If one were to ask what kind of kill was the most intimidating in battle, it would undoubtedly be an instant kill on the front lines.
When those monsters saw one of their kin being effortlessly slain by the girl wielding the massive greatsword, they were visibly shaken. Even though they knew she was strong, this was beyond expectations.
However, the shock was quickly replaced by uncontrollable rage. No matter how powerful she was, even if it meant sacrificing the entire tribe, she had to be eliminated. It was the leader's responsibility—not only as the head of this monster horde but also because failure meant facing a terrifying punishment they dared not imagine.
Chu Lian appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly, she was just as surprised. She hadn't expected that the very first strike after summoning the Void Greatsword would activate its fatal passive ability, instantly slaying a fully healthy monster and stunning the others—buying her a few moments to stabilize her turbulent spiritual power.
She didn't know how to control spiritual power, but the equipment she wielded did it passively for her. All she had to do was supply the power. The downside was that once her spiritual energy was overly depleted, it couldn't be quickly restored, and the weapon's passive traits often caused surges in her energy, requiring time to settle.
Just as she calmed her turbulent spiritual power, one of the monsters could no longer hold back and leapt from a tree. Then another, and another—three dark shadows streaked toward Chu Lian with blinding speed.
"Trying to gang up on me? Not that easy..." With a slight smirk, Chu Lian leapt backward. As her toes tapped midair, invisible ripples spread out, allowing her to stand effortlessly in the air.
Using the aerial mobility granted by the Void Greatsword, she dodged the monsters' attacks with a few quick blinks and even had enough time to counter with a downward thrust. Her blade pierced through a monster that failed to evade in time, unleashing a burst of spiritual power that killed it instantly.
Two strikes, two kills—Chu Lian's luck at this moment could only be described as legendary, as if favored by the gods. Her current luck stat might not be maxed at EX rank, but it was certainly close.
Seeing yet another of their kind fall, the leader monster's blood-red eyes radiated a violent mist. Its gaze toward Chu Lian was filled with seething hatred.
Chu Lian flipped away from a claw strike aimed at her back and retaliated with a clean slice, severing the attacker's wrist. Then, she tilted her chin provocatively at the leader monster.
"Damn you..." its fury intensified. Just as Chu Lian thought it would finally attack, it surprised her—it suddenly turned away and charged toward Chu Chu, who was fending off several monsters.
Clearly, with intelligence equal to humans, it knew that Chu Lian was at her peak and might not be easy to defeat directly. Only by breaking her momentum and disrupting her rhythm could it hope to take her down quickly.
It also knew that several people were approaching from outside the forest. Some among them walked with a calm yet powerful aura, exuding martial strength with every step—so intimidating that the observing monsters didn't even dare to approach. It was likely the scene of Chu Lian drawing the Void Greatsword had alerted those powerful individuals from the surface world.
If it couldn't finish this quickly, it would have to retreat and face punishment. And that punishment—worse than death—was something it would rather die than endure again.
Yet no matter how unwilling, it couldn't ignore the lives of its kin.
In truth, it wasn't just the monster leader that was anxious—even Chu Lian felt a sense of urgency. She hadn't expected that drawing the Void Greatsword from Inori for the first time would cause such a commotion, completely exposing her presence. What troubled her even more was that these monsters, who feared neither death nor pain, were actually afraid of ordinary humans arriving. That only made her more suspicious.
What's more, if she couldn't eliminate all these monsters before sunrise, she would likely fail the mission. After going through so much effort, ending up empty-handed would be unbearable—not just for her, but even for loudmouthed Chu Chu.
So, when she realized the monster leader had targeted Chu Chu, Chu Lian didn't hesitate. Ignoring the lesser monsters around her, she gripped the Void Greatsword tightly, pulled Inori protectively into her arms, and leapt forward. Stepping across mid-air ripples, she surged toward Chu Chu's direction.
Though she often treated Chu Chu coldly in daily life—ignoring her, snapping at her, even physically reprimanding her—that was just her tsundere way of showing affection. Deep down, she had always cherished her clingy little sister. So the moment she saw Chu Chu in danger, she instinctively chose to protect her first, rather than eliminate the monsters nearby.
But even if Chu Lian wanted to leave, the monsters didn't want to let her go. Though they couldn't catch the airborne Chu Lian, they began tearing off thick tree branches and hurling them her way.
She ducked under one, parried another monster with a backward slash, then looked toward Chu Chu—who was staggering under the monster leader's onslaught. Gritting her lower lip, Chu Lian once again felt her own helplessness.
