First Blood!

At that moment, Chapati grabbed the microphone in front of him.

"Dear viewers!"

"Just now, a fierce firefight broke out in the East District behind the arena!"

"Bacchus, the Quatro Cerberus, ran head-on into Sting, the Sabertooth, in a narrow alley!"

Chapati raised the microphone high, spitting as he spoke.

"The entire engagement was so short it was completely unbelievable!"

"Bacchus has been completely defeated!"

The first team captain to be eliminated has been chosen!

"The Sabertooth Squad has racked up a massive 10 bounty points in one go!"

"Overall score updated in real time!"

"Sabertooth has successfully overtaken the leaderboard with a total score of 38 points, and is currently ranked second in the overall standings!"

Abandoned plaza in Xicheng District.

Minerva opened the purple folding fan in her hand, closed the fan ribs, and tapped them back and forth forcefully in her left palm.

"It seems Sting really values that kitten; he's already achieved results so quickly."

"In that case, we must also speed up our overall progress and immediately begin hunting activities throughout the city."

"Hopefully, Kagura can stall for time and deplete Jiang Bai's magic power as much as possible."

Orga listened to these convoluted schemes and said...

"Young Miss."

"Didn't you ever consider the possibility that Kagura might win the battle outright?"

Minerva glanced at Orga; being in the same squad as such a single-celled organism was a serious insult to intelligence.

"Orga, what's the point of having that huge head of yours? Do you think Kagura will win?"

"Won't!"

"Then why did you ask that question?"

In the middle of the main road.

Jiang Bai strolled around slowly along the bluestone path.

The Mental Detection magic loaded deep within his mind had already created a one-to-one replica of the three-dimensional structure of the royal capital.

Jiang Bai extended his right toe and precisely kicked a flat, protruding pebble off the roadside.

"Looks like someone was bored and deliberately exposed my location to their competitors."

Jiang Bai slowed his pace, precisely sensing the sharp sword energy fluctuations rapidly approaching from directly in front of him.

Occasionally, going along with the enemy's boring script can at least help pass the time.

"Fine, let's just treat it as some fun."

Jiang Bai stopped walking and simply found a wide intersection, standing steadily in the middle of the street to wait.

Less than half a minute later.

A swift, blurry figure suddenly appeared behind the European-style building on the street corner.

Kagura unleashed a powerful magical force from her feet, shattering two bricks, and using the strong reaction force, smashed straight into the center of the intersection.

The moment her feet touched the ground, Kagura's right hand was already firmly gripping the hilt of the long sword at her waist.

There were no unnecessary probing actions before the battle.

Kagura twisted her ankle rapidly, powered by her waist, and used her unsheathed sword as a heavy iron rod to deliver a violent blunt strike to Jiang Bai's left shoulder.

A dull whistle tore through the air.

Unfortunately, this level of physical attack poses absolutely no real threat.

The metal scabbard was completely jammed in mid-air, half an inch from Jiang Bai's shoulder, and could no longer move forward even a fraction of a distance.

Jiang Bai casually patted the hem of his coat, which was completely free of any dust.

The polite formalities when fellow villagers meet are always essential.

"Yo!"

Jiang Bai raised his right hand and waved it twice in mid-air, taking the initiative to deliver his opening remarks.

"We're acquaintances from the same village, after all."

"They didn't even exchange the most basic greetings upon meeting, and went straight to attacking?"

Kagura gripped the hilt of her sword tightly with both hands, took three quick steps back, and created a safe enough buffer distance.

"I've waited far too long for this moment."

In front of the screen of the royal capital's live broadcast.

Chapati began reporting.

"Oh my god!!"

"Kagura, the player with the Mermaid Heel,' actually went straight for Jiang Bai single-handedly without any tactical maneuvering!"

"Kagura has launched a decisive surprise attack!"

"Since the start of this survival battle royale, the first brave warrior to dare to directly challenge Jiang Bai has finally appeared!"

Kagura completely blocked out the noisy commentary coming from the sky, her knuckles turning white from the force she exerted.

"Let me carefully assess just how vast the gap truly is between myself now and the strongest forces at the pinnacle of the world!"

Kagura knew that continuing to hold back against an opponent of this caliber was tantamount to suicide.

Kagura pressed her left thumb heavily against the blade guard, gripped the handle with her right hand in a reverse grip, and pulled violently outward with all the strength of her muscles.

Accompanied by a sharp, piercing metallic scraping sound.

The gleaming blade sliced through the air, completely breaking free from the long-standing seal and confinement of the scabbard.

Chapati knelt on one knee on the wooden table and roared again.

"Kagura actually pulled out her signature sword right from the start!"

"Kagura, who never draws her sword, has finally revealed her strongest fighting stance!"

"As expected! Facing the immense pressure from Jiang Bai will definitely force the challenger to immediately unleash all their trump cards!"

"Are you so eager to get beaten up?"

Jiang Bai twisted his neck, and his joints made a cracking sound.

"Well, since you're so eager to see what you've got, then show us your true skills."

"I know without you saying it!"

Kagura raised the hilt of her sword high above her head with both hands.

A massive amount of magical power poured wildly into the gleaming blade through the meridian channels.

The air around the long sword underwent violent distortion and deformation.

"Archenemy - Slash Form!"

Kagura swung her long sword down at him.

A massive, pale purple slash wave, over ten meters long, formed from the tip of the blade, tearing through the smooth street surface and crashing directly into Jiang Bai, who was standing directly in front of it, carrying a violent kinetic energy capable of crushing everything in its path.

The purple light curtain instantly cut off the entire street's escape route.

Jiang Bai stood still, not even bothering to lift his foot or move his position.

"I've explained this to you people countless times."

Jiang Bai gave a direct and objective evaluation.

"Attacks like yours, which fall short of the mark, are utterly meaningless in the face of my 'Infinity'."

The pale purple slashing wave flattened the rubble and debris in front of it, crashing heavily into its target.

However, when they advanced to a very small distance from Jiang Bai's body...

The massive purple slash silently disintegrated in mid-air, turning into scattered magical energy points that completely disintegrated and extinguished.

Kagura maintained her fixed stance, swinging her sword downwards. Her proud, all-out attack didn't even have the chance to probe her opponent's limits.

Kagura sheathed her long sword, reversed the hilt, and plunged the tip of the blade deep into the crack of the bluestone floor tiles.

Continuing to hack at this completely unreasonable tortoise shell was utterly pointless, only rapidly depleting my stamina.

"Jiang Bai."

Kagura released her left hand, while her right hand remained tightly gripping the hilt of the sword, and directly presented the impromptu negotiation terms.

"I know that asking you to restrict your opponent's defense in an official match like this is completely unfair to you."

"But can you temporarily remove that defense and fight me in a real battle?"

Jiang Bai decisively shook his head and refused.

"I don't want to!"

"Unless you call me Onii-chan again."

Kagura froze on the spot.

"What?!"

Jiang Bai brazenly brought up old grievances.

"When he was little, he would follow me around all the time, calling me 'Onii-chan' all the time."

"How come you completely turned your back on me after growing up, calling me Jiang Bai by my full name the moment you open your mouth?"

Kagura gripped the hilt of the sword even tighter.

Having her dark childhood history dug up in public was a devastating blow that pierced through Kagura's outward indifference.

"You... I... this..."

Kagura stammered, unable to cobble together a complete protest statement for a long time.

To witness true peak combat power, a little verbal compromise is nothing, especially since that's what I actually called him when I was a kid.

Kagura lowered her head, her face slightly flushed, and shyly uttered a few small syllables.

"All right."

The short, sharp sound was squeezed out from between his teeth.

"O... Onii-chan."