Although Erza was not able to move even a fraction underneath the overwhelming pressure, she was still unyielding to the man. Her inner energy continued to circulate as it tried to counteract the foreign essences surrounding her.
Underneath Erza's legs, the ground began to split away into several cracks. From the centre of her feet, a series of spiderweb like cracks began to develop in every direction. After the stone had broke, Erza was slowly starting to sink into the ground.
Seeing how the envoy from the Imperial City was treating Erza, Caesar could not help but have an anxious look on his face from the side. In his heart, he had already been convinced that Erza was the young daughter of an influential clan who was currently travelling around the continent to temper herself. Moreover, she was definitely the clan's chosen daughter with a potential that could only be seen once every hundred years.
If a youngster like her was able to reach the Mid King level, then it was hard to tell exactly where her real limit was, or what heights she could reach. If this envoy was to offend Erza, then he was not sure exactly what problem would occur later on. Most importantly, if Erza was holding a grudge after this, then a headache of a problem would definitely occur and trouble would happen.
Despite the worry on Caesar's face, the two envoys in front of him were not people he could afford to offend. So, after a single attempt at placating the two, he did not say anything more and in fear of angering them, he stood by the sidelines once more.
The envoy was trying to test Erza's strength and so they continued to increase the pressure onto Erza. At this moment, both of Erza's legs were breaking through the dirt, making her sink into the ground.
Erza's face was incomparably white as if a heavy stone was pressing down onto her body. Just breathing was a difficult task for her, but she continued to grit her teeth and persevere, while her eyes grew colder by the second as killing intent grew within them. Clearly, the actions of this envoy had invoked Erza's killing intent.
The envoy was still smiling at Erza with a gentle look, almost as if he was a kind old man looking after his domesticated livestock. However, the ever increasing amount of pressure still pressing down on Erza, so much until she was not able to move even a fingernail.
"This must be the true extent of a Peak King's strength. With just the pressure coming from his body, I've been unable to move; how terrifying!" Erza thought to herself in shock. In the higher realms, the difference between each level was like the difference between heaven and earth. There was just a huge line that separated between them.
Just as Erza was barely able to control her breathing, suddenly a green glow of light emerged from her body and formed an ancient symbol on her forehead. It looked like a shining sun with a star in the middle of it.
At the same time, an unbelievably strong amount of sword essences flew outward almost as if it were appearing out of nowhere. In a split second, the entire garden was filled with green sword petals and every unit of air was condensed with it.
These were Erza's true essences. They were formed from her strong belief and understanding. In order to bring HOPE to herself, she would not allow anything to stand in her path. If anything blocked her path, then she would destroy it. If the things could threaten her in the future, then she would cut the root before it could sprout, just like the case with the Collins.
Each of the petals gave out a sharp feeling. In fact, the feeling was similar to being sliced by multiple swords with a stinging sensation.
The moment the sword essences flew out from Erza's body, the flowers all around the garden began to dance wildly and the next moment not a single stalk of grass or flower was left remaining.
Abruptly, the stone pavilion echoed with a rustling sound, as sword petals covering the sky in every direction. A short moment later, the outside of the pavilion could not even be seen anymore thanks to the sword petals which completely covered everyone's line of sight.
"What…what type of power is this? Hurry up and get back!" The two envoys no longer had their calm expression on their faces and immediately flew backward to escape from the perimeter of the sword petals.
Even Caesar's reaction was not slow as he immediately leaped backward as well. His entire face was filled with anxiety before shock quickly overtook it.
Just as the two envoys retreated, the green coloured sword petals suddenly disappeared from their sights.
The two envoys and Caesar stood hundred meters away in shock as they looked at Erza with disbelief. However, Erza was actually in a sorrier state than before as the ground beneath her feet were filled with cracks and blood was flowing out from between her lips.
From the three men's faces, a decent amount of tiny wounds with blood barely leaking out could be seen. In addition,some of their hairs had been cut into pieces and floated away in the air. Even their clothes had been ripped and began to stain with blood.
"Ju…just what kind of power is this, how could it be this terrifying?!" The gentle looking envoy cried out with shock.
In that split second, both envoys had used their essences to protect themselves, however, something absolutely shocking had happened then. This mysterious type of power had seemingly ignored their defences and went on to injure both of them.
Even more shocking, they had felt countless tiny blades like petals cut into them all over their bodies. Their thighs, waists, arms, hands, face, forehead, and chest had all been cut in some way and almost became a bloody mess.
Seeing the miserable situation the two envoys were in a hundred meters away, Erza felt the final dregs of her anger flowing away from her. Although that envoy had placed an unbelievably strong amount of pressure on her, the consequences they had both suffered were not light. Not only were their bodies wounded, but it had also been an attack on their superiority as a Peak King; this by itself would had been enough to insult their honour.
Even though it put a great toll on her body, Erza was still happy with the results. She had proven to them that she was not so easy to bully.
Erza then looked around her, only to see the previous beautiful garden had been reduced to dust thanks to the sword essences she had emitted. She felt a bit regret about that, but nothing could be done at this point.
"This…this is how strong she is? H-how…how terrifying for someone at her age…" The raggedy Caesar went pale in the face as he muttered to himself.
His forehead glistened with sweat like the other two envoys by his side. With his clothes no longer doing a proper job, every inch of his body could be seen with wounds and blood dripping all over. If it was not for the fact that he was bleeding, then no one would have believed that the city lord had been injured.
Looking at the three of them, she could not help but take pleasure in their pain. Wiping away the trace of blood below her lips, she spoke out at last, "Lord Caesar, senior envoys, are you all fine?" With each word spoken, Erza took another step toward them.
Caesar's face twitched as he took a few steps back. That was a reflect born from his instinct and experience. Despite being a realm higher than the girl in front him, Caesar could not help but to be cautious. From the sudden event that had just transpired, Caesar realized that Erza was stronger than he initially thought and she could even threaten his own life!