Chapter 10: Cooperation (Part 1)

With a clanging sound, Yadelan drew her two-handed greatsword and casually discarded the half of its steel scabbard. Gripping the long hilt tightly with both hands, she said, “Dare you insult me? I, Yadelan… swear to kill you!” She swung her greatsword and charged forward.

Guo Shier and the others instinctively stepped back to create space. Ezek said, “Ah, you can’t kill me…” and stepped forward to meet her.

Ezek intended to subdue this woman, so he didn’t use any weapons. In fact, his most powerful weapons were his fists and feet—after all, he was a humanoid aberrant beast whose body was as hard as steel, unafraid of any weapons in this world. Previously, out of pride, he would hardly let his opponent’s weapons touch him, but this time, he decided to scare the fierce-looking beauty before him.

Clang!

Yadelan stepped back in disbelief. Her two-handed greatsword slammed down on Ezek’s neck, but it failed to cut through even slightly. Worse, the shock made her hands numb, her bones rattling, and her greatsword nearly flew out of her grasp. Ezek hadn’t even fought back, yet this single strike filled Yadelan with terror.

Ezek laughed heartily. “Little girl, hehe, hehehe… your strength is a bit weak.”

Yadelan roared, twisting her waist forcefully as she swung her greatsword in a circular motion, using all her strength. The sword emitted a greenish glow. Her subordinates shouted, “Kill him!”
“Slay him…”
“Let’s see how he defends against this strike!”

Yadelan gathered all her strength and swung the sword straight at Ezek’s forehead. He originally had two white horns on his head, but after inheriting Li Ran’s legacy, those horns had retracted into his head. Now, they suddenly appeared again. He tilted his head slightly, and the sword struck the white horns.

Crack!

Her two-handed greatsword shattered. Guo Shier couldn’t help but smirk. He knew very well just how hard Ezek’s head was, not to mention those white horns—absolute treasures that could be refined into sacred materials. A regular greatsword was nowhere near comparable; the gap between them was enormous.

Ezek teased, “Little girl, you can switch to another weapon. Really… I’m not lying.”

Fear filled Yadelan’s eyes. She knew exactly how powerful that last strike had been—it could even cut through steel. Yet this oddly shaped guy’s head was harder than steel. How could she fight him now?

It was also the first time for Eson and De Da to see this. Like Yad Lan and the others, they were terrified. How could they even fight? Swinging their great swords at will didn’t cause any harm at all. If he fought back, no one could stop him.
Yad Lan was extremely decisive. She jumped backward and shouted, “Let’s go!” Eson instinctively cried, “Don’t let them escape!”
Ezek smiled and said, “They can’t go.” He suddenly rushed forward, instantly knocking down Yad Lan’s subordinates, then blocked her path and said, “Don’t leave!”
Guo Shier asked, “What’s wrong with this guy?”
Ezek suddenly grabbed Yad Lan, threw her over his shoulder, wrapped his arms around her slender legs, and walked back laughing.
Yad Lan pulled out a dagger. She could only see Ezek’s back and stabbed at it. To her despair, Ezek’s back was just as hard—her dagger couldn’t penetrate at all. She screamed, “Bastard, put me down! I’ll kill you… I’ll kill you!”
Ezek gave her butt a light pat and said, “Don’t be naughty!”
Yad Lan was mortified and furious. Carried on Ezek’s shoulder, her upper body swung wildly behind him. She screamed, “I’ll make you regret this!” Suddenly, she stabbed at the gap between Ezek’s buttocks. A half-circular flash of light appeared, and the dagger pierced through successfully.
Ezek let out a fierce roar and threw Yad Lan away with a wave of his hand. He held his butt and hopped around in pain.
Guo Shier was stunned for a moment before bursting into loud laughter. Ezek’s entire body was as hard as steel, but he still had weaknesses—his rear was one of them. His carelessness allowed the dagger to pierce straight in. No wonder he was hopping around; the wound wouldn’t kill him, but it caused excruciating pain.
Yad Lan stretched her waist in mid-air and landed steadily, turning to run. She knew in her heart that she had angered this supreme master.
Ezek was truly enraged. He roared, “I’ll tear you apart…” He rushed forward, the dagger still stuck in his butt, only the handle visible, with drops of blood spraying out.
How could Yad Lan outrun Ezek? He grabbed her neck and dragged her back.
Ezek opened his mouth to bite Yad Lan’s neck, but was stopped by Guo Shier. He said, “Ezek, heal first. Don’t kill her.” In truth, he admired Yad Lan—she had a fierce determination and an unyielding spirit, so he didn’t want Ezek to kill her.
Roar!

