Shirley had no time to breath or glance at her wounds. Her enemies did not let up at all. They were vastly different from the Second Hand. After all, they were not assassins. Assassins had to slink in the dark and strike at the opportune time to deliver a single fatal blow! Their modus operandi was kill in one strike, leave no one alive! The average assassin was at Fundamental Realm Master or Half-Perception Realm. However, their combat capability was relatively lower in priority. The current attackers did not have to avoid combat and face Shirley and Freon directly! They were not kind enough to give breathing room!
After losing her halberd, her two enemies continued to advance while Shirley continued to retreat. These two had exceptional coordination and worked without speaking. Both worked to flank her in the middle. Shirley did not hesitate to pull out her sheath and use it as a second weapon. The first slash came from her right. It descended on her with frightening momentum. Shirley raised her sword and met the attack. Sparks flew but she stood her ground! Her second opponent attacked at the same time from the left. The girl clicked her tongue and hurriedly used her sheath to block.
However, as she stepped back, she slipped on a broken chair leg. The entire room was already turned to scrap from Avin's battle, so bits of furniture were everywhere. She arched backward and panicked. The sword aiming for her sheath conveniently missed, slicing the air above her head. Her body was contorted in an awkward fashion as she used one hand to balance herself. Subconsciously, she transferred her remaining momentum into a kick. She wanted to knock the swordsmen on their feet! This strange style baffled her opponents. One second, she was tripping over a chair leg. The second, she decided to kick them. This was the skill of a master: to turn disadvantage into advantage! However, her skills were clearly lopsided.
Just what is with this girl? the two's mouths twitched.
Their movements never stopped though. They dodged the sweep from Shirley's leg while slashing down. However, the girl twisted her wrist and used her free leg to propel herself forward instead. She dashed right below the sword paths to sneak through the two of them. Her every movement was surprisingly fluid and seamless, like everything was planned beforehand. It was like a choreography for a play. Two swords grazed her chest and face again, leaving shallow cuts across her skin. Her opponents could not help but think she was as slippery as an eel! The sheer flexibility and dexterity displayed by Shirley was shocking! She had reached a profound level of bodily mastery and seemed to be improving by the second.
Moreover, the truly shocking thing was her adaptability! Nothing else came close. To explain this, it would be easiest to provide an example. When faced with a crossroad, one would hesitate to go on the left or the right path. After all, there were all sorts of considerations: the length, destination, danger, terrain, and so forth. Barring the brainless who would toss a coin and choose haphazardly, almost everyone would deliberate carefully before deciding. Seasoned travellers would be a step up and could decide quickly with their experience. Experts might be able to do the same instantly.
In combat, it was the same thing. Whether to slash left or right, hack or sweep, pivot or parry, a battle was an intense swirling storm of decisions. Every second, decisions needed to be made! One wrong step could lead to calamity. Add ten wrong steps together and death was a certainty. To determine the best path was the mark of a true master. Only those with a monstrous wealth of experience could do such a thing. Currently, Shirley was exhibiting such a state. While her skills and actions were confusing, her decisiveness was absurd! It was like she had no fear of death! There was absolutely no hesitation! And it was working! Was it luck or skill? Perhaps no one knew except Shirley!
In a flash, they exchanged positions as she charged for the Arcanists in front of her. The two swordsmen behind her snorted. They saw through her plan easily. But she revealed another bizarre strategy. She stomped on the handle of her halberd on the way before fiercely kicking the short end. The force sent the blade swinging back like a scythe! She managed to time it perfectly to coincide with the two swordsmen behind her. The two were dumbfounded again. What kind of fighting style was this? It was so barbaric! Nevertheless, they had to avoid the blade aiming at their ankles and this slowed their approach.
At the same time, she threw her sheath at an Arcanist! The Arcanist was busying preparing a spell and had no idea Shirley would throw something at him. It smacked him on the face and his spell immediately backlashed. A smear of blood trickled out his mouth as he hastily tried to recollect himself. However, Shirley followed up by closing the distance and slashing down! The house was already small, so this distance was nearly negligible. There was no chance for defense. Her sword sliced down and cut off an arm! The Arcanist screamed wildly while spewing blood everywhere. However, he was soon silenced with a swift and decisive blow. Shirley had killed him!
A few seconds prior, Freon was dealing with one swordsman and two Arcanists. He was entirely different from Shirley, who acted on instinct. He relied on his mind to carefully consider everything before acting. Of course, because of that, he was in dire straits. His enemy was advancing with a cold glint in his eyes. The sword was like an executioner's blade! There was no time to breath, much less think. Freon gritted his teeth and made his decision quickly. He threw a glass vial at his enemy, causing him to slash it midair. The man paused as the vial exploded and spewed liquid everywhere. As the liquid tumbled through the air, it ignited!
His enemy was startled and leapt back, avoiding the flames. Freon became a little depressed upon seeing his attack failed but focused quickly again. Instantly, the wooden shrapnel on the floor became kindling and a fire began roaring. Freon was ready as a glowing magical circle was constructed. The flames were then drawn by Freon in a controlled fashion to become fuel for his spell! This way, the costs of his spells could be greatly reduced while his casting speed could be greatly increased!
It was easy to understand why. First, it was necessary to understand how magic worked. Magic was not creating something from nothing. It could not violate the laws of the world. This was perhaps the most fundamental law of magic. Then, how was magic performed? What was really happening? When an Arcanist used their Magic Energy, they were fuelling a spell. This spell, when configured in a specific way, allowed the reconstruction of reality! Indeed, magic was not creation or destruction, but rather transformation! This was why all magic had a finite lifespan. After a certain period, the transformation would reverse. In a sense, this was the world restoring equilibrium!
Whenever Freon would use a fire-type spell for example, he would have to transform the world around him into fire first, before using it. This multi-step procedure was a large factor into why casting speed was so important because certain steps could not be avoided! Naturally, those who use water, earth, wind, or other elemental-type magic had a distinct advantage over fire. After all, fire was not a common element! This meant that all fire-type Arcanists had an innate casting speed penalty. But did that mean that fire was weak? No! Not at all! Fire-type magic had a filthy-level of destructive potential that was unrivaled. It was by far one of the most frightening of all elemental-type magic!