Tired. Let It All Burn.

Unfortunately, the cavalryman's sure-kill slash struck nothing but air.

"?"

The man was utterly astonished. The vagrant had actually dodged his sudden strike simply by lowering his head. Did the bastard have eyes growing on the back of his skull? Otherwise, there was no explaining it.

He Zhao had barely breathed a sigh of relief after ducking the Fatal Strike when Death Omen sensed an intense, lethal crisis.

"Pfft!" "Pfft!" "Pfft!"

He Zhao instinctively rolled on the spot. Two arrows embedded themselves in the ground, their fletching humming and trembling, showing just how powerful they were. Yet another five sharp arrows followed close behind, punching through his chest with several wet thuds.

There was nothing he could do about that. They had started predicting his movements and launching fierce, orderly volleys one after another. Their combat experience was truly seasoned, nothing like the green hunters in the village.

"I'll fight you to the death!"

Ruthless He Zhao endured the agonizing pain of his pierced heart and lungs, sprang up from the ground with a whoosh, and seized the cavalryman who had just slashed him. His mouth was no less merciless as he bit down savagely on the man's nose.

"Aah—"

The cavalryman holding a Curved Saber screamed and drove his knee into He Zhao's lower abdomen.

"Bang!"

"Urgh—"

His internal organs churned as though they had been twisted into a knot. Unable to hold it back, he vomited all over the cavalryman's face.

Disgusting vomit mixed with bits of nose flesh and smeared across the man's face.

"Pfft!"

The Curved Saber pierced He Zhao's lower abdomen. The cavalryman gripped his throat one-handed and shoved him violently backward.

"Bang!"

He Zhao collapsed to the ground and immediately fell silent.

"That damned monster!"

The cavalryman whose nose had been bitten off spat and cursed.

He carelessly wiped the vomit from his face and walked toward the corpse without a care in the world.

"Remember, we never saw him."

The Cavalry Captain spoke coldly, his face utterly indifferent.

"Eldest Brother, if we can kill the Corpse Demon, that'll be a tremendous merit. Maybe you'll be promoted to Hundred-Household, and if us brothers get a sip of the soup, we could at least become squad leaders, right?"

The disfigured cavalryman planted one foot on He Zhao's chest, gripped the saber hilt with one hand, and pulled out the Curved Saber as he spoke.

"Hmph! Fool. What are we here for? To investigate why the Black Armored Elite died in Xiahe Village. Have you forgotten the requirements for joining an elite unit back in Recruit Camp?

"There are ten of us. Once we dismount, we might not necessarily be a match for that monster. Besides, Corpse Demons prefer moving at night. If it weren't dusk, I might have gone looking for it and killed it for battle merits.

"What a pity. What a pity."

The Cavalry Captain looked at the setting sunset and spoke with no small measure of helplessness.

"We can't enter the village. Return to camp immediately and report that we found nothing."

"We'll do as you say, Eldest Brother."

The team member who was tearing off a strip of cloth to wrap around his nose answered.

As he turned to mount his horse, He Zhao, who had been lying on the ground, abruptly opened his eyes and sprang up.

One hand gripped the arrow piercing his chest, then yanked it out with all his might.

"Pfft!"

Amid the spray of blood, he pounced behind the cavalryman.

The sharp arrowhead stabbed viciously into the back of the man's neck.

"Sshk!"

The cavalryman did not die immediately despite suffering a fatal wound. He pulled the Curved Saber from his waist and slashed backward, severing the head of the "revived" He Zhao.

"You damn—"

The disfigured cavalryman covered his neck with one hand to stop the blood from flowing, his face full of disbelief.

"Thud!"

At last, he could no longer hold on and collapsed headfirst onto the ground.

"Second Brother!"

"Second Brother!"

[Congratulations. You survived for 7 minutes. You had planned to borrow a blade to kill a demon, but never expected the Cavalry Captain to be such a coward who feared death!]

[Rating: G-.]

[Enemies Killed: Xuandu Army Cavalry (1).]

[Reward: 2 Simulation Coins (enemy kill), 1 Simulation Coin (rating).]

