Chapter 41: Hey, I’ll call you ‘Trash Maid’—dare to answer?!

A fierce sword strike was about to land on Ye Lian.

But as if she had eyes on her back, she dodged with an unbelievable, lightning-fast sidestep.

The sword light slashed across the ground, carving a deep groove into the earth.

At that moment, Ye Lian slowly rose to her feet, one hand pressed against the ground, her expression hidden from view.

The movement she had just used was the same spatial shift she had developed during her battle with the Blackwater King Serpent.

No matter what position her body was in, she could move freely like a jet engine.

“Good thing all the Starlight Grass over there has been pulled out. Otherwise, just spanking your butt wouldn’t be enough.”

She glanced at the sword mark on the ground before finally turning around.

Standing behind her was Bai Xue, gripping her black-and-white sword, staring at her with a look of fierce hostility—

As if Ye Lian were her mortal enemy who had killed her father.

On closer inspection, flickers of blue light could be seen in Bai Xue’s eyes from time to time.

This strange situation, this abnormal behavior—

It could only mean one thing: something was seriously wrong with her state of mind.

Ye Lian knew exactly what had caused it.

It was the scent released by the Starlight Grass.

Not long ago, she had warned Bai Xue not to apply real-world logic to this game.

And yet, now she had fallen into the trap herself.

The scent of Starlight Grass had a mild hallucinogenic effect.

A single stalk—even when withered—posed no danger.

But here, there was an entire field of them.

Prolonged exposure to the scent caused it to accumulate in the body until it eventually triggered symptoms—just like what Bai Xue was experiencing now.

The only reason Ye Lian was unaffected was due to the purifying effect of her Silvermoon Divine Gear.

The hallucination-inducing elements were neutralized before they could take hold, leaving behind only a faint, pleasant fragrance.

During the harvesting, Bai Xue had gradually moved farther away from her and thus had no access to that purifying protection.

Now, in Bai Xue’s eyes, Ye Lian had transformed into the object of her deepest hatred—

Zhao Gang.

That octopus-like freak had not only killed her comrades, but had nearly caused her own death.

That hatred had been buried deep inside her, never surfacing—until the hallucinations gave it form and let it erupt.

‘What a headache.’

Realizing the truth all at once, Ye Lian sighed helplessly.

‘Having your benefactor suddenly turn into your enemy—what kind of absurd nightmare is this?’

But it had indeed happened.

“Zhao Gang, this time you won’t escape! Face your judgment!”

Bai Xue gripped her sword tightly, eyes fierce, her body radiating an unrestrained killing intent.

Driven by something deep within her subconscious, the strength she unleashed was clearly far greater than usual.

From just that one strike, Ye Lian could already sense the difference.

At this moment, Bai Xue had shut out all distracting thoughts.

She was in her strongest state—fighting purely for revenge.

The moment the words left her lips, the masked maid shot toward her master like a black bullet.

“Fine, I’ll play along with you. In the end, this was all because of my own negligence.”

As she watched Bai Xue rapidly approach, Ye Lian appeared casual—yet not quite.

She hadn’t drawn her spear.

After all, when using that rather ordinary spear, she was actually in a weaker state.

But this time, she wasn’t holding back from using it to go all out against Bai Xue.

She simply didn’t want to accidentally cut Bai Xue in half.

Fighting barehanded was much safer.

What Bai Xue didn’t realize was that, in the blink of an eye, she could have already died seven or eight times.

Raising her sword high with both hands, she brought it down in a powerful slash.

It was a savage strike—strong enough to cleave a tree in two.

Let alone a human.

It was clear how deeply she hated Zhao Gang.

Ye Lian didn’t dodge.

She simply extended her hand, index and middle fingers slightly apart.

Just as Bai Xue’s thunderous strike was about to fall, Ye Lian snapped her fingers shut.

A strange scene followed—the sword froze in midair, unable to move an inch.

A shockwave suddenly exploded outward from them, violently ripping away a layer of earth in all directions.

Bai Xue’s eyes went wide with shock.

Even after becoming this strong… ‘why couldn’t she defeat Zhao Gang?’

He felt like an unshakable mountain—immovable and unreachable!

“You’re attacking me that hard, and you’re not even worried about hurting me? And to think you’re still supposed to be my maid.”

A maid should behave like a maid.

Ye Lian smiled as she added the comment.

Then, the hand holding the black-and-white sword yanked it to the side, dragging Bai Xue forward—

And slammed her into the ground with a sudden twist of her body.