Chapter 27: Chapter Twenty-Five: I Might Be About to Die

On this journey, Chu Chen did have chances to find opponents of high-level beast commander rank, but truly suitable ones to test Jiang Jiang's limits were extremely few.

Jiang Jiang's weapon is a short blade—whether a short sword or dagger—it requires getting extremely close to the monster.

The main concern is the time before close combat when one hasn't entered attack range but is already within the enemy's; if short blades are licking blood on the tip, then this approach is a dance on the blade's tip, and once truly close, one gains more flexible execution—the so‑called sweetness of licking blood.

In the battles along the way, Jiang Jiang used prior knowledge to easily bypass the close‑in process in most situations, swiftly killing enemies within her advantageous range; such kills were rare, and she never once fell into danger.

As for the Fierce Weasel, the reason it possesses danger comparable to a lord‑level beast even as a high-level beast commander is solely its top‑tier combat instinct and reaction speed.

Given Jiang Jiang's current physique, even if she finds a chance to get close, it's hard to land a killing blow; once dragged into a prolonged fight, the shifting distance forces her to enter her own blind spots more often.

This could be the first evenly matched battle Jiang Jiang faces after entering the Wilderness Area.

Just as these thoughts flashed through Chu Chen's mind, the Fierce Weasel's claw struck Jiang Jiang's body—specifically, the shield that slid out from her armor as she turned sideways.

"Boom—"

After the massive impact sound, Jiang Jiang's body flew sideways, slamming into a deserted alley corner and kicking up huge dust.

According to the "no injury if there's smoke" rule, Jiang Jiang actually suffered no substantial harm; while she blocked the Fierce Weasel's blow head‑on, she also used the rebound to execute the Jade Blade, and the beast's blade‑like giant claw fell straight to the ground.

In her area of expertise, Jiang Jiang still maintains the planning and rigor of combat, with every attack's purpose clear and distinct.

The Fierce Weasel's body is agile, its combat sense not inferior to a martial artist's, its fighting instinct strong; the first step to steady victory is to reduce its weapon's threat to oneself.

The noise from Jiang Jiang and the Fierce Weasel on this side is not small, easily drawing the attention of nearby monsters.

Monsters possess a hierarchical dominance mindset; high‑level beast commanders can usually gather nearly a thousand low‑level monsters, but all weasel‑type monsters on Earth are special because of their innate violent, slaughterous nature—aside from meeting daily dietary needs, they must also satisfy a strong urge to maim and kill, which is hard to control before reaching lord level.

That is why a high‑level beast commander as formidable as the Fierce Weasel can gather only very few low‑level monsters.

After all, low‑level monsters follow a leader to survive, not to become the leader's slaughter target or food.

"Boom—"

The Fierce Weasel's peripheral vision was slightly drawn by a thunder‑like boom, and Jiang Jiang knew exactly what sound it was—more familiar than anything—it was the noise of Chu Chen's long spear, together with a monster, smashing into a building.

Even though it was only a split‑second distraction, it must be exploited.

Jiang Jiang planted a foot against the wall behind her to steady her body that was still tilting backward, then pushed off the wall to move forward again; by the time the Fierce Weasel reacted, Jiang Jiang had already rushed back to its front.

Jiang Jiang's target remained the same, but this time the Fierce Weasel did not block with its claws; instead it bared its sharp teeth and lunged forward.

For a ferocious beast, teeth and claws are three coordinated weapons; when all three are bared and used to attack simultaneously, the remaining defense is left to its fur.

When facing the Fierce Weasel's attack that abandons defense, Jiang Jiang can no longer form or use the previous stalemate.

If it were a long weapon, in this high‑speed exchange of blows, a single swap might leave a noticeable wound on the monster, but a short weapon cannot.

This is why martial artists hardly ever use short weapons—after all, many large monsters have fur over a meter thick, and their flesh and fat are tens of meters dense; a weapon only a few dozen centimeters long, without special qi energy, cannot inflict real harm even if it cuts the skin.

Although the Fierce Weasel's defense is nowhere near that extreme, for Jiang Jiang, unless she hits a vital spot, using a dagger makes it hard to inflict real damage on it.

Jiang Jiang's speed gradually slowed.

At the moment the two figures touched, there was no head‑on clash as imagined; Jiang Jiang slipped away with a subtle footwork, then executed an abrupt stop and a reverse‑hand slash, finally drawing the first blood of this battle.

On Chu Chen's side, although the attracted monsters included not a few mid‑level or higher beast commanders, to him they were merely side dishes.

