The moment that pleasant voice rang out, Bai Xue was momentarily dazed.
She couldn’t tell if it was a real sound or just a hallucination before death.
“Are you okay?” The white figure—Silvermoon Knight Ye Lian—asked again.
It had been her who saved Bai Xue at the last possible second.
Bai Xue blinked in disbelief.
She was really saved?
In that instant, she had already mentally prepared herself for death.
But in the end, she was rescued by the person in front of her…
Bai Xue stared in stunned silence.
Her savior was a knight clad in white armor!
More precisely, a female knight.
(So cool!)
Staring at her savior, Bai Xue’s heart started racing.
She murmured, “I-I’m okay… thank you!”
“As long as you’re fine,” Ye Lian said as she helped Bai Xue stand upright.
“Can you stay on your feet?”
“I can.”
Bai Xue blushed slightly and nodded, sneaking a glance at the woman’s armor.
The white battle armor was stunning—sleek, elegant, and exquisitely crafted.
It was clearly no ordinary gear!
Just like how an ordinary person might not know the value of a sports car, but can tell how remarkable it is just by looking at the shape and design.
To Bai Xue, this white knight was the very embodiment of beauty and strength.
***
On the other side, Zhao Gang’s hand, still gripping his sword, had gone numb.
He stared warily at Ye Lian, his expression shifting.
He didn’t make a move.
The fact that she had rescued Bai Xue in the blink of an eye said everything about her strength.
Until he figured out more about her, he decided it was best not to act rashly.
Even if Ye Lian currently looked full of openings.
“Be careful with him! He’s not human anymore!” Bai Xue snapped out of it and quickly turned to warn Zhao Gang.
“Already fallen so far you can’t even be called human, huh.”
Ye Lian shifted her gaze and looked at Zhao Gang directly for the first time.
Back at the starting zone, she’d had no good impression of this slick-talking guy.
“Fallen? Heh… don’t be ridiculous! I’ve never felt better in my life. Even my brain feels like it’s dancing~”
Zhao Gang tapped his finger against his temple with a twisted grin.
Four gray-black tentacles writhed around him, swaying like they were dancing.
“Completely beyond saving. Not that I ever intended to save you.”
Ye Lian took a step forward, spear in hand, killing intent surging from her.
“You want to kill me? Hah! Arrogant insect. Do you think what I showed just now was my full strength?Naive!”
Zhao Gang’s eyes widened as tiny crimson eyes appeared in the whites of his eyes.
His body swelled to twice its size.
From his mouth and ears burst thin, gray-black tendrils.
Seeing this, Bai Xue barely resisted the urge to cover her mouth.
Her heart filled with dread.
If Zhao Gang had still resembled a human earlier, he was now a full-blown monster.
Utterly horrifying!
Ye Lian, however, wasn’t focused on his grotesque transformation.
(His name turned from green to red.)
Green was the color of player names.
Red meant monsters or [Unknown Threats].
Under normal circumstances, this couldn’t be changed or faked.
‘So he could fake a green name too, just like me.’
‘That gives me one more reason why I have to kill you.’
Ye Lian glanced at Zhao Gang, then looked at the melting corpse on the ground.
Her killing intent boiled over.
“I can feel it! I can feel it! You actually harbor such intense killing intent toward me! Hahaha, are you seriously angry over the death of those bugs!? Seriously—this is hilarious!”
Zhao Gang gripped his greatsword, his voice twisting with madness.
A terrifying smile crept across his face.
But soon, he wiped the smile away and said coldly, “You’re acting like you’re one of their kind.”
Those words made Ye Lian pause.
A flicker of violet light passed through her eyes.
Not far away, Bai Xue hadn’t heard Zhao Gang clearly.
She stared at Ye Lian’s back, a bit dazed.
‘So what if I am? So what if I’m not?’ Ye Lian raised her hand, pointing her spear at Zhao Gang as she softly replied.
“Doesn’t matter,” he said, shaking his head.
“Because you’re about to die!”
The moment he finished speaking, his figure turned blurry.
Then, like a ghost, his true body suddenly appeared right in front of Ye Lian, thrusting his sword at her.
Strangely enough, though, his sword strike looked absurdly slow.
Even Bai Xue felt like she could dodge it.
Ye Lian instantly shifted her stance and threw a lightning-fast left punch straight into Zhao Gang’s unguarded face.
In the next moment, Bai Xue watched as he was sent flying like a cannonball.
“Guwaagh! How is this possible?!” Zhao Gang cried out in disbelief as he flew backward.
That strike had been a perfect combination of stealth and speed.
There was no way she should’ve dodged it.
And yet not only had Ye Lian avoided the attack—she had even countered at high speed!
Bai Xue tilted her head slightly, confused.
‘Your attack was so slow. Isn’t a counter kind of expected?’
Clearly, what they saw—and felt—belonged to two entirely different worlds.
“So weak. I thought abandoning your humanity would’ve made you stronger. Looks like I gave you too much credit.”
Ye Lian pulled her fist back, looking a little disappointed.
“No… maybe I’m just too strong.”
To Bai Xue and the others, the mutated Zhao Gang was a terrifying force of despair.
But to Ye Lian, he was no different from that giant crab from before.
“Maybe a bit more durable, I guess.”
She glanced at the staggering Zhao Gang, who was trying to steady himself after crashing to the ground, and muttered to herself.
“No way… there’s no way this bug is stronger than me. That was just a fluke!”
Zhao Gang managed to regain his balance, but panic had already taken root in his heart.
Just moments ago, he had been the absolute dominator of the battlefield.
How had he suddenly become so powerless?
That kind of drastic change—it was impossible to accept.
As if trying to prove he was still stronger, Zhao Gang gripped his sword with both hands and charged in.
“Die, you damn bitch!”
In the blink of an eye, he reached Ye Lian and raised his sword high over her head.
But before he could bring it down, her spear had already pierced straight through his chest.
“…Incredible. The White Knight is incredible!” Bai Xue gasped, clenching her fists in excitement and relief.
Having such a powerful ally was a tremendous comfort.
“Wait a second. She called my name earlier… do we know each other?”
Now that her emotions had calmed down a bit, Bai Xue began to reflect on some small but important details.
***
“Guwaagh!”
At that moment, Ye Lian withdrew her spear from Zhao Gang’s chest and spun around gracefully.
A twisted shriek echoed through the air.
Bai Xue snapped out of her thoughts and was just about to say something—when suddenly, Zhao Gang, who should have been dying, flashed a familiar cold smile.
Then, like a beast freed from its cage, he pounced on the completely unguarded Ye Lian.
Even with his heart pierced, he was still alive!
“Watch out!” Bai Xue cried out in alarm.
It all happened in an instant.
Zhao Gang struck from above, his sword slashing down to split Ye Lian in two.
Ye Lian looked like she hadn’t reacted at all.
She was about to be cut from head to toe.
Bai Xue’s heart leapt into her throat, and she almost shut her eyes.
“I forgot—you’re a monster. Your vital points aren’t the same as a human’s.”
Ye Lian’s voice sounded distant, like it was coming from another realm.
Ethereal and unreal.
A moment later, a green arc of light flashed across Bai Xue’s eyes—cleanly slicing Zhao Gang in half.
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Yeah… probably… Phobs thought “This haremanime esque trash is no longer worth my optimism. I will depart to those who are in need of my help.” If… if they died… ;-;… I just might…