Chapter 101 An Unexpected Development

Two minutes ago…

Wang Tanzhi finished watching the opening CG, listened to the task prompts, and regained his ability to move.

As luck would have it, his initial teleport point was right in front of a group of demon soldiers.

Originally… this group of demon soldiers was resting in place under the command of their officer, Jiao. But unexpectedly… a flash of white light appeared in front of their formation. A second later, a man dressed in a Renaissance-era Assassin's Creed outfit abruptly appeared before their eyes.

Seeing this, several demon soldiers nearest to Xiao Tan immediately stepped forward with their spears, surrounding him and asking warily, "Who goes there?"

"Uh…" Xiao Tan's reaction was quick. Through the CG, he already knew that this group of fierce-looking figures (the demon soldiers were similar in size to humans, with grayish-blue skin and white hair; most of them had yellow eyes, pointed ears, sharp teeth, and pointed nails) were the miscellaneous soldiers of the "Orochi Army." Therefore, he thought for a couple of seconds before replying, "I'm here to participate in the martial arts tournament, but I'm lost. Do you know how to get to Demon City?"

"Huh? You? Participating in the martial arts tournament?" The demon soldiers sized Xiao Tan up, seemingly not believing him.

"If you don't know… you can find someone in charge to talk to me." Xiao Tan didn't want to waste time with the grunts. As he spoke, he scanned the enemy formation and quickly spotted a guy who looked different from the average small fry. "Ah… that fat guy over there seems to be your commander. Why don't you help me report in?"

"What did you say?"

Before Xiao Tan could finish speaking, the "fat guy" he mentioned turned his head, revealing a fierce look and interrupting him with a roar.

"Damn… he can hear from this far away…" Xiao Tan muttered softly. "And he seems angry… Did I say something wrong?"

This time… his reaction was a bit slow. Of course, he couldn't be entirely blamed, because… generally speaking, men don't react as strongly as women when called fat… most men don't mind it, and many even find nicknames like "Fat Zhang, Fat Wang, Little Fatty" to be quite friendly.

However… the demon general Xiao Tan had encountered was clearly one of the few who were extremely sensitive to the term "fatty."

His name was Jiao.

As a demon general, Jiao's appearance was naturally different from those of the grunts…

He had light gray skin, gray eyes with jade pupils, prominent brow bones, and a pair of large fangs protruding from his mouth.

He wore a peculiar mask on his face, shaped… like a special leather thong… The lower half of the mask covered his nose, mouth, and chin below his cheekbones, with two holes allowing his fangs to pass through; while the upper half of the mask was an inverted triangle, covering the top of his head and extending to the back of his head.

Jiao wasn't bald; he had a tuft of hair on the back of his head, like a leek pointing to the sky…

His shoulders were adorned with a pair of black shoulder pads, with straps that crossed in front of his chest, connecting to a hill-shaped armor on his stomach.

By the way… objectively speaking, he was indeed a fat guy. Although his exposed chest muscles and biceps were quite developed, his short stature and potbelly made him look like a demon version of the dwarf tiger (a character in *Water Margin*).

"You bastard… do you know who this great lord is?" Seeing that Xiao Tan showed no remorse, Jiao immediately roared again, "Do you not want to live?"

"What did I even do?" Xiao Tan asked, squinting, still completely confused.

"Still pretending?" Jiao's patience had reached its limit. "Watch me skin you alive!"

…

Time returns to the present…

"This is just bizarre…" Wang Tanzhi was running wildly across the wasteland. "Just because I called you a fatty… Was that really necessary?"

"You actually said it again!" Jiao was unusually sensitive to those two words, roaring in uncontrollable fury, "Minions! Follow me! Tear him to pieces!"

"Yes!" The demon soldiers behind Jiao received the order and immediately roared in response, their momentum increasing severalfold.

"Tch… Looks like reasoning is useless…" Xiao Tan thought to himself. "I should speed up a bit more. If I run seriously… they shouldn't be able to catch me…"

With that thought, he exerted force beneath his feet, increasing his running speed by several notches. In the blink of an eye, he had dashed into the rocky terrain ahead.

