One against three, Lena charged undaunted. That spear and that tiger were a blow to her ego, and she yearned to prove herself. She wished to substantiate her courage. To show she was not afraid, and that the weak, shameful young woman trembling before a wounded beast was an anomaly, not her real self.
The apes roared, showering the world with foamy spit, revealing their blemished yellow fangs. Lena did not mind the stench of honey and rot. She focused on the clubs slamming down towards her and muttered, “Soaring Crane.”
Qi surged into her legs, rushing to execute the maneuver she had performed thousands of times before. The woman leaped, leaving the clubs to smash into the earth behind her back. Her unexpected movement art stunned the giant apes.
The beasts had never faced such enemies, and they paid the price of inexperience. Lena’s sword blazed golden. It struck a Gilded Ape’s neck, cutting through its steel-like fur and tough hide. The blade bit into the carotid, cleaved the larynx, and severed the spine.
Lena landed behind the dumbfounded Monster Beasts a moment before her victim toppled over, gurgling and spraying blood.
Wow. I don’t think I could do that.
“I could, if I owned that sword.”
Wolf stared transfixed as the coppery stench of gushing blood ignited primal rage in the two surviving apes. The beasts screamed and charged Lena, the subtle teamwork they had before vanishing without a trace.
They smashed their clubs at the same time, the giant weapons colliding midair. Lena ducked under the fumbled attack and rushed forward, her sword shining brightly once more. With a horizontal cleave, she hacked at the rightmost ape’s knee.
Unlike its fallen brother, the beast surrounded its leg with a sanguine barrier. However, with the addition of Lena’s and the ape’s momentum, the shield screeched for an instant before shattering.
The beast wailed as the radiant sword struck bone. Wolf awakened his senses and watched Lena’s arm vibrate and the sword buzz, using the high frequency pulses to split bone.
The severed leg rolled on the ground, carried by inertia, as its owner fell. Lena’s henchmen attacked the other ape from the back, however, the towering beast disregarded their attacks, which failed to dim its Qi protection. Instead, it swept its club straight at Lena.
The thick trunk hit her square in the back. The moment the club was about to make contact, a deep blue barrier surrounded the young miss’s body, protecting her from harm. Lena shot forward and slammed into the tree at terminal speed, bouncing off, and crumpling to the ground.
She rose to her feet after being smacked, but even through the azure screen, her movement appeared wobbly, and she swayed on her feet. While she had not suffered any external damage, her brain was jolted, colliding with her skull, turning her gaze blank. She resembled a fist fighter after a heavy blow to the head, struggling to connect her mind with the outside world.
The prone ape formed a barrier of Qi to stop its copious bleeding, while its mate ran after Lena, sending her minions fleeing.
This is a good chance, Wolf observed the Brilliant Gate’s disciples escape the scene. Even Lena’s personal bodyguards were unable to mount a serious counterattack against the golden giant, let alone the less elite disciples.
“I don’t know how long she can keep that blue shield up, and I think it can block my attacks just as easily as it blocked the Gilded Ape’s.”
I can just keep hitting her until it goes out?
“I think that’s what the Gilded Ape is about to try.”
The Monster Beast smashed its club, hammering Lena into the tree. It struck again and again, shaking the massive trunk, but the blue shield did not dim in the slightest even after five punches.
She’s recovering. Wolf noticed Lena’s eyes regain focus, and her limp body, sandwiched between the club and the tree, straightened.
The Gilded Ape struck once more, but its bludgeon did not strike a flaccid sack of meat. Instead, a radiant golden sword met the club, cutting it like soft dough. Propelled by its momentum, the Monster Beast lost its balance, and Lena took her chance. Her calves glowed, and she jumped, swiping the glowing sword against her enemy’s neck.
The giant ape lifted its hand, trying to block the attack with its meaty palm. The blade flashed brilliant yellow, sending half the hand flying, however, the ape’s defense worked. Instead of slashing its neck open, Lena’s sword left a deep gash in the shoulder, vibrating as it severed bone and tendon alike, maiming the monster.
