The sound of the wind whistled. Anya’s wolf ears twitched slightly, and her entire body arched instantly as she leaped backward at extreme speed, dodging the sudden strike!
Anya instinctively crouched on the ground, adopting a combat stance. Her red pupils slitted as she bared her teeth at the figure that had attacked her.
Upon seeing the silhouette of the figure, Anya sat on the ground blankly, tilting her head.
The other party looked exactly like the blonde girl, and she was familiar with the aura, but the expression on the figure's face... it was so calm and cold that it felt entirely foreign to her.
Anya thought the other person had come to play with her and subconsciously leaned in, until the figure swung a sword at her once again.
Clang!
This time, she failed to dodge in time, and the entire back of her hand was whipped until it turned red.
Anya shrunk into the corner in fear like a wounded wolf cub on the snowy plains, gently licking her wound.
Punishment. She remembered punishment. Whenever she did something wrong, someone would punish her.
Being hit for making mistakes was a brand seared into Anya’s soul.
Being beaten for playing too loudly...
Being beaten for appearing while the adults were eating...
Being beaten for rolling a dirty ball to an adult's feet and staining their shoes...
And being beaten even harder if she bared her teeth while being hit.
She could endure all of these, but she didn’t know what she had done wrong today.
Moreover, the girl clearly felt different to her than those adults.
In the darkness, she couldn't see the other's face clearly, but she felt the emotionless, icy gaze of the figure before her!
This kind of gaze was both foreign and familiar to her; the figure of the blonde girl seemed to overlap once again with the woman in her memories.
Only that woman would punish her based solely on her mood—perhaps just because she heard someone speaking ill of her behind her back, she would vent all her rage on Anya.
She couldn’t understand why the girl had suddenly changed.
A training wooden sword dropped in front of her.
Xu Xiaoyou: "Anya, pick up the sword."
The girl slowly placed her longsword in front of her chest, taking a stance:
"Then, defeat me."
"Prove your value!"
Xu Xiaoyou shouted, stepping forward and charging fiercely toward Anya.
Seeing the girl coming at her with such aggressive momentum, Anya picked up the sword and retreated. During the girl's forward-stepping slash, the longsword in Anya's hand was knocked away. The sharp pain on the back of her hand caused her pupils to slit, and her hair practically stood on end as her expression became terrifying.
Just as Xu Xiaoyou let out a cold snort, prepared to face the little girl's counterattack, the other party suddenly clutched her head and crouched on the ground, like a wounded little wolf curling up in the snow, wrapping itself in its thick fur.
Closing in, she heard the little girl's low whimpering.
Anya would often do this after making a mistake. As long as she protected the soft parts of her body and waited for the other person to finish hitting her, it wouldn't hurt anymore once they were tired.
This time, she instinctively adopted this method. But as she waited in fear for the girl's wooden sword to fall, the imagined pain failed to arrive for a long time.
She tentatively looked up at the girl and found her standing not far away, looking at her with a detached expression.
"Anya, pick up the sword."
"Prove your value."
A voice like a mechanical synthesis came from the girl’s mouth, the same phrases echoing in Anya’s ears.
"Value..."
Anya muttered the word, as if she wanted to chew it to pieces between her teeth.
It was different.
The blonde girl in front of her was different from that woman.
She was still too young, her mind couldn't quite process it, and she couldn't figure out where this sense of difference came from.
Perhaps it was simply because the girl hadn't swung that sword at her while she was curled up, or perhaps she sensed instinctively that the girl wanted to teach her something.
Enduring the pain on the back of her hand, she picked up the wooden sword that had rolled beside her and stood up again.
"Very good." Xu Xiaoyou assumed a sword-wielding stance. "Only those with value will not be abandoned."
"Now, swing your sword at me."
Anya gripped the longsword tightly. In this moment, from the hilt upward, it felt like an extension of her limbs, like the sharp claws and fangs she had extended.
She became focused. Despite being in a sealed space, a biting cold wind seemed to blow, as if countless snowflakes were falling from the sky, turning the world into a vast expanse of white. Stepping on the ground felt like stepping on a carpet of snow, and her body became light and agile because of it.
She was very familiar with this feeling!
It was the long-lost sense of the hunt!
Surging up along with the memories of hunting was her wild nature as a snow-field wolf.
The girl in front of her was like prey—like a lost young deer on the snowy plains, standing still, her entire body covered in undefended openings!
She pounced out swiftly, the longsword like sharp fangs biting toward the girl's fragile neck!
The girl’s movements were slow, far less swift than her own. This strike would hit.
Just as Anya thought this, she heard a cold snort from Xu Xiaoyou.
The other party's movements were extremely small; she merely lifted the tip of her sword slightly, placing the longsword in front of her chest. While blocking the attack at a tricky angle, she swung the sword horizontally, slapping it hard against Anya's face and sending her small, thin body flying back.
Her eyes widened slightly. She couldn't understand why, even though her strength was greater than the girl's and her movements far swifter, this seemingly certain attack had failed, and she had been hit instead after the girl caught her opening.
The girl still stood in place, but the shadow she cast seemed to rise from the ground like a mountain range in Anya's eyes, towering and majestic.
This feeling was exactly as if she had rushed to the prey's side only to find that it was actually a massive, sturdy reindeer; just by standing there, its mountain-like volume pressured her until it was hard to breathe.
Anya refused to believe it. She shook her head, and the girl's figure became clear in her eyes once again.
She ran quickly to the girl's side, making a gesture to swing her sword, but at the moment the other party reacted, she grabbed the ground with one hand and ran swiftly, circling behind her in an instant. This was the hunting instinct she was proud of!
Distract the prey's vision, then launch a pounce from behind and bite through its throat in one go!