"Hmm… What a good opportunity…" Feng Bujue muttered to himself, his heart wavering as he watched Xiao Tan flee in panic. "Should I make a move…"

Here, to avoid any misunderstanding, I must explain… The "make a move" that Brother Jue mentioned was not "lend a helping hand," but "take advantage of the situation to launch a sneak attack."

"Hmph…" After two seconds, Feng Bujue seemed to have made up his mind, coldly snorting, "I'm being a bit too softhearted… What's there to hesitate about? I should have let him experience the cruelty of team battles sooner…"

His actions might seem heartless, but they were actually justifiable.

In a real match, such "sneak attacks" were commonplace. Opponents wouldn't give you a break just because you were being chased by a group of NPCs.

It was better to be taught a lesson by his own teammate here than to be taught a lesson by outsiders in a match… With that in mind, Brother Jue decisively decided… to launch a merciless surprise attack on Xiao Tan.

However… at that moment, an unforeseen event occurred.

"Orochi's lackeys… don't get too arrogant!" A clear whistle pierced the sky, bringing forth a figure clad in green and white.

Behold… a man with a brocade ribbon tied around his head, long hair flowing in the wind; clad in silver armor, reflecting the bright sunlight; wearing iron leggings, tightly bound with leather straps; with flower-patterned boots on his feet, his steps like starlight.

"Zhao Zilong of Changshan is here!!" Zhao Yun made a dashing entrance, his Haolongdan (*Dynasty Warriors* series, Zhao Yun's weapon) swirling out layers of spear shadows, forcefully stopping the demon soldiers' advance.

"Holy sh*t…" Feng Bujue already had a grenade in his hand, but when he saw General Zhao's figure, he immediately put it back into the grenade pouch. "Where did he come from?" He couldn't help but look up at the sky and complain, "Did someone insert a coin?"

On the other side, Xiao Tan immediately stopped and turned around in surprise when he heard Zhao Yun's voice. "Eh? Zhao Zilong?"

In the next few seconds, many images flashed through Wang Tanzhi's mind… He remembered clearly that in the *Dynasty Warriors* series, the combat power of Zhao Yun, a *Musou* warrior, was vastly different from that of those generic face warriors. Killing grunts was like mowing grass to him. This group of a hundred or so demon soldiers, plus a generic face sidekick demon general like Jiao… would basically not survive a minute in Zhao Zilong's hands.

"Oh? So it's you…" After seeing who it was, Jiao sneered, "Hmph… The Azure Dragon soaring on the battlefield… Is it…"

His tone made Feng Bujue, who was observing from the shadows, feel a sense of oddity.

"What's going on? As a generic face… that's a rather arrogant attitude…" Brother Jue thought.

"Heh… You dare to appear before me, a defeated foe?" Jiao's next sentence shocked both Brother Jue and Xiao Tan.

"A defeated foe?" Xiao Tan asked in confusion. "How is that possible…"

"Ah… I apologize, righteous warrior…" The next second, Zhao Yun actually turned his head and responded to Xiao Tan's question, "My strength is still insufficient… For now… I am probably not Jiao's match." He said in a deep voice, "However, I am confident that I can hold him off for a while…" As he spoke, he adopted a stance, preparing for battle. "You go first! I will hold them back here!"

"What the f*ck?" Feng Bujue could only use this swear word (because he was talking to himself, so the system didn't censor it) to express the surprise in his heart. "A *Musou* warrior actually admitting that he can't beat a generic face, and even setting up a death flag?"

As for Xiao Tan… as a conscientious person, he definitely couldn't leave. "Although I don't understand what's going on, General Zhao is helping me selflessly despite not knowing me. How can I be so afraid of death and run away?"

"You are too kind, righteous warrior," Zhao Yun replied. "Everyone who dares to stand up against Orochi is my comrade. It is only right."

"Alright… are you two going to keep yapping there forever?" Jiao interrupted their conversation. "Save your words for the road to the Yellow Springs!" With that, he raised his arm and ordered, "Minions! Charge!"

