to his senses. He hurriedly caught up with them. He looked back at the person, who had already turned and slowly walked away. His back seemed to be heading to some distant place, like a hero, or even a brave man.

May you have a safe journey and great success in your military endeavors.

The captain silently wished him well.

------

How much longer...?

Zhou Tai ran through the maze, calculating the time. He conservatively estimated that Rielfa was already halfway through. Although he was very worried, this was all he could do for Rielfa now.

Drive them away.

The battle had been going on for who knows how long, and Zhou Tai hadn't counted how many people he'd killed. But his first thought upon seeing someone was to persuade them to leave. He had learned from his first experience and was now advising them first, then engaging in combat depending on the situation.

Nevertheless, quite a few people did not intend to leave, and some even started fighting without warning. Zhou Tai was now beginning to feel somewhat overwhelmed.

The knife in his hand transformed back into a spirit bird, hovering around him and chirping sadly and worriedly.

"Don't worry," Zhou Tai said as he ran, "I still have some time."

The spirit bird let out a sad cry and continued on its way with Zhou Tai.

Zhou Tai knew that he might not even have enough time left to hold out until Rielfa completed the ritual, which would mean even more enemies would reach Akatsuki. He was worried not only about Rielfa, but also about Akatsuki.

He is now a wanderer in the labyrinth, searching for those who harbor ill will towards it, his mission being to eliminate them. But now he has encountered those who want to eliminate him—a group of people in green hats and white coats.

Boom—! "Huh?!"

Several meteors flew towards him, but Zhou Tai immediately grabbed the spirit bird that had transformed back into a sword, deflecting the attack before sheathing his blade.

"Dragon Sparrow - Draw Sword".

Click——!

In an instant, time seemed to freeze under the endless chill. Zhou Tai's hand and knife suddenly became illusory for a moment, and all the 'Meteor Fire' exploded in response.

One, two, three... are there nearly twenty people...?

Zhou Tai could sense nearly twenty different auras. These were not ordinary adventurers, but rather the ghosts of the kingdom.

Wearing green hats and dressed in white, several ghosts appeared from all directions, each expressionless, yet exuding a chilling killing intent. Undoubtedly, they posed a threat, and their combined presence made them as formidable as elite troops encountered during the Three Kingdoms period.

Zhou Tai silently prepared his knife, remaining vigilant.

“You’re the swordsman who’s been interfering with us, aren’t you?” one of the ghosts stepped forward. “Sorry, you’ll die here. We ghosts will take your life.”

“I am indeed a swordsman,” Zhou Tai smiled, “but I have no recollection of when I was born.”

Further words are useless!

Chapter 30 Unwilling to Fall

Two ghosts stepped forward in unison. Judging from their weapons, one was a swordsman and the other a spearman, with the spearman in front and the swordsman behind. However, the swordsman would be the first to attack.

The Ghost Swordsman swung his longsword, and the blade moved like a venomous snake, slashing at Zhou Tai at a very tricky angle.

Snake-belly sword...

Zhou Tai had no choice but to dodge, because this weapon not only had the sharpness of a sword, but also the characteristics of a whip. If he was not careful, he would be bound by the snake-belly sword and strangled.

If it were the Zhou Tai of the past, he probably wouldn't have thought twice and would have just rushed forward and cut the snake-belly sword in half. But the current Zhou Tai can't do that, because the sharpness of this blade is extremely inconsistent.

That's what they said, but their skills were so refined that Zhou Tai couldn't find an opening to get close to them. Most importantly, the one wielding the gun seemed completely unaffected, even using it to correct the trajectory of the snake-belly sword.

"The Magic Team!"

The seemingly leader was directing the group, while the ghosts, whose whereabouts were unknown, were chanting their spells in hushed tones, yet no magical light could be seen. If they were given a little more time, countless spells would be unleashed upon Zhou Tai.

Zhou Tai dodged the continuous slashes, only using his sword to deflect attacks when they were unavoidable. But even this had its limits, and now Zhou Tai had many cuts on his body, all from attacks he couldn't avoid.

Now that the enemy's attack has stopped, the ghost with the gun has arrived in front of him and smashed the spear into Zhou Tai's head.