Ezek pulled out his dagger, and instantly, blood gushed out. Guo Shieru took out a high-grade talisman pill and said, “Eat it!” He then shot another talisman pill straight into Ezek’s wound.
Eisen couldn’t help but shrink his neck and clench his legs together; he felt discomfort even in his rear area. It was too terrifying. If he were stabbed like that, life would surely be worse than death.
De Da was completely terrified. He retreated to a distance, his heart pounding wildly. He couldn’t figure out who these people were. Even though Ezek had been stabbed, he still thought Ezek was extremely powerful.
Ezek swallowed the high-grade talisman pill and stepped back, growling angrily, his eyes flashing with fury. He was truly enraged. He had never suffered such a loss in his life. Although he liked this beautiful girl, being stabbed in a vital area made him feel terrible. Especially Guo Shieru’s mocking laughter infuriated him even more. Whenever he felt annoyed, he wanted to kill someone, his gaze fixed on the forest.
Guo Shieru knew he had to calm Ezek down, otherwise the guy would really kill everyone in the forest. He said, “Ezek, with my talisman pills, there won’t be any lingering problems…” He struggled hard to hold back his laughter. Ezek’s screams were too amusing.
Although Yadelan had stabbed Ezek, she was also scared. That moment had brought her incredibly close to death. If not for Guo Shieru’s quick action, she would have been bitten to death. She had no doubt that Ezek would have killed her—just by seeing his ferocious expression with bared teeth, she knew it wasn’t a joke.
Ezek swung his arm violently, and an invisible force spread out instantly, causing countless large trees to explode. Within a half-circle in front of him, all the trees, including those as thick as a person’s waist, shattered. Trees collapsed one after another, followed by screams.
Yadelan looked desperately toward the camp, filled with extreme regret. She thought all her men were dead.
But Guo Shieru knew that Ezek had only destroyed the camp; he hadn’t killed anyone. However, almost all the bandits in the forest were injured, none of them spared. He said, “Ezek, I can use these people. Don’t kill them.”
Ezek snapped, “Why won’t you let me kill them? I fucking want to kill them all! Get out of my way!”
Guo Shieru grew serious and said, “Try killing one!” In close combat, he might not be as strong as Ezek, but he had more tactics. Ezek wasn’t necessarily his match.

Ezek also lost his temper. He opened his mouth wide and took a deep breath. With a wave of his hand, Guo Shier’s Soul Calming Cauldron suddenly appeared, blocking Ezek’s path. He said, “Ezek, don’t make a fool of yourself. Stop it!”
Ezek had originally intended to spew fire and burn everything in the camp, but when he saw the Soul Calming Cauldron in front of him, he realized it was impossible to achieve his goal. Filled with rage, he threw a punch at the cauldron’s surface. With a loud crash, an invisible wave radiated out.
An immense force rebounded, instantly flinging Ezek away.
Eisen screamed. He saw Ezek fall into the huge ravine. In the blink of an eye, Ezek flew back into the air. He roared, “Guo Shier! What do you want?”
Guo Shier calmly said, “Come down. It’s just a stab wound. Is there any need to go crazy?”
Yadelan was terrified. She looked up at Ezek flying in the air, her heart in turmoil. She knew very well what it meant to be able to fly—that was definitely a height beyond her reach; it was a sign of a top-tier expert. She broke into a cold sweat.
Guo Shier retracted the Soul Calming Cauldron and also flew into the air. He grabbed Ezek and whispered, “I’ve healed your wounds. Why be angry? It’s not worth it. Come down.” This guy had a childlike temper and needed to be coaxed.
Ezek wanted to stay angry, but since Guo Shier wasn’t joining in his madness, he grumpily landed, staring maliciously at Yadelan while muttering something under his breath. Yadelan felt a chill and a sense of extreme danger. She wasn’t stupid. She immediately said, “I agree to merge our teams, but I have one condition…” Seeing her subordinates crawling out of the pile of wood, she knew they weren’t dead and felt slightly relieved.
Guo Shier said, “Oh, you agree to merge? Alright, what’s your condition?”
Yadelan said, “Anything else is fine, as long as he doesn’t get close to me!” She wanted to flee far away—Ezek posed too great a threat to her.
Ezek picked up the dagger, his gaze fixed on Yadelan’s lower body. Not only did Yadelan feel chilled, but Guo Shier also felt uneasy. He thought to himself, “This guy won’t stab Yadelan too, right… No, I need to separate them.” He nodded and said, “Okay, just follow me.”

Ezek clutched his dagger and suddenly let out a silly laugh, scaring Yadlan into rushing behind Guo Shier, clutching her chest tightly. She thought, “Oh my god, I was terrified…” No matter how fierce or ruthless she was, she didn’t dare imagine fighting against a top-level expert, especially with Ezek’s eerie laugh just now.
Yadlan whispered, “I’ll cooperate, I’ll cooperate!”