Amy Algaibi

Lu Yuan swept his gaze across the six attackers closing in on the purple-haired girl.

The Torrent Ring on his hand flickered with a dim blue glow.

He was familiar enough with Gnolls — he'd run into them several times already. But Kamans were a different story. Before leaving Sandy Rock City, he'd done his homework on the races of the White Cloud Continent, so he knew them: a race native to the continent, one that had even established a presence in Bone City, one of the four human starting cities. He hadn't expected to find them fighting alongside Gnolls.

The six were strong — every one of them First-rank, their auras carrying real weight. At least two stood apart from the rest: one elite Gnoll and one elite Kaman, both with substantial tempering. Even Lu Yuan could feel a faint edge of pressure from them. Among the six, some deployed Water Arrow, some carried weapons wreathed in gray-white light to augment their strength, and one Gnoll was even running Petrified Skin.

The purple-haired girl — Amy Algaibi — had all but surrendered to despair. She'd been so close to Tianrao City when they ambushed her out of nowhere.

If she'd had a full supply of serums and Talismans, she could have buried all of them. But earlier, she'd burned through a painful portion of her stock escaping a Second-rank Boss Grade Feral Beast, leaving her dangerously low on everything. Even so, she'd gone through every last bit she had in this fight — killing over twenty of them before running dry.

Six remained, and they couldn't break through her defenses. The problem was the reverse was equally true: her vines carried no real killing force. Every time she tried to ensnare someone, the Kaman with the gray-white glowing sword cut through them in a sweeping arc of blade light.

As time dragged on, her face had grown pale. The purple vines moved slower and less precisely. The drain on her stamina and Spirit Power was plain to see.

A Gnoll with a flame-wreathed battle axe leered at her:

"You think you're getting to Tianrao City? Ha! Get there first, then we'll talk!"

The Kaman with the sword added with a cold smile:

"If this were earlier, we'd be worried. But now — how much strength do you actually have left?"

The burly Gnoll just laughed.

"Didn't expect to catch such a big fish. With all those serums and Talismans she had, her fortune must be worth a lot. We lost plenty of brothers today, but if we take her down, we come out ahead."

Amy Algaibi bit her lip, fury burning through her chest.

"Just you wait! When I reach Tianrao City, I'll come back and kill every one of you a hundred times over!"

She had nothing left to throw at them. Despair was nearly swallowing her whole.

And then a young man came sprinting in.

Lu Yuan frowned slightly and tightened his grip on his heavy sword.

Not that he had any low-minded interest in the girl herself. It was simpler: they were both human. When a fellow human was being swarmed by other races and he could help, he felt he should.

*Please — call him the Messenger of Justice. The Warrior of Light.*

*It's because people like these don't believe in the light that darkness exists at all.*

He pulled out several serums and drank them.

Strength Serum. Speed Serum. Defense Serum.

What he was drinking were Superior Serums — his standard combat boost. He kept the First-rank Potent Serums in reserve as a trump card.

His base was already powerful enough that the Superior Serums barely moved the needle: strength up by roughly ten percent, speed a fraction more, defense a touch less. Still, once they took effect, his overall presence sharpened and thickened noticeably.

With Triple Black Steel Force stacked on top of the Strength Serum's bonus, his offensive output had drawn nearly level with his defensive capability.

He stopped deliberating. Eyes narrowing, grip tightening, knees bending — he launched off the ground.

His body shot forward like an arrow.

He caught sight of a stocky, gray-skinned figure and raised an eyebrow slightly.

*A Kaman?*

From the taunts the enemies had been throwing around, this purple-haired girl had clearly been carrying a serious supply of serums and Talismans — all spent now. He had no idea how many of them she'd cut down before running dry. The fact that she'd managed to kill any of them in her current state was because she'd caught them off guard earlier. Now that they'd adjusted, that window was long gone.

*Impressive, honestly.* She'd probably set out from Sandy Rock City, same as him.

Though these six Gnolls and Kamans were strong, his own strength wasn't weak either. And the purple-haired girl was genuinely formidable — if only her vines had more killing force, these enemies probably wouldn't be enough for her to tear through on her own.

His arrival threw the battlefield into a brief moment of stunned silence as every set of eyes snapped toward him.

A Gnoll had a grin spreading across his face. His smile hadn't finished forming.

A jet-black sword light split the air and swept toward his neck.

*Hisss!*

A faint crimson streak drew across the Gnoll's throat. His head launched skyward. Blood arced in a column.

Even Amy let out a quiet breath of stunned surprise.

Lu Yuan's ambush had been razor-fast — and the purple-haired girl's reaction threw the enemy side off just as much. Nobody had expected a single opening strike to send one of the Gnolls' heads clean off.

The survivors stared wide-eyed. Rage erupted across their faces.

"Another human! Kill them both!"

Seeing the remaining five split into two groups, Amy's violet eyes flashed. She glanced at the young man and called out:

"I'll support you. We take them down one by one!"

The two Gnolls and three Kamans exchanged a look and divided tasks without a word: the three Kamans continued pressing Amy; the two Gnolls wheeled and charged at Lu Yuan.

As a genius of the Algaibi Family who had been undergoing practical combat training since she was very young, Amy's battle experience was extensive and her instincts sharp. She didn't need to deliberate. She raised her small hand, and purple vines erupted outward like a spreading web, unfurling toward all five enemies — the bulk of them angling toward the two Gnolls bearing down on Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan paused for a half-second. He looked up at Amy and found her already looking back at him.

