Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

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Xu Ruoguang, propelled by the force of the axe, spun through the air four or five times before centrifugal force violently threw him to the ground with a heavy thud.

The voices, transcending the barriers of time and space, squirmed into his ears once more, screams mixed with the sound of steel as he hit the ground.

Covering his right arm with his left hand, Xu Ruoguang struggled to his feet, feeling as though his arm had been torn apart by pain.

Of course, the pain was secondary; the nature of players made their perception of pain resemble an indescribable thrill.

Mainly, it wasn't just his arm—all the joints in his entire arm were limp and unable to exert any strength at that moment.

"Clang!"

The clash of greatsword and axe rang out behind him; the uncle and the orc were trapped in battle, oblivious to what had happened behind them.

"Whizz whizz whizz whizz~" The axe returned with a terrifying whistle, and the orc leader who had thrown it while sparing a fraction of his attention to see if his attack was effective immediately noticed that his attack was returned as it came.

Watching the spinning axe return, his mind replayed the fleeting movement of the human from just moments before.

"Quite interesting."

The orc leader grinned, aimed at the incoming axe, and reached out his hand…

"Pfft!"

The spinning axe, with its erratic trajectory, viciously sliced across his arm, raising a small spurt of green flesh and blood.

He didn't catch it…

"Swoosh!"

"Pfft!"

The relentless spinning axe struck another orc's body.

An orc, in pursuit of a villager but feeling an axe embedded in his backside, abruptly pulled out the "hidden weapon" and turned around with eyes full of rage looking for the source…

It was the boss, huh? Then, it's fine.

Withdrawing his gaze from the spinning axe, the orc leader turned to look at the human instead.

He didn't care about the minor wound on his arm; he was more curious about the human's method of returning the attack.

I reckon I can do it too…

"Catch!"

The orc leader bared his teeth with a wide grin, striding toward Xu Ruoguang, their gazes locking over the chaotic battlefield.

As he passed an orc about to chop at a human woman with an axe, the orc leader booted him aside, "Enough! Don't kill them all!"

He was here to practice catching axes, not to use motionless dead humans as targets.

He figured living targets would ensure a 100% hit rate—what was the difference between dead ones and wooden dummies?

Seeing the exceptionally tall orc charging straight for him and realizing that his counterattack had drawn the attention, Xu Ruoguang, along with the uncle who was entangled with another orc, attempted to flee.

"Let's go! Uncle! Move it!"

Gunshots rang out from outside the settlement, and some humans were still following behind the orcs… Although he didn't know their exact situation, it was clear that in face of the orcs, everyone naturally became allies.

So long as they didn't die immediately, there was always a chance.

"You won't escape!" the uncle, unmoved, allowed himself to be pulled by Xu Ruoguang, his hand steadfast as if made of steel.

He was fully focused on the orc in front of him, both sides seeking a chance to defeat the other, with no room for distraction.

He was the finest warrior in this settlement, yet even against ordinary orc grunts, he couldn't easily prevail.
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Aliens were aliens after all, their robust bodies their brazen capital for domination.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

He heard those gunshots too.

But unless it was the great power of machine guns, sniper rifles, or a massive concentrated barrage, the damage to the orcs was also insufficient.

Only explosions and fire were the true bane of these aliens!

In the absence of those, cold weapons in hand were the only hope for victory.

"You go first, I'll cover you," the uncle said in a stern voice, his gaze fixed on the orc in front of him without daring to be distracted for a moment.

```

"...Okay!" Watching the massive orc stride across the battlefield, heedless of all, Xu Ruoguang could only grit his teeth and turn to run.

The other party was clearly after him, and if he stayed, he would only bring the danger from that hulking orc to Uncle.

Run!

Escape outside!

Linking up with those humans who had come to support was the only way to survive!

If those people dared to follow the orcs, they must have some confidence in dealing with them!

Ducking and weaving, Xu Ruoguang's form was exceptionally slippery amidst the chaotic scene.

His not fully unlocked talents couldn't always be effective, but the occasional slowdown of his thoughts was enough to let him plan the best course of action while others couldn't respond.

The chaotic noise of the battlefield didn't disrupt Xu Ruoguang's hormonal balance—his vision remained clear, his brain sharp, processing all the information he gathered flawlessly.

However...

Faced with almost simultaneous interceptions by two orcs, and the giant hand of the pursuer nearly grabbing the back of his neck, Xu Ruoguang had no choice but to hurl himself towards one of the interceptors, attempting to use their body for a last-second evasion.

"Bang!"

The muffled sound, whether transmitted through bone or air, first erupted in his ears, then the shockwave through his back that went straight to his vital organs left Xu Ruoguang feeling like his insides had instantly turned to mush.

A bitter, salty liquid was violently expelled from his mouth, but fortunately, the orc's tremendous strength also sent his not-so-tall body flying a great distance.

"Glug glug glug..."

Like a rolling gourd, Xu Ruoguang's body instantly rolled more than ten meters on the ground.

[You have sustained 49 points of impact damage and have fallen into a critical injury state!]

[Warning: Your internal organs are bleeding continuously, immediate rescue is needed!]

"Cough cough!" Falling to the ground, Xu Ruoguang couldn't pay attention to the alerts popping up on his panel, struggling to get up still.

The unique mechanism of players meant he couldn't feel much pain; the attack on his back was more of a relief than pain.

But the severe blow to his body put him in an unsustainable state, his limp arms and legs unresponsive, slipping in place a couple of times before finally crashing down hard.

"Don't be afraid."

A cold and resolute voice came from above, and Xu Ruoguang squinted only to discover a red figure had, at some point, stood in front of him.

Long legs emerged from the slit of her skirt, and the woman took out her seemingly petite pistol from the black holster strapped to her thigh, aiming it in a certain direction.

Looking up from below, Xu Ruoguang felt as if divine light was shining through her shoulder-length silver hair into his eyes, too dazzling to look at directly.

"You won't get hurt again."

The woman said so, and with her left hand, she pulled the trigger.

"Boom!"

The petite silver pistol made a deafening sound like a hand cannon, and the orc hit by the bullet was blown away as if struck by a high-powered shotgun.

Spiritual Energy artifacts, extraordinary.

But it could only fire one shot in a short time...

Watching the two orcs—one large and one small—striding towards her, the woman held a knife in one hand and drew it slowly through the crook of her left arm, the gray Spiritual Energy in her pupils burning to its peak as the abundant energy began to radiate a faint pressure.

Spiritual Power Enchantment!

[Spiritual Power Enchantment: Strengthen your Spiritual Energy output with a specific action, enchanting your weapon with the protection of Spiritual Energy.]

Like Ren Fengxing, Gu Lan chose a completely different path of development for her guild.

Where Ren Fengxing secured two large boxes of land mines through the power of his organization, she... used the entire guild's strength to forge herself.

Thorny Guild always favored the high-end route of individual combatants, with all the members of the guild drawing salaries from the real world to serve every "leader" completely.

In past games, outsiders preferred to call them... the Thorn Valkyries!

Noticing the faint scent of danger emanating from the human woman blocking his way, the orc chieftain pursuing them slowed to a halt.

Gazing at Gu Lan for roughly two seconds, the orc chieftain's mouth curled into a grin, "Me been waiting for you guys!"

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