He devoted sixty percent of his energy to holding the spear in his right hand to deal with truly threatening close‑in monsters, and forty percent to gripping a newly acquired sniper rifle in his left hand, aiming at distant foes intending to approach the battlefield where Jiang Jiang and the Fierce Weasel fought.

The remaining ninety percent of his energy was used to carefully observe the battle taking place on Jiang Jiang's side.

It's not that Chu Chen's body is exceptionally strong; judging purely by physique, his human body is only close to that of a high‑level war commander, but speaking only of energy—well, one can only say that having a lot of energy is extravagant.

As a higher lifeform of Earth's will, the human‑bodied Chu Chen can, with the support of his true consciousness, possess far more than ten times the ordinary person's "energy."

The battle on Jiang Jiang's side, as she forcibly closed the distance, also became white‑hot; her footwork had long since reached the subtle level, yet facing the Fierce Weasel, whose close‑quarters skill is equally formidable, was no easy task.

And this is exactly what Chu Chen wanted to verify.

This is truly a high‑pressure battle for Jiang Jiang.

Unless absolutely necessary, Jiang Jiang would not choose to trade wounds for wounds, but that does not mean danger is absent.

Exchanging stamina with monsters has never been a wise choice.

But, as danger drew near,

Perhaps even without Jiang Jiang herself realizing it, her red eyes held a red impulse like spilling from the sockets; her consciousness, speed, and bodily instincts were surging at an unimaginable rate.

Chu Chen could feel that emotion, like a heartbeat one could hear, throbbing faster and faster.

The Fierce Weasel clearly felt something was wrong, hurriedly trying to escape; weasels are innately brutal yet also bully the weak and fear the strong—although it had not avoided vital spots, the wounds on its body grew deeper and deeper, already threatening its life.

Moreover… it could no longer keep up with this human's speed.

Was it slowing down? No—it was the human who was getting faster, and ever faster, with growing strength…

The next strike, the Fierce Weasel only felt a flash of red before its eyes—its forepaw had been completely severed, the spurting blood flooding its vision.

At this moment, the Fierce Weasel's life was like a candle in the wind.

It didn't even have a chance to react; the next second, Jiang Jiang had already delivered the finishing blow.

……

After the battle ended, Chu Chen began to clean the battlefield and gather spoils; Jiang Jiang comrade finished the fight, rested a moment, regained strength, and then joined in the cleanup like an unharmed person.

However, judging by her mood, she looked rather listless.

The World Tree does not collect every corpse, and facing such loot, given the abundance, a choice must be made; as for dissection, Jiang Jiang cannot say her skill is extraordinary, but she is also gifted—having entered the Wilderness Area only over ten days ago, she has already become very proficient.

On the other side, a tall building.

"Third brother, I've found two fat sheep."

"Oh, kid, don't mess around; if we run into a tough spot, a few of us brothers won't fare well."

"Two little guys, and judging by the looks, they just went through a big battle; the nearby situation probably isn't pleasant."

……

"Boom"

"Boom"

"Boom"

"Bang"

Jiāng dragged a huge bundle of materials and walked towards Chén Chén.

"What are you doing firing empty shots again when you're fine? You've attracted monsters, and besides, our packs can't hold any more."

"Nothing much, just a few mice; I'm practicing my gun."

Jiāng Jiāng glanced at the already bulging backpack.

"If they're mice, then forget it; they're not worth anything anyway. Let's head back quickly."

If we don't hurry, the more we kill later, the more we'll lose.

Chén Chén rolled his eyes. This kid is really scared of being poor.

If it weren't for seeing Jiāng Jiāng looking a bit unhappy, Chén Chén would still have planned to let a few mice come over to let Jiāng Jiāng grow some more; after all, such clueless guys aren't easy to come by.

Chén Chén took Jiāng Jiāng's backpack, and via the specially made clasp at the bottom, together with four backpacks, he strung them onto the long spear and lifted them steadily.

"Let's go."

Jiāng Jiāng stared blankly for a moment, still not used to having empty hands.

After walking a while, seeing Chén Chén had no reaction, Jiāng Jiāng then suddenly said.

"Chén Chén, you were just too focused to notice."

"I just feel like I've awakened some life-consuming system; I've definitely shortened my lifespan now."

(Afterwards, after Chén Chén conducted a series of overt and covert checks just in case, Jiāng Jiāng's body is extremely good; one could say it's overly good, eating well and the body is excellent, with no abnormalities at all.)