What a coincidence, I've got one too

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Ji Yang shook his head vehemently.

"I already looked it up online. That's exactly what muntjacs look like. What is there not to believe?" the director replied.

"I'm not talking about the species!" Ji Yang said. "The Muntjac Demon I ran into was incredibly powerful. That wasn't fake! She didn't encounter the same one. Hers must have been weaker than mine."

"In any case, based on what we've observed so far, the livestream can continue. We'll pay special attention to this species of Muntjac Demon. Stay where you are for now. I'll have the staff send over new Bee-Insect Cameras," the director said.

"Believe me, it really was powerful..." Ji Yang said helplessly.

"Wait," the director suddenly said. "It looks like someone else has run into a Muntjac Demon."

Li Flying Rosy Clouds searched the forest for treasure chests, her spiritual sense spread out as she slowly advanced step by step, a slight frown on her face.

Although she was an excellent cultivator, she had grown up in a temple. With her adorable looks and personality, her elders had doted on her, leaving her with little experience of hardship. Her temperament was no different from that of any ordinary, pampered little girl.

She still had an instinctive fear of the dark.

Especially in a mountain forest inhabited by evil spirits, where there was no telling what might spring out at any moment.

She also had a kind streak and could hardly bear to kill Demon Beasts herself. She knew perfectly well that these beasts had been captured for attacking the barriers around human cities, and that they were all extremely vicious. Yet as long as they did not attack her first, she would not choose to strike.

Of everyone, she had killed the fewest Demon Beasts along the way.

Suddenly, her spiritual sense detected a trace of a living creature's presence. She immediately focused and went on guard.

Amid a rustling sound, a muntjac's head poked out of the forest. He wore ill-fitting work clothes and carried a wrench, with smoke still rising from several scorched holes in his outfit.

It was Big Muntjac, who had just fought Ji Yang.

He emerged from the forest, spotted the female human ahead, and immediately raised his wrench into a fighting stance. After his earlier battle, however, he had also grown wary of these human cultivators.

Compared with the straightforward fighting styles of Demon Beasts, human supernatural abilities and spells were far too mysterious. Without knowing what they did, it was all too easy to suffer a disastrous defeat.

At that moment, the viewers in her personal livestream had already begun typing warnings at the sight.

[That's the deer demon the Hidden Dragon Pool disciple just ran into!]

[It's a kangaroo.]

[Ji Yang's feed cut out after he ran into it, and he still hasn't come back online. He isn't really dead, is he?]

[Be careful, Flying Rosy Clouds! It's dangerous!]

[...]

But Li Flying Rosy Clouds could not see the comments. Looking at him, she suddenly asked, "Huh? A Muntjac Spirit? I've never seen one before."

Big Muntjac looked at the round-faced female human in surprise. In all the days since he had entered the city, she was the first to identify him correctly at first sight. Every other living creature called the brothers either kangaroos or little deer, much to their endless annoyance.

His hostility eased a little.

Seeing that he did not attack, Li Flying Rosy Clouds said gently, "You can understand me, right? As long as you don't attack me, I won't attack you either. Go on."

Big Muntjac gazed at her, nodded, then backed away in the direction he had come from.

She was not his target anyway. Nor was he some born killer who had to slaughter every human he saw.

"Heh." Seeing it retreat as asked, Li Flying Rosy Clouds thought this Demon Beast was rather cute. She chuckled and turned around. "My first time seeing a muntjac in real life. They really do look silly."

Silly...

Perhaps she had genuinely meant it affectionately, but to Big Muntjac's ears, the words were dripping with mockery.

Ever since they were little, the brothers had heard the phrase "stupid muntjac" countless times. Humans and demons alike used it to ridicule them. Those had even been the first human words he learned to say.

The brothers trained their bodies like madmen every day precisely to restore the Muntjac Tribe's good name!

We're not stupid!

His eyes instantly turned blood-red. He bared his teeth at Li Flying Rosy Clouds again, then shot out of the forest!

Whether these humans look malicious or friendly, they all reek of the same arrogance. I'll show you that anyone who dares insult our noble Muntjac Tribe has to die!

Your life is mine!

Yue Wen happened to arrive just then.

His arrival was not entirely a coincidence. Although the staff had said they were dropping everyone into the Simulated Wasteland Zone at random, they had deliberately placed them far apart to keep them from meeting too soon and making the area seem small.

The adventurers had each explored for most of the day without encountering one another.

After moving around for so long, however, some were bound to have drawn close to other adventurers. Yue Wen, Ji Yang, and Li Flying Rosy Clouds were all in areas not far apart.

Moreover, Yue Wen carried the Demon-Detecting Mirror and specifically headed toward places with dense demonic energy. During Big Muntjac's battle with Ji Yang, the Demon Flame he released had been extremely powerful. That heavy demonic energy had naturally drawn Yue Wen's attention.

He had followed it all the way here with the Spirit-Searching Needle active.

Rounding a bend in the mountain path, he saw Li Flying Rosy Clouds turning sideways while a monster, its body a whirlwind, hurtled toward her!