The crippled ape turned around to flee, but Lena savagely jumped onto its back. Wielding her sword in two hands, she stabbed it into the bright, yellow bristles of the monster’s nape. The blade sank into the neck all the way to the hilt, and the Gilded Ape fell on its face, drowning in its own blood.
The last beast fled, abandoning its club, and hobbling on three legs. It turned around, checking on its pursuer, when it smashed headfirst into a tree. The tree creaked, its leaves falling from the violent impact while the ape bounced back, sitting on its butt, dazed.
It met its end in that undignified pose, its eyes still unfocused as Lena cleaved its neck, separating the giant head from its massive bulk.
She’s not bad. Wolf gaped at the scene below, impressed.
“She’s bloody brilliant! Even though she has cheat armor and weapon, she accomplished all this without being able to awaken her senses, or enhance her processing speed.”
The blue shield protecting Lena flickered out of existence. She immediately doubled over and hurled. After dry heaving for several moments, she stood back up and drew deep breaths through her nose, exhaling through the mouth. Finally, she popped a healing pill into her mouth.
That must’ve been one hell of a concussion.
“She must’ve suffered multiple contusions, yet she still pulled off all that.”
Wolf wanted to applaud, his admiration stoking a fire within his heart. Deep down, he wished to fight Lena one on one. Her wielding her cheats, him using his, until he beat her into a pulp.
“Easy tiger. Hormones are doing their thing again.”
“Come back, you cowards! I killed them! All three of them.”
As Lena shouted, she pried out the dull nub from her sword’s pommel. She took out another one from her necklace, before replacing both with fresh ones.
“Maybe I should’ve taken that armor Elder Dread insisted on. It seems like a handy gadget.”
Hmph! That’s a heretical path. You should dodge attacks, never getting used to being struck. By believing myself impervious, I would dull my reflexes, and it’s only a matter of time before I die from miscalculating someone’s strength.
“Point taken. But it looks awe inspiring, just getting bludgeoned like that without suffering any damage.”
Wolf shrugged, but deep down he agreed with himself. Brilliant Gate’s disciples returned. The way they fled and came back without shame cemented Wolf’s belief they were nothing but robbers and gangsters. Only brigands could abandon their comrades like that and return, acting as if nothing had happened.
What will she say?
“Let’s go. And be quiet this time.” Lena pretended nothing had happened. Watching from his low branch, Wolf could see the sneer of disgust and the disdain the woman obviously felt for her followers, but she still led them forward.
Are they insane? Why are they following her? Why is she leading them?
“Maybe she plans to use them to carry the treasure, assuming it’s too heavy? Perhaps she will use them as bait while she takes it for herself?”
Wolf came up with several scenarios in which having hundreds of disposable, untrustworthy people following you around was not a bad thing. However, his musing ended as the ambient light ahead brightened.
We’re leaving the jungle and approaching the water again.
“I can’t move forward through the low branches. I should stay here, or climb higher and see what’s ahead.”
Wolf hardly considered the issue before heading up. He scaled the gnarly branches, careful not to disturb the lianas.
I wonder why the canopy is practically devoid of life? Regular forests team with birds, insects, and small mammals.
“They were probably too weak to fend for themselves, and stronger Monster Beasts devoured them. Besides, I think there were some in the outskirts. The competition here is simply too fierce for peaceful lifeforms to survive.”
Wolf reached the top, and an endless green expanse stretched in every direction. Even the giant moat, which looked like a gash in the forest, was green with algae, maintaining the monotonous emerald.
Tiny white dots lined the far shore and Wolf focused on them. Thousands of lotuses lay in the still water, their yellow cores forming a gentle contrast with the pale petals.
Wait. Are those Mind Clearing Lotuses? Wolf stared at the flowers with wide eyes.
