Liang Chuyin stood up and looked in the direction of the voice. A young man was leaning against a tree, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, and he looked at her with a frivolous expression.
Unfazed by the obvious, suggestive smile, Liang Chuyin glanced at his face before shifting her gaze to the strange weapon he was toying with in his hand.
It was a weapon resembling a spiked club, but it was conical in shape, with a sharp hook at the tip. The body of the club was also covered in similar protrusions, though smaller than the one at the tip.
Liang Chuyin noticed this weapon not because of its peculiarity but because she recognized it. The fatal wound on her first companion’s body matched the shape of this weapon.
This man had killed her first guard and had now caught up to her.
Then…
Sure enough, another figure emerged from the weeds to her side.
This was a burly middle-aged man, much more robust than the young man. His weapon matched his style—two massive swords crossed on his back. As he walked out with his arms crossed, the blades swayed with his movements. The swords had cloth strips tied to them, though it was unclear whether they were originally that color or had been stained dark purple from wiping blood.
“There’s one more, right? Stop hiding,” Liang Chuyin said, looking in a certain direction. There, a pile of rubble hidden by weeds suddenly shifted, and a figure emerged as if by magic. His clothing blended perfectly with the rubble and weeds, like a chameleon with protective coloring. It would have been hard to spot him if not for Liang Chuyin’s sharp senses.
“Not bad, you can still spot me,” the old man chuckled, revealing a toothless grin that was somewhat repulsive.
Three seven-star evolved!
Liang Chuyin sensed their auras, which were at the same level as hers. Ye Zhongming had taught her this method of discernment.
Perhaps because they were confident of their victory, the three didn’t rush to attack. Instead, they looked at Liang Chuyin with greedy eyes.
However, their greed was different. The young man’s lustful gaze was directed at Liang Chuyin’s appearance and body, a lecherous desire to possess her. The burly man, on the other hand, kept eyeing her equipment—her full set of blue-grade gear was undoubtedly valuable. The most peculiar was the old man, whose attention was focused on Liang Chuyin’s neck, for reasons unknown.
“Who are you?” Liang Chuyin drew her whip, adopting a defensive stance. She knew a fight was inevitable today, but at the very least, she wanted to know who was targeting her and Cloud Peak.
“Ask the Ox-Head and Horse-Face when you get to the underworld,” the burly man growled, pulling the two massive swords from his back and charging at Liang Chuyin.
There were nearly twenty meters between them, but as the man swung his swords, the distance seemed to vanish. The blade’s light reached Liang Chuyin instantly, accompanied by crackling lightning.
“Thunder’s Fury!” The young man whistled, standing up straight. Though he didn’t attack, his appearance changed. Intricate patterns appeared on his face, and his mouth split slightly, revealing a snake-like forked tongue. He brought his weapon to his mouth and began licking it meticulously. With each lick, a trail of saliva coated the weapon, glinting with a sinister green light under the sun.
The saliva was poisonous.
The small old man said nothing, but his body moved swiftly to the side, blending into the environment and disappearing from sight.
Liang Chuyin’s mind entered a state of calm. Her long journey of improvement had taught her the right mindset to adopt in such situations.
This was the most perilous situation she had faced since the apocalypse began.
Three opponents of the same level, and she was alone.
Her whip lashed out as she moved to the side. With agility second only to Xia Bai, her speed was astonishing. Despite being surrounded by three enemies, her movement almost allowed her to break free from the encirclement.
The whip clashed with the dual swords, producing a loud clang.
Liang Chuyin was currently wearing a full set of blue-grade Earth Armor. Ye Zhongming never skimped on equipment for his women. The set included armor, a battle skirt, boots, earrings, a ring, a bracelet, a whip, a dagger, and a pistol.
Three attack items, three defense items, and three accessories.
The Earth Armor set had a unique property: every three pieces of different types would grant an additional attribute, up to a maximum of three. This setup maximized the number of attributes.
With the Earth Armor set enhancing her and her own formidable strength, Liang Chuyin faced the three without fear.
The burly man had used an attack skill—whether it was a job skill or a regular one, it was undeniably powerful. Liang Chuyin’s attack, on the other hand, was a regular strike at about eighty percent of her full strength. Logically, she should have been disadvantaged, especially since her weapon was a whip. However, after the clash, she remained unscathed, continuing to drift to the side while the burly man staggered, his grip on his swords faltering.
The man, whom the young man had called Thunder’s Fury, specialized in strength. Yet, in this exchange, he hadn’t gained the upper hand and had even suffered a minor setback.
“Equipment!” the burly man immediately realized that his equipment was inferior!
His dual swords, though only green grade, were part of a set. He had assumed they could hold their own against Liang Chuyin’s blue-grade whip, but that wasn’t the case.
The Earth Armor’s attack gear provided a ten percent boost to strength. Additionally, Liang Chuyin had taken two doses of enhanced potions and benefited from various auxiliary potions available at Cloud Peak, making her strength far superior to others of her level. It was just that Cloud Peak had too many monsters, making her strength less noticeable.
Seeing that Liang Chuyin was about to escape the encirclement after just one strike, the burly man grew anxious. He roared again, crossing his swords before his chest, producing a crisp clang. Then, he released one hand from the hilt, but the sword didn’t fall—it stuck to the other sword. He formed a hand seal with his free hand and placed it near his mouth, chanting an incantation. The stuck sword trembled violently and, in the next moment, shot out like a bolt of lightning, aiming straight at Liang Chuyin, who had already put some distance between them. By the time it reached her, the sword was no longer visible—it had transformed into a massive lightning bolt.
At the same time, a cold glint emerged from the void in the direction Liang Chuyin was moving, aiming straight for her eye. Behind the glint was the old man who had disappeared earlier.
The old man’s voice, lisping due to his missing teeth, rang out as he attacked.
“Ghost Gate Stab!”