Xu Xiaoyou scanned her surroundings; the ground was littered with mangled corpses. There were humans and various animal races. Judging by the marks left on them, it was clear that they had slaughtered each other in this arena before they died, all for the amusement of the dismantlers.
Although she had no intention of actually becoming a prophet, much less a "mommy" to this pack of dismantlers, things had already reached this point. If she were to suddenly shout that she was just here to collect a debt and had no desire to be a prophet, she didn't believe for a second that the dismantlers would just let her leave quietly.
There was no turning back once the arrow was loosed.
She casually pulled a longsword from the chest of a corpse and weighed it in her hand; it felt just right. What bothered her was why the man known as the Prophet had made that expression—a look of despair mingled with a touch of relief.
In the darkness, a pale, hunched figure slowly emerged: a long-starved ghoul. It crawled on the ground, its crimson eyes burning with a craving for fresh flesh. Just as Xu Xiaoyou raised an eyebrow, thinking that was all there was to it, over a dozen more ghouls crawled out from the shadows, restless and predatory.
"Go, Prophet Mommy!"
The dismantlers in the stands cheered for her.
Amidst the roaring flames of the torches, this life-and-death struggle officially began. The ghouls formed a perimeter around her, gradually closing the circle. Xu Xiaoyou’s expression remained calm as she gripped the longsword. Without further hesitation, she decisively used the unused 【Sword Arts Training】!
【Skill card Sword Arts Training has been used. The effect 'Swordsman's Keenness' has been obtained. Sword skills slightly enhanced. Duration: 6h.】
As the notification box appeared, a flood of sword techniques rushed into her mind. Her body quickly became agile, as if she had grown wings and feathers, feeling light enough to fly. She didn't wait for the ghouls to tighten their circle. Taking the initiative, she charged forward, sword in hand, rushing toward a ghoul.
In this life-and-death struggle, she couldn't afford to hold back, or she would become a feast for these monsters. The longsword carved a bloody crescent through the air. After taking down the first ghoul, Xu Xiaoyou didn't stop. Her footsteps were light as she dashed across the ground, kicking up sand and dust.
A fireball materialized in her hand. While rushing toward her second target, she hurled the fireball at a ghoul on her left that was lunging with its maw wide open. The white flash of the blade was once again stained crimson!
The burning flames scorched the ghoul's body. Amidst its shrill screams, the ghoul's pale form was burnt charred and curled, its skin peeling from bone and flesh until it stopped breathing. Before the dismantlers could even react, the girl had already dispatched three ghouls. It all happened in the space of a few heartbeats.
After that brief exchange, even these low-intelligence, starving ghouls could see that the girl was dangerous. Their instinctive fear of a powerful creature made them huddle together, no longer scattered as they were before, depriving her of an easy opening. They watched her, and Xu Xiaoyou watched them in return.
She maneuvered around the arena. Her body was far more flexible than she had expected; she felt as if she had inexhaustible energy, and her stamina consumption was almost negligible. Was it because her attributes had increased? Xu Xiaoyou felt a momentary sense of displacement. Recalling the recent events, she subconsciously touched her cheek below her right eye.
Or had her very essence changed? Could she still even be called human?
The ghouls seized the moment of her distraction. Like hounds scenting prey, a dozen figures sprinted across the arena floor, reaching Xu Xiaoyou in an instant. She shook her head, setting her chaotic thoughts aside for now. Such things could wait until the current crisis was resolved.
She didn't face the ghouls head-on. Instead, she began to run quickly around the arena. Ghouls, creatures that followed instinct almost entirely, fought without any rhyme or reason. They only knew how to bite, scratch, and pounce, willing to endure injuries just to tear a chunk of flesh from their prey.
Xu Xiaoyou understood that even a master could be overwhelmed by a chaotic mob. Without firearms, even a grade 2 fixer would avoid a direct confrontation if they didn't want to be shredded. With that in mind, she suddenly made a sharp turn.
Several ghouls couldn't stop their momentum. Due to inertia, they crashed straight into a spiked plate, their emaciated bodies instantly impaled by the sharp spikes.
"Good!"
A dismantler cheered from the stands. Xu Xiaoyou's ears filtered out their voices as she concentrated entirely. The whole world went quiet, and the massive arena became her personal stage. Having learned their lesson, the ghouls became much more cautious, maintaining a safe distance while continuing their pursuit.
They wanted to wear her down. Xu Xiaoyou realized this immediately. Predators often did this—chasing their prey until its stamina was exhausted before closing in for the kill. Xu Xiaoyou turned and threw another fireball, blasting a ghoul away.
The dismantlers watched as the golden-haired girl sprinted toward a wall, like a moth to a flame.
"What is she doing?"
"I don't know. Why is she running toward a wall? That's a dead end."
"Prophet Mommy has her own plan."
Just as the dismantlers watched Xu Xiaoyou reach the corner and get surrounded by the ghouls with no way to retreat—looking as though she would be torn apart the next second—the faint-hearted among them looked away, covering their faces with their hooks.
The next moment, all the ghouls pounced at once. Facing the lunging shadows, Xu Xiaoyou's expression remained unchanged, and the eye on her cheek opened.
Time slowed down significantly. She recalled the feeling of activating those skill cards. This time, there was no resistance. Under the analysis of the Gaze of Spiritual Vision, she easily grasped the essence of those low-grade skill cards. Everything happened naturally, and several skill cards condensed in her hands out of thin air.
"Scatter and Bolt!"
Golden patterns on a skill card flickered. Her figure became like a ghost, weaving through the pouncing ghouls and dodging every attack. In the blink of an eye, she appeared behind the entire pack!
【Skill Scatter and Bolt! has been mastered!】
Before the ghouls could react to their missed pounce, firelight illuminated the girl's face. Xu Xiaoyou raised her hand, and a surging fireball detonated the gasoline barrels in the center of the ghouls.
Boom—
In the blinding white light, everything seemed to evaporate. Limbs flew in every direction. Amidst the rain of blood, Xu Xiaoyou remained silent, wiping the blood from her face. She walked to the last ghoul still struggling.
"Roar..."
The ghoul was on the verge of death, the left half of its body gone. Its remaining emaciated arm scraped the ground, instinctively trying to crawl away from her. Xu Xiaoyou held her sword in a reverse grip and thrust it into its vitals, ending its suffering cleanly.
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