As the lightning around Julia intensified, she dashed towards Faith, who mirrored her move.
Both were reaching the peak speed an (E+) rank could achieve—about 50 meters per second—but at that moment, they were moving at around 40 meters per second.
Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!
Julia jumped back, dodging another strike and releasing a lightning spear that collided with a Misty Moon Arc.
BOOOM!
"Lightning: Multiple Slashes!" Julia cried out, her sword skillfully slashing left and right as water began to form on her body like armor.
'Speed alone won't cut it,' she thought. Her control over lightning was rudimentary at best, but with the water element, it was different.
Using two elements simultaneously drained a significant amount of Mana, so Julia focused on her water element. After Faith dodged all her lightning attacks, she taunted, "So, you can use two elements, huh?"
Faith's sword clashed against Julia's daggers, but then Faith moved with skill and precision, slashing at Julia's stomach.
Julia barely managed to dodge using her water technique, Flowing Water.
The sword didn't dig deep, but blood still flowed from the wound as Julia jumped back, holding her daggers while the water armor protected her.
"When someone's trying to transform, you should wait," Julia joked.
"We're not in a spar," Faith retorted coldly.
Stella
The Advanced Tier warrior who had fled with Stella stood, bloodied but determined, protecting her as two men loomed in front of him.
"What did you expect? That you were going to win?" sneered Dead Man #1.
"Maybe he wanted to be one of those heroes in children's stories, hahaha! In your next life, remember to choose your loyalties wisely," Dead Man #2 mocked.
Mark, the Peak Advanced Tier warrior, stood with no fear in his eyes. "For the Empire, I will die any day."
"Mark!!!" Stella screamed as
Mark dashed forward, striking at the two men, who simply smiled before disappearing and reappearing to punch Mark in the stomach, sending him flying.
Not everyone is like Elijah's group, who can defeat someone a rank above them. A normal (F+) rank could never really beat an (E-) rank in battle.
Some use their elements, techniques like the Lotus technique, or Bloodlines to overcome the power gap.
But without an element, technique, or Bloodline, there was no way to bridge that gap, as Mark's fate clearly demonstrated.
Mark crashed into the ground, which halted his momentum. "Markkkk!!!!" Stella cried out as she ran to him, finding that he was merely unconscious, not dead.
"What a shame. I thought that would kill him," Dead Man #1 remarked, a sword appearing in his hand with wind swirling around it.
"Should we have some fun with the princess first?" Dead Man #2 suggested, already holding Stella by the neck.
"I'm not into that. Can't you just find a girlfriend like a normal person?" Dead Man #1 replied, grabbing Dead Man #2's hand.
"You're boring. I wish Dead Man #3 was here," Dead Man #2 grumbled, releasing Stella, who collapsed to the ground, coughing.
'What's wrong with him? And also Dead Man #3?' Dead Man #1 wondered, looking at Stella before suddenly feeling the world spin around him. 'What is happening?'
As soon as he thought that, he saw his own body cut into pieces, along with Dead Man #2's body, which was just as mangled. 'Damn, I'm dead,' he thought as the darkness claimed him.