The wind howled. Anya's wolf ears twitched slightly, and her entire body arched instantly, leaping back at an incredible speed to dodge the sudden slash!
Instinctively, Anya crouched on the ground, assuming a combat posture, her red eyes narrowing as she bared her teeth at the figure that had attacked her.
After seeing the outline of that figure, Anya sat dazedly on the ground, tilting her head.
The other person looked exactly like the golden-haired girl, and the aura was familiar to her, but the expression on the face... calm, so cold it felt alien to her.
Anya thought the other person came to play with her and instinctively moved closer until the figure swung a sword at her again.
Clang!
This time, she couldn't dodge, and her entire hand was hit until it turned red.
Anya shrunk into the corner like an injured wolf pup on the snowfield, gently licking her wound.
Punishment, she recalled punishment. Every time she made a mistake, someone would punish her.
Make a mistake and you'll get beaten; it's like a brand etched onto Anya's soul.
Playing too loudly would get you beaten...
Appearing where adults eat would get you beaten...
Rolling a dirty ball to the adults' feet and dirtying their shoes would get you beaten...
Baring teeth while being beaten would only make it worse.
She could endure all this, but she didn't know what mistake she had made today.
Moreover, clearly, the feeling the girl gave her was different from those adults.
In the darkness, she couldn't see the other person's expression clearly, yet she felt the cold, emotionless gaze of the figure in front of her!
This look was both strange and familiar to her, as if the figure of the golden-haired girl before her overlapped with the woman in her memories.
Only that woman would punish her based solely on her whims, perhaps just because she heard someone badmouthing her behind her back, venting all her anger on her.
She couldn't understand why the girl suddenly changed.
A training wooden sword fell in front of her.
Xu Xiaoyou: "Anya, pick up the sword."
The girl slowly placed her longsword across her chest, assuming a stance:
"Then, defeat me."
"Prove your worth!"
Xu Xiaoyou shouted, stepping forward, and charged rapidly toward Anya.
Seeing the girl coming fiercely, Anya picked up the sword and retreated. In the girl's forward cut, the longsword in her hand was knocked down, and the intense pain on the back of her hand made her pupils narrow, her entire expression becoming terrifying like an animal with bristled fur.
Just as Xu Xiaoyou snorted coldly, ready to face the little girl's counterattack, the other suddenly hugged her head and squatted down, as if curling up in the snow, wrapping herself in thick fur like an injured little wolf.
Getting closer, she heard the little girl's low whimper.
Anya often did this after making a mistake; as long as she protected the soft parts of her body, after others tired of beating her, it wouldn't hurt anymore.
This time, she instinctively adopted this method. Just as she anxiously awaited the wooden sword swing from the girl, the imagined pain did not arrive.
She tentatively raised her head to look at the girl, discovering that she was standing not far away, looking at her indifferently.
"Anya, pick up the sword."
"Prove your worth."
The mechanically synthesized voice came from the girl's mouth, and the same words echoed in Anya's ears.
"Worth..."
Anya mouthed the word as if trying to chew it thoroughly.
Different.
The golden-haired girl before her was different from that woman.
She was still too young, unable to articulate why it felt different.
Perhaps it was just because the girl hadn't slashed at her when she was curled up, or maybe she sensed that the girl wanted to teach her something.
She endured the pain on the back of her hand, picked up the wooden sword that had rolled beside her, and stood up again.
"Very good." Xu Xiaoyou assumed a sword-wielding stance. "Only if you're worth something won't you be abandoned."
"Now, strike at me."
Anya tightly gripped the longsword in her hand. At this moment, it extended from the hilt upward, as if it were an extension of her limb, like her outstretched sharp claws.
She became focused, and in this enclosed space, the cold wind seemed sharp, as if countless snowflakes fell, painting the world a vast white, stepping on the ground felt like stepping on a snow carpet, allowing her body to become agile.
This feeling was very familiar to her!
It was the long-lost sense of the hunt!
Accompanying the hunting memory was her wildness as a snowfield wolf.
The girl before her felt like prey, like a lost fawn on the snowfield, standing still there, full of defenseless vulnerabilities!
She pounced swiftly; the longsword was like sharp fangs, biting toward the girl's vulnerable neck!
The girl's movements were very slow, far less agile than hers; this strike should hit.
Just as Anya thought this in her heart, she heard Xu Xiaoyou's cold snort.
The girl's action was minimal, only slightly lifting the sword tip, positioning the longsword in front of her at a cunning angle to block her attack while drawing a horizontal slash, slapping her face hard, sending her small, thin body flying.
Her eyes widened slightly. She couldn't understand why, though her strength was greater than the girl's and her movements were far more agile, the seemingly perfect attack missed, and instead, she was struck at a flaw.
The young girl still stood in place, but the shadow she cast seemed to her to rise like a mountain, towering and majestic.
This feeling was almost as if, when she rushed to the prey, she suddenly realized it was a massive, robust reindeer. Just standing there, its mountainous size made it hard for her to breathe.
Anya refused to accept this, shaking her head as the girl's figure became clear in her eyes again.
She quickly ran to the girl's side, brandishing her longsword seemingly, but in the instant the opponent reacted, she grabbed the ground with one hand, ran swiftly, and instantly circled behind her. This was her proud hunting instinct!
