Lian thrust her spear towards Orion, the weapon emanating a reddish aura. The spear's flexibility made its movements unpredictable, wobbling and bending with every motion. Armed with a spear of its own, Orion deflected Lian's thrust to the side. Quickly retracting her weapon, Lian spun around and delivered a powerful horizontal slash with her spear, forcing Orion to block the fierce attack. The sheer force of the strike took Orion by surprise. Even a martial arts expert from Earth wouldn't possess this kind of power, Orion silently pondered.

 

Lian didn't relent, continuously barraging Orion with a mix of attacks. Sometimes her moves were gentle and smooth, yet lethal; at other times, they were fierce and straightforward. She cleverly interspersed her assault with tricks and feints. Overwhelmed, Orion found itself sustaining multiple stabs and cuts.

 

"Just who are you exactly?" Lian asked, panting slightly. She was taken aback by her clash with Orion. Despite appearing to be a complete amateur in fighting, Orion's adaptability was astonishing. Lian feel that as their duel progressed, Orion seemed to grow stronger; his movements became more fluid, coordinated, and his attacks more connected. Lian also realized that Orion didn't appear to use any cultivation technique or combat techniques at all and didn't utilize any Qi. Instead, Orion relied on martial arts and the raw power of his body. Meanwhile, Hu stood to the side, watching coldly and pondering the same observations.

 

Orion didn't reply and instead dashed towards Lian, ready for a counterattack. From their previous clash, Orion had gathered enough data. This enabled its AI to significantly refine its spear technique.

 

The tables had turned, and Lian found herself overwhelmed by Orion's relentless and precise strikes, each attack is well connected with the others and aimed at vital points. Beads of sweat began to roll down Lian's face.

 

"Don't think you've won just yet!" she exclaimed. "Fire Lotus Blooms!" Lian channeled a large amount of qi from her dantian and unleashed her combat technique. As she thrust her spear towards Orion, a thick, red, fiery aura enveloped the spear's tip. Suddenly, the fiery tip multiplied, producing three identical points, making it challenging to discern which one was real. It was her ultimate move.

 

Unbeknownst to Lian, Orion's thermographic camera could determine which of the three spear tips was real. One of them differed from the other two, allowing Orion to discern the genuine attack.

 

Unexpectedly, Orion thrust its spear into the ground and stood motionless, awaiting Lian's impending attack. "Bastard! Don't get too cocky," Lian was enraged, she detested being looked down upon by others. "Do you really think you can face this attack head-on?" 

 

As her attack neared, Orion deftly sidestepped the genuine spear thrust, pivoting its body just slightly. Grasping the spear with both hands, Orion sought to lift Lian. Turning its back to her and using its shoulder as leverage, Orion hoisted Lian off the ground. The momentum from Lian's charge, combined with Orion's strength, allowed it to slam both the spear and Lian into the ground with immense force. Lian lay motionless, her fate uncertain.

 

Orion examined its chest area. One of Lian's illusory spear strikes had grazed it, leaving both a scratch and burn damage. What kind of technique did she use? Orion wondered. She managed to infuse fire into her spear attack. Is it magic, or is there some trick within the spear itself?

 

The wind whistled through the trees, fanning the campfire's flames. Dry leaves, lifted by the gusts, danced through the air, while the grass swayed rhythmically. The trees and bushes rustled with every gust. 

 

Amid the natural symphony, a distinct sound of applause echoed. "Not bad," a voice remarked while clapped, "to think that you could defeat my underlings so easily."

 

"Don't get too confident,"  Hu remarked with folded arms, exuding confidence. "They were merely just a bunch of trash. I, however, am in a different league."

 

"Your ability to adapt and improve during a fight is indeed impressive," Hu said with a smirk, "but relying solely on that won't be enough to defeat me." Hu then extended his arm, motioning with his fingers for Orion to approach. "Come, let me show you a real fight."

 

Orion recognized the individual before it as the leader and undoubtedly the strongest of the group. Knowing that this wouldn't be an easy fight, Orion swiftly grabbed Lian's spear from the ground and lunged forward. In an unexpected move, Orion leaped into the air, brandishing the spear with both hands, aiming it downwards in a powerful slash. Hu deftly sidestepped, dodging the attack. Orion, however, was relentless and immediately followed with another sharp swing. Hu retreated just in time to avoid it. Pressing on, Orion lunged once more, targeting Hu's chest with the spear's point.

 

Hu grinned and, with surprising agility, dashed towards Orion, narrowly avoiding the spear thrust. Without missing a beat, he landed a left fist on Orion' face, quickly followed by a right punch and a knee to the gut, sending Orion flying backward.

 

With just a single counterattack from Hu, the outer glass casing covering Orion's front head that is as strong as bulletproof glass, was filled with cracks. Fortunately, the optical and many other sensors behind the glass were not damaged. Orion's casing at the belly was dented, but there were no critical components in that area, so the overall damage was negligible.

 

"Ha ha ha! How about that?" Hu exclaimed, standing proudly with a smile as he watched Orion rise. "I told you I'm different from those trash."

 

He gestured with his fingers, beckoning Orion to approach once more. "Come on," he taunted, a wild grin on his face. "I'm going to beat you to a pulp and leave you barely breathing then feed you to the dogs. I won't give you another chance to enhance your fighting technique he he he."

 

How did that woman use that fire technique? Orion mused, choosing to ignore Hu's taunts. Examining the spear, Orion searched for some mechanism, but found none. Is it a magic trick? How can such a thing even happen? The mystery puzzled Orion. Is this a common occurrence in this world? Perhaps I'm in a world where magic is the norm, Orion contemplated.

 

Well, none of that matters right now. Due to the cracked glass casing, Orion's vision isn't as clear as before, and finding a way to win against Hu remains elusive. Hu is not only stronger and faster but also has superior combat experience, making the challenge particularly daunting.

 

"If you won't come to me, then I'll come to you," Hu declared, striding forward to engage Orion. In response, Orion thrust its spear at Hu, trying to maintain distance. Hu responded swiftly, deflecting the spear aside with a powerful right kick and closing the gap. He then aimed a right punch at Orion, which Orion narrowly dodged. "Heaaaa," Hu exclaimed, launching a side kick with his right leg. Orion managed to block it with its left arm. 

 

Suddenly, Hu lunged, attempting to choke Orion with a claw-like grip on its neck. "He he he, got you," Hu grinned maliciously. Orion tried to attack using the spear but given the close proximity, the spear was rendered almost useless. 

 

Hu managed to grab Orion's neck then with a burst of strength, thrust Orion down, slamming it hard into the ground. The impact was so forceful it caused the ground to tremble. The sudden jolt shocked Orion's system, prompting an immediate restart. In the process, Orion also lost its grip on the spear.

 

>System restart

>...

>System normal

 

The pressing situation weighed heavily on Orion's processors. Oh no, at this rate I'll be defeated. What should I do? There seems to be no opportunity, no chance to get free from his hold, and no way to turn the situation around, Orion internally calculated.

 

With Hu pinning Orion down and gripping its neck, he brought his face close to Orion's, his expression twisted into a malevolent grin. "Any last words?"

 

Just then, a realization flashed through Orion's system. This is my chance! it thought, spotting an unexpected opportunity.