Younger Sister's Resolve

"Mind Control!"

Spatial power wrapped around the crimson Short Blade, spinning it rapidly through the air. Along the way, it chopped off Demon Beasts' heads one after another before finally returning to Cheng Xiaoyu's hand.

He had given the Shadow Demon Wolf beneath him a name. He might as well simply call it [Wolf King]. Behind him followed a pack of Shadow Demon Wolves, charging in a mighty tide toward SJ District.

From far away, Cheng Xiaoyu saw the marked BOSS. It was a massive Demon Beast, red from head to toe, its figure close to a human's, like a cannibal from the tribal era.

It sat on a throne made of bones, a huge bone club planted in its hand. Three crimson eyes grew on its head, staring fixedly at the uninvited guests invading its territory.

All around stood dense crowds of similar demons. Their builds varied, and they held different weapons, truly resembling some primitive tribe from the past.

However, Cheng Xiaoyu was not afraid of this group of demons. He was no longer like last time, when he had come here alone.

"Rise!"

Shadows spread backward, and Yegelite led the Shadow Soldiers under his command out from the Land of Rest. Together with the original army of Shadow Demon Wolves, they stood in a grand formation behind Cheng Xiaoyu.

The Shadow Legion stood on one side, and the red Demon Tribe stood on the other, the two sides facing each other in confrontation!

[Lower Floor Ruler: Greedy Volcan]

Greedy, huh... Looking at this guy's physique, it really was greedy enough.

Looking at the prompt above the BOSS's head, Cheng Xiaoyu already had a rough idea and spoke aloud.

"I'll take that BOSS. As for the rest... I'll leave them to you."

As soon as his words fell, Yegelite was the first to charge forward with his longsword in hand, the cape behind him fluttering through the air. Everyone in the Shadow Legion behind him followed after.

That BOSS made no move at all, but the Demon Tribe under its command went up to meet them.

For a moment, the two forces clashed together, but the Shadow Soldiers and Shadow Demon Wolves were clearly stronger, pressing the Demon Tribe down and beating them back.

Without waiting for the others to go first, those Shadow Mages directly cast Destructive Magic with zero-frame startup, instantly killing a portion of the demons.

Yegelite and Wolf King slaughtered madly through the Demon Tribe. The former in particular, after experiencing so many battles and grinding monsters with Cheng Xiaoyu, had still broken through the war-general level and was now at the Commander Level.

He discovered that the Shadow Soldiers under him would not stagnate because of his own cultivation. As long as they kept fighting, they could keep leveling up, which meant they could level up infinitely!

Moreover, his own strength was not tied to his cultivation. The level on the system did not equal his current strength. He was fully capable of fighting alone. Presumably, he was the first among all humans to do so...

That aside, how long was that guy planning to sit there?

Cheng Xiaoyu looked toward the Giant Demon sitting on the throne. It kept baring those sharp teeth, as if mocking him.

If it wasn't going to move, then I'll be the one to launch the attack...

But in the blink of an eye, the Giant Demon that had originally been sitting on the bone throne vanished from sight. The next second, it appeared in front of the Shadow Legion.

Although the Giant Demon looked huge and fat, its speed was extremely fast. It swung the enormous bone club in its hand and smashed it down viciously toward the Shadow Legion below.

Dust and smoke spread across the battlefield. Suddenly, a figure shot out from the haze. Cheng Xiaoyu appeared beside the Giant Demon's head and, in midair, likewise threw a heavy punch.

Powerful force struck the Giant Demon's face, blasting it away and smashing through every building in its path.

"Whoa. Just one punch did that? Has my strength increased that much?"

Within the dust and smoke, three crimson lights flickered. The Giant Demon in the ruins climbed to its feet, raised its head, and let out a roar. Around its massive body, a layer of strange light appeared.

[Greedy Volcan used Rage]

The Giant Demon stopped roaring, moved its fat body, and ran along the road. Raising its club, it smashed down viciously.

Seeing this, Cheng Xiaoyu's pupils shrank. There was no time to dodge. He quickly took out an enormous shield from his [Item Inventory], held it with both hands, and braced it in front of himself.

"Clang!"