She was much faster than the opponent; the opponent wouldn't be able to react!
The moment Anya charged forward with her sword, the girl glanced sideways, flipping her longsword to reach behind her back. Without even turning her body, she blocked the attack once again.
Anya growled, increasing the grip on her sword, longing to use brute force to pressure the girl’s position and perform a directional slash.
Xu Xiaoyou’s eyes sharpened. She turned her body, drawing power from her waist. The force leaped from her wrist all the way to the blade, directly parrying Anya’s sword away before kicking Anya in the torso, sending her flying several meters.
Anya hit the ground, but in an instant, she gripped the floor and sprang up, charging at the girl with her sword again.
Just like before, her offensive was neutralized by the opponent's technique. Even though the opponent's strength and speed were far inferior to her own, and even though the opponent was covered in openings, why did she feel as if she were being seen through? Every move and every stance was anticipated. It was as if she were the prey covered in weaknesses!
Her primal wildness was completely triggered. Her nature as a wolf made her unwilling to be suppressed. She stopped thinking about her past experiences, the pain this body had suffered, the punishments she had to endure for making mistakes, and everything related to that woman. Everything was cast to the back of her mind. All she wanted now was to grip the sword, see the movements of the person before her, and neutralize them! Then, prove her value to her!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The blades constantly clashed, creating a symphony of crisp sounds. It surprised Xu Xiaoyou; the little girl's fighting spirit hadn't faded despite the increasing injuries on her body. Instead, her offensive became increasingly sharp and fierce, and she was gradually adapting to the rhythm of the attacks.
From initially being unable to last a single round before having her weapon knocked away, she could now maneuver and trade blows, and even find opportunities to counterattack amidst the storm of strikes, though the effect was still minimal.
Is this the effect of the character experience boost card?
The girl's strength, agility, and constitution were seeing visible improvements through the constant clashing, sprinting, and taking hits.
The transmission of muscle power, neurological reaction speed, and... tenacity.
With a calm expression, Xu Xiaoyou violently knocked the sword out of Anya’s hand:
"If this is all you've got, you might as well crawl back to that cage on your own."
Saying this, Xu Xiaoyou held the sword in front of her: "People without value have no reason to exist in this city."
Anya’s small body breathed heavily, clutching her bruised hand. Her slitted pupils seemed to carve the figure before her deep into her heart.
"Anya... will... prove... value."
Clang! Clang! Clang!
In the quiet night, the crisp sound of wooden swords colliding continuously echoed from the room as two figures flashed about.
Anya could no longer remember how many times that wooden sword had landed on her body. This sharp pain wasn't just on the surface; it was a heart-wrenching pain several times more intense than being whipped by a thorned lash dipped in salt water. She didn't complain; she just used her body to remember this cruel agony and seared the process deep into her mind.
"Too slow, faster, faster!" the girl shouted sternly.
After the long battle, the little girl was on the verge of exhaustion. She panted heavily, her hand holding the wooden sword trembling uncontrollably.
But it had also allowed Anya to figure out a certain pattern. The opponent's movements were very agile, and she could insightfully read Anya’s actions through the minute shifts in her body.
Whenever the opponent finished a sequence of attacks and it was her turn to counter, the opponent would use a strange footwork, shifting her steps to dodge Anya’s attacks with the smallest possible movements and then counter-attacking.
Her wolf instincts told her that the opportunity had arrived, and there would be only one!
She stopped attacking at close range and retreated rapidly. Just as the pattern she had caught suggested, the girl quickly stepped forward with a slash, the blade sweeping across, and then—
Anya opened her mouth and bit down hard on the wooden sword that was swinging toward her face!
Her sharp teeth instantly sank into the flexible wooden sword, locking onto it tightly. No matter how much force the girl used, she couldn't pull the longsword out; instead, she lost her original footwork rhythm and was pulled toward the girl!
Now!
Anya let go and swung her longsword with a sudden burst of force.
"Hmph..." The corner of Xu Xiaoyou's mouth lifted slightly. "A little bit of cleverness, but useless."
She observed the trajectory of Anya's swing. Determining the attack was a diagonal slash, she placed her longsword horizontally across her chest.
To her surprise, the little girl flicked her wrist slightly, suddenly changing the diagonal slash into an upward thrust, violently parrying the wooden sword in her hand upward!
Xu Xiaoyou’s eyes widened slightly as she watched the wooden sword in Anya’s hand stab straight toward her chest!
The move the other party had just used didn't look like ordinary swordplay at all; it was more like spearmanship—a thrusting strike that pierced straight for the chest in one fluid motion!
In the next moment, the wooden sword in Anya's hand pressed against the girl's chest, just a fraction of an inch away.
The match was decided.
Just as the little girl excitedly looked up, an excited light shining in her eyes: "Anya... has... value..."
Before she could finish, she was sent flying again by a heavy strike from the girl's wooden sword to her face.
"Is your brain full of trash? Who told you the battle was over? The battle doesn't end until you plunge your weapon into the enemy's chest and kill them!" Xu Xiaoyou shouted.
This time, Anya fell to the ground and did not get up.
Seeing that the time was about right, the blonde girl turned to leave, but a chilling aura suddenly came from behind her.
She glanced sideways slightly.
The wind swept up the entire curtain, and the pale moonlight shone on the little girl's body, which was covered in purple bruises, quiet and eerie.
Outside the window was a full moon...
It was unclear whether it was a low growl like a wolf's howl or a frantic, hoarse laugh.
The fur on her body became long, the claws in her hands became sharp, and her wolf ears stood tall. Her terrifying eyes were bloodshot, and her aura became increasingly oppressive.
Substitute: "..."
Rate on N.U.
