"Yunlong. Zhaozhao. Qin Tian—report."
Qin Dadi's voice was tight.
Controlled.
Too controlled.
He pushed himself up from the ground, scanning them quickly—eyes sharp, almost frantic beneath the surface.
"…Alive."
That was all that mattered.
"I'm fine."
"Still breathing."
They regrouped.
Slowly.
Cautiously.
The arrow stood embedded in the earth.
Silent.
But oppressive.
The ground around it had shattered outward, cracks spreading like veins—ten meters of distorted terrain, as if reality itself had recoiled from the impact.
Qin Tian stared at it.
Not with fear.
But with focus.
That… would have killed us.
No hesitation.
No uncertainty.
Just a conclusion.
"That was too close…" Xiao Yunlong exhaled sharply, wiping sweat from his temple. "Qin Tian—your warning saved us."
Liu Zhaozhao's gaze lingered on him.
"How did you know?"
Qin Tian answered without pause.
"Instinct."
Not a lie.
Just incomplete.
Inside him—
Something had reacted before thought could form.
A signal.
Cold.
Precise.
Threat detected.
Then movement followed.
Perfect.
Efficient.
Unquestioned.
Qin Dadi studied him.
Longer than necessary.
Sharp perception. High physical response. Stable under pressure.
A soldier like that—
Wasn't just rare.
He was valuable.
Around them, other squads recovered.
Some cursed.
Some laughed nervously.
Most… kept their distance.
Not out of hostility.
Out of fear.
Because death had just brushed past them—
And lingered here.
Qin Tian's grip tightened on his rifle.
His gaze shifted.
Tracing the arrow's origin.
He found it quickly.
A towering figure moved across the battlefield.
Massive.
Dominant.
Wrong.
Four arms.
Each carrying death in a different form.
Blade.
Shield.
Bow.
Arrow.
A Sphinx Beastman.
It rode something beneath it—
Silver-white.
Fluid.
Alive.
The Skyborne dromabeast.
Qin Tian watched.
Closely.
Arrows appeared from nothing.
No—
From somewhere unseen.
Storage.
Containment.
Access.
His mind recorded everything.
Not in awe.
In function.
"That's a Royal Court Warrior," Xiao Yunlong muttered, tension creeping into his voice. "At least Tier Three… maybe higher."
Higher threat level.
Lower survival probability.
Qin Tian didn't respond.
Instead—
He observed how it killed.
Each arrow—
Impact.
Destruction.
Termination.
Efficient.
Clean.
Final.
A soldier nearby was hit.
His body—
Didn't remain whole long enough to fall.
Qin Tian watched without flinching.
That could be me.
The thought came.
Then—
Passed.
"Let's stay low," Xiao Yunlong whispered. "If that thing targets us again, we're finished."
Qin Tian nodded.
For now—
Survival.
But then—
The battlefield shifted.
Two figures entered the fight.
Fast.
Blindingly fast.
Military Spiritualists.
The clash began instantly.
Steel met steel.
Energy erupted.
The air distorted.
The ground fractured.
Qin Tian focused—
But even with enhanced vision—
He couldn't fully follow.
Above current capability.
Still—
He analyzed.
The Sphinx Beastman was stronger.
Its movements—
Precise.
Coordinated.
Dominant.
Its mount—
Critical.
Support.
Mobility.
Balance.
A system.
Remove one—
The system collapses.
Qin Tian's hand moved.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
A new magazine.
Heavy.
Different.
Armor-Piercing Incendiary.
"Qin Tian…" Xiao Yunlong's voice tightened. "That won't kill it."
"I know."
His tone didn't change.
"So I won't try."
He raised the rifle.
The world narrowed.
Sound faded.
Chaos blurred.
Only one thing remained.
The Skyborne dromabeast.
Its movements—
Fast.
Unpredictable.
Instinctive.
Hard to kill.
But not impossible.
Every creature has a blind spot.
He waited.
Breath slowed.
Heartbeat aligned.
The battlefield became data.
Angles.
Timings.
Openings.
Then—
It happened.
The Sphinx attacked.
The mount followed.
A moment of commitment.
A moment of exposure.
Now.
Bang.
The bullet cut through air.
Invisible.
Inevitable.
The dromabeast reacted.
Too late.
Its eyelid closed—
Instinct.
Protection.
But not enough.
The round pierced.
Tore.
Entered.
Then—
Detonated.
Silence—
For a fraction of a second.
Then collapse.
The beast's body faltered.
Its movements broke.
Its system—
Failed.
The Sphinx Beastman staggered.
Just slightly.
But enough.
Its head turned.
Its gaze locked onto Qin Tian.
Across distance.
Across chaos.
Recognition.
Threat.
Qin Tian met its eyes.
No hatred.
No fear.
Only calculation.
Target confirmed.
Then—
The counterattack came.
Steel pierced flesh.
The balance shifted.
The Sphinx—
No longer invincible.
Beside him—
Xiao Yunlong exhaled sharply.
"You actually… did it…"
Excitement.
Relief.
Disbelief.
Qin Tian didn't respond.
Because something else had appeared.
A light.
Different.
Deeper.
It entered him.
And unfolded.
[Spatial Bag] (Blue)Active TalentCapacity: 41.6 m³
Qin Tian stood still.
Storage.
Containment.
Preservation.
Not just weapons.
Not just supplies.
Anything.
His gaze drifted—
Briefly—
Toward the battlefield.
Toward the corpses.
A new thought formed.
Quiet.
Natural.
Nothing needs to be wasted.
For a moment—
Something inside him hesitated.
A faint echo.
A resistance.
That's not…
Then—
It faded.
Replaced.
Efficient.
Qin Tian lowered his rifle.
Around him—
His teammates celebrated.
Victory.
Progress.
Survival.
But Qin Tian—
Understood something else entirely.
The battlefield wasn't chaos.
It was structure.
A system of loss—
Converted into gain.
And he—
Was learning how to use it.