Jiuye crawled out of the bushes. Hearing the sounds of a fight coming from the trees, he wanted to go see if he could help.

Once he’d made up his mind, he started looking for a way around the mud. He glanced around, carefully watching the path ahead in case he fell into the mud again. If that happened, his luck really would be something else.

And yet… Jiuye’s luck really was that good. He saw the thick layer of dead leaves in front of him and thought nothing of it. The moment he stepped down, his foot went straight through.

“Oh, come on!” Jiuye shouted as he toppled headfirst into the mud and got stuck all over again.

The young man wore an utterly innocent expression. He hadn’t done anything, so why was his luck so terrible? He’d only just gotten out, and now he was back in again.

He glanced toward the dense woods where the sounds of fighting were coming from. He couldn’t see the pink-haired woman or the stinking crocodile from here. Then he snapped the fingers of his right hand, and his body slowly began to rise out of the mud. It didn’t take long—only a few seconds.

Once he was out of the mud, the young man jumped onto a fallen tree trunk nearby. This time, he didn’t make the foolish mistake of trying to walk on the ground. He leaped onto a large tree beside him, then jumped to another. Hopping from tree to tree, he soon reached the bushes beside the two fighters.

He quietly watched the fight from the sidelines. Neither side had a clear advantage yet; they were evenly matched.

The pink-haired woman wielded her katana with ease, launching all sorts of clever attacks. Most of them landed, but the crocodile’s hide was incredibly thick. The places she struck didn’t show a single mark.

The woman’s regular attacks had no effect on the crocodile, while all she could do against its attacks was dodge or block with her katana. There was no clear difference in strength between them, but the woman was at a distinct disadvantage.

Then the woman saw her chance. The crocodile lunged at her with its jaws wide open. She didn’t back down—instead, she swung her katana down at its gaping mouth. But the crocodile seemed to have anticipated her move. Its two rows of sharp teeth snapped shut, clamping down hard on the blade. It kept biting, trying to crush the katana.

The woman had already suffered a loss here yesterday, and she had no intention of doing so again. She understood what the crocodile was trying to do and quickly pulled on the katana, trying to wrench it free. Of course, the crocodile wouldn’t let her. It put even more strength into its bite, giving her no chance at all.

“Damn it!” the woman cursed. No matter how hard she pulled, it was no use.

The crocodile kept biting down hard on the blade. Yesterday, it had bitten the katana until cracks appeared, but now the blade was unbelievably tough. No matter how hard it bit, it couldn’t break it.

The woman noticed it too. She was just as puzzled, but this wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

She tried to pull harder, but suddenly spotted a sharp claw reaching for her.

With no other choice, she let go of the katana and jumped back.

After the woman retreated, the crocodile made no move to chase her. It kept hold of the katana and continued biting down hard.

The woman was a little dumbfounded. Was this crocodile putting on a comedy show?

No matter how hard the crocodile bit, the blade didn’t show a single mark. Frustrated, it gave the katana a few shakes.

“What kind of lousy sword is this? It’s so hard!”

After shaking it a few times, it flung the katana into the bushes. Who knew where it had landed?

The woman was about to retrieve it, but the moment she moved, the crocodile charged at her again.

Jiuye was crouched in the bushes, his forehead covered in sweat. A long katana was stuck in the ground just ten centimeters in front of him. If it had been that much closer, he’d have been done for.

“Oh my god, did it have to land that close?”

…