"Drink!" the other party shouted, slamming down heavily.

Click, click, click!

Zhou Tai used his sword to block the attack with all his might. The sword-wielding ghost appeared from the side and below, then slammed into Zhou Tai's abdomen, knocking him away. It then immediately unleashed a reverse kasaya slash, which struck Zhou Tai's body squarely, causing blood to splatter.

"cough--?!"

Zhou Tai immediately created distance, but was pursued by the gun-wielding ghost, whose sweeping spear sent Zhou Tai flying. Before Zhou Tai could even react, the blow inflicted significant damage.

boom--!

Several spells were completed at this moment, as if they had been calculated and attacked at the same time, engulfing Zhou Tai.

The melee ghosts didn't hesitate to charge into the magical bombardment; apart from the two ghosts from before, the other melee ghosts also rushed into the magical bombardment.

They were well aware of just how strong their enemy was. The battle had been going on for nearly six hours, and in those six hours, this man had managed to defeat 80% of the participants all by himself.

Of the remaining 20%, 10% were those who lacked the strength and had already been persuaded to withdraw, while the other 10% were true powerhouses.

Therefore, the kingdom deemed him an obstacle and ordered the ghosts to eliminate him. Originally, this mission did not require the direct participation of ghosts, but Lycia had not expected such a person to appear.

A true master swordsman.

Although the reason that prompted him to do this is unknown, his existence is undoubtedly a threat, even a threat to this plan, and he must be eliminated.

Therefore, Lycia sent all the ghosts around her to subdue him, as this person's threat was even comparable to that of the Dragon King.

The ghosts' equipment, namely their white robes, possesses powerful magic resistance, capable of negating most of the power of magic. That's why they are now recklessly charging into the magical bombardment.

In the mixed magical light, they saw the figure, a figure unlike any other ghost, and attacked him without hesitation.

They were already intimately familiar with the habits of the other ghosts, and their coordinated attacks were flawless. This series of continuous attacks never stopped, leaving the opponent with no way to retaliate or defend.

"At this rate, we'll continue our attack! The enemy can't possibly defeat us, the Ghosts!"

After the commander gave the order, the attack became even more ferocious. Each of their attacks left a fatal wound on Zhou Tai's body. Under this endless onslaught, Zhou Tai finally fell.

He fell, but never let go of the knife in his hand, leaving a trail of blood. Fatal wounds covered his entire body; he was beyond saving, and the ghosts showed no intention of saving him.

A tall ghost stepped forward, raised his battle axe, and aimed it at Zhou Tai's neck. The mage used ice spike magic to pin him to the ground, determined that this blow would kill him.

call……

After taking a deep breath, the axe-wielding ghost raised its battle axe high and then brought it down with the force of splitting the ground.

Clang—! "Huh?!"

Surprisingly, Zhou Tai stood up—in that instant—and cleaved his opponent in two with his knife. Blood splattered all around, soaking Zhou Tai's already bloodied body, making him look like a demon crawling back from hell.

"Hoo..." Zhou Tai took a deep breath.

"Dragon Sparrow - Absolute Wind".

The high-speed triple slash, executed with power capable of destroying one's own body, is a technique that no one else can imitate, because the body would disintegrate after it is performed. However, Zhou Tai stood up with sheer willpower, even though his consciousness was already fading.

Oh no... is my right hand broken...? No... I have to keep going...

"We can't...stop."

Zhou Tai said this to himself in a low voice.

"—! Continue the attack!"

By then, the commander had reacted and once again ordered the ghosts to attack. The sword-wielding ghost approached him without hesitation and unleashed a powerful slash, which Zhou Tai dodged before quickly kicking him away.

The ghost, wielding dual swords, charged forward, unleashing a flurry of swift, rapid strikes. Zhou Tai repeatedly used "Dragon Sparrow - Absolute Wind" to deflect the attacks and retaliate. However, he was struck by a magical attack from behind and, along with the ghost, was blasted away.

Where Zhou Tai landed, a ghost with a gun awaited him. The ghost aimed at Zhou Tai in the sky and hurled it with all its might, piercing his abdomen. But Zhou Tai ignored his wound and killed the ghost as he fell.

