“What world’s monster are you?”
Xuefei wanted to ask the same question.
What world’s monster are you?
With no preparation time, he relied on a simple domain to unleash unlimited explosions. Each one packed the punch of a bomb dropped from a bomber plane. Xuefei wasn’t entirely sure if that was a fair comparison, but leveling an entire city would probably be child’s play for him.
As he had said, ordinary Soul Tier cultivators might truly be no match for him.
She set aside Soul Tier Layer 5 for now. If that little vampire had run into this guy, she would likely have been in grave danger.
It was fortunate that Xuefei had arrived on the scene thanks to her keen magic perception and blistering speed. Otherwise, who knew what other incomprehensible tricks this bastard might have pulled out.
Even so, his performance so far was utterly absurd. She still didn’t know the prerequisites for deploying “Bombardment Zone,” but if he could pull it off… no, if she could recruit this guy during the First Playthrough, the road ahead would surely have far fewer obstacles.
In the Human World, the strongest were Okate, Leia, and Laer. Add in Mitrice, who joined midway, along with her own master—who had vanished after bidding her farewell in the Human Realm and never reappeared until she reached the Second Playthrough—and there didn’t seem to be anyone else worth calling a true fighter.
This guy, however, was unmistakably human!
“You… could you be the Hero?” Xuefei voiced her suspicion hesitantly. When Rakudo’s eyes flashed with momentary terror before shifting to helpless resignation, she knew she had hit the mark—or come damn close.
“I’m Rakudo. I know who you are—the Evil Dragon, right? But sorry, my mission isn’t about slaying you. Oh, wait, it has nothing to do with you, so we’re not enemies after all. You’re not one of the Elves, are you? Then why did you attack me?”
Rakudo shook his head innocently.
Xuefei felt a pang of exasperation that he had recognized her identity. She was tempted to hurl this human right off into the sky below. After all, he had slaughtered countless Elf civilians. Sure, many had survived thanks to her magic barrier, but that didn’t change the fact that he was a raving murderer.
So, Xuefei had no intention of explaining herself.
“There are currently three Heroes on the Camiran Continent: Orman is one of them, more or less, and the rest are in the team you’re supporting. As for you—you can’t be a Hero.”
“What the hell? I figured out you’re the Evil Dragon, so why can’t I be one?”
“Omni-Vision.”
Xuefei stated it calmly.
“All Heroes are granted this Insight ability by the Creation God.”
“So what?! How do you know so much about it?”
Xuefei smiled faintly.
“Simple. Veterans like you, forged in a hundred battles, wouldn’t choose retreat at the outset or press the pursuit. Do you know? One core essence of battle is the ‘information war.’ The more you understand your enemy, the better you can gauge the odds, the expected outcomes, and the value of engaging. But for Heroes… that simply doesn’t exist.”
“They can instantly visualize combat power and convert it into straightforward numbers within a limited range. Two hundred is greater than twenty— that’s an undeniable truth. Heroes skip the entire process of ‘comparison’ altogether.”
Rakudo was stunned once more, his very soul quaking.
He had never imagined that everything he said would prove utterly useless against Xuefei.
He had been seen through…
It felt like his entire being was laid bare under the Evil Dragon’s gaze, with no chance to hide anything—and no point in trying. Before her, it was all meaningless.
Xuefei murmured softly,
“You were just sizing up my abilities a moment ago, weren’t you? That’s why you can’t be a Hero. They wouldn’t even entertain the thought of resisting me, not for a single instant. They’d just flee like cornered weasels.”
“So, tell me everything you know about where the Heroes are. Is your Hero Orman? No… if that were true, the Gods would have discarded you as a pawn.”
In the span of just a few minutes, Rakudo had been shocked several times over.
He had never dreamed the Evil Dragon was just a little girl, nor realized that her overwhelming power wasn’t merely in raw combat strength.
And moreover…
Why did she know so much about Heroes? From their conversation, Orman shouldn’t be dead yet, and yet she understood Hero abilities with such clarity…
Had the Heroes been whittled down to just two?
In that instant, an image flashed through Rakudo’s mind.
The stunningly beautiful yet dangerous girl sat cross-legged on the throne, playfully manipulating the marionette in her hand. Her scarlet pupils gleamed like searchlights, sharp enough to reveal every crack named “fear” on the crudely made puppet’s body.
“I noticed a detail just now, Rakudo,” Xuefei said as she grabbed him by the collar with one hand and touched her chin with the other, seemingly lost in thought.
“Didn’t you say your goal wasn’t ‘defeating the Evil Dragon’?”
“…”
He fell silent, while Xuefei laughed as if suddenly realizing the truth.
“There’s no anger or shock on your face. Could it be… hehe, I think I get it now.”
Xuefei released her grip.
She floated upward a short distance, putting some space between herself and Rakudo, who plummeted downward with cold sweat beading on his face. In the next instant, beneath four flickering light orbs, a smooth, semi-transparent silver barrier spun and layered itself into existence, materializing out of nowhere between Xuefei and Rakudo.
At the same time, in a shadowy corner, a loli clad in a black cloak—her face obscured—let out a sigh.
“It was so close; I almost sliced her arm.”
“You’re a damn tricky one, Moti. You’ve finally shown up!”
Rakudo stared up at the barrier in the sky as fierce winds tousled his hair into a bird’s nest mess. Through the communication device in his hand, he shouted to the loli who had just saved his life.
“As if you could’ve cut her! Hurry and contact Mr. Klaus—watch out, or that thing will catch up!”
Rakudo glared at the black silhouette atop the barrier and gritted his teeth.
She showed no sign of acting immediately, but she watched him just like a puppeteer eyeing her marionette—as if no matter how far he fled, he could never escape the palm of her hand.
Miss Hero had been right.
“Hidden Boss”—full of surprises, though this one had nearly given him a fatal heart attack on the spot.
“What the hell is that thing, anyway?” Moti’s petite cloak tilted slightly, as if she were cocking her head in confusion.
“I don’t know either, but never mind it. Let’s just get out of here fast. She’s someone we can never afford to mess with from now on—keep as far away as possible…”