[Would you like to replay this simulated life?]

[My Wallet: 197 Simulation Coins.]

He Zhao: "."

He had wiped out again!

But at least he had not lost money. Instead, he had earned 2 Simulation Coins.

Death Resistance—the god of revenge kills.

After being struck by five arrows and stabbed through the lower abdomen, how could an ordinary person possibly endure it? They would have bled to death long ago.

Yet he was still bursting with energy, forcing himself to trade his life for one cavalryman.

The only drawback was that it hurt like hell.

Thanks to playing 1, 2, 3, Wooden Man with the Xiahe Village hunters, his mind had been tempered to sufficient toughness. He endured without making a sound until he found a chance to strike back.

"I need to give them hope of killing the hunte—no, it should be killing the Corpse Demon. Otherwise, this group will never take the bait."

"One more time. Just once. If it doesn't work, I'll go sleep."

[Life After Life, Endless Joy!]

"Kill!"

After He Zhao briefly suggested using himself as bait, the Cavalry Captain once again made a throat-slitting gesture.

Thus, he played dead, killed in return, lost his head, and returned to his bedroom.

"You mother—"

"Again! I swear this is the last time."

[Life After Life, Endless Joy!]

"Pfft—"

"I refuse to believe I can't talk sense into you turtle bastards."

[Life After Life, Endless Joy!]

"Pfft—"

"Ahhh! Cavalry Captain, fuck you!"

[Life After Life, Endless Joy!]

"Pfft—"

"If I can't convince you today, I'm not sleeping."

[Life After Life, Endless Joy!]

"Pfft—"

"What exactly do you want from me? What will it take for you to enter the village?"

[Life After Life, Endless Joy!]

He Zhao's mind was growing hazy, but he still followed the script he had prepared beforehand and recited his pitch.

"That thing is very patient, like a seasoned hunter."

"Wait!"

Before he could finish, the Cavalry Captain abruptly stopped him, then asked with a frown.

"You're saying the Corpse Demon is as seasoned as a hunter?"

Oh no!

Ruthless He Zhao slapped his forehead. How had he carelessly revealed that information?

Those ten brothers had already been unwilling to enter the village at midnight to hunt it, afraid they might lose men if they were not careful. Now that he had revealed the Corpse Demon's sinister cunning, there was even less chance of luring them in.

Sigh!

Another Simulation Scenario of difficult revenge kills.

That was enough for tonight. If all else failed, he still had the Simulator's extortionate option of spending 10 Simulation Coins to unlock a new identity. There was no need to stubbornly grind the vagrant opening.

"Mm, yes."

He Zhao answered vaguely, wanting only to muddle through, hurry up and go through the process, then fight desperately to take Second Brother with him.

But in the next second, the situation took a sudden turn.

"A Corpse Demon with intelligence!"

The Cavalry Captain muttered to himself, then suddenly threw back his head and burst into laughter.

"Hahaha!!"

When the laughter ceased, his fierce eyes swept over the other nine men.

"Brothers, it seems we'll have to risk our lives tonight. I wonder—do you dare?"

Everyone shuddered. No one dared say no.

"As long as we capture this Corpse Demon, I can be promoted to Thousand-Household at the very least. You can likewise skip squad leader and rise directly to Hundred-Household! Gold, silver, land, and countless other rewards will be ours."

"Eldest Brother, how do you figure that?" Second Brother, the cavalryman, asked bluntly.

"On our way here, I heard Lord Ten-Thousand Household mention that the Bureau of Peculiar Individuals had gone mad. They actually wanted a Corpse Demon with human intelligence. When he left the tent, he was still grumbling and swearing that such a terrifying monster simply could not exist in this world. Otherwise, our Great Xuan would have been destroyed countless times over already," the Cavalry Captain explained.

"The Bureau of Peculiar Individuals?!" The cavalrymen cried out in alarm. Once they grasped the situation, they immediately pounded their chests and pledged their word. "Eldest Brother, we're in!"

He Zhao: "."

Watching the excited cavalry team, a mouthful of old blood lodged in his throat. He could neither swallow it nor spit it out.

He was tired. Let it all burn!