Crazy

"Guen!" Chen dropped rapidly from the sky and landed beside Guen, warily watching the others.

But none of them dared come closer.

The whistle of the flying daggers through the air and what had happened to their companions told them he was an eighth-tier Artifact User—someone who could even fight a Ninth-rank Warrior.

And yet Guen had taken all their attacks head-on. Who would dare make a move now?

Artifact Users had long been acknowledged as invincible among those of the same tier.

In this trial, an eighth-tier Artifact User would be all but unbeatable. They didn't think even Ganlan, the son of the lord of Leiquan City, was capable of it.

But Guen had done it. His ferocious appearance had been etched into the minds of everyone who witnessed it.

Even the Golden-Bearded Mastiff growled at Guen, keeping its guard up.

"I can't believe I had to use this Battle Suit," Guen said helplessly.

After he'd once encountered an Artifact User and been badly injured, his father, Kolong, had given him this Battle Suit. According to Kolong, it was an A5 Grade Protective Suit. It could easily withstand attacks from ordinary newcomers to the Super Tier, allowing Guen to take them without a scratch.

Of course, if an attack was strong enough, it could still injure Guen through the suit, even if it couldn't damage the Protective Suit itself.

Kolong had given Guen the suit to save his life in an unavoidable crisis. His mother had also instructed him that if he ever encountered an Artifact User, no matter their tier, he should put on the Protective Suit to protect himself first.

So Guen only used it when he faced an Artifact User or an irresistible danger.

Even when viewed from the front, it shrank down to a tiny point.

The Protective Suit was astonishing. With a thought, it could cover his entire body in an instant. If he didn't want to use it, he could retract it beneath his skin.

For training, Guen usually kept it hidden beneath his skin. Now, he'd only brought it out because he was helpless against an eighth-tier Artifact User. A Protective Suit that could even withstand attacks from Super Tier experts meant that an eighth-tier Artifact User couldn't even hope to injure him. He only had to overcome the force of the attacks himself, and even that was so slight that it barely interfered with his movements.

The Protective Suit slowly retracted, and Guen's appearance returned to normal. He glanced at the others, then reached into the Scar-faced Man's Battle Suit. His expression shifted, and he stripped the entire suit off him.

"Argh!"

The Golden-Bearded Mastiff's roar drew everyone's attention back to the battlefield. Only then did they notice that, although the nearby Golden-Bearded Mastiffs had suffered plenty of injuries, they were all still alive.

"Let's go."

Guen jumped onto Chen's unicorn, ready to leave.

"Stop! Hand it over!" The warriors panicked and surrounded Guen, blocking his way.

Though the unicorn could fly, it couldn't gain altitude quickly. The warriors were confident they could stop Guen from escaping.

The Scar-faced Man had been an Artifact User, which naturally made him intimidating.

But Guen wasn't one. They'd all seen him defeat the Scar-faced Man with his fists. He was just a warrior, and they believed they could handle a warrior.

"Hand over the Golden Whiskers, and you can leave," the warriors surrounding Guen said, growing restless.

They'd all seen the Scar-faced Man's flying daggers slice off every Golden Whisker from the nearby Golden-Bearded Mastiffs. Those mastiffs were no longer their targets, so they'd let them go wild without trying to stop them.

If they could just take the Scar-faced Man's Battle Suit, they could complete the trial outright.

That was much easier than killing three Golden-Bearded Mastiffs.

"You brought this on yourselves." Guen jumped off the unicorn with the Scar-faced Man's Battle Suit in hand. The unicorn had lost its Gem Shield, and Chen was only a sixth-tier warrior. Neither of them stood a chance against so many warriors in these circumstances.

Before, Guen had been like a ferocious bear. Now, he was more like an agile cat. He dropped into the crowd and, before his enemies could react, was already in front of one warrior. He threw a punch.

"That all you've got?"

The warrior grimaced and swung his broadsword down.

With his strength...

He could already picture Guen clutching his hand and backing away in panic.

Few warriors chose Gauntlets as their weapon. Even if they were made of Diamond-Grade materials, putting one's bare hands directly in contact with an enemy would only result in taking a thousand damage to deal eight hundred.

If you used your fists as weapons, a beast would hurt you just as much as you hurt it.

Force was reciprocal!

Clang!

The fist collided with the broadsword, knocking it back out of the warrior's control. His grip split open, and both hands gripping the hilt went numb.

"What?!"

The warrior's eyes widened. He hadn't expected Guen to be so strong. Before he could regain control of his sword, Guen's other fist slammed down.

Thud!

His nose broke, and blood sprayed everywhere.

Guen swept out a kick and sent him flying. He hit the ground and rolled, leaving a pool of blood behind.

Guen didn't even look at him. He charged straight at the next opponent.

Only the eighth-tier warriors had a greater base strength. Though their Force Multiplier was lower than Guen's, their overall strength was only slightly inferior. Guen could beat an eighth-tier warrior only by combining his advantages in Body Movement Technique, strength, and speed, finding an opening, and attacking the face.

The only weakness in a Diamond-Grade Battle Suit was the face.

But seventh-tier warriors had base strength much closer to Guen's. The difference in their Force Multipliers translated directly into a difference in strength.

At least twice the strength was a terrifying advantage at this level.

A single punch could shatter boulders. Even a steel gate could be broken through with one blow if it wasn't thick enough.

With such a massive difference, the others could barely fight back against Guen.

He darted and weaved, pressing forward with a frenzied assault. The rhythm of the fight remained entirely under his control.

