My lord, spare his life!

The man in the lead dismissed this with disdain.

He let the Azure Dragon Spear's shadow shoot towards his vital points.

The explosion unleashed a torrent of sand, obscuring visibility and making it nearly impossible to open one's eyes. The leader, however, glared angrily, reaching out with one hand to grab something. As he seized it, he tilted his head and sneered, "Where did this sneaky rat come from?"

The next instant, a blade of light flashed through the air.

The flash of the blade was accompanied by a scream that abruptly stopped.

Then came the dull thud of the heavy object hitting the ground.

As the dust settled, Zhang Yang saw the leading man holding one hand—a hand still attached to half of its owner's body. The heavy object, weighing over a hundred pounds, was being lifted by a single hand, while the remaining half of the body lay slammed to the ground. Despite being severed at the waist, the two severed parts of the body could still move. The legs twitched, the toes trying to push off the ground in an attempt to escape, but the hooves of the warhorse crushed the bones and flesh.

And the upper half of the body—

The assassin's face still bore traces of terror that seemed to emanate from his very soul.

He opened his mouth as if begging for mercy, but blood overflowed from his mouth.

The leading man coldly replied, "Ants."

Having said that, he flung half his body behind him, and it was trampled to pieces by the warhorses of his accompanying guards in a few swift movements. After doing all this, the leading man remembered that the Mountain Demon Queen was still watching not far away. He looked up and saw that her delicate, porcelain-doll-like face remained expressionless, while the beast she rode was wagging its tail frantically at him.

"Is the Mountain Demoness frightened?" The leading man flicked the blood off his fingers, leaned forward slightly, and locked Zhang Yang in with the naked gaze of someone scrutinizing their prey. He sneered, "Lately, there have been some overconfident assassins trying to kill me. They have no skills, but they don't value their lives and are quite annoying."

With his movements, the man's bare muscles became more defined, and the lines became increasingly aggressive and menacing.

Zhang Yang did not respond to him.

He just stared silently at the spot slightly above his head.

The yellow name has turned into a green name.

The leading man wasn't annoyed, but his gaze shifted to the star beast ridden by the mountain spirit, and a thought arose in his mind: "Swift Wind!"

Upon hearing the familiar, deep command, Zhang Damiao's fur stood on end, and she almost immediately rushed over with Zhang Yang.

But even faster than it was Zhang Yang's slap.

One slap was enough to make it behave.

The man in the lead was taken aback.

He seemed surprised that the beast hadn't brought the mountain spirit as he'd hoped, and a bloodthirsty sneer crept across his face. Zhang Damiao, whom he'd raised himself, naturally understood him perfectly. Knowing his temperament well, Zhang Damiao felt like the top of her head was about to fly off.

Yuan Xie stepped forward and stood in front of Zhang Yang, blocking the man's view with his body. His expression was more solemn than ever before, because he couldn't hear. The ghost inside the man was terrified of him to an extreme degree; it was rare that even the man in his ear couldn't pry open the ghost's mouth.

This also means that the man is truly a ruthless character.

At this point, Zhang Yang finally responded.

She reached out and grabbed Yuan Xie by the collar, pulling him behind her.

Question: "Who is Gale?"

Man: "The queen's mount."

"Its name is Zhang Damiao, not Jifeng. You've mistaken the cat for someone else."

This answer surprised everyone present, both friend and foe. Even the man's deputy was taken aback, trying to find a trace of guilt or fear on Zhang Yang's face. But there was none; she was perfectly justified.

The man was also taken aback: "Zhang Da Miao?"

Zhang Yang slapped Zhang Damiao on the head and gave the order in a flat, monotone voice: "Damiao, give me a response."

Zhang (formerly known as Gale Big Meow): "...Aww."

Its owner was far away, while the brute woman's hand was already on the back of its neck. The cat knew perfectly well who would arrive first.

Zhang Yang: "Did you hear that?"

Faced with the mountain spirit woman who was clearly trying to forcibly take him, the leading man simply smiled, nodded in acknowledgment, and didn't argue with Zhang Yang about the ownership of a beast. Suddenly, he ordered his men to surround the two.

The formation changed in an instant.

It was blocked from all sides.

The leading man said, "If the Queen likes this beast, you can have it as your mount, as long as the Queen belongs to me."

The deputy listened and realized that the development was different from what he had expected.

no--

The young general isn't trying to kill people, he's trying to abduct women?

The same idea also crossed the minds of the other followers.

Everyone thought it was extremely bizarre.

Others might relieve stress by playing with men or women, such as men's fathers, or even by cannibalism, killing and eating people on the spot. But their young general is different. You see, since they've known him, he's only interested in two things: killing and drinking—the more he drinks, the more he kills, and the more he kills, the more he drinks. He's even done things like ripping out an assassin's intestines, tying one end to a horse's tail, and binding the assassin with the other end, then riding across the wilderness in a drunken frenzy.