Before his voice faded, the demon soldiers had already charged towards Xiao Tan and Zhao Yun in a swarm.

The battle had begun, so there was no need for further words.

Perhaps it was a combat instinct, or perhaps it was the nature of an assassin… At that moment, the first thing Xiao Tan thought of was "capture the chief to capture the enemy." Therefore, he consciously moved closer to Jiao's location.

He spread his hands, and his fist blades and combat knife were ready. He used the [Reverse Blade Whirlwind Slash] to enter the enemy formation, using the momentum of the spin to directly target the depths of the demon soldier group.

Unexpectedly…

"Righteous warrior! Be careful!" Zhao Yun's shout rang out before Xiao Tan could finish his whirlwind slash.

Unfortunately, the shout came too late.

*Ping ping pang pang*…

Along with a series of rapid sounds, Xiao Tan's figure… stopped.

At this moment, he was horrified.

"Blocked…" Xiao Tan thought in shock, "Actually… all of them… blocked…"

His shock was understandable. Who would have thought… that his ultra-fast continuous whirlwind slashes would actually be blocked by those grunts, with not a single strike injuring anyone.

"Could it be…" Even Feng Bujue, who was watching from afar, was shocked. "Are the combat stats of these guys all at Shura difficulty level?"

Shura difficulty… in the *Dynasty Warriors* series… a sadomasochistic difficulty that challenged the player's limits of reaction, patience, endurance, and strategy. Under this difficulty, the enemy's attack, defense, health, and reactions such as blocking and attacking would be strengthened to an outrageous level. *Musou* warriors who had not reached max level or were not equipped with powerful gear would usually be killed by a flurry of attacks (or arrows) from the grunts; generic face generals could also easily take the player's life with a set of combos.

"Crap…" Looking at Xiao Tan's side again, after that move just now, he was already surrounded. The enemies were all holding long weapons, and Xiao Tan, who had stopped, was full of openings…

"Kill him!" The demon soldiers would naturally not let go of this fool who had walked into their trap. Shouting, several of them thrust their spears.

"Ha!" Just then, Zhao Yun roared, spinning his spear and forcefully breaking open a path with his *dou qi* , coming to Xiao Tan's side. The demon soldiers were staggered by this force, retreating one after another, but… not a single one had died.

"Righteous warrior, you must not be impulsive!" Zhao Yun and Xiao Tan stood back-to-back, panting, "There are over a hundred enemies, and you… let alone *dou qi* , you don't even have solid armor on your body. How could you charge in to kill the general?"

"I was wrong…" Xiao Tan said this sincerely, "I'm dragging General Zhao down with me…"

He was regretting it to the core, feeling depressed in his heart. "If I had known this would happen… I would have listened to Brother Yun and just ran away… Me staying here is just a burden! What are those grunts even doing? Everyone's reaction speed can keep up with my whirlwind slashes, and they all successfully blocked my attacks… Are you kidding me? Are you really grunts?"

Thinking of this, Xiao Tan couldn't help but look at General Jiao outside the crowd, feeling a chill down his spine. "I think I understand… why Zhao Yun would lose to this kind of generic face. In this universe… the strength of the Orochi Army is all ridiculously strong…"

"Righteous warrior," Zhao Yun's voice soon rang out again, interrupting Xiao Tan's thoughts. "I killed my way to your side, and my *Musou* power is exhausted. Next, I'm afraid I won't have time to protect you. You…"

"I'm fine, General Zhao doesn't need to worry about me." As Xiao Tan spoke, his mind moved, activating the [Heaven and Earth Reversal Divine Art].

In a flash, his figure shot into the high sky.

Because his "flying" move was without warning, the surrounding demon soldiers were unable to react. By the time they wanted to move, Xiao Tan was five or six meters off the ground, unable to be stopped.

"This way… he can fight with all his strength without any worries…" Xiao Tan thought as he flew into the air, looking at Zhao Yun on the ground.

"You want to run? You bastard."

Just when Xiao Tan thought he could breathe a sigh of relief, Jiao's voice suddenly appeared behind him.