"I'm out!" One man's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets as he turned and ran.

More than ten seventh-tier warriors had surrounded a single man, only to be picked off one by one. Only now did they remember that anyone capable of defeating an eighth-tier Artifact User—even if he was a warrior—was beyond their ability to handle.

But Golden Whiskers were too hard to come by, so they'd been willing to take a risk.

"Hmph!"

The warriors on the outside abandoned those still in the middle and fled. Guen knocked down the last warrior who hadn't managed to escape, then snorted coldly.

He didn't even need to use the Protective Suit against these warriors.

As for weapons?

His Gauntlets were custom-made. Anyone else, even wearing a full set made from Diamond-Grade materials, would have had bloody hands and broken bones.

But Guen's fists were only slightly numb on the surface.

"Let's go." Guen took Chen with him, and they hurried away.

Nearly two thousand warriors had charged forward again and again, forcing the Golden-Bearded Mastiffs back step by step. Now was the perfect moment to snatch their Golden Whiskers in the chaos, so Guen hurried away from the battlefield.

"Brother, stop them! They stole my two Golden Whiskers!"

A young man carrying a shield had lost one of his hands to a warrior's blade. Lying on the ground, he roared at the burly man on the other side. The burly man turned around and saw two figures who'd been fighting alongside him moments ago now turning and running.

"Stop!"

The burly man chased after them, but after only two steps, a warrior wielding a scimitar killed his younger brother.

The Scimitar Warrior searched the body, then spat on the younger brother's face. "Damn it, I thought you still had Golden Whiskers. Turns out you don't even have anything valuable."

The Scimitar Warrior glanced around and spotted Guen and Chen. From the way they were moving, it looked like they were about to leave.

The Scimitar Warrior wasn't the only one who noticed Guen. Several other warriors had their eyes on him too.

"Hand it over. If you don't have Golden Whiskers, then give us your money."

Several warriors charged straight at them. Whether or not Guen had anything, they'd rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go. Even without Golden Whiskers, he might have something else valuable. Besides, a person could take the trial three times in their life. If they failed this time, they could at least make a fortune.

They knew their own limits. Gathering fifteen Golden Whiskers to pass the trial was difficult, but targeting people with Diamond-Grade Battle Suits or Life Potions could still earn them a tidy sum.

"These people have gone crazy. Every last one of them." Chen gripped the sword in his hand without meaning to.

"Get out of my way!"

Guen charged forward, targeting the Scimitar Warrior first.

Clang!

The Scimitar Warrior barely managed to block the first punch, but almost lost his grip on his blade.

"What strength!"

Before the Scimitar Warrior could react, Guen's second punch came down.

I have to block it. I have to! The Scimitar Warrior's pupils contracted. If he couldn't block this punch, he knew Guen's next one would hit him in the head and leave him dead in a spray of blood.

Under the immense pressure, the Scimitar Warrior felt his blade move more smoothly than ever before. He just barely managed to block Guen's fist.

He'd blocked it?

Guen saw the Scimitar Warrior's sudden burst of strength, but didn't press his attack. He kicked the Scimitar Warrior away, then returned to Chen's side.

Chen was only a sixth-tier warrior, so the others naturally saw him as an easy target and attacked him fiercely. If Guen hadn't returned in time, even one more second spent chasing the Scimitar Warrior could have left Chen with a fatal injury.

"Those bastards!" Chen glared at the warriors in fury.

A massive wound gaped across the unicorn's belly. Its internal organs were clearly visible.

The unicorn had always been Chen's companion. Seeing it so badly injured hurt him even more than being injured himself.

"Stay close to me!"

Guen was furious too, but he could only hold it in. If they didn't leave, they'd be surrounded. He would be fine—he could always activate the Protective Suit, and no one here would be able to hurt him. But Chen and the unicorn would be in trouble, so Guen could only take Chen and charge for the edge of the battlefield.

The Scimitar Warrior had long since been terrified of Guen. He fled and went looking for weaker prey.

Guen took the opportunity to kill two warriors with a thunderous attack, then broke through the encirclement and hurried toward the edge of the battlefield.

Whenever he encountered someone foolish enough to get in his way, he broke through with his fists, fighting his way out in a river of blood.

At the edge of the battlefield, some people had already noticed Guen's impressive performance. Those lingering there hoped to take advantage of people in their weakened state. Anyone leaving the battlefield at a time like this had usually gathered enough Golden Whiskers.

They'd either fought three Golden-Bearded Mastiffs or stolen the Golden Whiskers from a group of warriors.

They had to be exhausted, their combat strength greatly diminished.

But Guen was too conspicuous. Everyone he faced was knocked away in fewer than three exchanges and left sprawled on the ground. The people there didn't dare act rashly and sheepishly cleared a path.

Guen and Chen found a secluded spot and looked back at the battlefield.

Figures moved everywhere. Few of the massive Golden-Bearded Mastiffs remained. Even the young ones had joined the fight. The scene was horrific, and the hazy glow of the Starlight Forest was tinged with blood.

The sounds of fighting, curses, and roars blended together. Even watching from a distance was enough to make their blood run cold.

"How crazy," Guen exclaimed.

"Who knows how many of those thousand-plus people will still be alive by the time tonight's over?" Chen said, tending to the unicorn while feeling a pang of sorrow.

Guen nodded silently and took out the Scar-faced Man's Battle Suit. "At least it has nothing to do with us anymore."