One should never imply a man is too quick?
Bai Xia paused, momentarily stunned.
Her original intention had been to observe that her大神 (TL Note: ‘dà shén,’ meaning ‘great god’ or ‘expert,’ a respectful term for a highly skilled player) seemed less swift in clearing monsters than before, to the point where even her own monster-clearing speed had surpassed his. Yet, the man opposite her was clearly… being a pervert!
Had she truly been a girl as young as she appeared, she might not have understood. Even if she did, she would, at most, have been mortified with anger or reported him for harassment.
But for the current Bai Xia, such reactions were far too juvenile. Consequently, after processing his words, she felt neither anger nor embarrassment. Instead, she merely cast a cool, dismissive glance at a certain part of the man opposite her, then stated with an utterly expressionless face, “Boss, do you perhaps have some hidden ailment?”
“…”
Tian Zheng’s lips twitched. He felt profoundly grateful that one couldn’t choke to death in a game; otherwise, he would undoubtedly have perished instantly in that moment!
‘A hidden ailment?’
The man narrowed his eyes, and the beast-like aura that momentarily shed his gentle exterior inexplicably left Bai Xia feeling breathless. Fortunately, that invisible pressure vanished as if it were a mere illusion the very next second.
Tian Zheng took a deep breath, speaking as calmly as he could. “Whether I have a hidden ailment… do you want to test it?”
“No, no, absolutely not.”
A powerful surge of self-preservation had Bai Xia hastily waving her hands, forcing a strained smile. “Of course, I was just joking just now. Anyone can tell from your demeanor that you’re an unyielding spear, capable of conquering a hundred women a day!”
“…What kind of adjectives are those?”
Tian Zheng looked up at the sky, suddenly feeling a profound sense of exasperation.
****
The interlude at the entrance did not last long, concluding with an unspoken, mutual understanding.
After clearing the Blood Zombies from the entrance of Bear Cub Village, Bai Xia and Tian Zheng began their exploration deeper into the settlement.
The village was shrouded in complete darkness, concealing unknown horrors. Coupled with the eerie silence and the grotesque faces of the recently encountered monsters, it certainly evoked a chilling sense of dread.
Given that even zombies had now emerged, it seemed entirely plausible for even more repulsive creatures to appear next.
‘I hope I can still stomach a late-night snack after logging off later.’
Recalling the hideous faces of the mutated Blood Zombies, Bai Xia found herself grateful that this wretched game hadn’t adorned them with maggots or putrid flesh; otherwise, she would seriously have to consider abandoning the quest.
‘After all, quest rewards were secondary; a good mood was paramount.’
Shaking her head, Bai Xia swiftly banished all images of the Blood Zombies from her mind, simultaneously beginning to cautiously guard against anything even more terrifying that might spring out.
Tian Zheng gave her a speechless look, then retrieved a torch from his system inventory and lit it.
The warm, orange-yellow glow supplanted the cool moonlight, illuminating the surrounding several meters with newfound clarity.
With the flame, even the chilling aura of Bear Cub Village dissipated considerably.
Tian Zheng handed the torch to Bai Xia, then retrieved and lit a second one. After sweeping the area with its light and finding no immediate threats, they skirted the wall and ventured deeper into the village.
Bear Cub Village was indeed tiny, yet Bai Xia and Tian Zheng became even more cautious upon entering.
Facing unknown dangers, a single misstep could lead to an insurmountable predicament.
Strangely, while they had encountered several mutated Blood Zombies outside the village, upon entering, they met no expected resistance—in fact, there were no monsters at all!
‘What’s going on?’ Bai Xia wondered, puzzled. ‘If the mutated Blood Zombies were indeed villagers who had undergone a transformation, their numbers should certainly not be so sparse.’
Just as she found herself pondering this enigma, a strange sound suddenly drifted from ahead.
A grating, gnawing sound grew increasingly distinct as they advanced—a truly peculiar noise, akin to flesh or leather being violently sliced by something sharp, or perhaps torn asunder.
Bai Xia, torch in hand, was just about to move closer to investigate when Tian Zheng, beside her, abruptly narrowed his eyes, then yanked her behind him!
“Screech—!!”
The very next instant, Tian Zheng’s raised greatsword scraped against something sharp, sparking blindingly.
The immense force transmitted nearly sent the man stumbling back into Bai Xia, and even the torch in his other hand almost slipped from his grasp.
“Enemy!”
In fact, his warning was unnecessary, for the monster that launched the attack was already revealed in the torchlight the moment it struck.
It was a monster through and through!
Its nearly two-meter-tall frame was clad in tattered armor, and while it possessed a form similar to a human’s, what lay beneath the armor was decidedly not human.
Its ashen skin was covered in dense, fine scales, with bones protruding outwards. Its right hand, indistinguishable from a human’s, gripped a broad, black greatsword, yet its left hand, having burst through the armor, was grotesquely mutated and thick, its sharp bone claws dangling down to its knees!
Its face was particularly terrifying: a hideous human visage. Not only was its pallid countenance veined with serpentine blue tendrils, but its sunken eye sockets were utterly black, showing no trace of eyes.
