Frodo also noticed something amiss with his short sword, and he stared blankly at Aragorn: "This sword—" "Yes, there are enemies—flee, run quickly!" After saying this, Aragorn glanced at Zheng Zha, then raised his longsword vertically in front of his forehead and slowly stepped out from behind the stone wall. From the distant woods, Orcs were pouring out continuously. There were at least several hundred of them, and these were Orcs armed to the teeth. They possessed completely intact armor, helmets, shields, and longswords. Moreover, some of them were wielding the two-meter-long bows typically used only by Elves. As soon as Aragorn saw the formation of these Orcs, his throat tightened, but fortunately, his reinforcements had arrived. Zheng Zha, astride his warhorse, moved with a speed that surpassed even his own direct charge, heading straight into the horde of Orcs.

This was the first time Zheng Zha had seen Orcs. They were towering creatures, about two meters tall, resembling humans in form but with ferocious and terrifying visages, bulging muscles, and significantly greater stature. It was no wonder they were called Orcs; they were indeed physically formidable. Compared to the half-Orcs encountered in the tunnel, the difference was like that between a frail girl and a powerful boxer.

Although Zheng Zha could see them clearly, he had no intention of fearing them. On his charge, he had already enveloped his entire body in a blade aura. Then, he swung the first cut of the Hupo blade at the massive group of Orcs before him. With a whoosh that sounded like ripping metal, the leading dozen or so Orcs were instantly cleaved in two across the gorge, their corpses littering the ground.

Aragorn witnessed Zheng Zha's ferocious assault.

Yet, his first instinct was to shout, "Be careful! These are Orcs transformed from Elves. They instinctively know how to use fighting spirit (Dou Qi). Although the level of their Dou Qi isn't high, it should be enough to block your invisible blade aura."

Zheng Zha paused in surprise. He had been planning to charge through, enveloping himself in Dou Qi just as he had done in the tunnel. As Aragorn’s voice faded, he indeed smashed through a tall Orc, and another Orc instantly flared with a faint, intermittent aura of Dou Qi. Under the impact, there was only a dull thud. Although the Orc was thrown back over ten meters, Zheng Zha's momentum was abruptly halted. Immediately, the surrounding Orcs closed in on him.

The advantage of the Skeleton Warhorse became undeniable at this moment. Zheng Zha pulled hard on the reins, causing it to leap completely into the air.

It soared directly onto a large tree.

The Skeleton Warhorse continued its upward trajectory, and only when it reached a height of seven or eight meters did Zheng Zha pull the reins to make it stop. Simultaneously, several arrows struck the protective blade aura surrounding Zheng Zha’s body with pat-pat-pat sounds. With this brief pause, he had already been peppered with dozens of arrows. Zheng Zha looked outward, and the Orcs pouring out of the forest seemed endless.

"...About a thousand of them. Killing them all will take quite a bit of effort. Sigh, if only I had some kind of area-of-effect attack."

Zheng Zha muttered to himself.

In reality, once technological weapons were restricted, most area-of-effect weapons were effectively neutralized. Most legendary magical weapons or skills lacked true crowd-clearing capability, and the few that did required significant consumption or came with severe limitations, such as the captain of the North Ice Continent team.

That devastating Frost Age was a prime example.

In that moment of distraction, dozens more arrows struck Zheng Zha, all shattering upon impact with his blade aura shield.

However, seeing that some Orcs below were now using Dou Qi to enhance their arrows, causing his blade aura shield to tremble slightly, Zheng Zha abruptly yanked the reins, making the Skeleton Warhorse plunge straight down. During the descent, the Hupo blade in his hand flashed continuously, slicing through the ground, leaving more than ten Orc corpses behind. Unfortunately, due to the sheer number of Orcs, these dozen bodies were instantly swallowed by the surging mass, and more Orcs began hacking wildly at Zheng Zha.

By now, the other members of the reincarnation squad had arrived, and the plot characters had also engaged the Orcs. However, these individuals lacked the Skeleton Warhorse mount or Zheng Zha’s self-protective blade aura. Therefore, they could only fight and retreat, temporarily avoiding the first wave of the Orc assault. Only Zheng Zha stood firm, ceaselessly swinging the Hupo blade to slaughter the Orcs.