Indeed, now that she wielded the Void Greatsword, these monsters were mere insects before her. But even with overwhelming power, she couldn't reach Chu Chu instantly to protect her. All she could do was watch as the leader attacked her little sister, powerless to stop it.
"Damn it... damn it... still not enough... still not enough!" With a fierce swing of her right arm, a blade of spiritual energy tore through everything in its path, obliterating several monsters hiding in the shadows—some before they even realized they were being attacked. The aftermath was gruesome.
Yet even after crossing that distance, there was still a gap between her and Chu Chu. And now, Chu Chu had been struck by the leader and was flying backward toward a tree.
Time seemed to slow. Chu Chu's pained expression, her tightly furrowed brows, became painfully vivid to Chu Lian. Even in that moment, Chu Chu tried to smile through the agony, mouthing something silently toward her.
"I want to be there... right now!" Chu Lian focused like never before. Suddenly, in her mind, a girl with brown twin-tails tied with ribbons appeared. Smiling slyly at Chu Lian's determined eyes, she said, "Oh my, are you her big sister? You have Kuroko's ability but don't know how to use it? Let Kuroko show you how to step through spacetime..."
As the girl finished her sentence, Chu Lian's body vanished. A moment later, she reappeared behind Chu Chu, set down the Void Greatsword and Inori, and opened her arms—catching her sister in midair.
Chu Chu wasn't the least bit surprised by Chu Lian's sudden appearance. She laughed softly, "I knew Big Sis would pull it off. No matter how hard it gets, you always find a way... Still, I couldn't do what you expected of me—to protect myself. In the end, I just made more trouble for you. It's so frustrating..."
Her body was soft and weak—clearly injured by the leader's attack. But even so, she smiled. Smiled so happily.
Chu Lian gently laid Chu Chu down, softly brushing her cheek. "It's okay. If that monster leader hadn't ambushed you, you wouldn't have gone down so easily. I've always hoped Chu Chu would become my right-hand woman. If you feel like you're not good enough yet, then start working hard." After speaking, she leaned down and kissed Chu Chu's forehead. "Now watch, Big Sis will take care of them all..."
She had figured out what had just happened—the teleportation was a result of the system's compensation after her first attack, giving her the LV4 Teleport ability. After receiving it, it had been sealed for unknown reasons, just like the LV1 Electromaster ability.
She had no idea how to break these seals. At first, she thought it was due to her insufficient strength. But now, even with her power significantly enhanced, she was still clueless.
Yet in that moment of thought that felt like time had stopped, the illusory image of Shirai Kuroko appeared in her mind and gave her a clear answer: "Unless one has personally witnessed space-time, they cannot freely manipulate spatial abilities. To use them, you must understand what space is, what eternity and the instant mean..."
Teleport and the high-speed movement she could perform while wielding the Void Greatsword were fundamentally different. The former allowed her to treat all visible territory as her domain. The latter enabled precise, short-range mobility. One was ideal for premeditated maneuvers; the other excelled in rapid improvisation.
Still, that didn't mean teleportation was less effective in wide-area combat. How a power was used depended entirely on the individual—and Chu Lian had extraordinary talent.
After all, the Key of Seven Illusions had granted her more than just a weapon; it came with exceptional combat techniques. Without those, how could she weave through groups of monsters with such ease, striking deep and retreating freely?
She laid Chu Chu down beside Inori so they could rest shoulder to shoulder against a tree. Then, picking up the Void Greatsword, Chu Lian slowly stood up. As she faced the regrouping horde of monsters, she smirked.
With her sword's tip, she drew a line three meters in front of where Inori and Chu Chu rested. Her tone turned icy: "Cross this line... and you die."
Raising the massive two-meter-long greatsword with one hand, her gaze turned cold. "I rarely get angry. I always believed that anger doesn't solve problems and only ends up hurting yourself. But now... I'm angry."
"If you dare harm those I care about—whether you're a demon, a monster, a god or a devil—I'll kill you just the same!" As her words fell, she reappeared behind a monster. The Void Greatsword cleaved forward, its instant-kill effect activating—splitting the beast clean in two.
All this happened in a single second. By the time the nearby monsters reacted, all that remained was a corpse. Chu Lian reappeared before them, speaking in a flat voice: "Now begins... the hunt."
A glint of ghostly delight flickered in her eyes. Her figure vanished again. A heartbeat later, another monster was struck three times and fell dead.
She danced like a graceful spirit beneath the moonlight, performing the duties of a reaper—harvesting life after life with elegant, deadly steps...