If I Don't Beat You to a Pulp, How Am I Supposed to Get By?

"Beautiful swordsmanship."

As soon as Yae Sakura sheathed her sword, applause erupted from behind the tree.

The next moment, a female warrior with long, purplish-black hair emerged from behind the tree.

Hmm... perhaps closer to a ronin?

Although he is a samurai, he only wears arm armor on his arms, and his overall clothing gives off a "light and airy" feeling...

Well, that means it's very revealing. This person doesn't wear clothes properly; the clothes on their upper body are practically nonexistent, and you can see their bra directly.

(... to just expose it like that, how shameless!)

Just as Yae Sakura's thoughts were wandering, her opponent drew a sword from his waist.

Zzzzz!

Clang—!

The moment her opponent drew his sword, Yae Sakura immediately snapped out of her daze and swiftly drew her own.

It collided with the knife in the other person's hand.

... So fast.

In that instant, Yae Sakura broke out in a cold sweat.

If she had reacted any slower, she would have been chopped up—this woman is definitely not normal!

Even her teacher praised her physique as being at the peak of ordinary people, but Yae Sakura couldn't catch the opponent's movement trajectory when this woman just attacked, and only managed to block it by instinctive counterattack.

"... That's really good."

The female swordsman's beautiful face revealed a morbid bloodlust, and she exuded an alien aura that even Yae Sakura could clearly perceive.

"I never expected that a swordsman like you would be hidden in a place like Shinano."

Their swords clashed briefly before separating.

The female swordsman, who had jumped back, resumed her stance, but as soon as she did, her brows furrowed slightly.

He glanced at his own sword, then at the sword in Yae Sakura's hand.

"... A fine knife."

A samurai sword, or rather, the sharper the sword, the less suitable it is for weapon combat; my own sword has developed a nick.

"Is a fight absolutely necessary?"

Yae Sakura took a deep breath. Looking at the murderous aura mixed with strange energy emanating from the other party, Yae Sakura knew that this matter was unlikely to end well today.

However... he did kill.

Yae Sakura has never killed anyone— Yae Sakura is indeed a born swordswoman, but she is definitely not the kind of swordswoman who practices her sword by killing.

"We've already clashed, and you're still thinking about this? Hahaha... Here it comes!"

In the first half of the sentence, the female swordsman had only raised the blade, but in the next moment, she rushed in front of Yae Sakura and slashed down rapidly from the center line.

(What a beautiful slice!)

This strike was aimed not only at Yae Sakura 'Yae Sakura face, but also at her hand and the sword.

I couldn't react in time.

Yae Sakura had to admit that she was not yet used to fighting to the death with an opponent who was also human.

After all, for her, this kind of fighting was completely meaningless; it was not as valuable as saving two copper coins on vegetables.

I simply cannot understand why this woman is so fanatical.

In a flash, Yae Sakura realized she had absolutely no time to parry and defend, so she decisively surrendered to her instincts, dodging the opponent's slash with a roll in a disheveled manner, and then quickly adjusted to a defensive stance.

"... Aren't you going to attack at all?" The female swordsman's face showed a hint of displeasure.

"I don't want to fight you at all. I'm just a shrine maiden who knows how to use a sword. If you just want to win, I can admit defeat. If you want my sword, I can give you one."

Anyway, Yae Sakura remembers that Liu Bai made quite a few of these swords, so giving one away wasn't a big deal for her.

"Ah... no, are you misunderstanding something?"

The female swordsman seemed to have heard a joke, and her smile became even more maniacal.

"Your power only makes my mouth water. As for what to cut... I don't care—as long as someone cuts it!"

A murderer?

Yae Sakura never expected that she would meet someone who only exists in stories.

Well, looking at it this way, the story doesn't seem to be entirely a lie.

At this moment, the opponent pressed forward again, but Yae Sakura, who had already suffered two losses, was not about to fall down three times in a row.

"We've got him!"

Yae Sakura gets serious, she can already see the opponent's trajectory.

When--!

"... Tsk."

The female swordsman retreated immediately upon contact.

A tricky knife.

The female swordsman was confident that her sword was also a treasure, but it was not in the same league as the sword in the hands of the priestess before her.

During their first encounter, a nick appeared on his precious sword.

In the past, even when she encountered a strong opponent, there wouldn't be any major problems in a clash of their treasured swords, since their quality was almost the same. With her explosive power, she would definitely win in a clash.

However, if I were to clash with that sword... the opponent's strength is not weak, and he could even be said to be the strongest I have ever seen. If I were to strike with all my might, my sword would definitely break.

She's a swordswoman, not a fool; she wouldn't do something like that.