Zhao Yingkong had been among the foremost runners, her speed second only to Zheng Zha. But as she reached the vicinity of the stone pillar, something in her mind seemed to pull at her—an inexplicable, indefinable feeling. Far away, Zheng Zha, battling the Orcs, drew her gaze. She frowned, looking at him several more times. Only after Zheng Zha, completely unscathed, leaped onto the tree atop his Skeleton Warhorse did she grit her teeth and follow the feeling toward a nearby location.

The further Zhao Yingkong ran in that direction, the faster her heart pounded. The sensation was indescribable, but she knew that perhaps a person existed in that direction—the very one who inspired such intense hatred in her... Indeed, after running for only a few minutes, the scenery suddenly opened up. She stood at the edge of a cliff, from which she could gaze down upon a breathtakingly magnificent waterfall. And there, just beyond the precipice, stood a long-haired man in silent contemplation.

"Little cousin, oh, we meet again... Though, perhaps for you, it is merely a meeting. Heh, you seem quite surprised to see me here. Do you have anything you wish to say to me?" The handsome, long-haired man turned his head, smiling as he looked at Zhao Yingkong. His expression softened immensely, resembling a man addressing his beloved.

Zhao Yingkong clenched her jaw so tightly her fingers nearly turned white around the translucent hilt of her sword. After a long silence, she forced out a few words from her throat: "Go to hell!" With that, Zhao Yingkong took two steps toward the handsome, long-haired man and brought the Sword of Victory and Oath down sharply. With a clear clang, the longsword seemed to sever something invisible in the air.

It turned out that between the long-haired man and Zhao Yingkong, there existed several nearly invisible strands of metal wire. If Zhao Yingkong had charged forward heedlessly, these wires would have sliced her into several pieces, a death chillingly similar to her previous demise.

The long-haired man showed no sign of annoyance. On the contrary, he began clapping his hands happily. While applauding, he remarked, "Excellent, you've improved! I learned from the copy that he killed you, as you hadn't used your resurrection quota for that instance. He also told me about the beauty of your death, which you are unaware of. Though I didn't witness the shattered beauty firsthand, the mere thought of the moment you died makes me indescribably excited. Oh, the shattered beauty..."

"Zhao Zhuikong! You truly deserve to die!" This long-haired man was indeed Zhao Zhuikong. As he spoke, the lower half of his body began to slowly harden, as if these words were genuinely exciting him. Zhao Yingkong, however, was now so enraged that her eyes were bloodshot; she naturally failed to notice Zhao Zhuikong's hardening lower body. This time, however, she did not rashly charge forward. Instead, she took a deep breath and asked, "Are you planning to fight me today?" Zhao Zhuikong’s expression shifted to one of surprise. He was stunned for a long moment before chuckling, "No. You still have room to grow, especially after your performance today, which surprised me. You know perfectly well that I intend to leave, and you absolutely cannot stop me. So, there's no point in wasting even a shred of strength. Go and help your companions with your perfect power. Simply lingering here will only lead to disappointment. I won't kill you now because you still have vast, vast room for growth, and furthermore, you have no resurrection quota left." Zhao Yingkong looked at the long-haired man and murmured, "I will kill you. I must, for them, for my childhood, to bury the past. I must kill you, Zhao Zhuikong!" Zhao Zhuikong suddenly flashed to a position right beside Zhao Yingkong. He completely ignored the sight of her hands gripping the sword so tightly her knuckles were white and blue, instead gently stroking the soft, pale skin of Zhao Yingkong's face. Then, he bent down and lightly kissed her tightly closed red lips. Only when blood began to seep from the corner of Zhao Yingkong's mouth from biting down did he flash back to the edge of the cliff and say with a smile, "Be angry, be hateful, keep living. You are still too weak now, Zhao Yingkong. When you grow to that point, let me see that shattered beauty the next time we meet, my little cousin." With a slight smile, he turned and leaped off the cliff, utterly unconcerned that the water surface was over a hundred meters below.

Zhao Yingkong continued to clench her teeth fiercely, ignoring the abyss below. She turned and walked back toward the distant battlefield. Blood continued to trickle from the corner of her mouth, making it look as though her lips were stained crimson. Paired with her beautiful, youthful face, the sight was strikingly intense. (I am still too weak, and he has become even stronger than when I last met him! I must become stronger than him!) Leaping...