The beautiful black-haired girl supported herself with her long sword, half-kneeling on the ground. Her delicate face was flushed, and she was gasping for air, with fine beads of sweat on her forehead trickling down her fair skin. Her clothes were soaked with sweat, showing that her stamina was beginning to wane.
In front of her stood five people with different appearances. Although they pretended to be relaxed and had a leisurely demeanor, the sweat on their foreheads and their slight panting revealed their true state.
Around them lay heaps of bodies, limbs scattered everywhere, with dark red blood emanating a strong smell of blood.
"I didn't expect that princess's army to be so tough, like cockroaches. Truly annoying," Syura spat on the ground disdainfully. "But cockroaches are still cockroaches, just useless trash."
As if angered by Syura's words, the imperial guards surrounded them, their faces showing indignation as they held sharp long swords and crossbows aimed at the five, creating a tense atmosphere.
"What, do you want to die?" Flames sneered, staring intently at the imperial guards in front, wiping the blade of his curved knife. His arm trembled slightly, and beneath his arm was a long wound oozing blood, indicating that they were not unharmed.
"It's all because you're too stupid," Cosmina said with a chuckle, wiping her microphone. "How did you get hurt?"
"You want a beating?" Enshin glanced at her coldly.
"You're not even close to being able to beat me," Cosmina said dismissively.
Enshin liked to toy with women, while Cosmia enjoyed playing with men. Logically, they should be kindred spirits, but surprisingly, they were like water and fire, always at odds with each other, quarreling whenever they met.
Is this the natural antagonism between male superiority and female superiority?
"Stop talking nonsense," Syura impatiently interrupted their quarrel. "Hurry up and finish them off."
"No need to rush," Champ said, tossing the small ball in his hand. "We still have plenty of time."
"Plenty of time, yes," Syura snorted coldly. "I'm worried someone will come and interfere."
"Interfere?"
Curiosity appeared on their faces. They knew Syura's personality was arrogant and unruly, never taking others seriously, not even his father, Minister Honest, whom he sought to surpass. Now, hearing him express concern about interference was unbelievable to them.
"Didn't you hear what I said?" Syura's face turned gloomy as he sensed their thoughts.
Seeing Syura's expression, they shivered and quickly composed themselves. They knew this was a sign of their boss getting angry.
The imperial guards seemed to sense the impending attack and immediately surrounded them, encircling them with a forest of swords and spears glinting coldly. The situation was tense, and a battle was about to erupt.
At that moment, Kurome calmed her breathing, stood up, and said to the guards, "Stand down."
The soldiers hesitated, looking confused.
"I said stand down!" Kurome shouted with her head down.
"But how can we retreat now?" the guardsman said urgently. "Should we abandon our positions?"
"One person is enough here," Kurome raised her head, her eyes flashing coldly. "You're just in the way."
"But—"
"No more words," Kurome interrupted loudly, waving her pale arm. "I can handle it alone. Will you defy my orders?"
The guardsman looked at Kurome, gritted his teeth, and finally did not disobey her order. With a wave, the guards retreated like a tide from the battlefield, but they did not go far, instead, they camped nearby, observing the battle from afar.
The guard leader looked into the distance and punched a tree trunk hard, understanding Kurome's reasoning. The guards couldn't make a difference in the battle and suffered heavy casualties, making their presence meaningless.
Are we really too weak?
"Are you planning to fight us alone?" Syura asked, looking at the black-haired girl with surprise and a slight smile. "I'm impressed by your courage. As a reward for amusing me, I'll let you live a little longer."
Before Syura finished speaking, Kurome suddenly vanished as if evaporating into thin air.
The five of them looked shocked, turning their heads to search around, but they couldn't see any sign of the black-haired girl.
Where did she go?
At that moment, Cosmina suddenly exclaimed, "She's above!"
They hurriedly looked up to see a black shadow with a sharp long knife descending at lightning speed.
"Boom!"
A loud noise echoed as shattered rocks flew like bullets, and dust filled the air.
When the dust cleared, the black-haired girl was revealed, her expression calm and a hint of blood on her blade. Dark red blood dripped from her blade.
At her feet lay a severed arm, bleeding slowly.
The others had narrowly escaped, but one of them wasn't so lucky.
Dorothea clutched her right shoulder tightly, where an arm used to be. Blood oozed slowly from the stump. Her arm had been severed by Kurome in the battle.
Despite appearing as a young girl, Dorothea was actually much older. As an alchemist, her body had been modified countless times, which kept her youthful. Due to these modifications, she had great strength but lacked combat skills, which led to Kurome's attack succeeding.
"You bitch!" Dorothea shouted, her once cute face contorted with rage. "How dare you injure me! I'll kill you! I'll hack you to pieces, turn you into a puppet, and sell you to a brothel so you'll forever—"
Before Dorothea could finish, her chest burst open, spraying a rain of blood. With a dull thud, her upper body fell to the ground, lifeless.
Unbeknownst to her, Kurome had slashed her chest with one stroke.