Utterly Insane!

Even Yuan Chen couldn't help narrowing his eyes after seeing Nedeli's attributes.

None of Nedeli's abilities were particularly outstanding. Her main profession, Shapeshifter, was only Level Six—more or less on par with his own.

Her Level Four Assassin ability meant she had mastered all the fundamentals of an assassin and had developed a style and way of fighting uniquely her own.

But the problem was that Nedeli's trait clearly wasn't easy to deal with... Within the jungle, her agility increased, and she left no trace or sound behind. And then there was the fact that the jungle itself would protect her...

Taken together, she was an assassin, and the dark, damp jungle was her home turf. Now, the home-field referee—the jungle itself—was even taking her side...

Thinking this, Yuan Chen said coldly, "Milio! Stay alert!"

"Oh! All right!"

Hearing Yuan Chen's words, Milio's spellcasting was a little rough, even causing some flames to spill out, but his talent was undeniable.

The flame in his palm grew brighter and, in just a few seconds, expanded their visibility in the dim jungle from ten meters to more than twenty.

"You won't get away!"

Nedeli's voice came from every direction, from the branches of trees, the corners of the undergrowth, even the sticky mud. Her voice seemed to fill the entire jungle.

Through his perception of the Water Element, Yuan Chen could tell that Nedeli wasn't actually where those voices seemed to come from. The wind in the jungle was bending her voice, making it stray from its original path.

Like the acoustics of an opera house, the jungle's vines, branches, and leaves were turning of their own accord, creating an echo that carried her voice again and again.

Yuan Chen was certain that this Runeterra wasn't the Runeterra of the main League of Legends universe—at least, the Nedeli of the main universe wasn't this troublesome!

But Yuan Chen had also noticed something keenly: Nedeli was injured. The attack just now hadn't touched her, which meant she had already fought someone before encountering him and had been wounded in that battle.

That explained her hostility. But...

"I'm not about to slink back empty-handed!"

Yuan Chen clapped his hands. The twelve scattered Dancer Blades returned to his side. Like petals surrounding a bud, they spread out in every direction, forming a circle around him as they spun like a saw. The surging force of their rotation enveloped him from head to toe, sealing off every opening. As the blades continued to whirl, their momentum grew stronger and stronger, ready to shoot out in an instant and form a perfect sword array.

Dao Mei's W.

With a thought, the dense moisture in the rainforest became Threads that linked the spinning blades. He recalled one set into his pack, while the remaining twelve flew in an irregular swarm. Yuan Chen's stamina had its limits: while controlling one set of heavier, sharper War Dance Blades, he could manage at most one more set of twelve spinning blades.

Moisture spread in every direction, and Yuan Chen's perception expanded with the mist.

Before long, Yuan Chen forcibly picked up Nedeli's trail. His gaze sharpened, and he swept one hand out. Three blades broke free from the flower-like formation, flying through the air like arrows. Silver light flashed, and the razor-sharp blades sank to the hilt in a thick branch that had suddenly dropped in front of him!

Behind the branch, Nedeli's eyes glared at him, cold and wild with fury.

Yuan Chen's eyes narrowed—

He was certain that the branch hadn't been in front of Nedeli a moment ago. But the instant his blades flew, the branch had moved! It was as if it had been guarding her, stepping in front of her to block the three blades like crossbow bolts!

"I'll show you, you house cat, what a real—"

As she spoke, Nedeli's muscles tensed. Her wheat-colored skin suddenly radiated strength utterly at odds with her lithe figure. She was still beautiful, but her lovely face flushed red in an instant.

She stood tall, her right hand gripping a spear. The smooth lines of her back muscles were perfection, and her spine became a drawn bow, her muscles its string.

With a faint series of crackling sounds, Yuan Chen was certain Nedeli's body had reached its limit; any further tension would injure her.

Then, in that instant, her taut muscles abruptly relaxed. The sudden shift from tension to release generated tremendous force. It traveled along the contours of her bones to the end of her arm, and with a thunderous crack, the Bone Spear in her hand shot out like a cannonball!

"Claws!!"

The jungle protected Nedeli. The wind and the branches along the spear's path either propelled it forward or moved aside. And after Yuan Chen had thrown three blades, the once flawless formation of his perfect sword array had developed a subtle gap.

The gap was small. Yuan Chen was confident he could survive even a barrage of arrows from an army. But with the jungle's help, he knew that if he didn't react, the spear would pin him to a tree the next instant!

In an instant, Yuan Chen thrust out his right hand. Centrifugal force had accelerated the nine blades to their limit, maximizing their speed and impact. Without the slightest hesitation, the remaining blades cut through the air!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!! The nine blades struck the spear, and four shattered on impact. But the remaining five hit the Bone Spear's tip, successfully throwing it off balance.

In the end, even with the jungle wind guiding it with perfect accuracy, the spear only grazed Yuan Chen's cheek before blasting apart the giant tree behind him!

That's right—blasting it apart!

The instant the spear struck, its force sank into the tree trunk and exploded outward from within. Though it was more than ten meters away, Yuan Chen could clearly hear the muffled boom behind him.

The technique of an assassin—

Yuan Chen didn't dwell on it. Or rather, he had no time to think.

The instant after the spear flew past, he saw Nedeli close behind it, transformed into a magnificent cougar. As she raced forward, the jungle wind pushed her beastlike body onward.

With only a few meters between them, Nedeli leaped. Yuan Chen could see the dagger-sharp fangs in the cougar's mouth as clearly as day—one moment more, and they would clamp down on his throat!

But did she really think close combat was his weakness?!

A cold glint entered Yuan Chen's eyes. From the beginning of the fight, he had relied on his War Dance Blades, keeping her at mid-range with sweeping attacks and striking from afar with thrown blades. For one thing, with the jungle protecting her, he hadn't had a chance to close in on Nedeli. For another, he hadn't intended to reveal every way he could fight!

