Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

Refining skills with the death of life, displaying one's martial prowess in battle with other races to elevate one's prestige within the clan.

As long as companions believe that one is invincibly strong and trust in this, they can indeed become truly powerful.

Growing stronger and stronger... until one becomes the war boss of all orcs!

Every orc has this opportunity!

Every orc, even those at the lowest rank, has a channel through which they can gradually elevate themselves by following this path.

Their bodies can grow indefinitely; the larger their physique, the more formidable their strength becomes.

Big is good, big is powerful!

Whether they are consciously aware of this or not, many orcs will act on this instinctively.

They never miss a chance to confront a formidable enemy!

They never pass up an opportunity to display their martial might in front of their companions!

This is their path to ascension!

"waaaaaagh!"

The orc leader suddenly roared, his fighting spirit brimming as he faced Gu Lan blocking his path.

"waaaagh!" The leader's war cry elicited passionate echoes from the battling orc youths all around, their response noisy, discordant, and fervent. Almost visibly, a red glow adhered to each of the axe-wielding youths, enhancing their actions' strength and speed even more.

"I was just waiting for you cowards to come out and be squished!" The orc leader grinned widely, his smile somewhat simple and hearty.

He had not been fighting at full strength, nor had he allowed his subordinates to slaughter wantonly, all for the purpose of... luring out these human youths who had been ghosting around sneakily behind them!

Now that they were up close, was there any chance of escape?

Gu Lan snorted coldly, showing no intention of responding.

The so-called thorns path... it was about seeking everything undefeatable, challenging all that was unchallengeable, embarking on a thorn-filled path that no one had ever trodden before!

They were a group of incredibly bored young ladies from rich families! After having enough of their carefree days, they had to find some excitement!

The single-edged longsword slashed through the air, cutting through a drifting spark.

"Clang!"

The clash between the longsword and axe, the first strike was evenly matched.

As a "Magic Swordsman", physical and Spiritual Energy are two absolute attributes that need to be developed in parallel.

The enhancement from Spiritual Energy made her seemingly slender blade appear indestructible, and in a pure contest of strength, she did not fall far behind.

Moreover, the lightness of her weapon allowed her form to be more agile; the blade touched and withdrew, then swept toward another orc who seemed a bit "frailer" in comparison.

"Frail" was relative; the orc leader was almost twice her height, and even this "frailer" one was a good twenty or thirty centimeters taller than her.

But with the enhancement of Spiritual Energy, the gap in strength was nowhere as apparent as the difference in stature.

The single-edged longsword easily broke through the frail orc's defenses, slicing away a large chunk of green flesh from its shoulder. Gu Lan, with her Level 4 expertise in light weaponry, was equally skilled in technique.

Lying on the ground, Xu Ruoguang glanced at the silhouette of the woman in red who had come to help, with a strange look in his eyes.

Who... are they?

Why does their use of Spiritual Energy seem so primitive?

"..."

Xu Ruoguang suddenly froze.

Primitive?

How could I, a person without Spiritual Energy, consider others' use of it primitive?

The mind must be going haywire.

[Your internal organs are continuously bleeding, Health -1.]

[Your internal organs are continuously bleeding, Health -1.]

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

Am I going to die?

Is this the end of my first life in the game?

I don't want to die...

Even if it's just a game.

I instinctively feel that I shouldn't die too much in this game, not because I'm worried about falling behind in progress, not because I fear my accumulations since entering the game will be lost.

It's just... I simply cannot die too often.

It feels like something bad will happen, although what that is... I don't know!

So, who... who can save me?

"Clatter clatter clatter~" Amid the chaos of the battlefield, the sound of trinkets and a metal box colliding rang out clearly to Xu Ruoguang's ears as a girl in wasteland hip-hop style approached from a distance, running towards him.

Upon arriving, the girl opened the metal box while soothingly telling him, "It's okay... it's okay... you won't have any problems, don't worry."

The girl's hands seemed to possess a miraculous power, easily halting the internal bleeding in his body.

Feeling the easing of his injuries, Xu Ruoguang looked dazed.

Who... are these people?

They are so powerful...

Are they also players?

"RUA!"

