When River rushed back at Yasenia after being blasted away by the Dragon Roar, her vision blurred, and her ears rang.
[Celestial Dragon Roar] was powerful enough to instantly kill people in Yasenia's same realm if their soul defense was not strong enough. So, it was natural that River, being a Level 8 Dantian Spiritualization Realm cultivator, received a harsh blow from it.
Still, knowing where Yasenia was and calculating how much the dragoness would take to turn around, she shot forward without giving her body time to rest. "[Consuming Twin Sword Slash]."
Her swords gained a viscous dark aura that, when she was around 20 meters away from Yasenia, shot forward mercilessly toward the dragoness neck.
The mix of Water and Darkness attributes created an incredibly sharp and swift black blade that consumed everything in its way.
River didn't lower her guard. While she couldn't think of a way her Young Miss could block the attack, she didn't dare underestimate her. '[Full Moon] is too slow, and any movement skill she has won't be enough to dodge. Still, continue the pressure until someone stops you!'
The otterkin's aura burst forth with a terrifyingly dense wave of killing intent. The otterkin saw 19 white dots shine with incredible brilliance as Yasenia's voice echoed. "[Heavenly Constellation Steps, Third Sky: Orion's Shield]."
A massive translucent blue shield appeared in between the blow and the dragoness, shining with Empyrean splendor.
CLANG!
River's pupils shrunk when her blow was completely blocked. However, it didn't take her with her guard low. "[Flowing Dark River]."
Her steps became complex as she moved in confusing patterns while gathering Darkness and Water energies. Then, her two swords landed on the [Orion's Shield].
BOOM!
A blow that created a shockwave capable of razing down mountains occurred. Yet, River's face was disbelieving. 'She blocked it!?'
River felt terrifying heat against her skin, and saw Yasenia opening her mouth wide. "[Celestial Dragon Breath]!"
BOOOM!
River quickly placed her swords before her body. "[Dark River Waterfall]!"
A pillar of black water burst upward, blocking a large part of Yasenia's dragon breath. Still, the power of the Celestial Skill was ridiculous and broke the defense, hitting River's body and blasting her backward once more.
Yasenia knew that giving River time to recover was the worst thing she could do. Hence, she used [Pegasus Gallop] and [Celestial Charge] together, instantly crossing the distance between them while leaving an Empyrean stella behind her.
"[Draconic Sunset]!"
BANG!
Yasenia's giant sword deviated from course as River's short swords redirected her blow to the side, leaving them both face to face. Reacting quickly, Yasenia's tail moved from the side, trying to grab onto River's stomach, but she underestimated her maid.
River didn't retreat. She took a step forward so quickly that Yasenia didn't even notice that River's palm was on her stomach. Then, River's physical strength condensed to a single point from the heel to her palm and exploded violently. "[Crushing Dark Wave]."
BOOOM!
Yasenia's body bent like a bow as her face contorted in pain, flying away right after and smashing against the opposite side of the arena.
River quickly ran after her. "[Dark River Flowing Steps]."
Like a shadow, her body melded with the surroundings and disappeared from sight.
The dragoness quickly stood up, using her energy to recover from her stunned state, and looked around. 'Tsk. I lost her.'
The dragoness lifted her sword and then slashed toward the ground. "If you are hiding, I'll make you come out! [Sun Core Shattering Strike]!"
A flash of golden light engulfed the arena, followed by a wave of Sun Energy. The dragoness's sharp spiritual sense quickly noticed a faint presence behind her and she turned around, her sword gaining a silvery glow as it spun with her. "[Draconic Crescent Moon]!"
A crescent that covered the entire arena was manifested, instantly smashing against the wall. 'I missed.'
Then, from behind, her instincts made her nape feel the chilliness of River's blades. Subconsciously, even before processing what was happening, her body reacted. "[Grand Cosmos Art, Fourth Form: Cosmic Air]."
With incredible fluidity, embodying the harmonious nature of the cosmos, she turned and kicked backward, her feet landing on River's stomach.
Time seemed to stop as River's blades were touching Yasenia's neck at the same instant that her foot landed on River's navel.
If that kick arrived a single millisecond slower, Yasenia would've lost. However, thanks to that kick, River's swords slowly separated from her neck and never managed to reach her.
River's cold and emotionless face cracked slightly, showing a hint of regret. 'I hesitated.'
She rag-dolled backward, Yasenia's strength and her own having burst in her body and creating damage to her internal organs.
From the stands, the maids looked at River and understood what happened. If River's enemy were not Yasenia but a random person in exactly the same situation, this blow would've been decisive enough to tilt the battle in River's favor or outright win the match.
Alaia looked at River, coughing a mouthful of blood, and squinted. "Young Miss's blows are really powerful. Much more than I anticipated."
Selena, the group's de facto tank, spoke. "Young Miss's blows are not only heavy. They are penetrating. Each of her strikes sinks into River as if she were made of water. Young Miss's blows are highly lethal."
Doriel spoke. "After this exchange, the chances of winning should be around sixty-forty."
Alaia asked. "Sixty for River?"
Doriel shook her head. "Sixty for Young Miss."
