Chapter Seventy-Five: Silver Moon Continues

"All of you, stop right there! This is my fight—don’t interfere!" Silvermoon shouted.

But a fellow archer responded, "Captain, please don’t say that. We were all involved in that incident. We can’t let you shoulder all the blame alone."

"That’s right, we’re all responsible for what happened. If you want to take down our captain, you’ll have to get through us first."

"Come on, you piece of trash, if you’ve got the guts, step up! I’ll take you on for three hundred rounds!"

...

"You people... Why are you doing this? This has nothing to do with you. I made the call; I gave the orders. This is on me, not you. Get out of the way! Wei Wei Long, I’m the one you’re after. Leave the others out of this!" Silvermoon yelled.

"I will. The only one I want is your head," I replied, voice cold.

"Then come, let’s see if you have what it takes!" As Silvermoon spoke, she suddenly dodged to the side. Simultaneously, her bow unleashed three arrows in rapid succession, flying high, middle, and low—three streaks of death cutting through the air.

"Come and die!" I roared, my body swaying to evade the arrows as I lunged at Silvermoon.

But an archer from her side raised his blue bow and rained arrows down on me.

I dodged, spinning my staff in defense, but still took a hit to my left leg—my health dropped by 80 in an instant. Then a blue beam flared from his bow, striking my chest with a crackle.

—260 damage flashed above me. "No way! How are you so tough? You’re a summoner—how’s your defense that high? Are you cheating?" the archer cried out in disbelief.

He didn’t finish the sentence. Suddenly, a masked, cloaked figure appeared before him and swung a fist downward with the force of a blade, the wind shrieking past the player’s face before smashing brutally into his chest.

The player screamed, a wretched, piercing sound. Amaterasu’s fist caved his chest inward, leaving a gaping hole, sending him crashing to the ground and bouncing away in a roll. He turned into white light and respawned in town, while Amaterasu said coldly, "Don’t interfere with Dragon Brother’s fight."

As soon as he was down, more members of the Dragon-Phoenix Mercenary Group surged forward—but their target was Amaterasu, not me. At the same time, Ye Shuang and the others joined the fray.

Long Xin unleashed a Firestorm, leaving two warrior players near death. Then a dazzling column of light shot down, and from within the beam descended a towering angel with four wings. Xiao Ai merged with the angel—her class was Druid, and she activated her transformation skill. She stood her ground, silver spear in hand, fighting fiercely. Now clad in shimmering silver female armor, her beauty was breathtaking—she looked every bit a valkyrie, her spear an impenetrable whirlwind, ordinary warriors unable even to get close.

Elsewhere, three players rushed at Feng Xiaoyue, but she wielded her Soul-Eater sword with ease—it was a rare green-grade weapon, and she dispatched all three in less than a second. The three warriors fell heavily, one so badly wounded he nearly returned to town on the spot, leaving the surrounding crowd in awe of her weapon’s devastating power.

A group of players charged Xiao Xi. She retreated, setting traps as she moved. When they reached the spot she’d just left, a sudden explosion erupted, blood spraying and damage numbers soaring.

Xiao Xi’s class was Stalker, a specialized archer with high mobility and the ability to set various traps—some for damage, some to hinder movement or inflict status effects. Though surrounded, her agile maneuvers and skilled trap placement let her break free, but soon she was locked in a bitter struggle with a hulking player wielding a glowing blue axe. Meanwhile, a beautiful female warrior with a longsword and shield was locked in combat with Ye Shuang.

Their duel raged for more than ten rounds, still with no clear winner. The burly player was a level 30 Berserker, a warrior’s most powerful attack class, his massive axe hacking relentlessly. Xiao Xi struggled to block, but soon noticed his slow movements and began to kite him, drawing him out while attacking from range.

Confident in his toughness, the Berserker laughed and charged after her.

With a sharp sound, Feng Xiaoyue sliced a warrior in two, sending him crashing to the ground. Then, a push of her Soul-Eater sword sent another would-be ambusher flying, coughing blood.

On the other side, Silvermoon and I moved at once. She darted diagonally around the field, her bow unleashing arrow after arrow, a storm of shafts pouring down on me.

It was wild—so wild that everyone nearby scrambled to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

I dodged and pursued, but couldn’t catch up, gnashing my teeth in frustration. At this rate, Silvermoon would kite me to death.

"Take this!" I shouted, hurling my staff at her with all my might as I charged.

Caught off guard, Silvermoon couldn’t dodge and took the staff full in the chest, her ample bosom jolting from the impact. She screamed and was flung backward, hitting the ground hard. I grinned and moved to follow up, but the Berserker, seeing his captain in danger, abandoned his pursuit of Xiao Xi. With a grunt, he hefted his giant axe in both hands, let out a thunderous roar, and brought it down on me.

Before I could react, Amaterasu stepped forward in silence. Before the axe could reach full force, he intercepted it with his left arm, halting its momentum mid-swing.

The Berserker hesitated, trying to counter, but Amaterasu’s fist slammed into his chest instead.

A sickening crunch—the Berserker’s chest caved in, blood gushing from a massive hole. With a roar and a —4700 damage marker, he toppled backward in disbelief, never expecting to be killed instantly. The masked man was terrifying.

Amaterasu’s one-punch defeat of a burly Berserker stunned everyone nearby, especially the Dragon-Phoenix mercenaries, who could scarcely believe their eyes. This was no opponent they could hope to defeat.

I seized the chance to catch up to Silvermoon before she could get up. Retrieving my staff, I unleashed a flurry of crushing blows, energy explosions, and power strikes. Silvermoon took them all, her health plummeting to the brink—one more hit would finish her. She staggered to her feet, coughing blood, her face smeared, wounds everywhere. I wasn’t much better—my armor was in tatters, arrows studding me like a porcupine, blood oozing from several gashes. We were both on our last legs, only one move away from deciding the victor.

After a moment’s tense silence, we moved at once. I launched a Cloud-Piercing Assault, staff aimed at her chest. Silvermoon’s bow flared with four streaks of blue light—four arrows blazed toward me, so fast I barely managed to dodge the one aimed at my head, which still grazed my face. Two more pierced my body, and another punched through my left shoulder.

But my staff struck her chest at the same time, sending both of us flying—a double knockout.

When I finally managed to stand, I had only 260 health left. Silvermoon couldn’t get up. Using my Eagle Eye skill, I saw she had just 12 health, her stamina surely long since depleted. She lay motionless on the ground, but her face bore a smile, and even in pain, she burst out laughing.

"What’s so funny?" I asked.

"Nothing. I just found a worthy rival at last. When I was little, I was terrified of men—because I was weak. But as I grew, I stopped being afraid. Who says women are inferior? If men can be strong, why not women? So I became stronger. No man could ever beat me—until today. You’re the first man to do so since then. But next time, I’ll be even stronger, and I’ll make sure you’re the one left battered and bruised."

"Is that so? I look forward to it. I just hope, next time we fight, there’s no hatred between us—just an honest, unreserved battle," I replied.

"Agreed. Don’t hold back. Do it—I don’t want your mercy," Silvermoon said.

I nodded, raising my staff to strike. Suddenly, a booming voice rang out, "Spare her!"