191: Chapter 191 Young people are so concerned about saving face…

Cui Jingming gripped his greatsword with both hands, his muscles tensing as he stared at the bulky Lesser Demon before him.

The opponent charged with a hammer, swinging it in a wide arc aimed straight for his head.

Cui Jingming was confident enough not to dodge.

He sidestepped half a pace; the hammerhead grazed his shoulder and smashed violently into the ground.

In that same instant, he gripped his sword with both hands and swung it upward with a fierce burst of strength.

The greatsword carved an arc through the air, its blade slicing directly into the Lesser Demon's neck.

Like a hot knife through butter, the blade passed through without the slightest hesitation.

The Lesser Demon's head flew up, hit the ground, and rolled twice.

Having dealt with his opponent, Cui Jingming sheathed his sword, stood firm, and quickly scanned the entire battlefield.

Then, he raised his sword again and charged toward the squad where the fighting was most deadlocked.

With his intervention, the situation underwent an even more obvious change.

In this manner, he lent a hand here and saved someone there.

Every time he secured a spot, that squad could free themselves up to join other combat circles.

The advantage snowballed further and further.

Lesser Demons fell one after another.

After another ten minutes or so, the battle had basically secured a victory and entered the final cleanup phase.

By this stage, Cui Jingming could basically tell that this Assessment primarily tested their organizational abilities.

These Lesser Demons had almost no organization; they all fought individually.

As long as their organization and coordination reached a certain level, securing the final victory was essentially no problem.

He just hadn't expected the process to go so smoothly.

After glancing at the corpses of the Lesser Demons strewn across the ground, Cui Jingming scanned the battlefield once more to check the progress and see if there were any oversights.

Hmm, casualties weren't high; there were fewer than ten seriously injured, and as for the lightly injured, there were plenty of Healers in the squads, so there was no need to worry.

It was much better than he had anticipated.

Having seen the tragic state of the battles on those two sides before the Assessment even began, he had been somewhat worried.

Looking at it now, he had handled things quite well.

Thinking this, he suddenly remembered something and turned his head toward the left edge of the area.

Hmm...

Gu Changming was still fighting that thin Lesser Demon.

He narrowed his eyes and watched for a short while.

The situation was much better than before.

Previously, Gu Changming had been constantly suppressed, fighting while retreating, looking like he might collapse at any moment.

It was different now.

The two were trading blows, both attacking and defending.

Blade and claws clashed, sending sparks flying.

They seemed evenly matched.

...

Gu Changming lunged with his blade toward the opponent's face.

The Lesser Demon tilted its body, dodging effortlessly, and swung its clawed blade toward his wrist in passing.

Gu Changming immediately withdrew his blade, kicked off the ground, and instantly retreated four or five meters.

He opened up the distance.

He couldn't let it stay stuck to him.

The opponent's comprehensive stats were significantly higher than his; he would be the one to suffer in a close-quarters struggle.

The Lesser Demon was in no hurry to chase him.

It stood in place, tilting its head to look at him with a smirk and a hint of playfulness in its eyes.

Gu Changming ignored it.

With a wave of his hand, the Thousand Silk Shuttle flew out from his sleeve, stretching into several thin lines in the air to entwine the Lesser Demon.

The Lesser Demon swung its claws to slash them, but those lines seemed alive; they dispersed upon contact and gathered again, circling around him.

Gu Changming didn't place any hope in the Thousand Silk Shuttle achieving any major results; it was just to slightly trap the opponent, preventing it from rushing forward and dragging him into its rhythm.

Having gained a brief moment of respite, Gu Changming took a few breaths and looked at his opponent again.

After a period of entanglement, he had also analyzed the opponent's combat habits.

It was arrogant and liked to toy with its opponents.

Its combat power was indeed strong, but its experience was somewhat lacking.

It should be as the rules stated—something generated, rather than an A-rank played by another race.

Otherwise, those who had reached A-rank through the trials of Assessments would have all fought their way up.

That kind of person wouldn't have this mindset in battle.

A lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit; that is the most basic principle.

They wouldn't have this toying attitude.

Gu Changming gripped the night erosion in his hand; next, he only needed to wait for an opportunity.

Once the opponent revealed a flaw and he seized that one chance, he should be able to counter-kill it.

...

Gu Changming was still constantly jockeying with the Lesser Demon.

On the side, Cui Jingming, who was watching their fight, really couldn't bear to watch any longer.

Against such a thin Lesser Demon, Gu Changming had actually ground it out for so long, and his fighting style was extremely cautious, not daring to face the opponent head-on at all.

Looking at the squads that were nearly finished with their battles, Cui Jingming simply raised his greatsword again.

Well, he planned to go over and help.

Lest Gu Changming continue like this and, in a moment of carelessness, become exhausted and give the opponent an opening.

It would be better to resolve the fight quickly; otherwise, it would be somewhat embarrassing if everyone else's battles were over while he was still fighting.

He raised the greatsword in his hand, gathering strength in his legs, just about to sprint forward.

At the same time.

Gu Changming caught his movement out of the corner of his eye; with just one glance, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

This was the first time he had been so tense during his battle with this Lesser Demon.

"What are you doing!" Gu Changming immediately shouted to stop him.

Big brother, are you trying to get killed?!

Being shouted at like that, Cui Jingming was also stunned, but fortunately, he didn't charge up.

"I'm coming to help you!" he responded.

"No need!"

Gu Changming saw that the Lesser Demon across from him also seemed to have locked onto Cui Jingming, so he immediately flashed and blocked the space between the two, cutting off the opponent's path.

"Do you really not need help?" Cui Jingming was still shouting from behind; he saw that the other was clearly struggling.

"Don't come up! I'll do it myself," Gu Changming shouted helplessly.

When the opponent fought him, because of his own combat experience, he had avoided clashing head-on, and the two were still predicting each other's moves.

That was why the battle looked so mediocre.

But the opponent was a genuine A-rank.

At most, Cui Jingming was a C-rank with mid-tier combat power.

The opponent was two whole major ranks above him; such was the disparity in combat power.

If Cui Jingming had just charged up and been grazed by the opponent, he might have died on the spot, beyond saving.

That was why he had been so tense just now; he had finally managed to keep this guy pinned down to prevent it from entering the battlefield and causing havoc, so don't you dare come up and throw your life away.

Hearing Gu Changming's shout, Cui Jingming pursed his lips, sighed, and stuck the raised greatsword back into the ground.

Tsk, quite the competitive streak, isn't he.

Cui Jingming looked at Gu Changming's back and shook his head, no longer insisting on going up.

True, young people are more concerned about saving face.

He can solve it himself; if I go up to help him, he'll instead feel that I'm being meddlesome.

Better just watch; if something really goes wrong, it won't be too late to step in then.