[Muntjac Demon: For a stupid muntjac to cultivate to a partially transformed state, he must truly be extraordinarily gifted. His body has been tempered to a terrifying degree. His combat power far exceeds ten thousand healthy human grannies and is difficult to measure. Truly inspirational. Heaven does not forsake a determined muntjac.]

Combat power far beyond ten thousand grannies?

The Demon-Detecting Mirror's inability to provide an accurate assessment startled Yue Wen. This demon was even stronger than the Tiger Head Gang's strongest Tiger Demon that day.

The monsters released into the Simulated Wasteland Zone had all been screened. Most ranged from a few hundred to a thousand grannies, with very few exceeding the thousand-granny level. The director had indeed said that the newly released monsters would raise the difficulty a little, but had they raised it this far in one go?

You call this a little?

There was no time to dwell on it in this emergency. He instantly unleashed the Sword-Controlling Technique, shouting at the same time, "Li Flying Rosy Clouds, watch out!"

Whoosh-

The Flying Sword streaked forward like lightning, becoming a beam of light that struck the charging monster head-on.

Li Flying Rosy Clouds had only just turned her head when she felt a vicious gust in her face. The Muntjac Demon had returned and launched a surprise attack while her guard was down. By the time she realized the danger, it was already too late. All she could do was try her hardest to retreat and dodge.

Fortunately, Yue Wen's Flying Sword arrived a moment sooner.

Big Muntjac had initially focused on Li Flying Rosy Clouds. The Flying Sword coming at him from the side was so fast that he had no time to dodge

at all. He could only swing his oversized wrench to block it. Although he stopped the sword's edge head-on, the sword energy surrounding it burst apart with a sudden explosive roar.

Boom!

Big Muntjac was hurled backward. By the time he landed, dozens of bloody wounds covered his body! Several reached the bone, showing just how devastating that sword strike had been!

Big Muntjac looked in surprise toward the direction the Flying Sword had come from. This was the first time he had encountered such a powerful human cultivator. Had he not reacted quickly enough to block the sword's edge, that single strike might have killed him outright.

Then he saw that the newcomer was none other than the target he had been seeking!

No wonder.

Thanks to the Flying Sword's intervention, Li Flying Rosy Clouds managed to retreat several steps and gain some distance. With a turn of her hand, she brought out a Five-Colored Treasure Fan. One forceful sweep sent five rays of rosy light shooting out!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-

The rays converged on him. White brought bone-piercing cold, red scorched the body with fierce flames, black corroded skin and devoured flesh, yellow induced a sense of comfort, and purple tore open the belly.

If all five hit, even the toughest body would not withstand them!

Big Muntjac made several successive leaps backward, barely managing to avoid them.

This little girl's cultivation was weaker than the target's, but the magical artifact in her hand was truly formidable. Big Muntjac immediately knew he could not fight them head-on here.

His bestial instincts made the decision in an instant. If he could not win, he had to run!

Once he could kill his opponent, he would return immediately for revenge. That principle and his earlier principle of never letting an opponent escape while he held the advantage were two sides of the same coin.

He planned to escape first, then summon his brother to deal with the target together. He would turn an unfavorable one-against-two situation into a favorable two-against-one situation before counterattacking.

But although he wanted to leave, Yue Wen had no intention of letting him.

This inexplicably vicious Muntjac Demon had nearly killed an adventurer, and had even survived Yue Wen's surprise sword strike. Letting him escape would be far too dangerous. Yue Wen had to finish him off while he was injured!

"Where do you think you're going, monster!"

With a whoosh, Yue Wen activated the Sword-Controlling Technique, stepped onto his sword, and chased after him in a cascade of light!

Every treetop and branch he touched shattered in his wake.

"Damn it!" Sensing the presence pursuing him relentlessly from behind, Big Muntjac cursed inwardly. It seemed he would have to call his little brother over at once to help deal with this human cultivator.

The thought had barely formed when he heard a beast's roar in the distance. "Hruu-"

"Second Muntjac?"

Big Muntjac recognized the emergency signal unique to their muntjac family. But he had not called yet. Why had his brother called first? Could it be... his little brother had sensed that he was in danger and come to save him?

Was this what humans meant by brothers sharing a bond of the heart?

Deeply moved, Big Muntjac immediately threw back his head and roared in reply. "Hruu-"

Following each other's roars, the brothers rapidly closed the distance through the mountain forest. The environment here was indeed very similar to the Wasteland Zone. The methods they used there worked just as smoothly here.

Three minutes later, Big Muntjac came racing through a rolling cloud of dust and saw his little brother charging toward the same spot ahead.

The brothers ran toward each other.

"Second Muntjac, your timing couldn't be better!" Big Muntjac shouted. "A powerful human is chasing me! Hurry and help me deal with him!"

"Huh?" Second Muntjac froze. "What a coincidence, I've got one too!"

Meanwhile, the director connected to Ji Yang's line again.

"That Muntjac Demon just showed up again and was nearly killed by a single sword strike from Yue Wen. Yue Wen is chasing him now," the director said without a trace of emotion. "Like I said, you should reflect on your own shortcomings."

Ji Yang said doubtfully, "That probably wasn't the one I encountered either."

The director replied with absolute certainty, "It was your one."