When Wang Xiaole leaped onto the city wall, entering the opponent's field of vision, Yin Yan was extremely disappointed.

He felt something was off:

"I clearly just sensed the aura of a strong warrior, so why is it that the one who ended up in front of me is just a woman like you?"

At their first encounter, Yin Yan could not believe that the powerful aura came from someone who, besides her appearance, seemed unremarkable.

Even as he faintly sensed the opponent's presence later on, he still lacked much enthusiasm for the battle, only emphasizing:

"Get lost, I don't bully women."

"But big sister, I really want to bully you!"

"Sister? I think I may be a few years older than you."

"But in terms of maturity, you are still too naive, just like a preschool boy."

Yin Yan did not understand what "preschool" meant, but he was clear that he was being underestimated.

Rather than refraining from engaging with the opposite sex out of any gentlemanly conscience he possessed, it was more appropriate to understand that:

He was simply protecting his own dignity.

Now, someone had provoked his dignity with words, and Yin Yan naturally could not tolerate it.

Immediately, he couldn't control his temper and decided to retract his earlier statement and attack a girl.

The moment he raised his fist, the muscles in his legs swelled outward, giving him an astounding burst of jumping power;

Facing the twenty-meter high city wall, he didn't need to deliberately perform a double jump in mid-air; with just a sway of his body, he rapidly ascended and crossed that height.

After landing on top of the wall, Yin Yan ignored the archers and mages around him, not even sparing them a glance, and instead charged towards the person who had underestimated him.

Hook, line, and sinker!

Wang Xiaole exploited Yin Yan's impulsiveness to divert the primary target, who could have easily thwarted her plans with his physical prowess, elsewhere.

Without considering advancing forward, Wang Xiaole opted for a vertical leap, as she did when leaving the palace earlier, standing gracefully on the surface of the swamp with her long legs, thanks to channeling holy power into her feet. This allowed a force to surge upwards from the soles of her shoes.

To achieve this, merely being able to use holy power was far from sufficient.

Most strong soldiers or generals were able to manipulate holy power to some extent;

However, their usage of power was limited to attacking, defending, and increasing speed, without knowledge of other uses of holy power;

There were also a few who had enough power and wanted to explore other uses of holy power;

Yet these individuals couldn't ensure that the power infused into the soles of their feet wouldn't become chaotic during battle.

Analyzing these scenarios, it wasn't difficult to understand:

Those who could simultaneously utilize holy power for various purposes on their bodies and maintain it for an extended period had essentially entered the realm of the strong.

Consequently, Yin Yan's relentless pursuit from the swamp's surface was palpably evident, making him a bona fide powerhouse in the Inran Vanguard Army and the sole powerhouse at that.

The one-on-one battle between him and Wang Xiaole would fundamentally determine the outcome of the early stages of the battle;

If Wang Xiaole were to lose, King Gong would be in trouble, and the history of the Miulan Kingdom would likely come to an end today.

But if the outcome were reversed...

With a loud thud, the fist Yin Yan swung forward struck Wang Xiaole's side;

The deviation was due to someone avoiding it, and the swamp, unable to make a choice, unfortunately bore a hole where it couldn't be fixed;

The piece of swamp that was hit sank, leaving a blood-red mark on Wang Xiaole's side that could not be restored.

Through that blow, Wang Xiaole understood Yin Yan's fighting style, relying solely on his body strength and not using any weapons.

Against such an opponent, using a sharp black long sword would be the most effective.

No matter how thick your skin is, can you resist the sharpness of a sword's edge?

But Wang Xiaole didn't do that; due to his insistence, Yin Yan momentarily doubted:

"Why aren't you drawing the sword on your back? Are you underestimating me?"

On the contrary:

"I feel that there are too few people nowadays who don't rely on weapons, so I choose not to use this sword and plan to have a fair duel with my little brother."

The dueling parties often couldn't understand each other's intentions.

Indeed, Wang Xiaole was preparing for a fair fight, a thought completely devoid of falsehood;

But in the eyes of the hot-headed Yin Yan, it was just another way to ruthlessly mock him.

Later, Yin Yan launched an unprecedented fierce assault.

Evading the attacks coming towards her, Wang Xiaole elegantly dodged Yin Yan's heavy punches;

The black sleeves swirled around, guiding the fists thrown at her slightly off course;

As she spun around, Wang Xiaole sidestepped;

The fist raised high, spinning past Yin Yan's right fist, heading straight towards his face.

