The swordsmanship was instantly recognizable—each slash carrying a cutting power that felt almost magical.
Just from that alone…
Lili already had an unusually deep impression of Liang Yue, not to mention the unforgettable scene from when they first met—
defeating a Killer Ant and deliberately using the swarm's instinct to call for reinforcements
as a way to temper himself.
A madman.
That was Lili's prejudice against Liang Yue.
More precisely, she thought he was someone with extreme confidence in his own strength—
those sharp eyes of his seemed to see straight through her thoughts.
Even when she played the game of polite deception with the Soma Familia's adventurers,
she never wanted to get involved with Liang Yue—
it felt like every one of her secrets would be laid bare before him.
"…Wait.
Is he… planning to wipe out all these rare monsters?"
In the dim cavern, the faint glow from the fluorescent fruits reflected off the Blue Butterflies' gossamer wings.
The sight was so dazzling that even Lili momentarily lost herself in it.
The air was thick with powder,
and even from a safe distance she could feel her breathing growing heavier.
But what broke that almost dreamlike beauty—
was Liang Yue's figure in the distance, swinging his swords at a speed her eyes could not follow,
each swing releasing a slash of radiant sword energy.
His sword speed was so fast,
it seemed to outpace the speed at which the sword energy formed.
The slashes piled on each other,
the pressure alone making her shiver.
Air surged into the cavern from behind him,
blowing away the dense cloud of poisonous powder that had been about to engulf him.
"This guy…"
Watching the faintly glowing powder scatter,
Lili felt a strange anxiety—
collecting it later would be so much harder now.
But when she saw the final strike…
the scene before her completely shattered her perception of Liang Yue's strength.
"He's an absolute…
monster!!"
——
Slashing was already instinct for Liang Yue.
Even as the strain in his arms grew heavier,
he gave it his all.
With a shortsword in each hand,
every strike came close to leaving afterimages—
but the cost was rapid stamina depletion.
Even so, his sword energy, faintly gleaming with flowing light,
tore apart every rare butterfly that dared flutter toward him.
"Hah!"
By now, he had accumulated enough sword energy for a finisher.
He had already planned the ending strike—
bringing both swords down in a diagonal cross.
It was like triggering a hidden switch—
even the slower sword slashes lingering in the air surged forward,
sweeping toward the remaining butterflies.
Even those outside the original range of the sword energy were not spared.
The powerful wind tore the powder-filled air backwards,
and the slashes, heavy with sword intent,
shredded the remaining monsters in an instant.
[Exp +208]
[Exp +208]
The exp from these rare monsters was beyond Liang Yue's expectations—
matching the level of a Minotaur.
And there were so many.
He hadn't even been aiming to level up,
yet by the end of the fight his Sword Soul template level had already risen smoothly to Lv21.
The kills dropped not only magic stones,
but also transparent blue butterfly wings.
[Blue Butterfly Wing]
"Not a bad haul at all."
Even without using official skills,
his high-speed continuous slashing had forcibly recreated
a simplified version of Phantom Sword Dance—
its results exceeding his expectations.
Like a merciless meat grinder,
it had shredded every monster within range.
The price?
For a moment, it felt like his arms no longer belonged to him.
An overwhelming sense of exhaustion enveloped him,
his chest heaving for air—
and then the muscle ache set in.
Force-crafted Annihilation, he thought to himself.
When he finally regained control of his arms,
his gaze swept over the densely scattered drops—
magic stones and butterfly wings.
The total haul was considerable.
Compared to normal monsters, rare monster materials
would definitely fetch a far higher price.
"This should be enough to pay off my debt to the Hephaestus weapon shop…"
Pocketing everything,
he had no intention of resting here despite the fatigue.
Who knew if a random gust might blow the poisonous powder his way again?
Just as he was about to head back,
a small figure appeared in his path—
clearly of the Pallum race.
Their gender was hard to determine,
with a neutral, unremarkable face.
"…Hm?"
Keeping a safe distance,
Liang Yue could guess this adventurer had seen the entire battle.
He wasn't worried about his "Ghost Hand" being exposed—
in such dim light, his high-speed slashes were impossible to follow with the naked eye.
Still, he stayed cautious—
rare monster drops were worth a lot,
and he couldn't be sure if this stranger had bad intentions.
It was a mutual wariness.
The truth was, Lili had already used Cinder Ella to change her appearance,
and she was certain this was a look Liang Yue had never seen before.
But the sheer strength he had just displayed,
and the way his sharp gaze seemed to see through her disguise…
she instinctively avoided meeting his eyes.
As he approached the tunnel corner,
the ingrained submissiveness she'd been forced to learn
made her retreat toward the shadows.
That single movement was enough for Liang Yue to sense something was off.
Adventurers without a grudge wouldn't normally be this tense,
avoiding eye contact and deliberately stepping aside into the darkness.
Strong thief vibes.
"…
Looks different from what I remember,
but there's something familiar here."
The thought took shape—
could this Pallum be Lili in disguise?
Even if he was wrong,
he could always treat it as a misunderstanding—
but if he was right…
well, it would make for a good warning.
Just as they were about to pass each other,
Liang Yue suddenly stopped.
The air froze.
"I'll ask you this," he said, turning his head.
His gaze was like the depths of a still lake,
and though his voice was calm,
it carried an immense pressure that bore down on Lili.
"Why are you here?
Don't tell me this is just a coincidence."
The instant Liang Yue saw through her disguise,
Lili felt the taut string inside her snap.
A deafening hum filled her ears,
her mind going blank.
Why was it that,
even after changing her appearance with Cinder Ella,
other adventurers couldn't tell—
but Liang Yue saw through her instantly?
The pressure in his calm tone pushed her to the brink of emotional collapse.
The magic disguise dissolved,
revealing her real face—
a pretty, youthful visage still carrying traces of childishness.
"I—I told you before, I wanted to understand how poison works.
So I came here.
It really is just a coincidence I ran into you…"
Forcing a stiff smile,
her voice wavered with the edge of a sob as she looked at him.
"…Do you believe me?"
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