Australia, Victoria Desert.
Deep within the desert where ordinary people could hardly set foot, a man dressed in desert clothing was leisurely riding a camel.
The desert during daytime suffered beneath the scorching sunlight, the temperature of the sand capable of rising to a terrifying fifty degrees. Under such an environment, a normal person would dehydrate in less than two hours. Even with sufficient water supplies, exposed skin would still be sunburned.
The camel walked one step deep and one step shallow through the endless desert.
The man sitting atop the camel arrived at the top of a sand dune, raised his hand above his forehead to form a patch of shade, and cast his gaze toward the distant desert, seemingly searching for something.
His line of sight crossed over the rolling dunes, and on a distant stretch of Gobi desert, there was astonishingly a unique building.
It was a cave-style house built from red soil and bricks. It was difficult to imagine that traces of human habitation could still be seen in this region far from water sources. One must know that the nearest oasis was at least hundreds of kilometers away from here.
The man sitting atop the camel thought for a moment, then continued forward in that direction.
Distances in the desert that appeared close were actually far more distant than imagined when traversed. It took more than two full hours and emptied two entire water bags before the man finally arrived at that stretch of Gobi desert.
But when he finally approached the cave dwelling with great difficulty, he discovered that there was actually someone fighting there.
A blonde beauty clad in gorgeous white-gold armor, wielding a spear and war shield, was fiercely battling dozens of ferocious monsters. Wherever both sides passed, smoke and dust billowed while roars and battle cries echoed throughout the surroundings.
Judging from the current situation, the woman was clearly at a disadvantage.
The frenzied siege from dozens of monsters fearless of death added several new wounds onto the woman's body. She retreated step by step, already showing signs of defeat.
The powerful wind stirred up by the battle blew off the man's headscarf, revealing short silver hair.
"So I've finally found it..."
The man's eyes narrowed into crescent shapes as the corners of his lips curved upward, resembling a cunning fox.
Boom——!
A streak of golden light directly landed before the man, blasting a huge crater into the Gobi desert.
Wrapped by powerful winds, shattered stones whistled outward like bullets fired from a chamber, shooting in all directions. The camel panicked and flailed wildly, nearly throwing the man off its back.
The camel's frightened cries seemed like some kind of signal.
The monsters that had originally been besieging the blonde beauty instantly had their attention attracted by that sound. Several pairs of cold golden pupils directly locked onto the camel and the man atop it, revealing predatory killing intent.
"An ordinary person?"
The blonde Valkyrie also heard the sound, but after seeing the newcomer clearly, a trace of astonishment appeared on her face before she loudly warned: "Damn it... hurry and leave! Don't come near here!"
But unfortunately, the monsters were faster than her voice, directly pouncing toward the camel and the man.
Several monsters let out thunderous roars as their four limbs trampled across the Gobi desert, their speed as swift as lightning. They rapidly rushed before the man and extended their sharp claws.
Just as the man was about to lose his life, a streak of golden light suddenly rushed before his eyes.
Almost within an instant, the blonde Valkyrie had already arrived before him. Her left arm raised high a war shield woven from golden energy while her legs spread apart and slightly bent down, assuming a defensive stance prepared for impact.
Boom!
One monster violently crashed into the war shield, and the enormous impact lifted rolling airwaves.
Since the blonde Valkyrie had prepared for the impact beforehand, her body merely shook slightly while the spear in her right hand thrust toward the monster.
The sharp golden spear directly pierced through the monster, and large amounts of blood splashed downward onto the scorching Gobi desert, where the high temperature evaporated it into nauseating odors, like herring left to rot for dozens of days.
But the danger had not yet been resolved!
Two monsters beside them rushed over, launching attacks from two separate directions.
The blonde Valkyrie suddenly threw the spear in her hand. Like a bolt of lightning tearing through the night sky, it directly pierced through the monster on the left and, together with its enormous body, dragged it before pinning it onto the Gobi desert.