In the next moment, Yin Yan blocked with his raised left hand, colliding head-on with the momentum of the opposing punch;

Simultaneously, Wang Xiaole lifted her left hand, striking forth with a swift motion, carrying a flash of black light towards him.

At that moment, lacking the use of his hands, Yin Yan had to resort to a different kind of "weapon."

In an instant, he lowered his head sharply, countering the incoming strike with his forehead that emitted a gleaming holy light, actively meeting the palm that was coming towards him.

Bang!

This palm could penetrate rocks, shatter steel, but couldn't smash the opponent's head; leaving only a bloody mark on his forehead where the blow landed.

Following this, Wang Xiaole retracted her left palm and observed Yin Yan, who had a bleeding forehead, and erupted into a hearty laugh.

"This head is quite sturdy. If my little brother relies on this skill for a living, just by cracking nuts and performing 'smashing rocks with the head,' he would definitely make a fortune."

Teasing aside, Wang Xiaole continued to gradually uncover Yin Yan's weaknesses from their earlier encounter.

In contrast, Yin Yan, driven by his battle frenzy, didn't think as much, focusing solely on punching and kicking, entering a "berserk mode."

Ten seconds later, with a thunderous roar, the two clashed;

The muddy swamp, hit by the flurry of fists, suddenly erupted from the center, forming a massive column of water;

The column surged straight into the sky, resembling a comet with a long tail, then quickly reversed course.

The water column infused with the force of the punches detonated the air, causing a portion of the azure sky's edge to seemingly depress;

This sight gave the impression that even if clouds were present, they would be dispersed at the same time.

"I think I understand now..."

Wang Xiaole realized:

Yin Yan's fists didn't just cause damage when they connected with their target;

In fact, the powerful force emanating from him when he raised his arm encompassed the space within fifty meters in front of his fist.

Even though Yin Yan fought in close combat, hand-to-hand, any target he focused on would find it challenging to avoid being hit unless they moved to an area fifty meters away from his fists.

Of course, there were other ways to overcome this challenge.

The key to evasion lay in one word: speed.

Practically, it involved preempting Yin Yan's fist before he had a chance to strike, based on predicting the trajectory of the downward punch and swiftly moving to the diagonal side.

This method was more cumbersome than retreating fifty meters away, especially since Yin Yan simultaneously used both fists and unleashed a barrage of punches;

With his speed of throwing dozens of punches in ten seconds, any opponent facing him alone would feel like being collectively besieged by thousands of archmages;

Not to mention:

He was particularly averse to mages!

It's important to note that most mages were pretty frail and, aside from a few who trained their bodies, majority of them didn’t like close combat.

Yin Yan, however, was different; he enjoyed close-quarter combat, and the level of his toughness exceeded that of an average person, with his previous "Iron Head Skill" being the best evidence.

To sum it up:

To defeat Yin Yan, one needed to predict his attack trajectory, possess agile movements, extraordinary defense, and ultimately have terrifying brute strength to wound him.

Coincidentally, the one battling Yin Yan wasn't Qiuyan, who didn't meet the last condition, but belonged to the type that prevailed through skill and agility.

Within the entire kingdom, only this individual engaged in a one-on-one duel with Yin Yan, meeting all the prerequisites to defeat him.

Upon realizing the weight of the burden on her shoulders, Wang Xiaole sighed deeply and got into action. Her face turned cold as she swiftly ran out, bending her body slightly forward, extending her hand to form a striking stance;

Yin Yan, being straightforward, didn't foresee the possibility of a feint, raising both meaty fists for an impending strike.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

His punches were akin to magical bombardments, combining speed, destructive power, and noise;

However, once the trajectory of his assault was anticipated, all these advantages would become meaningless.

The ensuing scenario could be described as Wang Xiaole, right in front of Yin Yan, playing a round of "teleportation".

Initially running from one direction, Wang Xiaole promptly altered her track once Yin Yan threw his punch, swiftly adjusting her course in a complex manner, gradually closing the distance between her and the opponent with a "step by step" intricate forward route.

Midway, Yin Yan made attempts to adjust the direction of his punches but found that he was not the only one making changes.

Almost every time Yin Yan was about to shift position, Wang Xiaole could predict his movement pre-emptively and effortlessly evade without feeling pressured.

After Yin Yan had thrown hundreds of punches and the swamp had been nearly destroyed, the area he had targeted was unharmed, and his opponent had managed to get within striking distance with each step.