Taunt

Seka Mens's beloved spear left his hand, and he snapped his eyes open, trying to snatch it back, but it was too late. Yang Yu raised the spear and took off running.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

This was what you called reliable? That was way too hardcore, wasn't it?

Yang Yu paid no attention to the looks he was getting. With his defense at around 50, anyone could tell he would have a hard time with an attack backed by 153 strength. At most, he could take four hits before going down.

"Despicable coward!"

With his weapon taken, Seka Mens could only give chase. However, hindered by his armor, his speed of 59 simply could not catch up to Yang Yu's speed of 60, no matter how hard he ran.

Left with no choice, he used Short Sprint, boosting his speed in one burst and rapidly closing the distance between them. He clenched his fist and drove it straight at Yang Yu's chest.

At that moment, Yang Yu stopped and raised his shield, taking Seka Mens's punch head-on.

The strength of 153 truly lived up to its reputation. The crushing force transmitted through the shield made Yang Yu's scalp tingle, instantly wiping out a quarter of his health. If Seka Mens had used his spear, that single blow would probably have taken a third of his health.

Clutching the spear, Yang Yu staggered back several steps before steadying himself. He panted heavily and stopped running.

"This is the difference in strength between us. Even if you used such underhanded means to take my spear, I could still defeat you with my bare hands alone! Surrender!"

Seka Mens remained composed. Though he had suffered a slight lapse, he still appeared completely at ease.

"You are indeed strong. In a direct clash, I would definitely lose. But the weak have their own ways of fighting. They rack their brains for victory, and if you underestimate them, you'll pay for it."

Yang Yu stopped pretending to gasp for breath. His face was utterly relaxed as he tossed the spear back to Seka Mens.

"Imagine that the ones who took your spear just now were not me, but a group of weak Goblins. Without your weapon, facing a horde of Goblins, would you still be as composed as you are now?"

Taking the spear, Seka Mens followed Yang Yu's line of thought. Terrifying images formed in his mind, making his heart shudder, but his pride compelled him to deny it.

"If I were fighting monsters, I would never act like this. This is a duel. It should be honorable and fair!"

"A duel? Honorable and fair?" Yang Yu sneered. "Don't make me laugh. This was never a fair match from the beginning. A true duel can only exist when both sides are roughly equal in strength. When the gap is too great, it can only be called one-sided humiliation."

"That's why I gave you a chance. As long as you could hold out for three minutes, I would acknowledge you. But who would have thought you would use such despicable means? Now, I won't underestimate you again!"

Seka Mens's eyes burned with fighting spirit, mixed with no small amount of hatred and anger.

"Is that so? But..." Yang Yu walked over to a tree, extinguishing Seka Mens's fighting spirit. "This battle ended the moment you underestimated me. I thought it would be harder than I imagined, but the result was exactly the opposite."

"What? Could it be..."

Seka Mens's eyes widened in disbelief. He glanced at Iron Wall, who hesitated as if about to speak, and understood the outcome.

The quest interface showed that the challenge had been completed. Yang Yu smiled knowingly and immediately claimed the reward. The 3,000 experience points raised him another level.

"Just as you thought, I only talked to you to stall for time. This is also how weak people like me fight. This time, you lost."

A trace of bitterness twisted across Seka Mens's handsome face. He could not accept the result.

"However, seeing as you may not be able to accept this outcome, I'll give you a chance now. Use your strongest attack and see if you can defeat me!"

The sudden provocation left Seka Mens rooted to the spot. He felt no anger, only confusion.

"Why do you keep provoking me after you've clearly won?"

Nothing. I just wanted to see if I could get the Taunt skill.

Naturally, Yang Yu could not say that aloud. He shrugged and continued provoking him.

"I just want to see whether you truly have the strength to knock me down in a single blow."

"Don't regret it."

Gripping his spear tightly, Seka Mens's gaze turned serious. He assumed a stance, and the silver-white spear shone with dazzling white light. Then, with a sudden burst of power from his calves, he used Phase Charge, sending the silver spearhead straight at Yang Yu's chest.

Yang Yu remained calm. He kicked the nearby tree hard, and a jelly-like mass dropped from a branch, landing precisely in his palm. He pushed it forward, and the spear collided with the blue creature.

"It's useless! My attack deals piercing damage. A weak Slime like that cannot stop it." Seka Mens prepared to rein in his momentum at any moment, intending to stop at the right point. Yet his opponent showed not the slightest fear and instead chatted with him as calmly as ever.

"Is that so? I forgot to tell you that you have another fatal flaw: you cannot accurately assess yourself or others."

The sharp spear did not completely pierce through the Slime's fragile body as Seka Mens had expected. Instead, it was bounced away by the Slime.

"What exactly is going on with that Slime?" No matter how hard Seka Mens thought, he could not understand how his powerful skill had failed to penetrate a mere Slime.

The spear fell to the ground. Holding He Meng, Yang Yu patted the dust from his clothes as if nothing had happened.

He walked past the utterly lost Seka Mens and said, "I am a warrior, but I am also a Demonic Beast Tamer. Using demonic beasts in battle is within the rules as well. There's no need to apologize. Right now, I am far weaker than you, but give me another two or three days and defeating you will be no problem. I hope you won't disappoint me then."

He Meng broke free from his hold, leaped up, and slapped Yang Yu across the face, ruining his cool act in less than three seconds.

To avoid getting dragged into the battle, it had climbed up the tree and gone to sleep peacefully. Yet Yang Yu had kicked it off the branch, used it as a shield, and gotten a third of its health cut away in one go.

How could it not be angry?

Don't think that just because we have a Blood Contract, you can do whatever you want! Even if the contract backlash costs me health today, I'll still slap you twice!

"Ahhh! Stop hitting me! Stop! If you hit me, you'll lose health too!"

Faced with He Meng's slaps, Yang Yu could only smile bitterly. He had merely seen He Meng lazing around on the branch and resorted to this desperate measure. He had not expected it to be this dissatisfied, and its favorability toward him plummeted by 10 points.

Forcibly holding He Meng down, Yang Yu coughed lightly as though nothing had happened and looked toward the stunned Bai Jin.

"It's getting late. This forest is more dangerous than I imagined. Bai Jin, pick some herbs, then we'll head back and rest."

"Yes."

Coming back to her senses, Bai Jin answered and followed Yang Yu's footsteps, leaving the members of the Silverwind Squad standing there in utter disarray. After a while, the three of them walked over to Seka Mens, who still could not accept reality.

Seka Mens asked in a trembling voice, "How many minutes did it take from the beginning until now?"

Iron Wall wiped his pocket watch and answered uneasily, "Exactly five minutes."

"So he saw through things to this extent?" Seka Mens closed his eyes, a smile appearing at the corner of his lips. There was no anger or disdain, only admiration. "It seems I still have much to learn."

Deep within the forest, in a dimly lit room, crystal balls of all sizes stood in rows. Every movement in the forest was displayed within them. A green hand lightly tapped the wooden shelf holding the crystal balls, as though considering the images they had just transmitted.

After a long while, the tapping fingers stopped.

The image on the crystal ball vanished, and its smooth surface reflected its user's face. On that emerald-green, hideous face hung an incomparably cunning, triumphant sneer.