One against three, Lena charged undaunted. That spear and that tiger were a blow to her ego, and she yearned to prove herself. She wished to substantiate her courage. To show she was not afraid, and that the weak, shameful young woman trembling before a wounded beast was an anomaly, not her real self.
The apes roared, showering the world with foamy spit, revealing their blemished yellow fangs. Lena did not mind the stench of honey and rot. She focused on the clubs slamming down towards her and muttered, “Soaring Crane.”
Qi surged into her legs, rushing to execute the maneuver she had performed thousands of times before. The woman leaped, leaving the clubs to smash into the earth behind her back. Her unexpected movement art stunned the giant apes.
The beasts had never faced such enemies, and they paid the price of inexperience. Lena’s sword blazed golden. It struck a Gilded Ape’s neck, cutting through its steel-like fur and tough hide. The blade bit into the carotid, cleaved the larynx, and severed the spine.
Lena landed behind the dumbfounded Monster Beasts a moment before her victim toppled over, gurgling and spraying blood.
Wow. I don’t think I could do that.
“I could, if I owned that sword.”
Wolf stared transfixed as the coppery stench of gushing blood ignited primal rage in the two surviving apes. The beasts screamed and charged Lena, the subtle teamwork they had before vanishing without a trace.
They smashed their clubs at the same time, the giant weapons colliding midair. Lena ducked under the fumbled attack and rushed forward, her sword shining brightly once more. With a horizontal cleave, she hacked at the rightmost ape’s knee.
Unlike its fallen brother, the beast surrounded its leg with a sanguine barrier. However, with the addition of Lena’s and the ape’s momentum, the shield screeched for an instant before shattering.
The beast wailed as the radiant sword struck bone. Wolf awakened his senses and watched Lena’s arm vibrate and the sword buzz, using the high frequency pulses to split bone.
The severed leg rolled on the ground, carried by inertia, as its owner fell. Lena’s henchmen attacked the other ape from the back, however, the towering beast disregarded their attacks, which failed to dim its Qi protection. Instead, it swept its club straight at Lena.
The thick trunk hit her square in the back. The moment the club was about to make contact, a deep blue barrier surrounded the young miss’s body, protecting her from harm. Lena shot forward and slammed into the tree at terminal speed, bouncing off, and crumpling to the ground.
She rose to her feet after being smacked, but even through the azure screen, her movement appeared wobbly, and she swayed on her feet. While she had not suffered any external damage, her brain was jolted, colliding with her skull, turning her gaze blank. She resembled a fist fighter after a heavy blow to the head, struggling to connect her mind with the outside world.
The prone ape formed a barrier of Qi to stop its copious bleeding, while its mate ran after Lena, sending her minions fleeing.
This is a good chance, Wolf observed the Brilliant Gate’s disciples escape the scene. Even Lena’s personal bodyguards were unable to mount a serious counterattack against the golden giant, let alone the less elite disciples.
“I don’t know how long she can keep that blue shield up, and I think it can block my attacks just as easily as it blocked the Gilded Ape’s.”
I can just keep hitting her until it goes out?
“I think that’s what the Gilded Ape is about to try.”
The Monster Beast smashed its club, hammering Lena into the tree. It struck again and again, shaking the massive trunk, but the blue shield did not dim in the slightest even after five punches.
She’s recovering. Wolf noticed Lena’s eyes regain focus, and her limp body, sandwiched between the club and the tree, straightened.
The Gilded Ape struck once more, but its bludgeon did not strike a flaccid sack of meat. Instead, a radiant golden sword met the club, cutting it like soft dough. Propelled by its momentum, the Monster Beast lost its balance, and Lena took her chance. Her calves glowed, and she jumped, swiping the glowing sword against her enemy’s neck.
The giant ape lifted its hand, trying to block the attack with its meaty palm. The blade flashed brilliant yellow, sending half the hand flying, however, the ape’s defense worked. Instead of slashing its neck open, Lena’s sword left a deep gash in the shoulder, vibrating as it severed bone and tendon alike, maiming the monster.