By the time he returned, the assassin's bones had been ground down.

Today, the young general said he would forcibly seize women from the people.

Good heavens, this is the first time in history!

They insisted on bringing the person back no matter what.

Zhang Yang: "You sent it? I caught it myself."

The leading man ignored him.

"Kill the man, and take the queen back!"

"Yes, Young General!"

The result was that the guard's horse, which had attacked first, had its skull smashed by the cane. The guard, thrown forward by inertia, was thrown face-first into Zhang Yang's hands. Light burst from his palm, golden radiance accompanied by splattering brain matter.

The red-named NPC's health bar instantly dwindled.

Her face was cold: "Who did you just say you were going to kill?"

A loud explosion rang out, and golden light shot straight towards the leading man.

That exquisitely beautiful, flawless face magnified in the leader's eyes, with half of both faces reflected on either side of the sword in his hand. Even though the latter harbored murderous intent, she still possessed a calming ruthlessness that prevented the leader from feeling any disgust.

but--

In a flash, another idea popped into his mind.

How beautiful it would be if this face could display more expressions, such as brokenness, hatred, or despair...

He tilted his head and sneered, "Kill the man!"

The mountain spirit needs no one to get in its way.

Zhang Yang's response was a gold brick.

Smash it in the face!

Yuan Xie, observing the situation, secretly thought he had miscalculated.

He came out without any attendants, intending to cherish the time alone with his lord. Little did he expect to encounter a group of lawless thugs who were abducting women and committing heinous acts. While his lord was strong enough to escape unscathed, it was hard to say whether he, a weak scholar with no strength, could escape unscathed.

"court death!"

I've never seen such an arrogant wild boss!

They even dared to provoke me face-to-face!

The man, momentarily careless, felt the immense force of the recoil from his hand, forcing him and his horse backward—his warhorse, being just an ordinary steed, couldn't withstand the force and was also fractured by the aftershock. The man then dismounted and drew his sword to meet the attack.

Realizing that the mountain spirit before him was not prey he could easily plunder and take back to his nest, his gaze toward Zhang Yang grew even more intense.

"Look at the knife!"

With a loud shout, the shadows of the blade were unleashed.

Along with the blade's edge, a leopard phantom, its body covered in stripes and its feet treading on the wind, was unleashed. The surrounding world was enveloped by countless wind blades that contracted inwards, with only one target—Zhang Yang!

"trouble!"

Zhang Yang showed no interest in the leopard, only annoyance. Yuan Youzheng was currently her pet NPC during her map exploration quest. The two had encountered a robbery mission halfway through their journey. The rewards were still unknown, but Yuan Xie was at risk of losing his life.

This is intolerable.

After a moment's thought, Zhang Yang channeled her inner energy into the gold brick, gathering all her strength to hurle it. A powerful aura emanated from her body, violently blasting away the countless wind blades that had surrounded her, shattering them into starlight dust. The gold brick then cleared a path, forging a broad road ahead.

The target is the red-named NPC monsters that are hunting down Yuan Xie!

"Get out of here!"

An invisible sound wave shook off several targets.

She planned to take Yuan Xie to a safe area first before returning to fight back.

Unexpectedly, the red-named BOSS refused. A sword shadow several meters long descended from the sky to block the way. A transparent leopard shadow emerged from the sword shadow, with a leisurely man sitting on its back, his hunting interest undiminished.

"Mountain Spirit Queen, where are you going?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Yang keenly sensed that the space within a dozen feet around him hummed and fell into some strange rhythm, separated from the world outside the area by an indescribable membrane.

Zhang Yang: "..."

She was very familiar with this situation; some dungeon bosses would drag players into a special alternate dimension during the fight, and the targeted players could only leave after fulfilling certain conditions. It seemed that she had no choice but to kill the boss first and then rescue the players.

Zhang Yang said, "Oh, I'll send you to the Yellow Springs."

Beneath the man's crotch, a leopard bared its fangs, drool dripping from its mouth. In an instant, one, two, three... even hundreds of leopard shadows appeared in the small space. With a swift movement, they pounced with pure wildness.

At this moment, Zhang Yang didn't even need to look at the system logs.

This was also thanks to Fan You's cramming education, which forcibly instilled some common sense into her mind: "Azure Dragon, Winnowing Basket Constellation, Winnowing Basket Water Leopard".

Isn't this exactly the artificial rainmaking tool she's been looking for?

These leopards are enormous, and their claws are so sharp they can cut through iron like mud; a single swipe of their claws can shatter a rock more than a person's height.

Seeing this situation, Zhang Yang began to make plans in his mind.

Isn't this the kind of good worker in a quarry?

clang!

Three leopards simultaneously lunged, but Zhang Yang blocked them with a single, raised golden cane. The struggle between the man and the three leopards was clearly effortless for the latter. At that moment, endless wind blades attacked from behind.

Outside the barrier.

