Tunnel visioning on the ambush like an enraged bull, I dashed forward, my run quickly turning into a series of long leaps, eventually transitioning into straight up flight. I broke through the sound barrier and kept accelerating, my body shifting and growing as I picked up mountains of kinetic energy.

The air got compressed before me as I flew, the ground nothing but a blur below me as I flew. I was going in a straight line, accelerating like a meteor, with a red glow around me from the superheated compressed air.

I was an unstoppable force craving a scar across the land, just the energy from my movement was enough to obliterate the forest ten meters to either side. The distance between us was quickly consumed, the kilometers disappearing in a flash, when the ambush came into view for a split second.

An instant later I already crashed through the established defenses, breaking through barriers and tearing out their fortifications. The entire place instantly erupted into a panic, magic flying everywhere.

Chains and acid were thrown at me together with sword techniques and beams of energy, yet with just a single swipe of my tail I did more damage than the fifty or so Drow combined.

I roared, blasting the enemy with Arcane Blaze, scorching the stone and evaporating the soil. Somehow the Grays managed to throw up a barrier that stopped my flames, but it took twenty of them to just barely keep it on.

Quickly the rest of them joined, expanding the wall separating us, and slowly pushed back. It was annoying but understandable, as I couldn’t realistically fight alone against fifty Cultivators with a much higher Cultivation. I mean I could, but that would require effort.

The barrier they conjured quickly expanded, but instead of remaining a dome protecting them, it suddenly inverted, locking me inside.

[Hah?!] The barrier quickly shrank down, the energy flames not doing much to stop it. I quickly released the useless technique and instead expanded my body even more. Quickly I reached the limits the barrier allowed, and as I pushed against it with my physical strength, the solid energy walls began to crack.

Panic erupted among the Drow as I flexed my muscles, thrashing around in the containment chamber, slowly breaking it, piece by piece. That’s when they utilized the relic they had prepared beforehand, beams of light passing through the barrier and wrapped around me like ropes of pure energy.

Whatever they were, I noticed their effect immediately. My strength dropped like a rock and I became just barely able to resist the push of the barrier. The weakness flowing into my body was felt like a sludge getting stuffed down my throat, with a nasty taste and even worse side effects.

I felt like I was going to puke. My stomach churned and the world started to spin, but that’s when I realized they were assaulting my Soul as well. I hadn’t realized it sooner because the effect was so weak, but as it became stronger it became clear to me that’s what it was.

[Despicable…] I stopped there, not even having the strength to curse.

Pulling upon my endless well of anger, my energy flared and the sickening feeling disappeared, leaving me with just the oppressive squeeze of the barrier. I considered taking some stimulants to temporarily boost my power but then decided against it. I had other ways to deal with the problem.

Taking one of the Drow Souls at random, I forcefully tore it apart in my Sea of Consciousness, converting it into pure Qi, allowing my body to be flooded with an excess of energy.

All my body enhancements activated at once, my body brimming with so much power, even my masterful techniques weren’t enough to hide it anymore. Excess energy spilled out in waves, Disruption ruining the firmness of the barrier.

I roared, pushing with renewed vigor against the walls of my prison, and with a final blast of Disruption that took nearly 20% of my usual energy, the barrier was blasted apart. The resulting explosion formed a crater around me, the blast strong enough to strip soil from bedrock for a hundred meters around, killing some of the Drow who were too close or too slow to react.

I pounced on the escaping Souls, pulling them into me, and then went after the relics sapping my strength.

The tiny specks of dust compared to my mighty form were instantly crushed, after which I swallowed the broken metal pieces, having no presence of mind to properly store them. They were always the same precious metals anyway. They served me well to empower my body.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

The Drow, on the other hand, didn’t wish to suffer the same fate and scattered in all directions.

That was their mistake.

Without the combined power of a group, they couldn’t possibly hope to resist me. My eyes filled with energy, and a beam of energy going at near-light speed made a few rounds in a circle around me.

Broken corpses, nearby shattered mountains, and fallen trees collapsed all around me, the distant Souls of the dead escaping as fast as they could. I captured some of them, but quite a few of them managed to get away, as annoying as that was.

Short on time, I quickly collected a few bodies and threw them in my mouth. I chewed once or twice before swallowing, bones and all. All that running was making me hungry, and while I waited for the rest of the team to catch up, I thought I might as well have a little snack.

The Drow tasted alright, not a delicacy by any means. Too little Essence in those scrawny bodies.

Well, as time went on and I waited, I realized nobody was coming. I focused my Spirit Sense into a line and looked back, searching for my team.

