(So… so amazing!?)

Ji Xue hid behind a giant mushroom, heart hammering in her throat as she watched the battle unfold.

With a martial artist’s trained eye, she instantly recognized this lord—before his monstrous fall—had been a terrifyingly skilled warrior. His axe swings flowed with brutal grace. Even holding something back, his power was overwhelming!

Every strike radiated raw might. Ranifi, their team’s tank, likely wouldn’t survive three hits. Ji Xue? She could escape with agility—but only escape. Engaging him head-on would be suicide.

So seeing Mylora hold her own against Gelailu this long filled Ji Xue with deep admiration.

Zero room for error. Each of Gelailu’s attacks, each of Mylora’s dodges—a life-or-death dance on the blade’s edge. One slip? Instant death.

Yet Mylora endured.

She seemed to predict Gelailu’s moves the moment they began—dodging, rolling, tossing items—all perfectly timed, as if foreseeing the future. Still, danger never lessened. Gelailu could strike endlessly; Mylora only needed one mistake to fall.

Gelailu grew visibly impatient.

His wide, sweeping strikes were useless against slippery-as-an-eel Mylora. Then—

"▇▇▇▇!"

He roared in an unknown tongue and slammed his axe into the ground. Glowing fungal threads shot through the earth. A mysterious light flared beneath—

BOOM!!!!!

Stomping with legs thick as elm trunks, he shook the cavern violently. Gravel shot skyward! Mylora leaped just in time, barely deflecting debris—but it wasn’t over. With earth-shattering force, he wrenched the axe free, triggering a straight-line explosion upward! Guided by the system, Mylora rolled sideways on landing, avoiding the blast core—but the shockwave still sent her flying.

(Mylora!)

Ji Xue’s pulse spiked, but Mylora hadn’t blown the signal whistle yet. She forced herself to stay hidden.

Mylora tumbled across stone, bones creaking, insides rattling—but alive. No direct hit. And Gelailu now stood lured to the cavern’s center!

[Now! Reposition! Hold on!]

"Got it!"

Mylora pushed up, pain sharp but bearable. Seizing Gelailu’s brief recovery window, she tossed a firebomb to obscure his vision, then repositioned. The moment he swung his axe to clear the flames—he charged.

Gelailu faced Mylora. His back turned squarely toward Ji Xue.

The decisive moment.

Mylora’s heart raced. *Don’t rush. Don’t rush. Don’t rush.* Under the system’s guidance, she dodged relentlessly, keeping the agitated lord’s full focus on her—exposing his back.

Ji Xue felt it too. Crouched low like a leopard, sword gripped tight, ready to strike the scar below Gelailu’s left shoulder blade—a grotesque, twisted wound. One clean thrust… maybe they could take him down together.

[Mylora! Ready? Next move is critical! Trust me—I act for your benefit!]

(What do I do? Blow the whistle now?)

[Whistle AND throw a smoke bomb at his feet! Blind him, boost ambush success!]

(Smoke bomb? Got it—one left!)

[Timing is everything! Whistle and throw the instant I say. Not a heartbeat early or late!]

(Mm—)

Mylora agreed without hesitation.

But a flicker of doubt surfaced.

In that split second, Torina’s words echoed:

*"In battle, simplify. Cut the extras. Swift. Precise. Efficient."*

Avoid unnecessary actions.

Yet the system demanded a smoke bomb.

*Necessary?* Gelailu’s attention was locked solely on her, frantic and blind to all else. A direct ambush would work. Smoke might disrupt rhythm, blur Ji Xue’s sight… even alert Gelailu. Was it truly needed?

[Ready?!] the system pressed.

(...Mm!)

She shoved the thought away. Her trust tipped wholly toward the system—just like switching back to old gear pre-battle, fearing tampered equipment.

Forget Torina’s hollow words.

The system was her only true ally now—

[NOW! Signal her! Throw the smoke bomb at his feet!!]

No question. No doubt. As Gelailu raised his axe again, she obeyed.

"PEEEW~~~~!!!"

Whistle shrieked. Smoke bomb flew.

Ji Xue exploded from cover—a blur closing distance in a blink. Her ultimate thrust skill ignited: "White Rainbow Piercing the Heavens"—

—IMPACT!

Blade sank deep into the old scar. But Gelailu’s muscles were armor-thick; even the weak point resisted full penetration. Time froze. Ji Xue strained every muscle, driving the sword deeper—aiming to wipe his health bar clean—

BOOM!!

The smoke bomb detonated at Gelailu’s feet. Acrid smoke smothered Ji Xue’s face.

"Huh—?"

Half a second of hesitation.

That sliver of delay was all Gelailu needed. He spun like a tornado. Sword still embedded, the violent rotation ripped it from Ji Xue’s grip. Mid-air, the axe slammed down. At the last millisecond, she drew her off-hand blade to block—

CLANG!!!!!

Metal screamed. Impact hurled her sideways. She crashed down with a choked cry. Her left arm—used to block—twisted unnaturally. Wrist and radius shattered, despite her best effort to absorb the force.

No breath to spare. The failed ambush had drawn full aggro. Ignoring the sword in his back, Gelailu charged the injured Ji Xue. She scrambled away, movements clumsy and desperate.

"Ji Xue!?"

Seconds. That’s all it took. Mylora froze, then lunged forward in panic. *They could’ve won. Ji Xue could’ve ended him.* But that smoke bomb—*that damn smoke bomb*—ruined the strike and left her broken!!!!

[WAIT!]

A searing pain locked her hand. The ring—the system’s vessel—tightened viciously, agony sharp enough to snap bone.

"W-what are you doing?! I have to save her!"

[Don’t move.]

"Your order was WRONG!!!"

[It was correct.]

"Correct—!?"

[You don’t want a teammate stealing your loot… or witnessing your victory, do you? Don’t save her. Calculations confirm: both are near death. Wait. Reap the reward.]