The scrawny Orc knew better than to mess with the sword-wielding human woman, mainly because she was the prey their leader had set his sights on. So, he turned his attention to Gong Yan who was in the middle of a rescue operation.

Carrying a mallet, he had just approached when he was suddenly sent flying by an immense force.

On the ground, Kuang Xin roared like a madman.

The more chaotic the scene, the more exhilarated he felt.

Ever since fighting in that arena for over a dozen rounds, he had completely let loose of himself in the game.

The repelled scrawny Orc, also fearless, charged back in with his mallet, and Kuang Xin, wielding a heavy axe, didn't even know the meaning of the word 'fear'.

Faced with these green-skinned monsters, he couldn't wait to tear them limb from limb, if only to reclaim his beautiful fantasy of Orc sisters.

"Swoosh~"

"Clang clang clang!"

"Boom!"

Amidst the endless chaotic noises, Xu Ruoguang, lying on the ground unable to move, felt his heart race and feared being caught in the crossfire.

However, each time his gaze swept over the eyes of the woman who seemed to be focusing on treating his wounds, all the panic vanished.

Her hands were so steady...

"All right, you're good to go," Gong Yan, who had been squatting, straightened up and let out a breath as if to relax.

As time trickled by deceptively, Xu Ruoguang was surprised to find his mobility returning, "Huh? Am I okay now?"

He tried to get up and felt a faint warm current surging in his chest.

"You're okay..." Gong Yan, subconsciously wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead, smiled gently at Xu Ruoguang, "But you still can't exert yourself too much. Leave this place to us."

As she spoke, a green figure was sent flying behind her.

Following closely was a burly man holding a massive axe, letting out unintelligible roars as he chased after and hacked away.

"Pfffcht!"

"Pfffcht!"

The sound of the axe cleaving flesh followed one after another, green blood and flesh soared into the air, fires flickered in the distance, and all seemed to become the backdrop for the smiling girl.

Xu Ruoguang watched, somewhat dazed...

This scene... was indeed impactful.

"Bang!"

The loud explosion behind him and the sound of a body sliding across the ground snapped the dazed Xu Ruoguang out of his trance.

Gu Lan, kicked in the abdomen, slid across the ground towards him; her once brightly colored red dress was now tattered and worn, revealing her legs stained with dark soot.

It had a certain wild beauty.

"Cough!"

The dignified woman suddenly spat out a mouthful of surging stomach acid and propped herself up with her Longsword, intending to stand.

"If you're okay, get out of here fast; this guy's tough to deal with," she said to Gong Yan and Xu Ruoguang.

This was the first formidable opponent she'd encountered since entering the game.
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Surging battle will empowered Gu Lan's sword, and her body thrummed with such excitement that it trembled.

Maybe it was actually trembling.

A player's body wouldn't be impaired by pain, but apparently the system simulated the physical feedback realistically; several strong clashes caused her sword-wielding right hand to tremble imperceptibly.

Watching the mountain-like figure approach, Gu Lan's eyes sharpened, ready to fight to the death.

Just like the muscle-bound gorilla had said at the beginning of the battle—

It's just a game!

If you don't dare to fight in a game, when will you ever dare to fight?

[You have strengthened your combat strength in a battle beyond your limits. Spiritual Energy maximum +1.]

"..."

The Longsword sensed Gu Lan's will and hummed softly under the enhancement of Spiritual Energy.

As the heavy axe was brought down on her, Gu Lan moved to dodge.

At that moment, another figure charged in at an angle, his equally heavy axe colliding head-on with the opponent.

"Clang!"

The dull sound of the collision echoed, and the voice of a certain muscle-bound gorilla boomed enthusiastically.

"RUA!"

Watching the figure that had suddenly appeared in front of her, the once seemingly goofy silhouette now looked incredibly solid and dependable.

"Step back, don't get in the way of a man's fight!"

Without looking back, Kuang Xin exploded with remarkable strength in his hands, lifting the Orc chieftain's massive axe.

With the help of the Advanced Physical Training Program 3.0, his physical fitness was gradually approaching the critical point of 15, not to mention that his innate talent, Brute Physique, had long been unlocked through various heavy physical activities and battles.

The talent that gave him a +3 bonus to direct physical performance meant he was almost unbeatable in contests of pure strength.

"You're the damn Orc here, huh!"