At that moment, Wang Tanzhi's blood turned cold…

"This guy…" Xiao Tan's body moved before his thoughts. When the feeling of "fear" flashed through his mind, his hand had already raised, activating the Altaïr Touch effect: [Assassin's Edge].

*Clang—*

A muffled sound of metal clashing echoed.

Xiao Tan's indestructible hidden blade barely blocked the sweeping strike of Jiao's spear.

But even though he blocked it… Xiao Tan's Survival Value still dropped by 9%, his arm was numb, and his whole body was falling towards the ground.

"He was able to jump to a place higher than me in an instant…" Xiao Tan thought as he flew backwards in mid-air, "And he was able to unleash this kind of monstrous strength attack so lightly and at such high speed in the air where he has nowhere to brace himself…"

Seconds later, Wang Tanzhi's feet touched the ground again. Due to the effect of the [Heaven and Earth Reversal Divine Art], from Xiao Tan's perspective, he was hit "upwards," so his retreat speed had slowed down a lot as he approached the ground. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he canceled the skill at the moment of contact with the ground, reversing the direction of gravity, and stabilized himself.

In addition… because Jiao's strike was not perpendicular to the ground, Xiao Tan's trajectory of descent deviated from his trajectory of ascent. When he returned to the ground, he was no longer in the battle between the demon soldiers and Zhao Yun.

"Oh? Not bad… You seem to be handling yourself well," Feng Bujue thought as he watched from the sidelines. "Using the enemy's attack to escape the predicament with the least amount of damage."

He was the typical example of an onlooker not knowing the hardships of the performers…

At this moment, Xiao Tan was thinking, "What to do… If it's a one-on-one fight, I might have a chance of winning, but it would definitely be a pyrrhic victory… If I run away, Zhao Yun will be in grave danger. And if he dies… I'll have to take a lot of responsibility."

Just as Wang Tanzhi was struggling with his thoughts, another uninvited guest… broke into the battle.

"One hates talented people for their lack of virtue; two hates beautiful women for their short lives…"

Before the person arrived, the verse arrived first, and the identity of the comer was self-evident.

"Three hates the endless river waves; four hates the coldness of the world…"

By the time the fourth line was recited, a peerless figure had rushed over like a streak of lightning.

"Five hates the leaky moon terrace; six hates the scorched orchid leaves…"

*Chi ying—chi ying—*

The sword's edge moved, the sword's spirit sang.

The sound of the sword dance, as fast as the flowing wind, opened up waves of wailing.

"Seven hates the pufferfish for its great poison; eight hates the prickly coral bean…"

"Who is it?" Jiao shouted sharply in mid-air, stepping down from the sky, trying to block the swordsman's edge.

"Nine hates the mosquitoes on summer nights; ten hates the snakes hiding in the creeping fig…"

*Ping ping ping ping ping ping…*

Fast, one word—fast!

The clash of sword and spear brought a series of weapon sounds, as fast as lightning, as dense as the torrential rain.

"Eleven hates the lack of a worthy opponent; twelve hates being invincible!"

The verse stopped, and the figure appeared.

The two entangled silhouettes stopped separately, forming a confrontation.

One side was a fat man. His name was Jiao, a demon general under Orochi.

And the other side was a black-clad swordsman, with a light purple shawl, a sword stand on his back, long flowing hair, sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes. His name was Jian Jun Shi Er Hen (Sword Lord Twelve Grievances), a lone ranger with an arrogant spirit in the Pili sword world.

"This show is really getting more and more interesting…" As an onlooker, Feng Bujue was very interested. He wished he could get some popcorn and sit down to watch slowly. "I don't believe… that Jiao can beat a master from the Pili world…" After muttering this sentence, his expression changed slightly. "Eh? Wait… that's not right! Just now when they exchanged blows, Jiao didn't actually lose ground…"

"Hmph… This time a troublesome guy has arrived…" On the battlefield, Jiao spoke again, "But… to defeat this great lord…" His confidence made Brother Jue, a man familiar with the *Dynasty Warriors* and *Pili* worlds, unable to complain, "...is a hundred years too early!"