The rest of the maids were stunned. Leila asked. "Aren't you overestimating Young Miss a bit, Doriel?"
Doriel spoke. "While River has yet to use her berserk skills, Young Miss has not used any Celestial Enhancement or [Day and Night Cycle]."
The maids became silent after that sentence. Doriel commented. "Here it comes."
Then, the dragoness's voice spread around with the weight of a thousand Moons. "[Celestial Dragon Body], [Celestial Cosmos Body Reinforcement]."
River saw as her Young Miss's aura skyrocketed beyond anything she had felt before and took in a deep breath. "[Battle Maid]."
Horrible energy torrents rushed at River as her strength similarly skyrocketed.
[Battle Maid] was a skill Tatyana developed in the past. All of Yasenia's maids had it, and it shone more when the maids used it together. After all, it was part of a battle formation. Still, using it standalone was as powerful.
Tatyana had in mind that, in a situation where either a single maid or a large group of maids was left around Yasenia, they could use this skill to overcome whatever was in front of them. The only drawback of the skill was the terrible mental and energy strain it caused.
The effects were harsh enough that River's body convulsed for a few moments as the skill took effect.
After it completely activated, her aura burst outward and clashed with Yasenia's, pushing the dragoness's aura back.
Yasenia looked at River with a severe face. While she was strong, she was fighting someone who could similarly fight above her weight class. Moreover, River was a Level 8 Dantian Spiritualization Cultivator, which meant that her energy had already been transformed into a solid state.
As cultivation advanced, the difference between levels was increasingly more significant.
The dragoness prepared and looked at River, her vertical pupils thinning to lines. "Come."
And, as soon as she spoke, River disappeared and reappeared to her left. Her speed was so swift that it basically looked like teleportation.
Still, Yasenia's senses were buffed to ridiculous levels. So, moving her body with minimal movements, [Draconic Heart] shifted and ended in River's sword path.
CLANG!
The dragoness felt the blow, but it was not that heavy. River was specialized in speed, so she was able to resist the clash.
However, counterattacking was impossible.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Moving fast enough to leave several afterimages in her path, River moved around Yasenia and slashed at her like a storm of blades.
The dragoness, even with two Celestial Skills on her, was having trouble blocking everything. As she fought, she was losing terrain, which forced Yasenia to transform [Draconic Heart] into twin swords to fight back.
Then, using her tail and twin swords, the dragoness defended the absolute barrage of blows. Still, River was too quick, leaving large gashes around her body when she couldn't block.
Thankfully, she had a terrifyingly strong physique. Otherwise, River's swords would've probably spilled her guts out already.
Yasenia used her defensive techniques one after another. [Celestial Cosmos Nebula], [Orion Shield], [Grand Cosmos Art: Nebula Ripple], [Draconic Full Moon].
One after another her defensive skills were used, and yet, even when she managed to create distance or a bit of breathing space, River would attack her the instant that her defenses collapsed.
Moreover, because River was so quick, attacking her was a nightmare. The dragoness used wide-area attack skills, but even those failed to hit. 'She is becoming quicker… How is this even possible?'
The dragoness remembered the fight several years ago when the fifty maids at that time fought back more than 3000 Epoch Core Cultivators. Until now, she didn't understand how, with just one Peak-Level Dantian Spiritualization, they were able not to receive wounds during that fight.
Only now did she learn. 'My maids are just on another level compared to people here.'
She knew it, but now, she was learning it with her own flesh.
If you asked, could Yasenia beat a high-level Epoch Core? The answer was a clear yes. Yet, the woman before her, who was at a similar level to those high-level Epoch Core, was suppressing her to the point of being unable to fight back. The dragoness continued her fight, and while she still had a few tricks on her sleeve to use, like [Day and Night Cycle], her [Celestial Pearl], and other Celestial Skills, she felt satisfied.
So, with complete trust in her maid, Yasenia stopped defending and smiled. River approached at incredible speed, her swords flying toward her neck and about to decapitate her.
However, before that happened, River used her entire body to stop her ridiculous momentum forcefully. Her muscles and bones shrieked in protest, tearing in some places, but she was able to stop her blade before it touched Yasenia's neck.
The dragoness laughed and stepped forward, opening her arms wide and hugging River tightly. "Ahh! You are so strong, River!"
Suddenly, surrounded by the familiar and comforting embrace, River felt the tension around her entire body disappearing, and she fell limp in her arms. "Young Miss…"
Yasenia looked down at River's adorable face and giggled. "Hmhm~, my River won~. Are you happy?"
River looked upward cutely and shook her head. "I am not… I feel very bad…"
The dragoness's eyes softened, and she caressed her cheek. "Was fighting me seriously that hard?"
River nodded a few times, and the dragoness sighed and hugged her face into her ample breasts. "Sorry, River. I really wanted to test myself."
River sniffed without restraint, taking in Yasenia's sweet floral scent, and almost purred in comfort. "Hm~. Young Miss is really strong. I needed to go all out…'
Yasenia laughed, caressing River's rounded otter ears. "If my little maid said so, then it is the truth~."
River smiled, feeling complete and happy again. 'Ah~, Young Miss's embrace is the best~.'