“What is this thing… it’s incredibly ugly, isn’t it?”
Watching the monster being forced back by Tian Zheng’s sword, Bai Xia’s mood grew even darker. ‘Was she really not playing a horror game?’
[Deathbeast]: Level 20 Elite, HP 5500. This creature was once a knight of the Dawn Knights, captured by an evil sorcerer and used as material for research. After the research failed, its will and soul were destroyed, losing all the power of a Dawn Knight and transforming into an undead being that knows only slaughter and destruction.
Talents:
Undead Body: Gains enhancement in dark environments, significantly boosting movement and attack speed, and slowly recovering from injuries. As an undead body, it is immune to all death-type magic.
Death Devour: Inflicts Undead Poison on attack. Enemies wounded by its claws will enter a highly poisoned state for a certain duration, with a small chance to trigger a fatal, relentless poison.
Skills:
Mighty Strike: Though transformed into an undead, it still retains faint knightly instincts and strength from its former life. Upon activation, it swings its greatsword, knocking back all enemies in front of it and having a high chance to inflict laceration damage.
Death Charge: Gathers the power of death onto its greatsword, and after a brief charge, performs a powerful piercing attack against all enemies in a straight line.
Soulstorm Dance: Rotates its body, swinging its mutated giant arm in conjunction with its greatsword, delivering a storm-like assault to surrounding enemies.
A Level 20 elite monster?!
Believing this suddenly appearing monster merely looked strong, they were speechless to discover it was a Level 20 elite.
After all, this monster named Deathbeast was clearly not the final boss; there was likely an evil sorcerer behind it who had transformed it.
But if even this elite monster was so formidable, how were they supposed to deal with the final boss?
A profound sense of crisis washed over Bai Xia.
Simultaneously, with the Deathbeast’s appearance, they finally discerned the source of the strange sound from earlier: not far behind the Deathbeast, a mutated Blood Zombie lay, already mostly devoured.
Evidently, the Deathbeast had been enjoying its late-night snack, only to be interrupted by Tian Zheng and Bai Xia before it could finish, prompting it to lash out with a furious sword strike.
While Bai Xia was still contemplating how to tackle this behemoth, the Deathbeast let out a roar and swung its sword down.
The broad blade, corroded by undead power, appeared even heavier, exuding a powerful sense of oppression even before it drew near. Bai Xia and Tian Zheng swiftly dodged to either side.
“Bang!!”
The greatsword slammed into the ground between them with a dull thud, shattering the flagstones beneath their feet and seemingly shaking the entire earth. Then, the Deathbeast’s wrist abruptly twisted, and the greatsword, which had just struck the ground, immediately swung in a diagonal cleave towards Bai Xia, who had just dodged!
‘Does this thing have a grudge against me?’
Seeing the monster relentlessly pursue her from the outset, Bai Xia felt a flash of exasperation, yet her reaction was anything but slow.
Just as the greatsword was about to cleave her, she activated Shadow Stealth, transforming into a shadow to evade the fatal blow.
The greatsword sliced through the air above her, generating a violent gust of wind. Bai Xia, unhurried, used the acceleration from Shadow Stealth to move behind the Deathbeast. Reappearing, she leaped high and plunged her dagger, enveloped in dark power, into its back!
“Roar!!!”
Attacked from behind and afflicted by the encroaching dark power, the Deathbeast let out a cry of agony.
However, just as it turned to attack Bai Xia, Tian Zheng, who had retreated to dodge the cleave, closed the distance with even greater speed. Wielding his longsword, he slashed downwards from top to bottom, cutting deeply into the Deathbeast’s body.
Suffering damage from both front and back simultaneously, the Deathbeast, unable to turn, could only lash out with a backhand claw at Tian Zheng. Though he perfectly parried it with his blade, the strength, far surpassing that of a human, still sent him reeling far to the side.
Naturally, during this process, Bai Xia, who the Deathbeast couldn’t attend to, enjoyed a remarkably safe environment for her attacks. However, after inflicting a certain amount of damage, she knew when to disengage, using Shadow Step to create distance as Tian Zheng was knocked back.
Yet, seeing that the monster’s health bar had barely diminished, Bai Xia couldn’t help but exclaim, “This guy is too tough!”
Although her attack power was formidable, the Deathbeast was, after all, an elite monster five levels higher than them, so the current situation was only marginally better than when they had faced the Lava Giant.
Of course, compared to the Lava Giant, the Deathbeast’s intelligence was clearly not as high, so defeating it shouldn’t be overly difficult.
While contemplating strategies, Bai Xia’s footsteps never faltered.
For some unknown reason, after forcing Tian Zheng back, the Deathbeast completely ignored the man who was closer to it, unhesitatingly raising its sword once more and charging towards Bai Xia.
“Do you like me that much? Were you a lolicon in your past life, you fiend?!” Bai Xia said, exasperated at the monster relentlessly pursuing her. “But unfortunately, even if you catch me, there’s no way I’d let you do ‘hehehe’ (TL Note: A Chinese onomatopoeia often used to imply lewd or mischievous actions, akin to a suggestive chuckle). So… why don’t you just die again?”