The crippled ape turned around to flee, but Lena savagely jumped onto its back. Wielding her sword in two hands, she stabbed it into the bright, yellow bristles of the monster’s nape. The blade sank into the neck all the way to the hilt, and the Gilded Ape fell on its face, drowning in its own blood.
The last beast fled, abandoning its club, and hobbling on three legs. It turned around, checking on its pursuer, when it smashed headfirst into a tree. The tree creaked, its leaves falling from the violent impact while the ape bounced back, sitting on its butt, dazed.
It met its end in that undignified pose, its eyes still unfocused as Lena cleaved its neck, separating the giant head from its massive bulk.
She’s not bad. Wolf gaped at the scene below, impressed.
“She’s bloody brilliant! Even though she has cheat armor and weapon, she accomplished all this without being able to awaken her senses, or enhance her processing speed.”
The blue shield protecting Lena flickered out of existence. She immediately doubled over and hurled. After dry heaving for several moments, she stood back up and drew deep breaths through her nose, exhaling through the mouth. Finally, she popped a healing pill into her mouth.
That must’ve been one hell of a concussion.
“She must’ve suffered multiple contusions, yet she still pulled off all that.”
Wolf wanted to applaud, his admiration stoking a fire within his heart. Deep down, he wished to fight Lena one on one. Her wielding her cheats, him using his, until he beat her into a pulp.
“Easy tiger. Hormones are doing their thing again.”
“Come back, you cowards! I killed them! All three of them.”
As Lena shouted, she pried out the dull nub from her sword’s pommel. She took out another one from her necklace, before replacing both with fresh ones.
“Maybe I should’ve taken that armor Elder Dread insisted on. It seems like a handy gadget.”
Hmph! That’s a heretical path. You should dodge attacks, never getting used to being struck. By believing myself impervious, I would dull my reflexes, and it’s only a matter of time before I die from miscalculating someone’s strength.
“Point taken. But it looks awe inspiring, just getting bludgeoned like that without suffering any damage.”
Wolf shrugged, but deep down he agreed with himself. Brilliant Gate’s disciples returned. The way they fled and came back without shame cemented Wolf’s belief they were nothing but robbers and gangsters. Only brigands could abandon their comrades like that and return, acting as if nothing had happened.
What will she say?
“Let’s go. And be quiet this time.” Lena pretended nothing had happened. Watching from his low branch, Wolf could see the sneer of disgust and the disdain the woman obviously felt for her followers, but she still led them forward.
Are they insane? Why are they following her? Why is she leading them?
“Maybe she plans to use them to carry the treasure, assuming it’s too heavy? Perhaps she will use them as bait while she takes it for herself?”
Wolf came up with several scenarios in which having hundreds of disposable, untrustworthy people following you around was not a bad thing. However, his musing ended as the ambient light ahead brightened.
We’re leaving the jungle and approaching the water again.
“I can’t move forward through the low branches. I should stay here, or climb higher and see what’s ahead.”
Wolf hardly considered the issue before heading up. He scaled the gnarly branches, careful not to disturb the lianas.
I wonder why the canopy is practically devoid of life? Regular forests team with birds, insects, and small mammals.
“They were probably too weak to fend for themselves, and stronger Monster Beasts devoured them. Besides, I think there were some in the outskirts. The competition here is simply too fierce for peaceful lifeforms to survive.”
Wolf reached the top, and an endless green expanse stretched in every direction. Even the giant moat, which looked like a gash in the forest, was green with algae, maintaining the monotonous emerald.
Tiny white dots lined the far shore and Wolf focused on them. Thousands of lotuses lay in the still water, their yellow cores forming a gentle contrast with the pale petals.
Wait. Are those Mind Clearing Lotuses? Wolf stared at the flowers with wide eyes.
