Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

It was someone familiar.

The young lady?

She came as well?

"But my lord..." Dai Lian pointed towards the battered bodies of the two enforcers they had set aside, "Your two colleagues are already injured."

"Colleagues?"

Franca was startled, concentrated her gaze, and only then did she discern the familiar emblem on the two unobtrusive black bundles set aside — a longsword rising with black flames.

Had two colleagues already come here?

And... to be injured to this extent?

Franca's brow furrowed in an instant, alarms ringing in her heart.

It seemed the target was trickier than she had imagined!

Indeed... How could the source of the demon aura that she could feel from such a distance in the military camp be anything but formidable?

"No matter, leave this to me, and fall back."

Like a calf unaware of fear, the young lady was completely unfazed, and judging from the feedback, her first attack had already achieved a certain effect.

Just because her colleagues couldn't handle it didn't mean she couldn't, either. Confidence was indispensable for any strong individual who wished to grow.

Connected to the demonic aura, there were still many active minds underground. Sensing the demon's aura slightly, Franca tapped her foot on the ground.

"There are still a lot of living people down there; if you have time, you can try to rescue them."

Whether or not these ordinary humans would fall into depravity after having witnessed a demon firsthand, they couldn't be neglected because of things that hadn't happened yet.

"Understood!" Dai Lian was the first to respond.

Gong Yan, looking at the young lady from the Arbitration Place, who seemed unreliable due to her youth and aggression, reminded her in a gentle but swift voice, "This demon has special abilities targeting Spiritual Energy; you must be careful."

The two enforcers from just before had clearly been at a disadvantage in this aspect, and Gong Yan had also taken the opportunity of the scuffle to secretly fire a few shots with her small pistol.

The bullets, endowed with Spiritual Energy, gave feedback that allowed her to learn some detailed information about the demon from her panel —

[??? (Demon) (Chaos): ... Traits: Adaptive Armor, Shadow Envelopment, ???]

[Shadow Envelopment: Its craving and greed for Spiritual Energy allows it to absorb all the Spiritual Energy it comes into contact with. Each time it attacks a target with Spiritual Energy or is hit by an attack with Spiritual Energy, it can extract a certain amount of Spiritual Energy for its own use.

The specific extraction efficiency is determined by the confrontation of both parties' "Spiritual Energy Condensation".]

"Be... be careful..."

The two enforcers hadn't completely expired. Hearing that another had sniffed out the demon's aura and come rushing over, their faltering spirits seemed to revive somewhat. The enforcer with the twin blades used a broken, decaying voice to weakly warn, "Be careful, don't externalize your Spiritual Energy."

They too were experienced enforcers. After one or two mishaps, they had already figured out a strategy —

Keep your Spiritual Energy completely internal, used only to enhance your own physical attributes, to avoid the demon's special "authority" somewhat. Any slight externalization was an act that would strengthen the opponent.

"I know." Franca looked at the other party, fully focused.

She didn't have a player's panel and couldn't clearly articulate the opponent's every feature in text form. However, the feedback from the attacks still instinctively informed her about the rough abilities of her opponent.

... Even that of the fired bullet.

The Spiritual Energy it bore was an extension of her spirit.

You want to absorb my Spiritual Energy?

You're not worthy!

A faint glow of Spiritual Energy appeared in Franca's eyes —

Spiritual Energy in one segment, spirit crossing.

Longsword drawn, Franca's figure flashed, and she charged at her opponent like a phantom.

The demon took the new challenger seriously too.

She had already demonstrated her attitude and strength with bullets upon her arrival, and this was the first time It had been "injured" since appearing in this world.

Despite some arrogance still present in those countless eyes facing Franca's longsword, most were now filled with caution and gravity.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The sword light was like lightning.

The blinding globe of white sword light spun, even the pale moonlight reflected off of it seemed desolate and deadly.

Moonwater Sword Dance.

This was Franca's specialty she had learned from a human master of swordsmanship.

She had also adjusted her genes early with Gene Optimization Solution and had never neglected her training in her three-dimensional basic attributes.