The bone club hammered fiercely onto the shield, stirring up a violent shockwave. The Giant Demon did not stop. It swung the bone club in its hand madly, each blow stronger than the last.

Damn it, uninterrupted combos. How can its movements be this nimble?!

But... there will definitely be an opening!

Cheng Xiaoyu gritted his teeth, doing his best to lower his center of gravity as both hands forcefully held up the shield to withstand the attacks.

The surrounding Shadow Soldiers had no intention of helping, because their Monarch had said he would deal with the BOSS alone. Therefore, they only needed to deal with the other demons.

Finally, after continuously exerting force, the Giant Demon entered an Afterswing. Cheng Xiaoyu seized this opportunity at once and flung the shield toward it.

The Giant Demon swatted the flying object in front of it away, but when it lowered its head, it found that the human had already disappeared. The next second, intense pain came from its foot, and its massive body could not help staggering forward a few steps.

Cheng Xiaoyu gripped the Short Blade and slashed the Giant Demon's ankle. Then he stepped on a stone and leaped high into the air. Looking at the neck exposed before him, the corners of his mouth slowly spread.

Got it!

However, the Giant Demon Wolf turned its head, revealing three crimson eyes, and gave Cheng Xiaoyu a mocking smile as its enormous arm elbowed toward him.

What?!

Cheng Xiaoyu's pupils shrank, shock appearing on his face. At the critical moment, he hurriedly used Mind Control, using powerful Mental Power to stop the elbow from closing in, successfully easing the force of the impact with that move.

When he borrowed the force to dodge aside and land on the ground, his heart was filled with astonishment and surprise as he stared warily at the Giant Demon.

This guy... saw through my movements?

Looking at this guy's thick hide and tough flesh, the places that can truly produce a fatal strike should only be that tiny head and neck!

Cheng Xiaoyu's figure flashed, and he charged directly toward the other side. The Giant Demon followed just as agilely, kicking up a cloud of dust along the way.

First, he had to seal off those bizarre movements. But how...

His gaze passed through one leaning, shattered high-rise after another before locking onto a C-shaped tower... That was it!

[Skill: Dash]

His footsteps sped up rapidly, and his whole body turned into a gust of wind as he ran up the severely tilted high-rise. The Giant Demon followed in a rage, but its massive body could not keep its balance at all and slid downward, staggering.

Hmph. Rage had blinded it to its surroundings. In that case, its neck was wide open!

A dark-blue light flickered in Cheng Xiaoyu's eyes. The Short Blade in his hand slashed sharply into the Giant Demon's neck, opening a huge wound, and Fresh Blood sprayed out like a fountain.

The Giant Demon let out a miserable scream. As its head and body separated, it lost all signs of life and collapsed into a Pool of Blood.

[Lower Floor Ruler: Greedy Volcan has been slain]

[Item obtained: World Tree Fragment]

[Wood taken from the World Tree. It possesses powerful Mana and is used as material for top-tier magic items.]

Looking at the system notification that popped up, Cheng Xiaoyu's face lit up with joy. This item was one of the three materials needed to craft the [Water of Life]. He had not expected to obtain it in the very first battle.

If things continued at this pace, then obtaining the [Water of Life] would presumably only be a matter of time.

Seeing that the battlefield on the other side had almost been dealt with, Cheng Xiaoyu fixed his gaze on [Greedy Volcan]'s corpse and directly activated [Shadow Extraction].

"Arise."

The Giant Demon's corpse moved. Black mist spread around its body, and a wave of air burst out before everything settled back into calm.

[Shadow Extraction failed]

[2 attempts remaining]

The extraction had failed, but there were still two chances left. It was fine...

"Arise."

Under the second [Shadow Extraction], the Giant Demon obeyed its king's command and stood up. Its crimson body had also turned dark blue.

Mm. Among the commander-level ones, a weaker Demon Beast had only failed once. It seemed the margin for error was still fairly high. He just did not know whether extraction would succeed on something even stronger.

Cheng Xiaoyu sized up the Shadow Demon's appearance, then shook his head with slight disdain and waved his hand, canceling the extraction.

He was interested in strength, but in the end, he still cared about looks. This demon's appearance did not suit his Shadow Legion.

Sigh, this world really did come down to faces in the end...