Chapter 12 — Beyond the Milky Way: The Miner Who Became a God of War

The fourth round of the Grand Trial was announced as "The Ice Maze" - a giant competition area cooled to extreme temperatures, simulating the terrain of a distant frozen planet, with maze-like paths, full of traps hidden under a thin layer of ice that could collapse at any time.

Iron Eagle Palace, although not directly present at the Abyss Arena, received special instructions from the Council of Elders of Guangyuan, conveyed through a separate encrypted communication channel. He read the order over and over again, a cruel smile on his lips when he realized the opportunity to make a great contribution to the Holy See.

"Kỳ Hàn Ngự," he called through the intercom, his voice full of authority. "Have you received instructions from the Council?"

A cold voice, sharp as a knife blade responded from the other end of the line. "Received. Eliminate the contestant with code HT-2290 in the Frozen Maze round, in the name of a competition accident. Simple task."

Kỳ Hàn Ngự, an elite Saint Guard specially trained to perform tasks requiring absolute secrecy, was secretly included in the list of contestants participating in the competition under a fake identity, with the sole mission of ensuring Lam Vũ could not survive the icy maze.

The next morning, when Lam Vũ and hundreds of other contestants gathered at the entrance to the competition area, he felt a cold air that penetrated his bones even when he was just standing outside the door. Tinh Nhược, standing in the crowd of spectators nearby, her eyes never left him for a second, trying to remember every detail of the competition area that she could observe from afar.

"Remember what I told you," she whispered when she had the chance to pass him while waiting. "Trust your instincts, don't be so quick to trust anyone you meet in the labyrinth, even those who claim to be allies." Lam Vũ nodded and entered the maze with the first batch of contestants. Inside, the air is so cold that every breath creates a thin white smoke in front of your face. Soaring ice walls rise up on both sides, reflecting magical pale blue light, creating a scene that is both beautiful and menacing.

He moved carefully through each path, remembering the terrain observation techniques Tinh Nhược had taught, avoiding areas where the ice showed signs of cracking or unusual fragility. Around him, the occasional screams of other contestants fell into the collapsing ice trap, and the simulation system immediately eliminated them from the competition with a beam of red light sweeping across their bodies.

Going deep into the middle of the maze, Lam Vũ began to feel a vague sense of insecurity, as if someone was watching his every step from within the darkness of the ice walls. He stopped and listened, but only heard the wind whistling through the ice slots and the distant footsteps of the other contestants.

Suddenly, a figure appeared from behind a curve, a tall male contestant, cold face without any emotion, eyes as sharp as knives. That was Kỳ Hàn Ngự, blending in as a normal contestant.

"You are HT-2290, right?" He asked, his voice flat and emotionless.

"That's right," Lam Vũ replied, warily keeping his distance. "Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing," Kỳ Hàn Ngự replied, a faint smile flashed across the corner of his lips, cold and chilling. "Just curious about the contestant who attracted a lot of attention in the previous round."

Lam Vũ clearly felt a sense of danger radiating from the other person, his survival instinct told him to leave immediately. He was about to turn around and walk away, but Kỳ Hàn Ngự quickly blocked the way. His sleeve moved slightly, revealing a hidden thin blade, reflecting the cold blue light of the ice maze.

“Sorry,” he said, his voice still as monotonous as if he were talking about the weather. "But this is my duty."

The blade rushed forward at terrifying speed, aiming straight at Lam Vũ's throat. In that life-or-death moment, the reflexes he had trained over the past weeks saved his life - he narrowly dodged, feeling the blade of the knife graze his shoulder, leaving a bloody cut.

"Who are you?" Lam Vũ screamed, stepped back, clutching the bleeding wound.

"A person was sent to ensure you never leave this maze alive," Kỳ Hàn Ngự replied, his voice cold, continuing to charge forward with precise and ruthless attacks.

Lam Vũ was forced to use everything he had learned to avoid it, but the gap in skills and combat experience between him and a professionally trained elite Saint Guard was too obvious. He was cornered in a corner of the maze, his back pressed against the cold ice wall, with no way out.