His right arm trembled. The moisture in the air surged around him, forming chains. The Flowing Water, solidified like jade, linked to the final set of War Dance Blades in his pack.

With a crisp sound, the blades tore through the pack, pulled by the chains of water. The air hummed wherever they passed. Linked by the Flowing Water, twelve blades formed a feathered cloak. But unlike the cloak a War Dancer might wear to catch the eye, this cloak of blades was made to kill!

Whoosh!!

The blade-cloak left a blur in the air with a buzzing hum. A humanlike gravity flashed through the cougar's eyes, but it wasn't enough to make Nedeli back down. Instead, it roused her ferocity even further. As magic surged through her, the muscles of her slender beastly body hardened like steel bars.

She didn't retreat, but sensing the blades' sharpness, Nedeli clearly realized close combat would be no easy matter. So she changed her bite into a pounce.

Her body, weighing more than a hundred pounds, shot toward him at an unbelievable speed. Her broad, sharp claws struck the cloak. Under the tremendous impact, blades carved several wounds into her body in an instant. The deepest tore through flesh and exposed bone!

The impact was just as strong on Yuan Chen's side. Almost at once, the chains woven from Flowing Water shattered. He braced with his right arm, but in the blink of an eye he felt a tremendous force sink into his body.

A trace of sweetness welled in his throat, but Yuan Chen didn't panic. He lowered his center of gravity and used the tremendous force of the silk dance to redirect the blow into the ground. The heavy force traveled down his spine and joints. His trembling muscles and joints worked like a series of pulleys, steadily dispersing the impact.

Then his legs tensed. The moment they straightened, the force of his support surged up from the ground and into his torso. His left arm drew back, then slammed forward—"Uppercut!!!"

Just as Nedeli prepared to unleash a flurry of attacks and string together a combo, she opened her jaws to bite. Her previous momentum had run out, and she hadn't yet gathered new force. Her pupils narrowed to pinpricks as Yuan Chen's iron fist struck her open jaw.

Bam!!!

The cougar, nearly two meters long without counting her tail, was knocked out of her pouncing position and sent tumbling backward in midair. Yuan Chen didn't pause for an instant. The moment his punch landed, he drew his right arm back—

Nedeli's head-on collision and pounce had left Yuan Chen's right arm streaming with blood and covered in dark bruises. The intense pain shot through his nerves and into his brain. Even with his mental fortitude, he couldn't help feeling a little numb and distracted.

This wasn't a game, where taking a hit only meant losing a bit of health. As things stood, Nedeli's pounce had left his arm almost completely numb from pain and soreness alone!

But Yuan Chen didn't hesitate—not even though he knew the choice would eventually force him to pay a price to Oshirresh!

Demon Agent, activate!

A delighted, sick, and twisted laugh rang through Yuan Chen's mind.

The next instant, it wasn't only in his mind. As Nedeli flew backward, the beast's eyes caught sight of the man before her. His brow was covered in bulging veins from the pain of the force surging through him, his face twisted with rage—yet he was smiling.

A nameless joy flooded his heart, like a potent drug, an intoxicant.

The pain and soreness in his arm should have been unbearable. But in that instant, as he actively strengthened his connection to Oshirresh, the intense pain became a cure for the chaotic joy. Extreme pain bred extreme pleasure, driving both body and mind into a frenzy!

His skin flushed a sickly crimson. A twisted grin stretched his face, and the muscles in Yuan Chen's right arm swelled, losing all their former harmony and beauty. His veins stood out like little snakes or the roots of an ancient tree against his crimson arm!

With the support of this supreme ecstasy, his restless blood burst from within. As it surged through him, his muscles seemed like the hearts of bulls!

Grinning, he stared at Nedeli as she tumbled backward through the air, unable to brace herself, her abdomen fully exposed. Yuan Chen's wide smile revealed a neat row of white teeth.

Perhaps because he was grinning so hard, a trickle of blood had already slipped from his gums, driven out by uncontrollable bliss.

The joy was intoxicating; the pleasure impossible to resist. Even so, a final shred of clarity remained in Yuan Chen's eyes. Meeting Nedeli's gaze, he ground out through clenched teeth, "In Ionia, martial arts and dance are one!"

The words fell, and his fist tore through the air! It swung forward with a deafening Sonic Boom!

Her beastly instincts warned Nedeli that death was right behind her. An icy chill licked at her back like a cold tongue!

Without a second thought, Nedeli instantly ended her cougar transformation—

In beast form, Nedeli's defense and explosive power were several times greater than a human's. But the physical changes that came with transforming also gave her new weaknesses!

Without bones to protect it, the abdomen of a feline—where its organs and digestive system lay—was always its most fatal weakness!

As such, though she returned to a human form with less explosive power, defense, and fighting ability, the change in shape turned her from a cougar knocked backward into a human body that was simply being flung through the air, with nothing to brace against!

She curled her torso, shifting the point of impact from her abdomen to her rib cage, and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Magic surged through her, while branches shot out from the surrounding trees to try to block the blow—but it was too late. It was all too late!

In her frenzied state, Yuan Chen's senses had grown so keen they were almost uncontrollable. Even time itself seemed to slow down for him, and the air seemed full of maddening, frenzied energy—

FUCKING INSANE!!

The air boomed. The sound of bones cracking, enough to make one's teeth ache, rang out from Nedeli's crossed arms and full chest—BOOM!!!

Nedeli's whole body became a blur as she was sent flying. The bushes, vines, and branches that tried to catch her snapped as she crashed through them.

She flew nearly a hundred meters before her body, with broken bones and torn muscles, finally came to a stop!!