We stood back-to-back.
The new Stage 3 Brute stomped forward. Not running—stalking. It didn't need to rush. It knew it could take a few hits. Knew most things wouldn't survive past their second swing.
Too bad for it, I wasn't most things.
Mu Qinglan leaned in, her shoulder brushing mine. Her breath was ice against my neck. "I'm going for the knees. You aim higher."
"No fancy plans?"
She grinned. "Just kill it."
The monster roared.
We moved.
Mu darted low. Her blade flashed in a sideways cut, frost coiling down the Brute's thigh. The ice spread fast, cracking skin, hardening muscle. She twirled, blade up, cutting the same leg again—deep this time.
It stumbled.
I didn't wait.
I charged, one fist cocked back, the other glowing as I flooded it with Fire Qi. The Primordial Tyrant Body Scripture responded like a living thing. It pulled Qi from my dantian, mixing it with Mu's Ice and Yifei's Fire, until it hissed inside my gauntlet like a furnace ready to burst.