In that moment of despair, when Kỳ Hàn Ngự's blade charged for the final blow, the image of his mother, the image of Bốc Vấn Sơn, and the image of Tinh Nhược waiting outside the maze appeared clearly in Lam Vũ's mind. A fierce rage and determination to survive flared up, a familiar warmth spread throughout his body, stronger than ever before.

He grabbed Kỳ Hàn Ngự's wrist in an instant, stopping the blade just a few inches from his throat, then used strength far beyond normal limits, bending his wrist back. The sound of bones breaking rang out, Kỳ Hàn Ngự for the first time revealed a fleeting expression of pain on his always cold and emotionless face.

"No way," he whispered, stepping back, his eyes filled with surprise and wariness. "This power..."

But before he could react further, a siren rang throughout the maze, announcing the end of competition time for the first batch of contestants. The automatic monitoring system intervened, forcing all fights to stop immediately to evaluate the round results.

Kỳ Hàn Ngự, realizing the lost opportunity, threw Lam Vũ a menacing look before quietly retreating into the darkness of the maze, blending in with the crowd of candidates being evacuated according to regulations.

Lam Vũ stood there, panting, his shoulder still bleeding, his whole body trembling from the aftershocks of the life-and-death battle he had just experienced. He knew, this was no ordinary contestant, but an assassin sent for the sole purpose of taking his life — and that meant, Tinh Nhược's hunch was completely correct.

When taken out of the maze with the batch of surviving contestants, Lam Vũ quickly found the area where Tinh Nhược was waiting, her face pale with worry when she saw the wound on his shoulder.

"What happened?" She asked urgently, pulling him into a hidden corner to check the wound.

"Someone attacked me in the maze," Lam Vũ replied, his voice still shaking from the aftershocks. "A Saint Guard infiltrated as a contestant. He said it was his mission, implying that someone sent him to kill me."

Tinh Nhược's eyes darkened, a cold indignation replaced the initial worry. "It's as I feared. The Holy See has decided to eliminate you. From now on, each round will be even more dangerous."

She quickly took out a small first aid box hidden in her shirt and began bandaging the wound on Lam Vũ's shoulder with the expert movements of someone used to treating battlefield injuries. "The cut wasn't very deep, but it needed to be disinfected immediately to avoid infection. You were lucky to dodge it at the right time. It was only a split second before the blade cut into the jugular artery."

"He called it 'mission'," Lam Vũ said, his voice still shaking as anger replaced fear. "As if my life was just another item on his to-do list."

"That's exactly how elite Saint Guards are trained to think," Tinh Nhược replied, her voice bitter. "I encountered several of them when I served the Freedom Fleet. They were trained to eliminate all emotions, viewing each assassination mission as a simple logical calculation."

Bốc Vấn Sơn, when he heard the news through Tinh Nhược's hasty story that night, his face changed color and his hands shook with anger and fear. "I was afraid this would happen, but I didn't expect them to act so quickly. You must withdraw from the Great Trial immediately, Lam Vũ. Your life is more important than any goal."

"I can't retreat," Lam Vũ replied, his voice determined even though the wound on his shoulder was still painful. "If you retreat now, your mother will never have the Aurora Crystal, and the truth about Tà Huy Village will forever be buried. I would rather die while fighting for it than live and give up halfway."

Tinh Nhược looked at him for a long time, her eyes were both worried and filled with deep admiration for that unwavering determination. "If you have decided to continue, we need to change our strategy. From now on, I will try to follow you closer in each round, even if I have to risk exposing myself. And Bốc Vấn Sơn, you need to find a way to determine Kỳ Hàn Ngự's true identity, so we can know if he can reappear under any other guise."

"I will try my best," Bốc Vấn Sơn replied, although his voice was still heavy with worry. "But you must promise me, if the situation becomes too dangerous, you must know when to retreat to preserve your lives, so that you have a chance to fight again tomorrow." Both Lam Vũ and Tinh Nhược nodded, although in their hearts all three understood that, from the moment Kỳ Hàn Ngự's blade grazed Lam Vũ's shoulder in the icy maze, the war between them and the Quang Nguyên Holy See had officially entered a stage with no way back, where each next round could be the boundary between life and death.