Gazing at the corpses trampled beneath her feet and the small hillock piled high with chunks of flesh and blood, Lady Xuefei let out a sigh.
If it were the old her, she probably would have vomited by now.
But now, a rush of exhilaration and pleasure coursed through her body, like the triumphant satisfaction of conquering an entire race. Xuefei was beginning to understand why certain monsters reveled in slaughter—it truly fulfilled some deep-seated craving within.
Blood stained the horizon crimson, like a hazy dying sun. Xuefei sighed again, but suddenly she sensed someone reaching to pat her shoulder.
“Lady Xuefei.”
“Hm?”
Xuefei’s reflexes were lightning-quick. She sidestepped, only then realizing the one who’d dared lay a hand on her was Okate.
“You…?”
Thanks to their history as comrades, Xuefei harbored no real malice toward him. But for anyone else to touch her so casually? That was a death sentence.
Good thing he’d missed.
Besides, this guy wasn’t some pervert, was he? She’d never noticed before…
Xuefei said coldly, “Your name’s Okate, right? Do you even realize what you just tried to do?”
“Sorry, sorry~” Okate bowed his head apologetically, looking genuinely chagrined as he flashed a sycophantic grin that made him seem utterly repulsive. “It’s all a misunderstanding, Lady Xuefei. I was just cooped up in the carriage, feeling stifled, and I saw you cutting down those beastmen—heroic and dashing as could be.”
“What do you want?”
Xuefei cut straight to the chase.
No one sought her out without an agenda. Not even a guy like Okate would approach just to offer empty flattery.
Still, credit where it was due—his courage was commendable.
Okate had always been something of a coward, yet here he was, boldly climbing the corpse mound to meet her gaze. It was growth far beyond what he’d shown in the First Playthrough…
But did Okate truly remember the First Playthrough?
He said, “It’s nothing, really. I just thought your fighting style reminded me of an old friend…”
?!
Xuefei was startled inside, though she kept it from showing on her face. Still, it left her silent for a long moment.
Fighting style? Old friend?
She did incorporate swordsmanship footwork, of course—the foundational drills every swordsman drilled endlessly. If there were competitions just for footwork, Xuefei was confident she’d take a top-three spot worldwide… though that was her being modest. In truth, during the First Playthrough, no sword saint could match her.
Had Okate spotted her footwork? Or did he know she was the Hero?
More likely, it was both…
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m a demon—kill the enemies quick and move on. The Snake Demon Country is just a few miles away. Hurry…”
“Let’s have a match, Lady Xuefei.”
“?”
Xuefei narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing this presumptuous human before her—one of her First Playthrough comrades.
Even the reckless wouldn’t be fool enough to challenge her. Anyone with a shred of experience could see her power…
No one dared challenge the Evil Dragon. Not even the mightiest human.
What was his game?
“Not interested.” Xuefei leaped down from the corpse mound. The orange-red sky lingered unchanged.
Time to find Laer.
The Head Maid’s magic blended the Evil Dragon Guards’ and the Great Sage’s dark sorcery. In the battle just now, thousands of beastmen had been dragged underground by vines, turned to fertilizer that flowed back into her body through the earth…
What a breathtaking display of power. Thank goodness Laer was on her side.
Was this what it felt like—former foe turned ally?
Xuefei took a step forward, only for a treasured sword to plummet from the sky, embedding itself in the ground right before her.
Whoosh—!
“Don’t refuse me, Lady Xuefei. I’m sincerely asking for a lesson.”
That arrogant voice yanked her back into the fray. Xuefei’s brows furrowed, killing intent flaring.
Damn Okate.
If not for their friendship, she would have slain him on the spot.
“What do you want to compete in?”
“Just swordsmanship.” Okate shrugged.
“You’re challenging a demon race to a swordfight, human?”
Xuefei could certainly give this bold calf a taste of the strongest swordswoman’s technique, but there was no point. In other words, he might be luring her into some clever trap.
Perfect chance to voice her questions, then. Better to seize control of the conversation than wait for answers.
She turned around. Mindful that standing higher than the Evil Dragon was disrespectful, he too leaped down from the mound.
“Just who sent you humans—along with the Princess—to find us?”
“I’m the Princess’s guard. Is that a problem?”
“Celi’s skill ranks among the top fifty in the entire world. So tell me, which human could possibly protect someone like her?”
“I said I can,” Okate replied, pointing at himself.
“You know how utterly vile your attitude is, human. I could make you and your entire nation burn together in the pits of hell,” Lady Xuefei continued, her threats unrelenting.
And what in the world were Laer and the Princess doing? Hadn’t they noticed this guy sneaking out of the carriage on his own?
Whatever. She might as well treat him like he was nothing but air.
Lady Xuefei was gradually coming to understand why the Evil Dragon looked down on all the other races.
But…
Something wasn’t right.
Her black boots crunched against the dirt with every step. Unwittingly, her gaze drifted to the beastmen’s siege engine, which Laer had utterly demolished. Thick plumes of black smoke were rising from its wreckage.
But… why?
Why wasn’t that black smoke moving at all?
Not only that—the ravenous crows hung frozen in the vast white sky overhead. The grass, tousled by the wind, remained locked in the same direction forever, like a photograph captured the instant a camera shutter clicked.
A Barrier…
When had it been cast? Could it be that it had already been deployed the moment he approached her—and everything she was seeing now, these frozen scenes, were nothing but illusions?
“We… are we meeting for the first time?” Doubt was written all over Lady Xuefei’s face. She instantly leaped back, putting a good ten meters between herself and Okate as she eyed her former “friend” with utmost wariness.
“Who knows?”
“But as expected of Lady Xuefei, spotting it so quickly,” Okate said with a shrug. That casual air of gravity about him was nothing like the Okate she remembered.
So… had he been replaced from the very start? Something lurking inside this man’s body, biding its time for the perfect moment?
“Who the hell are you?” Lady Xuefei summoned the Terminus Fire in one hand, bracing herself for combat.
In that instant, the world crumbled.
The corpse-littered wasteland shattered like glass and dissolved away, unveiling the Barrier’s true form.
They stood atop what felt like an enormous sheet of glass. Tilting her head back, she saw a single beam of light, radiant as moonlight on a clear night, slicing heaven from earth to form the horizon amid this boundless darkness.
“I am Okate, and nothing more.” Golden light suddenly flared in his eyes.
“Have you already fallen, Xuefei? No… Hero.”
