"If you think it's okay, we should just rest here for a while; maybe there are other clues hidden here," Gexi continued, her voice filled with a persistence born of desperation.
To Gexi, wandering aimlessly through an evil god's domain was no different from seeking death, a concept entirely foreign to her usual caution.
Actually, I think that's a pretty good suggestion, but unfortunately, I'm not the one making the decisions right now... Grinya grumbled internally.
Furthermore, based on her understanding of the evil god, he had no reason to shrink back.
Just as Grinya expected, she watched her own hand reach out to touch the spatial rift. Under the influence of the mana she outputted, the mysterious crack slowly widened.
In the next second, it expanded and swallowed the space they occupied, plunging everything into a distorted chaos.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Gexi lamented as she watched, yet she had no choice but to accept reality.
Me too... Grinya echoed in her mind.
Only Lu Xun remained oblivious, completely indifferent to the thoughts of these NPCs.
Once their vision returned, Gexi found that the scene had updated. They were standing on a floating, pale-yellow island. Lit by an unknown light source, the surface of the island was quite clear, but everything beyond it remained shrouded in darkness.
"Is there an exit here?" Gexi instinctively asked her teammate.
For some reason, Gexi felt a sense of security just by having her nearby.
Grinya didn't answer directly; she simply summoned the Sword of Honor in silence.
At that moment, a pillar of white light descended from the sky. Accompanied by a soul-shaking entrance sound effect, a massive figure stepped fully out of the rift.
Its body was like a dark rock fortress crawling out of the abyss. Its grayish-white exoskeleton was covered in hideous cracks, and within each crack, dark purple energy surged like a living thing.
"An abyss guard!" Gexi's face paled as she cried out in shock.
"Watch out—"
Before Gexi could finish her sentence, a whistling sound exploded in her ears. Grinya had already charged forward with the Sword of Honor, lunging straight at the abyss guard.
The abyss guard showed no fear. It let out a deafening roar and swung a massive claw wreathed in eerie purple flames, slashing forward with brute force.
Grinya didn't dodge. The blade of the Sword of Honor slammed hard against the giant claw, which was even larger than she was.
Clang!
Grinya's figure suddenly dropped low. The giant claw hung suspended above her head, held back firmly by her blade.
The soft armor she wore around her waist also released a white glow, but even so, the abyss guard's heavy blow still dealt effective damage.
Seeing the Peerless Fencer's health bar drop by a chunk, Lu Xun frowned in dissatisfaction.
It was clearly a perfect block, yet it still couldn't negate all the damage.
He looked at the level above the enemy's head:
【Spirit · abyss guard · 29】
The level advantage wasn't particularly massive, and his Peerless Fencer should have attributes far exceeding general spirit-rank monsters thanks to her Innate Talent: Peerless and the Sword of Honor's passive effects.
Yet, in the face of this monster, the stats Lu Xun was so proud of seemed to offer no advantage at all.
"Careful! That's an abyss guard, the strongest elite race in the abyss! Its strength and defense are incredibly high; never try to face it head-on!" Gexi's warning finally arrived, albeit a bit late.
But for Lu Xun, it wasn't too late. He found an opportunity to pull back from the abyss guard. The abyss guard pursued relentlessly, its eerie purple claws tearing through the air. The sheer, unbridled power made Grinya's heart tremble.
Fortunately, Lu Xun operated her in time to perform a perfect dodge. The giant claw plunged into the ground, causing the earth to shatter and cracks to extend several meters away.
"What incredible strength." Grinya's breath hitched. It was a good thing she had dodged just now; if that had hit, she would surely be in critical condition.
This unfamiliar monster was undoubtedly an extremely powerful opponent, and Grinya knew that with her own strength, she might struggle to defeat it.
However, she didn't feel fear. Instead, her blood began to boil with excitement.
This is how a battle should be to be interesting.
Those fights where the outcome is decided as soon as they start are just like children playing house. Only through the struggle of blood and tears can true growth be achieved.
Grinya felt a strong desire for a hearty battle against the enemy before her.
...
In reality, while Lu Xun was in the heat of battle with the abyss guard, a new feature suddenly popped up in the game.
Luckily, this new feature appeared at the top of the interface, occupying only a small area. It was marked with an exclamation point as a reminder and didn't directly interfere with the game screen.
Otherwise, Lu Xun would definitely have had some choice words for the game's designers.
"Auto-battle?"
Lu Xun froze for a moment when he saw the name of this new feature.
He was playing just fine; why did an auto-battle feature suddenly pop up?
What was the meaning of this? Was it mocking his skills?
Was it suggesting he played poorly and needed an AI to fight for him?
Heh, he wanted to see just how amazing this auto-battle was if it dared to look down on his gameplay.
...
Grinya's consciousness was focused intently on observing her own movements.
Lord Xun Shen's movements were simply too beautiful. Every dodge and every attack was as magnificent as a work of art. This elegant yet artistic footwork was exactly what Grinya wanted to pursue her whole life.
She was like a devout and obedient student, carefully observing every detail her teacher taught her.
But suddenly, her consciousness shifted from a third-person perspective back to first-person. Familiar strength flooded her limbs, accompanied by a dull ache—the lingering injury from her first collision with the abyss guard. As Lord Xun Shen suddenly departed, that pain immediately surfaced, gnawing at her like a hunting dog.
While Grinya was still dazed, that long, blurry voice rang out next to her ear.
"I'll give you a chance to show off; let me see what your level is like."
Is this... a test from Lord Xun Shen? Grinya was startled for a moment, then she immediately steeled her resolve. Since that was the case, she had to give it her all and absolutely could not let Lord Xun Shen be disappointed in her.
At the same time, she clearly felt a foul wind approaching. Her body reacted instinctively—ducking, twisting her waist, and thrusting her sword in one fluid motion.
The tip of the sword struck precisely on the abyss guard's exposed red weak point. Not only did it deal a massive amount of damage, but it also triggered a stagger effect.
"Holy crap, that's amazing!"
Lu Xun's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but marvel.
Rate on N.U.
