In the pitch-black forest, in another corner, a petite figure was leaping forward at breakneck speed.
With every leap, the small figure sprang from the crown of one tree to the crown of another like a nimble cat, advancing swiftly through the forest like a ninja.
Even as she raced onward, her pair of eyes kept sweeping back and forth, as though she were anxiously searching for something.
The owner of that figure was naturally Mumei.
"Where is he?"
Though Mumei did not look particularly anxious, there was a trace of worry in her voice.
It seemed that she truly wanted to find Fang Li.
But...
"Come to think of it, why do I want to find him?"
That question still lingered in Mumei's heart.
After all, Fang Li was neither family nor an old acquaintance to Mumei.
They were complete strangers, having only met yesterday. They could hardly be called close.
There was no reason for her to seek out someone like him.
Yet for some reason, Mumei simply wanted to find Fang Li.
"Why, exactly?"
With that question in mind, Mumei continued leaping forward, almost reflexively continuing her search for Fang Li.
"Ah..."
Just then, a beast-like roar drifted faintly through the air.
"That is..." Mumei immediately stopped.
"A Kabane?"
In this day and age, the only beings capable of making such sounds were almost certainly the Kabane.
Not to mention that Mumei was highly sensitive to the Kabane's presence. She easily sensed a large number of Kabane gathered in a certain direction.
"Could it be over there?"
At once, surprise appeared on Mumei's face.
"Is that guy trying to get himself killed?"
Although she did not know how many Kabane lay ahead, from the chaotic roars and the overwhelming mass of presences, Mumei could tell that there were probably more than a hundred Kabane gathered there.
Even Mumei would need to remove her bindings to deal with that number of Kabane, let alone Fang Li.
"He was like this at Aragane Station, and he's like this here too. He's obviously so weak, so why does he keep charging into dangerous places?"
For some inexplicable reason, anger rose in Mumei's heart.
Still, she followed the noisy cries of the Kabane and raced forward.
The Kabane's chaotic roars immediately grew clearer and clearer.
Then Mumei's nose twitched slightly as she caught a rather pungent scent.
"This is..."
Mumei was extremely familiar with that smell.
Rather, anyone living in this era—even children—might have had to live while constantly smelling it.
"The smell of blood..."
And it was an exceptionally pungent smell of blood.
"Could something have happened?"
Thinking that, Mumei could not help quickening her pace.
About three minutes later, Mumei arrived at the scene.
In the forest ahead, a great number of Kabane were continuously pouncing on a figure at the center like a pack of wolves on the hunt.
Surrounded by so many Kabane, even a highly skilled samurai like Kurusu Kunoichi probably would not last long before becoming food in the Kabane's mouths.
As far as Mumei knew, Fang Li was nowhere near as strong as Kurusu Kunoichi.
Trapped in such an encirclement, he should have long since been torn to pieces.
However, the sight before her made Mumei stop in her tracks, her young and lovely face filled with astonishment.
"Aaaaaahhh—!"
Amid the Kabane's roars and savage attacks, a black shadow darted through the horde of monsters like an Oni. Wherever it passed, the gleaming weapon in its hand sliced across one Kabane after another like the claws of death.
"Splat! Splat! Splat!"
The sound of sharp metal tearing through flesh rang out without end.
Thick blood sprayed into the air.
Under the cuts of that utterly ordinary dagger, Kabane with skin as hard as armor were split in two one after another as though they were no more than fragile bark.
It was an extremely bloody and horrifying sight.
Severed limbs and mangled corpses covered the ground.
Crimson blood filled the air.
The roars of the Kabane, monsters said to be immortal, gradually turned into screams, making the dark forest seem like hell itself and sending an extreme chill through anyone who heard them.
Watching the scene with her own eyes, Mumei's eyes widened adorably.
She still remembered that just yesterday, Fang Li had needed Mumei and the samurai to cover him as he maneuvered through the Kabane horde, taking advantage of the chaos to kill more than a hundred Kabane.
Even then, he had exhausted his strength and nearly failed to make it back to the others.
Only a single day had passed.
Yet now, Fang Li was fighting alone within a similar horde of monsters, trading blows with them as though he were thoroughly enjoying himself.
Given the circumstances, how could Mumei fail to see it?
"He got stronger again?"
Yesterday at Aragane Station, Mumei had watched Fang Li acquire the Slayer skill.
His attack speed and movement speed had suddenly risen, making him stronger.
Now, Mumei was seeing it once again.
She was watching Fang Li become even more powerful.
And this time was different from the last.
If Fang Li had only become a little stronger last time, then the Fang Li before her now had undergone a nearly earth-shaking transformation.
At the very least, judging by Fang Li's Oni-like speed, his overwhelming lethality, and his increasingly practiced killing techniques, Mumei was certain of one thing.
If she wanted to defeat the current Fang Li, even she would need to remove her bindings and use all her strength.
"How could this be?"
Mumei truly could not make sense of it.
However, there was one thing Mumei knew.
That was, this man was definitely not some ordinary Wanderer.
"Who exactly is he?"
That question sank deeply into Mumei's heart.
So deeply that Mumei even forgot to help. She merely remained atop the tree, watching Fang Li slaughter the Kabane in every direction, completely unsure how she should react.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Mumei's pupils contracted.
Within the Kabane horde, a figure clearly different from the other Kabane was quietly approaching Fang Li.
The moment she saw that figure, Mumei jolted and instinctively cried out.
"Watch out!"
As Mumei's voice echoed through the forest, Fang Li's figure abruptly halted amid the Kabane horde.
At that instant, the black shadow lunged at Fang Li.
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