[God damn it!]

They weren’t coming as they were busy battling another group of Drow that somehow managed to catch up. I dropped on all fours and sprinted back. They didn’t seem the be doing too bad for the time being but I still didn’t dare delay and rushed to help them. I reverted my transformation as I neared the fight and began shooting Magic Bullets at the enemy. As they were so close to each other, I couldn’t just mindlessly destroy everything. Higher precision was needed… for once.

One of the good things fighting Drow was that they were so weak, that my magic bullets went straight through them without exploding. Saved me a lot of headaches trying to contain the destructive blast.

“Boss!” One of the guys shouted as he noticed my approach, stumbling towards me. He seemed hurt, so I sent some energy towards him to patch him up.

“Master!” Onyx reacted as well, abandoning the fight with a Drow warrior, and quickly made his way over. Having to carry the sack with our target inside made it difficult for him to fight properly.

I gestured with my finger and the sack lifted up, taking place behind me where it floated motionlessly in the air. After encasing it in a barrier just in case, I quickly turned back to the fight.

[We need to kill them quickly, more are coming!]

I fired off a few extra beams, killing or maiming the enemy, but their numbers seemed endless. For each one we took down, more took their place.

[Cut off one head and two more will…] I shook my head and focused on killing. While the enemies were many, that just meant I could level up faster. As long as we managed to get away safely, of course. I was suddenly starting to feel anxious without a reasonable cause. It was just a feeling.

“Ah, I can’t-” One of the guys stumbled and then collapsed. He was breathing deeply, his eyes bulging out. I scanned his body, but he appeared to be physically fine. But then he screamed and I saw his Soul leave him.

[Huh?!] It was a Soul attack, no doubt about it. I reacted to it quickly, jumping towards the man.

[Hell, no! Who allowed you to die?!] I grabbed his Soul and stuffed it back into his body. It was damaged from being torn out, but with a bit of Soul Essence transfusion, I quickly fixed it in place. He was as good as new. Kinda.

“Aaaaaah!” The guy screamed, jumping on his feet as he came back from the dead. Fear was clear in his eyes as he frantically looked around. “Again?!”

I squinted my eyes at that, but then I remembered I already revived him once. That brought up a question. Was my resurrection making Souls more fragile so that he was the first to die, or was he just the weakest of the bunch? Or was he the only one targeted, having beyond shitty luck?

I didn’t get an answer as another wave of anxiety hit me, much harder that time, and three more people collapsed dead.

[Fuck.]

I was just about to revive them as well when their Souls were suddenly sucked away beyond my reach, and another figure appeared on the battlefield.

“Widowmaker!” I heard one of the Drow shout. The guy appeared surprised but in a good way. Reinforcements? That was unacceptable. I just looked at the guy and his head exploded from the increased cranial pressure, his Soul instantly consumed by me, and turned back at the new threat.

[Kill her, quickly!] I shouted, firing off a few Magic Bullets to thin out the enemy. [Wait, is it a she even?]

I pulsed my Spirit Sense quickly and then frowned, all secrets laid bare before me. It was definitely a she, but something still didn’t feel right. For one, she was way too large for a Drow. Well over three meters tall, at least. And unlike her much smaller and weaker counterpart, she had a lot of muscle, and I could practically smell the Essence coming off her. So much power concentrated in such a small package.

As soon as she appeared though, the other Drow stopped attacking and held their distance from her. Even though they were excited she appeared, they had some reservations about coming closer.

[Be careful, she is dangerous.] I warned the rest of the team as Onyx took a protective stance between us.

“Careful, Master. This one feels… strong.” He said. I appreciated the gesture even if it was unnecessary. I already realized the unexplained anxiety was coming from her, though the attack became much less effective after I figured that out. It was a lot easier guarding against Soul attacks if you knew where or who they were coming from. Some nonsense to do with Intent.

The momentary lull in violence served as a turning point. My guys exchanged glances with each other, coming to a similar conclusion. Beating the newcomer, the Widowmaker, as they called her, was our best shot at escaping. The longer we delayed it, the harder it would be to get out of there alive. More and more Drow were coming every minute. Time was of the essence.

“Charge!” Someone shouted, and the remaining members moved as one. Energy flared, blades were drawn, and the Widowmaker grinned.

Her energy flared up as well, the Aura of a peak Spirit Realm revealed for all to see, on the cusp of reaching the Sky Realm. She lifted her hand and did a casual backhanded slap through the air, and the two swordsmen closest to her exploded.