Pursuit

A faint light flashed in his palm, and the purple-patterned longsword fell into his hand.

Lu Heng stood still, his gaze sweeping over the several Green Demon figures surging towards him.

When he fought the Goblin in the valley, he kept his strength under control, slowly finding the right balance. The newly acquired sword was of the same origin as his own Star Force, and he still needed to get used to its weight and the timing of his strikes. He originally planned to leave the valley and head back after this round of testing to confirm the sword's penetrating feel, without lingering here any longer.

But the actions of those three people just now completely killed his desire to continue practicing.

When the man rushed towards him, he thought it was just a simple cry for help. The next second, the man suddenly changed direction, deliberately drawing the Green Demon behind him towards him, then turned and ran into the woods.

There's no need to hold back or compromise anymore, no need to keep testing and refining our moves.

Seven or eight Green Demon abandoned their pursuit of the fleeing soldiers and turned to charge this way. They spread out to encircle the fleeing enemy, their low-lying bodies moving swiftly through the shadows of the trees, their paws crunching softly on the Withered Branch. They lacked any coordinated movement, relying solely on instinct to maneuver and leap, pressing in from several directions, blocking all lateral escape routes and leaving only a direct line of attack.

Lu Heng stopped concentrating his Star Force.

The force that had been deliberately suppressed was released completely, flowing down the shoulders and through the arms, landing steadily on the blade. The Star Force spread along the blade, not dissipating outwards, but only condensing into a thin layer at the edge.

The first Green Demon swooped down from the sky, its claws whistling through the air, and its stench reached us first.

Lu Heng remained still, flicked his wrist, and slashed out with his longsword.

There was no explosion, no bright light.

The blade grazed the air, slicing steadily into the body. The moment it pierced through, the monster froze in mid-air. The claws reaching for his shoulder stopped in mid-air, and the ferocity in its pupils quickly faded.

The weightless body plummeted straight to the ground, crashing heavily onto a pile of decaying leaves.

Seeing their comrade fall, the remaining Green Demon did not retreat. They pressed forward, taking turns attacking from both sides. Some crouched low to bite the legs, while others leaped high to pounce on the chest, engaging in a dense and chaotic assault, their sole aim being to tear flesh apart.

Lu Heng moved with light, small steps, each shift precisely avoiding the claws' landing point. He didn't retreat, but merely adjusted his stance slightly, always keeping himself at the optimal distance to strike.

Raise your hand, lower your knife, and finish your stance.

One hit, one kill.

There was no pulling, no entanglement, no unnecessary movements.

A full-force slash is clean and decisive; the moment the blade strikes, everything is finished.

He could clearly feel the feedback from each cut, the resistance as the skin, flesh, fascia, and bones were broken through in turn, with varying degrees of resistance—something he couldn't feel when he was practicing strength training before.

In just a few breaths, all the Green Demon who had surrounded them fell dead to the ground.

The forest fell silent instantly.

A faint smell of blood lingered in the air, and a subtle warmth slowly spread from beneath the skin, coursing through the body's meridians and gradually replenishing the strength lost from swinging the sword. Lu Heng was familiar with this feeling and didn't delve into it, his gaze fixed on the dense forest where the three had fled.

Despite his own efforts to avoid trouble and quietly test his sword in the valley, he was still dragged into a bloody battle for no reason.

There's no need to condone this kind of thing.

If you let them escape, they will use the same method to push others out as bait when they encounter other survivors later.

Lu Heng lowered his hands, and the purple light of the long sword in his palm slowly receded.

The Star Force condensed on the blade slowly deconstructed and reassembled, and tiny particles of light quietly surged in his palm, silently falling onto the soil guided by his thoughts.

The next instant, Star Wolf landed firmly on the ground.

Its limbs gripped firmly into the soil, its body taut, muscles bulging beneath its fur, ready to unleash its full speed. It stood quietly, without agitation, waiting for Lu Heng to approach.

Lu Heng sat on the wolf's back and adjusted his center of gravity.

There was no pause, no gathering of strength.

Star Wolf darted out instantly.

The entire forest rushed past, tree trunks, shrubs, and undulating slopes all blurred into indistinct patches of color by the extreme speed. Star Wolf ran with steady steps, leaping over tree roots and hollows with almost no bumps. The wind brushed past his sides, brushing against his face, and his vision stretched ever forward.

It didn't need Lu Heng to deliberately guide it; it followed the lingering scent of living beings in the air and plunged deep into the dense forest. The three auras kept moving forward, hurried and anxious, pausing briefly several times. It was clear they were exhausted and only wanted to widen the distance between them.

After passing through two dense thickets, a low-lying grove of trees ahead blocked most of the view.

The three figures stopped their escape here.

The three men, panting heavily, supported themselves on their knees. They were covered in dust, their clothes were torn, and their arms and legs were covered in fresh scrapes. Their faces showed the relief of someone who had survived a close call. After running for so long, they were convinced that their pursuers had been left behind.

"We shook them off," one of them said, panting.

That was a close call; we almost got caught.

Why worry about so much? Just survive.

The man who had first ambushed and lured the monster exhaled a breath of stale air, then stomped on the withered grass on the ground, his tone casual, showing no trace of remorse.

"Anyway, that passerby blocked the way for us, it's none of our business. In the apocalypse, who has time to care about others?"

The other two responded softly, completely relaxed, and leaned against the tree trunk to catch their breath. Neither of them remembered their earlier actions of deliberately framing someone and luring a monster to harm others. They were only concerned with being lucky to escape with their lives, and even whispered among themselves about which direction would be safest after they had rested enough.

Unbeknownst to them, a purple light had been standing silently for a long time deep within the shadows of the trees behind them.

Star Wolf remained motionless in the shadows, breathing softly, blending into the surrounding forest.

Lu Heng sat on the wolf's back, his gaze calm as he watched the three figures panting and laughing.

There was no rage in his eyes, nor any surging, chilling killing intent.

There was only a faint, lingering sense of annoyance.

It's happening again.

In chaotic times, the ferocity of demons is obvious; it can be seen and avoided. Yet there are always those who dare not confront demons directly, who dare not risk their lives to fight them, and who instead unleash all their malice upon the unsuspecting and innocent.

In the dense forest, only three people remained, their uninhibited whispers drifting through the gaps in the branches and leaves.

Trouble that can't be avoided must eventually be put to rest.