The night wind passed through the dense forest like iron thorns and arrived at this vast expanse of open ground. The tough, yellowing grass, half a man's height, swayed in the wind, rolling and undulating like ocean waves.

In this insane, savage world, brimming with violence and primitiveness, even the evening wind felt much wilder.

In the perception of the Black Marsh's denizens, this wind, though swift, could only be considered "ordinary."

But for visitors from other worlds, this howling, wailing, mourning evening wind, carrying a heavy scent, truly deserved to be called "strong."

Under the bright moonlight, a one-horned giant bear pounced on a sleek, agile saber-toothed beast with a lion-tiger-like build. The two behemoths' flesh-and-blood bodies collided, producing a sound like a massive leather drum crashing to the ground.

"Boom!"

Teeth, claws, and sharp horns clashed and wrestled in the fray. Skin and flesh tore open once more.

The saber-toothed beast's long fangs embedded themselves into the giant bear's left shoulder and ripped away flesh, coming dangerously close to biting its neck!

Meanwhile, the giant bear's sharp horn pierced through the saber-toothed beast's left forepaw, and its two paws left several deep bloody gashes on the beast's back!

"Roar!"

The two giant beasts roared ferociously, briefly separated, and then lunged at each other again. Their mutual struggle escalated into a white-hot frenzy!

The spreading scent of blood further ignited the beasts' ferocity, narrowing their vision until they saw only each other.

And it was precisely this life-or-death struggle, where their eyes held only each other, that made them almost forget everything around them.

Naturally, they also overlooked the greater threat that was stealthily approaching!

"Shhhhk!"

A thrown dagger, cunningly aimed, plunged straight into the giant bear's left eye. The eyeball made a bursting sound.

The giant bear let out a pained roar, blood trickling from its eye socket.

The side that had been dominant instantly lost its balance and was pounced upon and pinned down by the saber-toothed beast.

Driven by its savage nature, the saber-toothed beast, though unsure why the giant bear suddenly fell, was ready to press its advantage and gut its opponent!

But...

"Get lost, beast!"

A thunderous roar erupted. From the shadows formed by the two beasts' own figures, a human clad in animal hide clothing sprang out, thrusting a long spear with both hands through the saber-toothed beast's abdomen!

In a single instant, both fighting giant beasts were grievously wounded once more—this time, the injuries came from a third party who had suddenly entered the fray!

But likewise, this third party instantly drew the hatred of both giant beasts simultaneously!

The injuries to the giant bear and the saber-toothed beast were severe but not fatal. Coming to their senses, they let out successive roars, now wary of the suddenly appearing and obviously most threatening third party.

Namely, Lin Yu, who was drenched in blood!

"Roar!"

The two giant beasts roared repeatedly. The saber-toothed beast arched its back, and the giant bear stood on its hind legs, raising its front paws, both adopting postures ready to attack Lin Yu at any moment.

Standing between the two beasts, now clearly in attack mode, with both his weapons left embedded in their bodies, Lin Yu remained utterly unperturbed.

He simply raised his hand high and called out into the strong evening wind.

"Come on, Fern!"

From the other side of the wind, there was no verbal response.

But the answer to Lin Yu's call came in the form of two sounds cutting through the air!

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Two steel crossbow bolts, arriving almost simultaneously, sank into the giant beasts' backs. Although, proportionally speaking, these bolts were little different from slightly thicker needles to these behemoths, the stinging pain still startled them for a moment.

Lin Yu smiled.

The wind, as if on cue, suddenly intensified a few degrees, sweeping many loosely rooted weeds into the sky. But more remained firmly rooted, merely flattened to one side.

Lin Yu recalled that ancient poem from the Tang dynasty.

"Strong winds reveal sturdy grass;turmoil identifies loyal ministers!"

The two giant beasts crashed to the ground. Lin Yu stepped forward, pulled the long spear from the saber-toothed beast's abdomen, reversed it, and plunged it deep into the giant bear's skull!

The beast's hide was thick, its flesh coarse, and its skull exceptionally hard. But the spear in Lin Yu's hand came from that Blood Rakshasa he had killed, crafted specifically for hunting!

Coupled with Lin Yu's current extraordinary physical fitness and wrist strength, piercing the bear's skull was only natural!

The terrifying giant beast grunted once, then died.

Lin Yu pulled out the spear and looked at the saber-toothed beast.

There seemed to be a little residual time left on the paralysis effect. The saber-toothed beast trembled, trying to struggle to its feet, but couldn't break free yet.

Lin Yu let out a breath.

The gamble paid off. That suddenly appearing, highly suspicious Fern indeed hadn't been boasting and had genuinely helped him.

Of course, the most important thing was...

This performance was a complete success.

The recklessness, belligerence, confidence, wildness, and taciturnity he had displayed were now laid bare through this victory in battle.

But Lin Yu knew very well that his combat style was nothing like the natural, innate ferocity of a battle maniac he had performed.

Every step was meticulously crafted—first, using Hannah's disguise to approach slowly, then throwing the [Seeking Enemy Dagger] once close enough.

Since this dagger produced by 'Order' had "Seeking Enemy" in its name, it wasn't a simple blank-slate weapon. It naturally possessed relevant additional properties.

[Seeking Enemy Dagger: When thrown or used in an attack, can activate the "Seek Enemy" function to adjust and correct the dagger's trajectory for optimal effect. Cooldown Time: eight hours.]

In other words, Lin Yu only needed to aim for the head when throwing, and a critical hit was guaranteed!

And the moment the dagger struck, he activated [Corner of the Gloomy], moving into the shadows of the two beasts to wound the saber-toothed beast with the spear.

By this point, Lin Yu had nearly exhausted all his strength and used all his tricks!

But this wasn't exactly reckless—after all, if Fern helped him, then he could attempt to kill both giant beasts.

Even if this newly-met Player proved untrustworthy, Lin Yu still had the [Repaired Fog Pocket Watch]. Whether he refreshed the [One-Shot Revolver] or used [Corner of the Gloomy] again, he had enough confidence to escape safely.

Of course, the premise for doing all this was...

Even though this was a "performance" and a "deception," at this moment, Lin Yu genuinely possessed the real, substantial capability to kill both giant beasts.

Although he rarely engaged in direct frontal combat, Lin Yu had always maintained a relatively clear assessment of his own fighting strength.

Every time a new [item] was acquired, every time he improved in any form, Lin Yu would clearly grasp what "level" of combat power he had reached and what specific grade of strength he possessed.

It was precisely this that gave him the courage to weave the deception of claiming to be a "Rakshasa"—not just because Rakshasas hadn't appeared for a long time, but also because Lin Yu's current combat strength, with a little "performance technique" applied, was indeed enough to make people doubt whether he was human.

Just like now, even though he presented himself to Fern as if he were a Player, the role Lin Yu was actually playing at this moment was that of a "Rakshasa impersonating a Player."

And this hunt was about planting a seed in Fern's heart, who was acting as a "Player," before the rumors began... This would be the most crucial seed.

"Then, at the end of the performance, let's sprinkle one final handful of soil!"

Lin Yu looked at the saber-toothed beast about to struggle to its feet and murmured.