Why?

Subterranean Humanoids.

The most common creatures in cavern-type Ash Zones.

They had proportions similar to humans, but no hair or eyes.

They lived mainly on mushrooms and domesticated underground lizard dogs for meat and as hunting companions.

They liked to live in groups and possessed intelligence, though far less than humans. They were bloodthirsty, combative, and hostile to outsiders by nature.

"The entry point to this Ash Zone seems to be within the territory of a Subterranean Humanoid settlement."

"But that's not much of a problem. These things generally aren't very strong."

As Xie Xiaotian spoke, he drew two curved blades from the void.

He rubbed the blades together, sending sparks flying. The sparks flared brighter and brighter until both blades caught fire.

A-rank skill: Burning Blade.

Xie Xiaotian accelerated and charged into the darkness. His burning blades cut dazzling arcs through the air like conspicuous beacons, spraying great gouts of dark blood.

Subterranean Humanoid attributes were similar to those of humans: their limit was 10, and most had around 6 points.

Xie Xiaotian, on the other hand, was a level-four Ash Zone Walker, with an attribute cap of a full 40 points.

His overwhelming attributes let him slaughter humanoids as easily as chickens. He moved so fast he left afterimages, weaving wildly through the waves of humanoids and lizard dogs!

The sound of tearing never stopped, the stench of blood grew stronger, and the screams of Subterranean Humanoids rang out incessantly.

In the midst of the slaughter, Li Peipei suddenly spoke, her voice like thunder.

"Fall back!"

Xie Xiaotian's figure blurred, and he appeared at Li Peipei's side in an instant. A faint dark light appeared eerily where he had been standing, carving a deep slash into the ground.

In the cave ahead, the humanoids parted of their own accord.

A towering figure stepped out from ahead and approached the party.

It stood nearly two meters tall, with a well-proportioned body and exceptionally thick hands. Its ten nails were as sharp as long blades.

As Li Peipei looked at it, the white light in her eyes intensified.

She scanned the humanoid from head to toe and quickly understood. "An Ash Zone native class holder, level five. But its attributes aren't maxed out."

At the words "level five," Xie Xiaotian and the others drew quiet breaths. Li Peipei, however, remained calm. She was level five herself, after all.

After a quick assessment, Li Peipei had a plan.

She grabbed the cannon fodder beside her and swung one arm, hurling the cannon fodder at the humanoid class holder.

The moment Li Peipei moved, Rouyun, as if in perfect sync with her, activated the contingency she had prepared in advance.

B-rank skill: Flesh Bomb!

Rouyun was a level-four Ash Zone Walker, and her Spirit attribute had reached the level-four limit of 40 points.

Flesh Bomb's power scaled with Spirit. Combined with the full hour of preparation, its power had multiplied several times over!

The unfortunate cannon fodder flew toward the humanoid class holder like a weapon, propelled by tremendous force.

And because of Taunt Aura's effect, the humanoid class holder's attention was drawn to the cannon fodder.

It bared its teeth and swung its arms, unleashing ten slashes of blade qi from its fingertips at the cannon fodder.

It failed to notice that Zhang Wen had already pulled a shield from the void. A wall of light shone from it, protecting the entire party behind it.

Before the blade qi could strike, points of red light began to shine from the cannon fodder's heart, reaching their peak within a single breath.

The cannon fodder's numb face was expressionless, but his eyes held indescribable despair and pain.

And all of it was blown to pieces with a boom.

Flesh Bomb activated.

The cannon fodder's bone, blood, and flesh became a substance harder than steel, scattering in every direction under the force of the shock wave.

Intense blood-red light burst outward, shaking the nearby walls and ground. The confined space amplified the explosion's power yet again.

The wall of light before Zhang Wen shook violently, and his feet sank deep into the ground, but he barely managed to withstand the force of Flesh Bomb.

The humanoids and the humanoid class holder, however, were unprepared and caught the full blast!

A scream rang out.

The humanoid class holder was clutching its face and howling in agony, dark blood dripping through its fingers.

Then its pain was swiftly ended.

Amid the howling wind, Li Peipei braved the lingering force of Flesh Bomb like a valkyrie and cut off the humanoid class holder's head with one stroke of her sword.

"Easy!"

Xie Xiaotian snapped his fingers with a flippant look.

Zhang Wen put away his shield, panting heavily, and rolled his eyes at Xie Xiaotian.

An Yue and Rouyun looked at Li Peipei as she returned, making no attempt to hide their admiration.

Sequence Forty-Three, a level-five Ash Zone Walker.

She killed those of the same level as easily as chickens.

The party's cooperation had played a part, but that was only to conserve stamina. Everyone firmly believed that even in a direct fight, the humanoid class holder would have been no match for Li Peipei.

After their leader died, the Subterranean Humanoids immediately scattered and fled. Li Peipei couldn't be bothered to pursue them and simply waved the party onward.

The party crossed the wreckage left by the explosion, but Xia Lin suddenly stopped.

He looked down at his feet.

There, Xia Lin saw half a face.

It was the cannon fodder's face...

The eye was long gone, leaving only a black, bloody socket that silently spoke of desolation.

The half-mouth on the half-face gaped wide, as if asking the heavens: Why?

Why me?

You clearly had the power to defeat the enemy, so why did you have to sacrifice me?

I helped you with my life, so why can't you even be bothered to look at me or say thank you?

Why did such a miserable fate have to befall me?

Why, why, why!?

Xia Lin looked at the backs of Li Peipei's party as they were about to disappear into the darkness.

The corner of his mouth curled slightly, as if he were smiling, and Xia Lin gave his answer in his heart.

Because they don't care.

Because they aren't good people.

But fortunately, I'm not a good person either.

I don't even have to be human.

He bent down weakly and lay atop the humanoid class holder's corpse.

Then he opened his mouth, revealing sharp teeth that had become serrated after his mutation.

Li Peipei's party worked together seamlessly.

The small C-rank Ash Zone wasn't very difficult, either.

A level-four Ash Zone Walker was actually the equivalent of a C-rank Ash Zone, but the party had a level-five Walker who was also a Sequence powerhouse.

They had also made ample preparations.

The rest of the journey went smoothly.

Minor troubles couldn't get past Li Peipei and Xie Xiaotian. For major troubles, Flesh Bomb cleared the way, and Li Peipei finished them off.

Along the way, they killed two level-fives and nearly ten level-fours. Two hours later, when they were not far from their destination, they still had two pieces of spare cannon fodder left.

"That's strange. I distinctly remember finding six people. We used three, so there should be three left. How come there are only two?"

Only at this point did An Yue vaguely realize that the party was missing a piece of cannon fodder.

For one thing, this was due to the effects of Dull Puppet, Clay Sculpture, and Pity at First Sight. The S-rank Pity at First Sight was especially outstanding.

And now that An Yue had finally become aware of Xia Lin's existence, it also meant that Pity at First Sight's effect was gradually shifting from positive to negative.

But no one knew what that meant.

Still less did they know that Xia Lin had been following the party all along, cleaning up the mess they left in their wake as they killed their way through.

Li Peipei closed her eyes. Her ears twitched as she opened her senses to the fullest, and soon she drew a deep breath.

"Two pieces of cannon fodder are enough."

"The key is that our target is just ahead."

"And there are two big ones as well."

She drew her greatsword, and her bearing changed, becoming cold and sharp yet as imposing as a mountain.

"Prepare for the final battle."