Divert the prey's sight, then launch an attack from behind, biting through its throat in one strike!
Her speed was much faster than the opponent; the opponent couldn't react!
As Anya charged forward with her sword, the girl turned her gaze sideways. Her longsword turned and extended behind her, blocking Anya's attack without even turning her own body.
Anya growled low, increasing the grip on her sword, eager to use brute force to press the girl's position to change her strike angle.
Xu Xiaoyou's eyes narrowed sharply, turning sideways to employ the power of her waist. The force jumped from her wrist to the sword body, directly deflecting Anya's blade and then kicking Anya's body, sending her flying several meters away.
Anya fell but rose instantly, grabbing the ground and charging back towards the girl with her sword.
Just like before, her offensive was skillfully resolved by the opponent. Even though her strength and speed were far superior, and Xiaoyou seemed full of flaws, why did she feel seen through? Every move and technique was anticipated, making her feel like she was the prey full of weaknesses!
The primal wildness was fully awakened, the Wolf Race nature refused to be suppressed. She stopped thinking about past experiences, the pain this body had suffered, the punishments for mistakes, and everything about that woman. She wanted only to grip her sword tight, observe the figure before her, and counter it! Then, prove her worth!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sword edges clashed continuously, a crisp sound resonating. Xu Xiaoyou was surprised that the little girl's fighting spirit, rather than diminishing due to her injuries, seemed even sharper and fierce, gradually adapting to her rhythm.
From initially not being able to withstand even one round under her wooden sword to now managing a back-and-forth duel, even finding opportunities to counterattack despite minimal effect.
Was it the effect of the character experience bonus card?
The opponent's power, agility, and constitution visibly improved through continuous clashes, charging, and hits.
The transmission of muscle strength, the speed of nerve reactions, and... resilience.
Her expression calm, Xu Xiaoyou forcefully knocked Anya's sword away:
"If this is all you've got, you might as well drag yourself back to that cage."
She said, holding her sword before her: "There is no need for those without value in this city."
Anya, small and thin, panted heavily, tightly covering her bruised hand. Her vertical pupils seemed to engrave the figure before her deeply into her heart.
"Anya... will... prove worth."
Clang! Clang! Clang!
In the silent night, the room was filled with the crisp sound of wooden swords clashing, two figures flashing about.
Anya had lost count of how many times the wooden sword had landed upon her. The intensifying pain was not only felt on the surface, but a heart-piercing agony, far stronger than a whip lashing against saltwater-soaked skin. She didn't complain, only engraved this cruel pain into her body and heart.
"Too slow, faster, faster!" the girl yelled sharply.
After prolonged combat, the little girl was near exhaustion. She was panting heavily, her hand shaking uncontrollably while holding the wooden sword.
But Anya found a certain pattern; the opponent was very agile and could decipher her movements by minor fluctuations of her body.
Every time the opponent ended an attack, and it was her turn for a counterattack, the opponent would use strange footwork, dodging her attacks with the slightest movements and counter hers.
The Wolf Race's instinct told her that the opportunity had come and it would be the only one!
She no longer attacked closely, quickly retreating, and as she grasped the rhythm, the girl rapidly stepped forward, slashing horizontally, then—
Anya opened her mouth, biting fiercely on the wooden sword swung at her face by the girl!
The sharp teeth embedded themselves instantly into the resilient wooden sword, gripping so tight that no matter how much strength the girl used, she couldn't pull it out, disrupting her original footwork and bringing the girl right before her!
Now's the time!
Anya released her mouth and swung her longsword fiercely in that moment.
"Hmph..." Xu Xiaoyou smirked slightly, "A bit clever, but futile."
She observed Anya's sword trajectory, determined it to be a diagonal slash, and held her longsword horizontally in front of her chest.
But the little girl's wrist turned slightly, suddenly changing the diagonal slash to an upward cut, bouncing Xu Xiaoyou's wooden sword upwards!
Xu Xiaoyou's eyes widened slightly, watching Anya's wooden sword thrust directly towards her chest!
The move the opponent had just used seemed nothing like ordinary swordsmanship, but rather like spear technique, thrusting and piercing straight through the chest effortlessly!
In the next moment, Anya's wooden sword was pressed against the girl's chest, just a hair's breadth away.
The match already decided.
As the little girl excitedly looked up, her eyes shining with excitement: "Anya... has value..."
Before she could finish, the girl struck her face with the wooden sword, sending her flying once more.
"Did you eat something rotten to think the fight is over? Until you've stabbed your weapon into the enemy's chest and killed them, the fight is not over!" Xu Xiaoyou shouted.
This time, Anya lay on the ground, not getting up.
Seeing the time was about right, the blonde girl turned to leave, when a sudden chilling feeling spread from behind.
She glanced sideways.
The wind lifted the curtain, the pale moonlight illuminating the small girl's bruised body, silent and eerie.
Outside the window, a full moon hung...
Whether it was a low wolf's howl or a mad, hoarse laugh—
The hair on her body grew long, the claws in her hand became sharp, wolf ears perked up, and her frightening eyes were bloodshot, her presence increasingly menacing.
Substitute: "..."