As a Spiritual Energy practitioner had to pay attention to even more aspects than an ordinary person. In private moments unseen by others, Franca was unimaginably strict with herself.

If it weren't for her heartfelt and steadfast cultivation, how could her Spiritual Energy ever become so perfectly unified?

Even Spiritual Energy that she externalized still belonged to her!

Sword light scattered like snowflakes falling, each flake shimmering with a lethal chill.

Yue Ying, hidden in the shadows, shifted her gaze away from two figures also concealed in a corner, silently observing everything unfolding on the battlefield before her.

She had arrived earlier, but chose not to reveal herself.

This was a matter occurring in human territory and was not of great concern to her.

Even though demons were enemies of all intelligent beings, in the end, this particular demon was merely an adversary these people were desperately confronting.

In the grand scheme of things, an ordinary demon wouldn't have much of an impact.

She certainly could have intervened with ease, but why should an elf solve a human problem?

Before demonstrating the nobility of her soul, all humans seemed no different from the primitive monkeys in the forests to her.

Except for that one special artificial warrior...

And it was within such exceptional events that those noble souls revealed why they shone so brightly.

Perhaps, if the situation truly spiraled out of control, she might consider taking action to save the day.

But not just yet...

Yue Ying remained quietly hidden, undetected by anyone.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"

The cold light of the sword swept through the air, and the clashing sound of steel could occasionally be heard.

Among the multitude of fallen souls, one dominant will showed signs of retreat in the battle.

'Maybe we should withdraw?'

Wallis's soul was beginning to feel a hint of losing control over the current situation.

The growing commotion was drawing more and more attention.

Even though the power he had gained from those bounty hunters was considerable, and the demonic abilities from another realm were indeed formidable, drawing too much attention too soon would be fatal if it attracted the truly powerful warriors among humans.

'What are you afraid of?' the demonic whisper echoed in Wallis's soul, 'The more attention we attract, the stronger our power becomes. What is there to fear?'

'But have we not already exceeded our current limits?'

'Limits? Why do you think we have limits?'

Human greed knows no bounds!

A surge of willpower fueled a sudden intense burst of Spiritual Energy.

"Boom!"

The wild aura exploded in an instant, and the fleshly fist struck the longsword dead center.

Even though the longsword, enhanced by Spiritual Energy, was as solid as an iron barrier, the transmitted force was still like a battering ram, sending Franca flying.

The sudden outburst of Spiritual Energy stalled Franca's movements, giving her adversary the opportunity.

"Hiss!" Franca, sword in hand, skidded backwards for several yards before dissipating the force, every sensation of acid tearing at her arms and chest eroding her senses.

The body is always the foundation that supports will; the decline of physical strength and Spiritual Energy affects her resolute will to some extent.

This demon... is terrifyingly powerful.
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Its strength is unimaginable, and its defensive power makes even her effective attacks limited.

This was her first direct confrontation with a demon in its true form.

Indeed, it was the kind of monstrous creature of legends! The stories of a demon of the source being defeated single-handedly by a mere soldier seemed like fairy tales in comparison.

Franca, catching her breath, had undiminished fighting spirit in her eyes.

No matter what, she was the last line of defense here.

She must not allow the demon's range of activity to widen, that was a rule to adhere to when dealing with demons!

And those people of unknown origin were taking bodies, devoid of souls, one by one from the collapsed ruins; there was still hope of saving these people.

If she didn't quickly eliminate this demon, the souls it had held captive would likely fall into corruption even if they eventually returned to their bodies.

Any human without protection who was exposed for an extended period to higher-dimensional space or faced a demon, the concentrated embodiment of such space's power, would have those unimaginable forces permeate their very marrow and soul.

In every dream, every moment of drifting consciousness, every lapse of focus, the contamination experienced would spread from the depths of the mind like a living darkness, engulfing the entire spirit.

And each of these spirits would become a conduit for demons to invade reality.

The longer they stayed hidden, the greater the danger.

"Hum~"

The longsword resonated.

The edge became even sharper with the infusion of Spiritual Energy.

Mastery of advanced skills was not exclusive to Bai E; all natives had the potential to learn or even create such legacies.

Skill—Sword Dance!