The golden war shield in her left hand instantly transformed into a longsword.
The blonde Valkyrie let out a long howl as the killing intent in her eyes became increasingly intense. Holding the sword with both hands, she slashed downward and directly split the monster on the right into two halves.
In the blink of an eye, all three monsters were instantly killed.
But before she could even catch her breath, a fishy stench assaulted her face. The gale carried terrifying killing intent, and sharp whistling sounds rang beside her ears. Clearly another four or five monsters had pounced over, completely unwilling to give her any rest.
Actually, from the perspective of strength alone, the blonde Valkyrie did not fear these monsters.
If it were one against one, she could chop off a monster's head in less than three exchanges. Even facing more than ten monsters alone, she could still slice off their heads like chopping melons and vegetables.
However, the problem was..... there were simply too many monsters.
A full forty or fifty monsters, and they even possessed teamwork awareness, coordinating flawlessly with one another.
This was something she had never encountered before. Every time she wanted to kill a monster, other monsters would come to provide support. Back and forth like this, she instead fell into a disadvantage.
While distracted in thought, the Valkyrie was accidentally struck by a monster's vine whip.
The blonde Valkyrie tilted her head back and spat out a mouthful of blood, retreating several steps while leaving a string of footprints on the Gobi desert. The white-gold armor emitted a crisp mournful sound, and several cracks astonishingly appeared where the vine had struck.
"Roar..."
More and more monsters surrounded them, enclosing the blonde Valkyrie and the man within.
"Damn it... there are actually this many left!"
The blonde Valkyrie panted heavily, her eyes carrying solemnity. She looked back at the man atop the camel and bitterly said: "Human, later I'll tear open a path. Take the chance to escape from here immediately, understand?"
"If I leave, then what about you?"
Despite being surrounded by so many monsters, the man did not show the slightest bit of tension. Narrowing his eyes as he swept his gaze around, he asked: "You shouldn't be these monsters' opponent, right? Wouldn't the best choice be abandoning me and escaping by yourself?"
"These Deviants' target is me!"
The blonde Valkyrie panted as she solemnly said: "You're only an ordinary human. Protecting you is my duty!"
"So that's how it is."
The man revealed an enlightened expression as he glanced at the blonde Valkyrie and teasingly said: "You seem very familiar with them. Can you tell me more... about these Deviants?"
"Are you... crazy?"
The blonde Valkyrie turned around and looked at him in astonishment, cursing: "Open your eyes and look clearly. These Deviants want nothing more than to eat us, and you're still asking me about them here?"
"Really?"
The man flipped down from the camel and soothed the frightened camel while indifferently saying: "Why do I think they..... look very obedient?"
"Obedient my..."
The blonde Valkyrie's words stopped halfway as she suddenly froze.
She discovered that for some unknown reason, these Deviants had actually stopped continuing their attacks. Contrary to their previous violent behavior, they restrained their berserk posture and merely circled around them while emitting uneasy low growls, seemingly fearing something.
"Allow me to introduce myself, you can call me 'Gin.'"
The man's eyes slightly narrowed, the crescent-shaped curves holding a gentle smile.
He was... Ichimaru Gin.
"Shinsō... Butō Renjin!"
Ichimaru Gin held a short blade in his hand, the corners of his lips curling upward into a chillingly cold arc that made one's heart tremble.
The next moment, the blonde Valkyrie heard a soft chant.
It was the ringing sound of a blade leaving its sheath, crisp and light, like a gentle crescent moon slowly rising within her eyes, transforming into a torrential rainstorm as it rode fierce winds and tore apart the sky.
Blade lights too numerous to count with the naked eye instantly enveloped a radius of several hundred meters, permeated by incomparably sharp sword qi.
One Deviant after another did not even manage to let out screams before being shredded within the dense rain-like blade lights. The largest remaining piece was not even the size of a fingernail.