However, she was not done yet. Despite her eye-catching attack, that was the weapon on her back. She still had a sword in her hands. Shirley stomped on the ground and pushed forward with frightening force. Her sword shot out with murderous light. Everything happened too fast. Yet… time seemed to slow down just a hair. It was nowhere exaggerated enough like what Sir Winstin, Sir Sebastian, or Lady Valentina could accomplish. The three strongest knights could slow down their perception of time to the point that a few seconds could stretch unimaginably long. Otherwise, how could their fight with Captain Julian and Vice-captain Julie be so complex?
Nevertheless, Shirley could feel that she had a tiny fraction of a second more to realize… her strike was bound for failure! Her opponent reflexively raised his guard, shifted his body weight, and prepared for the attack. Shirley smiled. Indeed, if her sword was headed in the same direction, then that would be true. But she had a fraction of a second more to notice it! Because it was too fast for any major adjustments, Shirley tilted her sword slightly in a different direction. It broke her enemy's guard and pierced through his chest! Before she could celebrate her success though, a sword pierced through her!
"What?" she murmured before spitting out blood.
She looked down at the red blade sticking out of her chest in disbelief before realizing. If she could attack in that short period, could her opponent not do the same? While she was attacking the first, her second opponent stabbed her from behind! The man pulled out his sword coldly. Shirley slumped as a wave of pain burst from her wound. Her hand reached down and became drenched in hot blood. This was her life slipping away! She spat out another fresh pile of blood. Her tray trick might have stopped them the first time, but could it work a second time? What a joke! Once they realized the trick, it was trivial to avoid. From the start of the battle till now, five seconds elapsed, and Shirley suffered a critical injury!
The pain was so severe that her vision blacked out for an instant. Her mind went blank. It was so painful that she wanted to cry and scream out. She could tell her lung was pierced as more blood spewed out her nose and mouth. So, while her tray trick failed to prevent the second attack, at the very least, her opponent could not strike her vitals and kill her instantly. That said, she could not stop her body from losing strength. That was to be expected though. In the first place, Shirley was involved in a high intensity battle at Freon's house not too long ago. She had no time to rest. Then, she had to continuously strain her senses to seek out her enemies. Finally, there was this battle as well… She had finally reached her limit.
Shirley had no energy to notice her attack left her enemy in the same condition as her. He was on his last limb as well. Taking out two of the Third Hand! It was an extraordinary achievement that she could hold her head high about! Remember, the Second Hand was gutsy enough to attack Elizabeth in Algard. Using their superior assassination techniques, they could massacre Elizabeth's entire escort! Captain Julian and Vice-captain Julie were enough to tie down Sir Winstin as well! Not only that, but two of the Second Hand were able to pressure Elizabeth and Benedict into a corner. Granted, it was not that simple to compare the two situations. However, it did highlight Shirley's incredible accomplishment!
Her final opponent though was completely unharmed. No matter how impressive Shirley's accomplishment was, did it matter in the end? She lost! As everyone said, history was written by the winner. A loser like her was destined to be forgotten. She had nothing to be proud about. The man behind her raised his sword again. This would be the final strike. He was intent on chopping her head off! There was nothing she could do. Her body would no longer respond. Her arms felt like lead, her eyelids were drooping, and her lungs were burning. Blood continued to pour from her mouth. No one could help her now. Even without the final strike, she was about to die!
Freon… That's right. What will happen to him if I fail? she thought.
If she failed, then their plan would go bust. He would be captured, if not killed! She was her only real lifeline! Sure, there was Nassandra as the final failsafe, but could she solve everything? If Freon ended up dead, what then? What could Nassandra do? Perhaps they should have roped her in as well. At the very least, she would not be completely clueless if everything failed. Moreover, Nassandra was a Ten Dawn! That title was not for show. As one of the ten pillars supporting the Zino Kingdom, she wielded an incredible amount of power and influence.
Surely, had she been involved, then things would not be so complicated, right? Freon and Shirley knew that as well… But they could not bring themselves to drag Nassandra into this mess! Was that foolish? Perhaps. No one could tell if that was the right decision or not. The Third Hand was watching the Arkfell estate closely. They might have avoided clashing with Lady Rosemary, but if push came to shove, would they do the same with Nassandra? It was impossible to tell… Thankfully, Shirley never fussed about possibilities or regrets. She wanted to live in the present and focus on doing her best. That was enough!
Therefore, she could not give up yet. She had to push harder! Her enemy swung down. The executioner's blade aimed straight for her neck! Shirley bit her lip, grimaced as she resisted the pain and fatigue, and fought against her dying body. Every attempt to summon power became an uphill battle. Like a leaking cup, she could not gather enough strength to move! Her muscles groaned under the pressure while her lungs filled with blood. However, an insurmountable surge of willpower erupted from within her! Like the roar of a waterfall, she forcefully broke through her limitations! Before the blade could kill her, she… managed to duck in time! Her hair was cut several times shorter and her scalp was bleeding, but she did it!
The man was surprised once again. This battle seemed filled with ups and downs from this strange girl! He had no idea who she was or why she was involved in their affairs. Originally, he thought Shirley was a regular girl without any special ability. She might be carrying a halberd on her back, but so what? Few people warranted the Third Hand's concern like the Ten Dawns, but definitely not Shirley. He and his allies never spared her as much as a glance. For the Third Hand, they treated this mission like a joke!
Yet, Shirley picked them out from the crowd and used that to ambush them. Their performance might have been lacking in enthusiasm sure, except it was not enough to give them away. On the surface, they looked and acted like any other. There was not a single shred of killing intent! Yet, she figured them out anyways. Was that not the power of Perception Realm? But Shirley was clearly not at that level. She was young. If she managed to break into Perception Realm, then she would be famous! The problem was exactly because she was not a Perception Realm! Despite all that, this girl managed to fend off them. It was nothing short of miraculous…