Are we only left to attack the side of the blade or the hand when the opportunity arises?

Fortunately, her swordsmanship was particularly adept at this aspect—the so-called slicing.

Seizing opportunities and unleashing bursts of energy are her strengths.

But then again, Yae Sakura's sword... well, it's just a mass-produced industrial product made by Liu Bai.

This is the victory of industry... no, the victory of the spirit industry behind it!

"..."

As a normal person, Yae Sakura felt a chill run down her spine looking at the other party's bloodthirsty and insane expression. Fortunately, the other party's strength was not ridiculously high.

Let's stall for a bit... try to stall until the teacher arrives.

The pressure of killing people is too much!

Yae Shrine

"Um... Brother, did the shrine shake a little?" Rin asked cautiously.

"Ah, it must be an earthquake."

In this godforsaken place, the Far East, aren't earthquakes a daily occurrence?

Boom...

The ground trembled again.

This time the shaking was much greater than before.

"Um... I think I'd better hide for a while."

The tremor was so strong that people started to sway; ordinary people should probably hide.

"Boss! There's Honkai Energy reaction!"

As soon as Liu Bai and Lin stood up, Sakura teleported to Liu Bai's side, looking incredulous.

"... Huh?" Liu Bai was stunned for a moment, but seeing the expression on Ying's face, he immediately realized the seriousness of the problem. "What level?"

"Peak of the lower level, infinitely close to the Emperor-class."

Sakura decisively gave her judgment.

After all, without relying on scientific equipment, she can only rely on Sakura's perception, since the spirits and the Honkai are not on the same system.

"And the most critical thing is that I can't find the source of the Honkai reaction."

This is the real life-threatening thing.

What's the point of lower-level peak or Emperor-class? Unless their abilities are particularly bizarre, if these kinds of people can withstand three of Sakura's attacks, it's because Sakura wasn't serious.

The real problem is that the source cannot be found.

Just like if Liu Bai were on the Honkai side, humanity would have been wiped out long ago. It's like hiding the king in a game of chess; you don't know if you can lose, but you definitely can't win.

"How could something like this exist in this day and age?"

Liu Bai was genuinely stunned when he heard this level. Well, these days even the Honkai is trying to create Herrscher. A lower-level peak quasi- Emperor-class is theoretically still within the realm of science.

It would be unscientific to say that someone could actually become Emperor-class.

"... Don't panic. Since this thing has appeared, it means it's ready to make its move. It doesn't matter if we can't find it; we'll just wait for it to appear on its own."

These days, it's impossible for a ghost concept like his to appear—quantum ghosts are nothing compared to ghosts.

Furthermore, lower-rank Honkai Beast have limited intelligence and are basically beasts driven by instinct.

Since this thing is causing trouble, it's bound to make a splash.

If a Herrscher- level reaction couldn't find anyone, Liu Bai would have run away with Sakura and the Yae sisters without hesitation. After all, although Fusion Warrior are strong, they can really be defeated when facing Herrscher with their strange abilities.

But you're just a Honkai Beast?

Come on, go ahead and cause trouble. I'll see what kind of mess you can make for me.

"Those villagers..."

"Go and inform them, after all, we can't let so many people die. Then go and call Sakura back; Rin, let's go outside."

"Huh? Going outside at this hour?"

"Stop talking nonsense."

Liu Bai carried Rin out the door, then held Rin in his arms.

"Brother, what... what are you doing? It wouldn't be good if someone saw this..."

Rin's ears turned red.

Don't overthink it.

Liu Bai tapped Rin on the head, then immediately reshaped himself into a four-meter-tall, extremely bloated giant, placing Rin inside his chest cavity for protection, and leaving a ventilation hole.

This is how Liu Bai protected Cangxuan when he Chiyou.

However, compared to transforming into a colossal giant back then, Liu Bai now only maintains a height of four meters, allowing him to solidify his body into an incredibly solid form—an iron golem that resembles a clay doll.

The armor thickness is at least 300mm. Even lower-rank Honkai Beast have to follow the basic rules. Thirty centimeters of regenerative armor. Come on, try breaking one.

Sakura watched from the side, because she couldn't go too far due to the contract. At the same time, the entire Yae Village was struck by its third earthquake.

This tremor was noticeably stronger than the previous two.

"This intensity... is enough to cause residential buildings to collapse."

Liu Bai's expression was strange.

"Hey bro, are we going to have the end of the world?"

"Doomsday my foot!"

Chapter 534 How will I live in the world if I don't chop you to pieces?

The third earthquake caused Liu Bai to stagger somewhat, even though he had intentionally lowered the center of gravity when sculpting the clay figurine.

At the same time, Liu Bai also realized that something was wrong.