Pull it out? No, that's too much trouble.

Zhou Tai pondered briefly, then sensed the killing intent emanating from behind. He turned around and slashed, but the ghost crouched down to dodge and swept Zhou Tai down with a sweeping leg kick.

After successfully defeating Zhou Tai, the ghost was pulled away by magic by the other ghosts, and then a huge 'meteor fire' fell from above Zhou Tai.

"Dragon Sparrow - Dark Surge!"

Zhou Tai finally managed to get up, then plunged his knife into the ground. The ground within a five-meter radius of the knife turned into a mirror-like ice surface, from which countless ice blades rose and forcefully blocked the meteorite fire.

A nimble ghost swiftly weaved through the ice blades, rapidly approaching Zhou Tai on the smooth ice surface, and then with astonishing force kicked the spear still embedded in his body, shattering Zhou Tai's stance.

Chapter 31 The Wanderer Finally Falls

The ghosts, wielding heavy weapons, used brute force to break through the ice blades, rushing towards Zhou Tai, whose stance had crumbled, and then attacked with all their might. Scattered ice crystals were mixed with blood and heavy thuds.

"cough……"

Zhou Tai collapsed to the ground. The ghosts left without hesitation, because no one could stop the boulder anymore. Now, all they had to do was leave. Zhou Tai, who was powerless to move, would surely die here.

Boom-!

The ghosts safely retreated to a safe place, listening to the muffled sound of the boulder crashing down and feeling the wind pressure generated by the impact, but they dared not relax.

Kakakaka——!

"Dragon Sparrow - Absolute Wind!"

boom--!

To everyone's surprise, Zhou Tai stood up again, and not only that, he forcefully cleaved through the boulder and rushed out, killing two ghosts in the process.

"Damn it!?"

Despite their surprise, the ghosts did not reveal any weaknesses; fighting such an opponent, it was impossible for no one to die.

After all, the other person was prepared to die; what could stop someone from going to their death?

It's more complicated than I imagined...

The Ghost's commander thought this way, but he didn't think he would fail; he was absolutely confident he could defeat this person.

Why is the ghost only appearing now?

They were specifically targeting this moment to appear, to eliminate Zhou Tai when he was exhausted from continuous fighting.

Zhou Tai's condition was just as he had predicted, and even more serious than he had anticipated.

The knife in his hand trembled incessantly, as if warning Zhou Tai to stop fighting, but Zhou Tai ignored it. If he didn't fight...

Lady Reilfa, Lady Nao...

Zhou Tai silently recited the names of his two friends, once again rousing himself from his fading consciousness. To be honest, he could barely stand up now.

The continuous use of "Dragon Sparrow - Absolute Wind" caused almost devastating damage to his body. A normal person would have been unable to stand up long ago, but he continued to stand and even fight with unimaginable willpower.

Since the start of the war, he has only killed three ghosts, with more than ten remaining. The cost of killing just three ghosts was so high that Zhou Tai was almost unable to fight, and the battle was extremely fierce.

Both sides understood that this was no longer a matter that could be resolved through ordinary coordination and dialogue; they could only communicate with each other using the weapons at their disposal.

The aura emanating from Zhou Tai, who was standing, grew weaker and weaker, but in the eyes of the ghost, he was becoming more and more energetic. His sharp eyes were fixed on them, exuding an aura of either death or life.

The ghosts were not intimidated, but they were certainly intimidated by Zhou Tai. Fighting a madman who was willing to die would come at a devastating price.

The loss of three ghosts in this battle is already a heavy blow. And to fail to kill the enemy under these circumstances means that even if the king doesn't blame them when they return, Lycia will not let them off the hook.

Zhou Tai pulled the spear that had pierced his body out, and a large amount of blood flowed from the wound, a horrifying sight. This also made the ghosts wonder: wouldn't he bleed to death?

"Here you go...!"

Despite the excruciating pain, Zhou Tai threw the spear with all his might. The ghosts immediately dodged the spear, but to their surprise, Zhou Tai charged straight at them. By the time they realized what was happening, Zhou Tai was already in front of them.