Chapter 17: Silver Moon Knight Kick!

“Water resistance increased by a few points. Not bad.”

Ye Lian glanced over her status panel and gave a small nod.

The Demon Queen’s growth potential was definitely impressive.

“This spear needs an upgrade. Feels like it might snap if I use too much force… Being too strong has its own downsides.”

She looked at the spear in her hand and spoke calmly.

Just earlier, she had thought this weapon was pretty decent.

“Also, I need to prepare a set of clothes. It’s way too embarrassing when I revert from my transformation.”

With two small goals in mind, Ye Lian followed the river downstream.

The further she went, the faster the current grew, and the fewer monsters she encountered.

She casually killed a few armored gray crocodiles, but her level didn’t go up.

Apparently, level 5 was a turning point—every level after that got harder to reach.

“Speaking of which, that wood spirit leveled up to 10 in just over an hour. That’s insane.”

Even now, she still suspected that girl of being a cheating player.

“Unless she started out in some kind of monster den…”

Considering the possibility that the wood spirit might also have access to game Easter eggs like herself, the theory wasn’t impossible.

“I’ve got this weird feeling about her… She’s definitely not a normal opponent.”

Ye Lian had an odd sense of foreboding.

***

Gululu! Gululu!

Suddenly, a strange noise came from up ahead.

She looked up and saw a massive creature not far away.

It looked kind of like a giant crab—its body was covered in black bristles, and its two claws gleamed darkly.

The difference was, this thing was huge—about the size of a Wuling Red Light minivan.

That odd bubbling sound came from its mouth as it spat frothy white foam.

Most people, upon seeing such a monster, would either run away or freeze in fear.

But to Ye Lian, this was nothing more than a walking bundle of EXP and loot!

They locked eyes—one human and one crab.

The crab paused for a second, then charged forward at high speed, scuttling sideways.

Ye Lian saw it as prey, but the giant crab thought the same of her.

“Perfect.”

Spear in hand, she took her first step.

She shot forward like a white bullet straight out of a cannon, heading directly for the massive crab.

Gululu! The crab let out an excited gurgle and spat another mouthful of foam.

‘This tiny prey dared to initiate the fight? How laughable!’

With a twist of its body, the crab swung both claws like massive hammers.

It wanted to knock her out in one blow—and then slowly, painfully finish the job.

“So slow.”

To Ye Lian, the crab’s supposedly powerful attack—one using over 70% of its strength—moved like molasses.

‘Only way that’s hitting me is if I stand still on purpose.’

She tapped the ground lightly with her toes and leapt high into the air.

As she soared over the giant crab, she sliced off one of its raised eyes.

In an instant, green blood gushed out, and a shrill screech echoed through the air.

Landing nimbly, Ye Lian immediately unleashed a spinning thrust, aiming for the crab’s back.

However, the tip of her spear struck its shell like it had hit a slab of black iron.

Sparks flew as a powerful recoil surged back through the weapon.

“So hard,” she muttered, stepping back a few paces as her hand went numb.

“This material would be perfect to strengthen this spear.”

With that, Ye Lian put away her weapon.

She was going to take it down bare-handed.

At that moment, the giant crab flew into a rage.

It spun around and blasted a high-pressure stream of water at her.

Ye Lian slid to the side just in time, dodging by a hair’s breadth.

The ground where she had stood was blasted into a crater.

If that had hit a person, it would’ve punched a hole straight through them!

Despite its massive size, the crab moved with surprising agility.

Just after releasing the water, it darted in with ghostly speed.

Its massive claws swung wildly like two deadly shears, aiming to slice her limbs apart.

Ye Lian narrowly avoided the flurry of attacks with quick sidesteps and agile dodges.

She was becoming more and more in tune with her body now—her control over her strength was nearly perfect.

After its barrage ended, the crab repeated its earlier tactic and opened its jaws to shoot another stream of water.

Already anticipating the move, Ye Lian pushed off the ground with force, spinning 360 degrees in the air to dodge the blast with ease.

But no—this wasn’t just a dodge.

She was counterattacking!

As she spun midair, Ye Lian lashed out with a powerful kick aimed directly at the crab.

In the blink of an eye, her foot—packed with tremendous force—slammed into the creature’s unguarded body.

***

Boom!

With a thunderous crash, the red-crusted crab—roughly the size of a delivery van—was sent flying like it had been hit by a speeding truck.

Its heavy armor cracked open in multiple places as green blood sprayed in all directions.

It tumbled through the air for more than twenty meters before finally crashing to the ground.

After letting out a few weak gurgling cries, it went completely still.

“My strength is ridiculous,” Ye Lian muttered as she looked down at her foot, now encased in a white armored boot.

She had used less than thirty percent of her power, yet she had kicked the crab to death.

If she had used her full strength, it probably would’ve been reduced to ash!

“Just leveled up too. This crab gave pretty decent experience.” She tapped the [+1] icon on her stat panel and felt herself grow stronger.

‘Getting stronger this easily feels almost too good to be true.’

“Now then, time to dismemb—wait, I mean, collect materials.”

Drawing her spear again, Ye Lian walked over to the crab’s body.

First to go were its massive, glossy black pincers.

Next, she moved to its back.

After a bit of field butchering, the giant crab was reduced to a pile of scattered parts.

“Hmm? There seems to be something good inside.”

She stirred the crab’s flesh with the tip of her spear and discovered a solid, hard object.