Chapter 13
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Chapter 13: The Escaping Warrior
“God! What is that? Is it battle energy?”
“Oh my, what a huge sword!”
“Is that sword energy? Is it real? That sword makes sounds too!”
“It’s so realistic, so amazing, so incredible!”
“That big guy got sent flying, how cool! He jumped so far back, it looks so real, but he won’t get hurt, right?”
Gulu, a seasoned and die-hard anime fan, had been a well-known figure in the domestic anime industry. This time, he was invited to be one of the judges for the Cosplay segment at the anime convention. At this moment, his heart raced as if it were pounding at one hundred eighty beats per minute. He stumbled over his words, muttering to himself in a daze, “This armor, this sword, it’s an ultra-realistic replica! How can it be this good? No, no, it must be real! But how heavy would that be?! Which workshop in the country could craft such a masterpiece? Oh no, this is definitely master-grade, artisan-level craftsmanship, completely handcrafted! And that sword light doesn’t look like a special effect; this is live, not a digital editing suite!!!”
When that chilling crescent sword light suddenly appeared on stage, he couldn’t help but stand up, filled with a thousand questions, wanting to rush up and grab the knight actor to demand clarity.
Following this, the other judges, who had been chatting and laughing moments ago, coincidentally fell silent and stood upright in shock. This wasn’t merely Cosplay; they could no longer distinguish if this was a performance or real sword skill. Since the knight in black armor had appeared, they sensed the stage seemed to bear an immense weight—this was clearly more than just exquisitely realistic props.
The other judges were also discerning anime aficionados, some even champions from previous years, yet now they too were left in awe.
The reactions from the crowd below were completely unexpected for everyone in the Divine Battle Squad.
Various expressions of excitement, praise, confusion, and astonishment filled the knight’s ears. Even with the most basic understanding, he grasped that something unusual was at play here!
Waving around some counterfeit weaponry and pretending to fight? And receiving compliments for it? What in the world was happening? This wasn’t like a gladiatorial arena, nor was it like a theater stage—was this truly how sacred warrior duels were conducted?
“Lin Mo! Are you crazy? Come back!” The blue-robed magical girl was the first to regain her senses. She didn’t care if it was now on the stage or off. She jumped around frantically at the knight, “What’s wrong with you? Are you trying to commit murder? This is a stage, not a battlefield! You really think you can kill someone in that heavy gear?!” Even she realized the huge sword in Lin Mo’s hands was definitely not a plastic or hollow metal prop; it was solid metal. She couldn’t fathom where he had acquired such equipment.
The magical girl saw chaos erupting on stage and neglected to consider just how much strength was required to wield such a massive sword while wearing such heavy armor to create that kind of power.
Dressed in her blue robe, the girl yelled at him, her disdain for wizards flaring, especially when a magical girl with indistinguishable rank was scolding him with her Staff held high. This instinctively prompted Lin Mo to activate his battle energy.
He summoned the last remnants of his battle energy, causing the runes on the surface of his mystic steel armor to glow faintly yellow, while the tattered crimson cloak swirled around him without any wind. Although this consumed a significant amount of energy stored by the magic crystals embedded in the armor, who knew if this magical girl would unleash a fierce high-level spell on him?
As soon as the battle energy was stirred, he felt a twitch all over, a wave of weakness washed over him. His actions were currently supported only by his earlier rigorous physical training, and not being at full strength made the knight feel insecure.
He needed to leave this bewildering place immediately. The only thought left in Lin Mo’s mind was this: he had encountered too many unheard-of people and things today, he just wanted to find a quiet spot to digest everything that was happening to him.
“Hmph!” The knight in black armor gave the magical girl a dismissive glance, flicking his wrist as the giant sword flipped in mid-air, perfectly landing back in its sheath. He elegantly tossed his cloak behind him and walked straight to the edge of the stage.
“Lin Mo! Stop! You jerk! What do you think you’re doing? Come back here!” The magical girl stood behind him, exasperated. Not only was she infuriated that he was late and daydreamed before taking the stage, but he had also sent Ding Tuo and Xi Mingshan flying off the stage. What on earth was happening today? Why was everything going wrong?
From a height of over a meter, the knight in black armor leaped down in front of the audience, creating a loud thud as the stage’s frame shook slightly, creaking as if it might collapse at any moment. The nearby audience swayed unsteadily, with several even falling over.
A massively heavy object crashed onto the ground, mimicking a small localized earthquake, further serving as a perfect demonstration of the physics of potential energy. When the knight pulled out his foot from the stage, he left deep shoe prints of over two inches in the ground.
Crack! Crack! The area fell eerily silent, with only the sounds of friction emanating from the knight’s mystic steel armor as he took steps forward.
Even the most oblivious person could see: this guy wasn’t a regular Cosplay performer but was entirely clad in genuine heavy metal armor. Otherwise, how could he move with such frightening weight? His endurance was impressive; he could walk with such swagger, remaining unfazed.
“Wow, wow, wow! It’s real!” someone, undaunted by the situation, reached out to touch the knight’s armor, feeling its cold, hard metal and intricate line patterns.
“Could it be time travel?” Among the crowd, someone boldly suggested, almost on the mark with their guess.
The heavy armor not only looked glamorous and eye-catching but also effortlessly carved a path through the dense crowd, as a few hundred pounds of weight generated momentum that could not be thwarted by any unarmed body.
For these defenseless civilians, the knight in black armor chose to ignore them entirely and swaggered away.
An hour and a half later, the Divine Battle Squad, missing one member, found themselves back on stage, collectively dealing with complex emotions as they received the champion trophy and a check for one hundred thousand yuan from the host, almost in a dreamlike state.
Originally, Qi Fei, the leader of the Divine Battle Squad and the blue-robed magical girl, had planned to abandon the competition after Lin Mo’s blunder. She had intended to follow the script, battling the last remaining dwarf with a firearm, ending the performance hastily, feeling rather despondent about it.
She didn’t even pay attention to the scores the judges gave, cursing Lin Mo in her heart countless times.
After all groups finished their performances, she only snapped out of it when the host announced the winner of the grand prize was the “Divine Battle Squad.” She and her teammates—Ding Tuo, Qian Jie, Xi Mingshan, and Chen Ying—stood there, dumbfounded.
Even after accepting the prize, Qi Fei, the magical girl leader, still felt bewildered, taking a while to come back to her senses. This shouldn’t have been their prize, yet somehow it ended up in their hands. Anyone would struggle to comprehend it, not to mention the other members wore expressions of silliness.
However, the large sword marks left behind on stage and the chaotic evidence on one side served as a testament that a top-grade Cosplayer had once appeared here, fully armed with the real deal, stunning everyone with a breathtaking sword move. No one had anticipated Cosplay could reach such heights; it could hardly be described as real. Before and after this performance, no other Cosplay event had so thoroughly amazed the entire venue. Even when the performer had sneaked away, everyone generously chose to ignore it.
And the originator of the “Escaping Cosplayer Warrior Incident” was now outside the city, by the Qiantang River, standing on the dyke by the water, staring blankly at the river. After squeezing through the crowd at the venue, he wandered aimlessly down the road, occasionally attracting attention as he was pointed at by many, but he didn’t seem to care.
As the night wind blew, the knight in black armor gradually cleared his chaotic thoughts, beginning to sort them out.
Lin Mo, Morin—two names that sounded alike yet were opposites, resonated in his mind.
He only remembered losing consciousness after his gold giant dragon Gold Coin was swallowed by a spatial rift.
The few remaining fragments of memory began to weave together in Lin Mo’s mind.
