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As a tailed beast that had lived for who knew how many years, Kurama's combat experience was in a completely different league from people like Sam.
There used to be Wu Liuqi too, but sadly, he'd already abandoned his former self~
A violent aura?
Hiss… what a coincidence.
No, wait. Could it be because the mercenary mission teleportation dropped them so close to the target?
The moment Sam heard Kurama say that, he knew this had to be the mission objective.
After all, based on what he'd read in novels, soul beasts might be beasts, but once they lived for ten thousand years, they developed intelligence.
Anything that Kurama considered "not weak" couldn't possibly be below ten thousand years.
'Looks like my real combat experience really is trash,' Sam sighed inwardly.'Even Kurama, a fifth-rank, sensed it already, but I'm a sixth-rank and didn't notice a thing.'
Then again, that made sense. Getting stronger was just such a pain.
Right now, his situation was probably like that of a newly rich guy who got strong overnight.
That thought barely lasted a second before Sam forgot all about it and happily waited for the enemy to come knocking.
Hard work?
No way. Working hard was impossible.
He could only rely on dimensional coins to grind some experience and level up like this~
"So what do we do? Kill it right away?"
Kurama turned to look at Sam. After all, he was the guild president, and also the strongest one present.
"Wow, straight to fighting? Isn't that a little too direct?" Wu Liuqi said.
Even so, his hand had already moved to rest on the hilt of his Demon Blade, Thousand Blades.
Sure, he was a goofy protagonist from a comedy series, but he still knew how to read the situation.
Elsa: "…"
She didn't say a word, but the icy magic within her was already surging.
Sam didn't hesitate at all."Kill it. Afterward, I'll have the King of Wisdom analyze the body and see if we can find any clues."
"Damn, I thought we'd be teleported straight to the spatial rift," he muttered. "Didn't expect to just land nearby and still have to search for it ourselves."
"Well, since you've said so…"
A wicked grin curled at the corner of Kurama's mouth. The moment his voice fell—
Boom!
An overwhelming, suffocating chakra erupted from his body.
"Then I'm going in!"
With that, Kurama vanished in a flash.
Elsa raised her hand, wanting to help, but Sam stopped her.
Seeing the confusion in her eyes, Sam smiled."Kurama isn't that weak. These guys aren't even good enough to be his warm-up."
According to the King of Wisdom's energy analysis, those soul beasts were at most fourth-rank.
And Kurama was fifth-rank.
A fifth-rank bullying a bunch of fourth-ranks was basically child's play.
Kurama wasn't like Sam, a total combat amateur.
If Elsa, who was only fourth-rank, stepped in to help right now, with Kurama's tsundere personality… who knew what kind of drama that would cause.
Well.
That was assuming Kurama still had that awkward personality after joining the Super-Dimensional Mercenary Guild.
"Boom…"
"…!"
Watching the distant explosion, Elsa and Wu Liuqi both fell silent.
This… did it really require a Tailed Beast Bomb?
Even Sam couldn't help twitching at the corner of his mouth.
Hey, don't make such a huge mess!
What if it attracts trouble?
Compared to their urge to complain, someone else nearby was already completely stunned.
Not far away, Liu Erlong stood there like a statue, staring blankly at Kurama's overwhelming display of power.
This strength… this level of destruction… wasn't it completely broken?
Could it be a Titled Douluo?
But she'd never heard of any Titled Douluo with a martial soul like this.
She wouldn't dare claim her intelligence network was god-tier, but within this country, she knew who the Titled Douluo were and what martial souls they had.
And even a Titled Douluo shouldn't be this strong, right?
Liu Erlong watched as Kurama fired a Tailed Beast Bomb, which flew far off and slammed into a distant mountain. The instant it made contact, a terrifying explosion erupted.
Her mouth twitched uncontrollably.
The violent shockwave from the blast ripped the ground apart, peeling up layers of earth as if they were nothing. Rock strata shattered one after another.
Not-so-small boulders were blasted out like artillery shells, flying everywhere.
Liu Erlong was certain that if one of those hit her, she'd be in serious trouble.
After the explosion, the mountainside looked like someone had gouged out a massive chunk of it. With its midsection destroyed, the peak above lost its support and began to sway, as if it might collapse at any moment.
Sam had been watching the battlefield too and noticed Liu Erlong standing there in a daze.
"…"
Wait, did this woman just get scared stupid?
Still, Sam didn't ignore her.
The Ope Ope Fruit activated.
"Room."
A hemispherical barrier expanded, enveloping the surroundings.
"Scan… transfer."
In an instant, Liu Erlong vanished from where she stood and reappeared right next to Sam.
"Hey, hey, be careful!"
Liu Erlong had been staring in shock at Kurama brutally slaughtering the soul beasts, the same ones that had wiped out her entire team except for herself.
Suddenly hearing Sam's voice right beside her ear—
Acting purely on instinct, she was startled and lashed out with a spinning kick.
Sam: "…"
The Fox Demon Cloak automatically manifested, blocking her attack.
"W-What?!"
Liu Erlong's expression changed instantly, and she jumped back without hesitation.
How was this possible?
She'd attacked with full force, yet she couldn't even break through that outer layer of his defense?!
"...."