Yuan Xie lay indifferently on the ground, staring up at the guards who were killing each other. Beneath him, or rather, below his elbow, the dagger he held was firmly plunged into Zhang Damiao's neck, a vital spot. An unnatural, unfocused gray appeared in Zhang Damiao's eyes.

"ah--"

Until a piercing scream soared into the sky.

The guards, who had been locked in fierce combat, all came to their senses.

Staring in disbelief at their own blood-soaked bodies and the familiar faces of their colleagues, they all turned to their target. Yuan Xie, panting heavily, was pinning Zhang Damiao down, who seemed to have lost most of her strength to struggle. In that instant, everyone realized they'd been tricked!

There were casualties among them!

"Give me your life!"

The raised sword hadn't even fallen when it was knocked aside mid-air by a leopard that seemed to fly out from nowhere. Immediately afterward, Yuan Xie was pulled to another location in a blur. He was about to express his gratitude when he saw his lord's strange appearance; one half of his face remained like a porcelain doll, but the other half of his skin had drooped down, revealing the more familiar half of his face…

"Lord?"

Zhang Yang calmly peeled off the human skin.

The man emerged from the thick smoke, his features twisted and ferocious, his eyes fixed on the human skin that Zhang Yang had rolled into a ball in her hand.

A sinister, bloodthirsty tone: "The Painted Skin Demon?"

Yuan Xie: "..."

This could be considered lust at first sight, forcibly taking a woman, only to find out after fighting for a while that her good looks weren't natural, and then he broke down?

He pledged his loyalty: "The beauty of our lord lies within, not without."

Judging solely by appearances is too superficial. Even if the lord were not a demon in disguise, it would not diminish her radiance.

Zhang Yang did not reply.

The man simply took it as her consent.

Immediately following was a boundless rage, a terrifying aura erupting from his body, the ground beneath his feet trembling, and two illusory beastly figures, each tens of feet tall and nearly a Dharma body, rising up behind him. One was a dragon, the other a leopard, their countless mournful roars surging across the heavens and earth.

Zhang Yang: "???"

Did this boss bribe the game designers?

Why does he have such cool skill effects?

She said, "It's all flashy and gaudy."

She can create those kinds of special effects too.

Zhang Yang raised her hand and pulled out a golden longbow from the void. The moment she got the longbow, a golden phantom dozens of feet long, resembling her, emerged from the ground and made the exact same move.

Golden light and illusions drew back the bowstring until the moon was full.

The arrow left the bowstring, and a dragon and a leopard flew out simultaneously. In the instant they were about to clash, the arrow was deflected by a sudden force, the dragon was violently pressed down by the snow-white tiger's claws, and the leopard was knocked away by a giant wolf that appeared from an unknown angle, its color gradually changing from yellow to gray.

Feilong suffered a minor loss, but quickly recovered and entangled Baihu.

In comparison, the leopard suffered a real loss.

The deflected arrow pierced its hind leg, pinning it to the ground, unable to move. The giant wolf opened its mouth and bit its neck, the bite penetrating deep into its flesh.

The man frowned: "What is it? Show yourself!"

Guan Si calmly descended from the sky, stepping on Zhang Dagu's back.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Yang exclaimed, "That's my bird!"

Guan Si: "..."

Are we now arguing about whose bird it is?

He raised his hand to dispel the illusions of the Four Symbols constellations. The man, seeing this, sneered bloodthirstyly and reluctantly withdrew his hand. A dozen or so wounded guards, clutching their wounds, picked up their knives and retreated in an orderly fashion to the man's left and right flanks, warily watching Zhang Yang and his companions. They couldn't discern the man's strength, but judging from the young general's uncharacteristically vigilant demeanor, he was likely quite powerful…

They're not exactly neck and neck, but the difference shouldn't be that much.

If I am wounded here, I will face a near-certain death if I return.

The assassins will only keep coming.

"Young General, we—"

The deputy whispered a reminder, trying to calm the man down.

The man simply stared coldly at Zhang Yang: "Mountain Ghost."

Zhang Yang: "You're the mountain ghost!"

The man continued to threaten, "I'll wash your neck clean!"

He will come back to retrieve it.

The thought in my mind was abruptly cut off before it could be finished.

Zhang Yang removed the head, tossed it around in his hands for a moment, then reattached it. The man's face was as black as stagnant sewer water. For a moment, it was unclear whether Zhang Yang was a flying head ghost, a painted skin ghost, or some other kind of weird creature: "You!"

Zhang Yang: "Why are you angry too?"

The previously mentioned Easter egg, featuring the stubborn, bullying, and stingy guy, has also gotten angry.

Was it because she discovered that she could live even after washing her neck and removing her head that she broke down? What a fragile heart.

Wild Man Naked Runner fled in a sorry state without taking Zhang Da Miao with him.

Zhang Yang: "...What a bizarre boss."

??|??w?`)