He smiled and gave a short nod. "Deal."

As the two Gnolls closed in, Lu Yuan stamped the ground and vanished.

He reappeared directly behind the weaker of the two — a Gnoll carrying a two-handed greatsword. A jolt of terror ran through the Gnoll; his fur bristled, pupils snapping to pinpoints. He barely managed to twist sideways.

The heavy sword, denied his neck, raked through his left arm armor instead. The leather split with a sharp crack. Blood poured freely. A savage wound ran the length of his arm.

Ice shot down the Gnoll's spine.

Just as he coiled to counterattack — driving his greatsword into a horizontal sweep — purple vines struck like serpents from both sides and snared both his hands. The swing died before it could land.

*Nice.*

He gave the purple-haired girl a silent mark of approval. That reaction speed. That pin-perfect timing.

Cold light flashed in his eyes. Crimson radiance rippled across his body as Crimson Copper Light ignited — full output.

*Hisss!*

A crimson sword light traced across the Gnoll's throat. The head flew. Blood fountained.

*One strike. Done.*

The Gnoll with the flame battle axe watched Lu Yuan cut through his companion without so much as a flinch. Veins of red crept into his eyes.

"Erguozi! You bastard!"

He roared and swung his blazing battle axe at Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan didn't move.

The Torrent Ring pulsed faintly blue. A Water Arrow streaked out and intercepted the axe mid-swing — even against an Assault Type elite warrior, a Zero-Rank Boss Grade Water Arrow couldn't halt the blow outright, but it knocked a significant portion of the force away.

The Gnoll rammed through anyway. His blazing axe slammed down onto Lu Yuan's shoulder armor.

**Boom!**

Flames swallowed him whole.

The Gnoll staggered back, cold sweat drenching his face, watching as Lu Yuan stepped out of the fire.

"Impossible! A direct hit from my Blazing Slash — how are you completely unharmed?!"

Lu Yuan glanced at the crack on his shoulder armor. A subtle wince crossed his expression.

*Repairs are not cheap, you know.*

He raised his head and grinned. "That actually felt pretty comfortable."

"…What?!"

"Guess."

The elite Gnoll warrior's fury lit up his voice:

"Human! You think your old man's someone to be trifled with?!"

Lu Yuan's eyes narrowed.

Honestly — if that had been the Blazing Slash from when the Gnoll was fully fresh, before the long fight with the girl had worn him down, Lu Yuan figured he'd probably have taken real damage. But the Water Arrow had intercepted first, blunting a meaningful chunk of the impact. His Boss Grade armor had then absorbed another layer on top of that. This Gnoll's tempering was probably sitting at 80% First-rank or above — the Blazing Slash was genuinely powerful.

Just not powerful enough.

His eyes went cold. Crimson light rippled across his body — full output — and his heavy sword crashed against the battle axe.

**Boom!**

Under the thunderous impact, the elite Gnoll staggered back several steps. Under Triple Black Steel Force, Lu Yuan's attack strength had nearly drawn level with his own defense. His speed — sharpened by the Speed Serum — had jumped another notch beyond what the Gnoll could track. The elite warrior's greatest asset, raw power, was being suppressed outright. Speed and defense were being overwhelmed entirely.

The Gnoll's expression twisted in alarm. He spun to flee.

Lu Yuan smiled, vanished, and reappeared at his back in an instant. The heavy sword came down.

"Human! I give up — don't make me fight to the death!!"

*Keep dreaming.*

Relying on nothing but accumulated combat instinct, the Gnoll scraped out a few desperate blocks.

It wasn't enough. Lu Yuan's sword found his neck. The life drained from the elite Gnoll warrior.

After finishing the elite Gnoll, Lu Yuan turned to face the three Kamans.

All three were tangled in Amy's purple vines at that moment, held at serious personal cost. The vines were visibly weaker now, their resilience declining as Amy burned through what remained of her stamina and Spirit Power.

Lu Yuan stamped both feet. The earth cratered beneath him. His body shot toward the three like a shadow.

His overbearing aura rolled over all three of them. Ice shot through their chests; something that looked a lot like panic appeared in their eyes.

They had watched it — right in front of them — as the elite Gnoll was torn apart in just a handful of exchanges. The other two had half a mind to abandon their commander and bolt. Were they now counting on him to save everyone? The elite Kaman had no confidence whatsoever that what remained of their group could handle this.

That human girl had already killed dozens of their people and burned through every trump card they had. Now this Lu Yuan had shown up with power that crushed their best fighter in seconds. Any thought of escape was pure delusion.

The Kaman with the gray-white sword grimaced.

"Damn it. Another impossible one. Retreat!"

All three wheeled to run.

Amy's round, chubby-cheeked face went cold.

"Trying to run? Did you ask my permission?"

She thrust her hand out and vines surged after the retreating Kamans.

The sword-wielding Kaman spun back:

"Block him!"

One Kaman raised a two-handed greatsword and swung a wide horizontal slash at Lu Yuan.

"Damn — how is your strength this powerful, too?!"

Lu Yuan was expressionless.

A heavy silence settled over the elite Kaman warrior. His face had gone ugly.

The elite Kaman's greatest weapon — his raw strength — was being suppressed outright. Speed and defense were being overwhelmed entirely.

He relied on combat experience alone to scrape out a few more exchanges.

Then Lu Yuan's sword found his neck.

The elite Kaman warrior stilled and fell.

Lu Yuan paused.

He looked up at Amy. She was already looking at him.

He smiled and gave a small nod.