Chapter 111: The Story of the Tracker

Due to this greed, Harvey tasted despair and fear that penetrated to the bone.

The plants emitting a strong, pungent odor concealed the scent of the intruders, causing Harvey to be unaware that several unidentified enemies had mixed in with the wolves’ den.

When it finally sensed something was off, destruction descended.

That endless radiant giant bird, more brilliant than March, effortlessly crushed all of its meaningless resistance, turning Harvey’s long-cultivated body, which served as its anchor in the material world, into a meal.

Harvey had never seen anything so terrifying; no—he had indeed seen something like that once while drifting in the 【Phantasm Realm】, an encounter with the highest elemental life.

It was clearly just an unintelligent elemental entity, yet its form towered like a mountain rising from the ground, and merely the aura it emitted shattered Harvey’s consciousness.

He had immediately fled in terror, but that fear remained firmly etched in the deepest part of his heart.

Harvey never imagined he would encounter such a terrifying creature in this feeble, elementally barren material world.

He couldn’t compare which was stronger, the radiant bird or the highest elemental being he encountered before, since both were beyond his capacity to comprehend, representing a horror that transcended the very essence of life.

Fortunately, it seemed that the radiant bird wasn’t interested in Harvey, this weak spiritual life, allowing him to barely escape before the 【Devouring Serpent】 was about to eat him.

If not for his longevity and decent foundation, he probably wouldn’t have even earned a slim chance of survival. Even so, Harvey suffered severe injuries from the bird’s physical attacks and separation.

Higher beings possess a subtle and keen sense of the spiritual; despite being gravely wounded, Harvey still vaguely sensed that the radiant giant bird had a special connection with some material life currently inside a cave, which had once entered the wolf territory.

Though filled with fear, he faced a failed mission and the loss of his physical form. Returning to the summoner would surely end badly for him. Yet, forced by the binding contract, he couldn’t escape. After much inner turmoil, Harvey decided to quietly follow the group of intruders, hoping to uncover some of their secrets to lessen his punishment.

While higher beings cannot be perceived or observed by material beings, this is not absolute; with the precedent of the 【Summoner】 and their strength, Harvey dared not approach carelessly, having to keep a distance as he tracked them indirectly by following their traces.

Thus, as he walked and followed, Harvey found himself in a lush forest. The complex environment of the woods made him quickly lose track of the women, and he had to search carefully through the unknown woodland.

Relying on the traits of higher beings, though he had lost his material combat power after losing his body, ordinary beings couldn’t see him. Gradually, Harvey found a location brimming with magical energy.

Here, an unusual aura emanated. Harvey wasn’t sure how to describe it, but if he had to, it felt somewhat like the sensation he had encountered in this material world that was called “Moon.”

Before attaching themselves, higher beings lack visual, auditory, or verbal capabilities; they can only rely on the sensing of magical elements and spiritual waves to assess their environment, which is quite inconvenient in the material world.

Harvey hoped to find a new body swiftly, but in his severely injured state, he was unable to attach himself to any intelligent life. Furthermore, he couldn’t randomly choose a magical beast to possess, as the host couldn’t be changed freely; if the body were too weak, its value in the eyes of the 【Summoner】 would greatly diminish.

Yet, just near this peculiar place filled with magic in the forest, Harvey unexpectedly discovered a particularly suitable body.

It had abundant magical power and excellent physical quality, but… surprisingly, there was no soul residing within!

Harvey found it unbelievable, but such an excellent opportunity was not one to be missed. Seeing no other creatures around, he steeled himself and charged in, planning to take possession of this ownerless powerful shell.

Upon making actual contact, he discovered it was a doll created in a special manner!

Harvey was both shocked and delighted; after all, a soulless doll is similar to an unintelligent elemental entity, making it the most suitable vessel for a higher being. Some higher beings around the 【Summoner】 used such bodies. Moreover, this doll was exceptionally well-crafted, completely different from those poorly made ones, reaching level 5, known in this world as “Great Demon General.”

A soulless body naturally couldn’t resist possession by a higher being, but to Harvey’s surprise, this doll seemed to have been functioning autonomously, and there were some components inside that he simply couldn’t comprehend, let alone use.

Harvey found it perplexing, but since it was ultimately just a doll, even if he couldn’t genuinely take over, after some effort, he successfully controlled this powerful body temporarily.

Then, Harvey changed his mind and decided to escape immediately.

Perhaps due to the absence of a soul, he didn’t gain any memories from the doll, but its power had far surpassed the original 【Devouring Serpent】. As long as he could find the 【Summoner】 and spent some time with his help, he would surely master this even more perfect new body.

At the very least… returning with this would likely prevent severe punishment, even if the mission failed.

Harvey ran desperately, using all his strength.

Unlike before, the body of a material being was too conspicuous. That fearsome woman connected to the radiant bird might notice something wrong at any moment. Even in this new body, Harvey didn’t believe he could withstand even a second against the giant bird.

The plan progressed smoothly; it seemed no one noticed him escaping, and Harvey couldn’t help but feel giddy. As long as he could escape the forest and enter the depths of the sprawling mountains, even if that giant bird pursued him, it might still not find him!

But just as Harvey was about to run out of the forest, a chilling sense of dread suddenly washed over him!

He instantly controlled the new body to look back, only to see two figures with long, magnificent wings in the sky rapidly enlarging!

【Ahhh!!!】

The consciousness named “Harvey” leaked out a silent wail.

It was her! They had come!!!

That giant bird was certainly nearby!

Run! Must escape! If this body were destroyed again, the existence known as “Harvey” would be utterly obliterated!

In fear, Harvey desperately controlled the doll’s legs to accelerate and flee, but at that moment, a cold, mechanical, and monotone voice abruptly issued from the doll’s mouth.

“Beep beep… Repair complete, system rebooting. This emergency system repair took a total of 42 minutes and 36 seconds. The core emergency plan central protocol has been activated. Firewall maintenance is complete, scanning for and eliminating unknown viruses in the core. Estimated time: 3-5 minutes. Please stand by.”

【?】

What was that just now?

Harvey was certain that was absolutely not his voice, but why… what was this soulless doll? What was happening with this body?

There was no time to worry about that; all he could think of was to escape by any means possible from the approaching enemies.

But…

【!!!!!】

The body he had possessed and controlled suddenly broke free from his control, not only failing to accelerate but gradually stopping right where it was?!

In an instant, Harvey felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

Move! Get moving, you damn doll!!

   

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