The battle had ended in a stalemate since Leon himself didn't want to continue it after he had seen her capabilities. Although he still wasn't sure whether the woman was just pretending during that last attack or she had simply accidentally slipped her foot due to being clumsy, the fact that she carried such a horrendous killing intent was more than enough to prove that she had been decisive in her actions and that she had every right to be arrogant. In terms of demeanor and fighting skills, what she showed today definitely overshadowed even the strongest soldier in the infernal monarch army aside from him.
The rumors spread on quickly among the soldiers. While they were talking about the awesome martial prowess displayed by Alisa, some weren't convinced at all since they didn't see it with their own eyes. Aside from that, other kinds of weird rumors about her were circulating as well.
Somewhere in the tent where Alisa slept, a group of people were talking softly. Grunt was laying down in his bunker bed when their words reached his ears and he frowned, but he didn't say anything and just listened.
"Hey! Have you heard? The woman who was interrogated earlier for breaking military formation had a duel with the infernal monarch." Someone said in a whisper. Grunt remembered that this guy who was chattering non-stop was Aiden from the twelfth squad. The tent he was staying at was just beside theirs so he would frequently come in time to time in order to chat with the guys from the thirteenth squad.
"Do you mean that Alisa Hayworth? I didn't realize that she was a woman all this while." A man codenamed Bluebird, who was Grunt's comrade, joined in the fray.
"Yes, that's the one. According to them, she showed such excellent battle prowess during her clash of weapons with the infernal monarch and they were even." The first guy said again.
"Bullshit! No one can match the marshal's skills. I've seen him fight myself and obliterated a single battalion alone." Another unknown young man in his early twenties joined. If grunt remembered it correctly, his name was Spencer.
"Rumors about the two of them were quickly spreading. They say that the two were secretly in a relationship and he was even taking it easy against the woman. But really, she must be good for the marshal to approve of her, right?" Aiden continued.
Grunt's eyebrows creased further. His interest was piqued by the topic. He got up from his bed and went closer to them and cleared his throat.
"Oh, Grunt. You're here. Listen to this."
"What seems to be the case with Alisa?" Grunt pretended to be a gossiper and inquired.
"The woman who you were always talking to even though she's ignoring you all the time is rumored to have a powerful martial prowess."
"Really?" He frowned.
He had seen her fight before until that time when she was acting weird all of a sudden. She had only been average in skills and was even so clumsy that he had to save her skin multiple times. Then that thing happened which shocked him. She suddenly dashed towards the enemies while shielding herself from the raining arrows with an enemy's corpse and somehow was able to break in their ranks and slaughter almost the entire right flank of the enemy's army.
He opened his mouth to speak again. "I don't think she was that impressive since I've seen her fight myself. What makes you say so?"
"You haven't been there to witness it. My friend saw her fight against the infernal monarch and they were just even in terms of skills."
"Stop spreading lies, Aiden. We all know that the monarch doesn't bully weak enemies. He probably just pitied her since she is a woman. Moreover, the rumors about them being in a secret relationship might be true so he definitely would take it easy against her. And she's a temptress! How dare she go into this sacred grounds to defile the marshal?!" Bluebird scoffed in disdain every time he mentioned Alisa.
Grunt was speechless. She didn't feel like someone who had come here to seduce men. Otherwise, she wouldn't have hidden her identity from the start. But then, she also suddenly revealed herself after that weird incident. He was confused and his feelings were in a turmoil as the scene replayed in his mind once again. He remembered her beautiful but callused white skin, slightly petite but fit build, and that fluttering light purple hair that looked so serene like a bright moon calmly shining in the middle of a peaceful night.
Alisa was unaware of what was happening and followed Leon back to his personal tent. The guards saluted upon seeing him again but they looked at her with strange expressions. She tilted her head in confusion, but didn't dwell too much in it.
'They're probably just being disdainful about me being a woman again, right?' She said to herself secretly.
The two entered the tent and they once again sat in front of each other on the planning table. She was slightly disappointed that he didn't offer any food or snacks to nibble on. Her stomach was slightly grumbling due to the lack of a proper meal. She even had suffered from malnutrition in the past which made her look a little bit bony and way too slim.
"So, what are we doing here again?"
"Rude as usual, aren't you?" His voice was flat but it didn't carry any trace of disdain. "I want you to come with me and infiltrate the city they were occupying tonight. We have to strike down their commander at all costs."
"Oh? Why not just continue the war as planned? There are only two cities left to reclaim, right? How hard can it be?" She asked coolly.
Leon shook his head and sighed. "There's not enough time. I have to go back to the capital soon to fix some things. This war has dragged on for so long and we barely have enough supplies to continue. Our soldiers are also outnumbered by them. I received information from my intel that a large number of reinforcements will arrive by tomorrow."
"How large is it?"
"About a hundred thousand in estimation."
Silence hung in the room. Alisa felt that the situation was indeed dire. If the enemy really brought out a hundred thousand reinforcements, their puny army which only consisted of ten thousand troops wouldn't even survive tomorrow's clashing. The best thing to do was to infiltrate the enemy's stronghold and eliminate the highest authority person among them. In other words, it is an assassination mission!
She never would have thought that she would work as an assassin once again. She was reluctant of the idea and she never wanted to go back to that profession unless she needed to. Upon seeing her conflicted expression, Leon's face sank as he thought that she would reject it. Then he remembered that he still had something to say.
"Before I forget, I would like to mention that there is a reward. Do you want to hear it?"
"What kind of reward."
"How about ten thousand gold coins if you're able to kill the enemy's marshal?"
Her face darkened. As he expected, it was too high of a hurdle for her and he might have overestimated her skills. However, what she said next stunned him.
"Are you kidding me? I can't eat those gold coins!" She snapped and slammed her hands. Then she just remembered that she was talking to a marshal and royalty. She wished she could find a hole to bury head in as she blushed and looked away. "S-sorry for the sudden outburst."
Was this woman crazy? Did she just reject the gold coins because it was not food? Did she know how much food she could buy with that amount? He suddenly felt the urge to burst out laughing. Alisa could see his face visibly contorting while producing stifled laughs so she puffed her cheeks.
"What's so funny?" She pouted.
He was shocked to see that this girl could be so cute sometimes. He shook his head and cleared his throat before continuing with the discussion.
"Alright, I will reward you with a good meal and ten thousand silver coins if we successfully take down the marshal. If we can't, then you'll only receive a good meal. How does that sound?"
"Fine. Deal." She said after contemplating for a while.
It was not like she had any better solution. She still had lots to understand in this world, especially the currency system. The Alisa of this world was simply way too uneducated due to living such a poor life. If she wanted herself to learn, she had to gather resources first. And these so-called gold coins might come in handy. But what was more important to her was food, after all. She was a glutton, both here and in the previous life. While she ate a lot, her body never really gained too much weight because all of it went to her ample breasts that were hidden so well, and also to her brain that worked even better than a computer. She consumed her energy like crazy that's why she had to eat more than an average woman.
Upon agreeing to his request, Leon showed a faint smile for the first time which surprised her as they shook hands.
"So, you can actually smile like that?" She teased.
His face darkened immediately after hearing it and coldly replied. "Enough with the nonsense. Go back and prepare your things first. We'll meet in front of the gate along with a few more of my trusted soldiers."
"Got it." She promptly replied and she left after saluting. It was such a shame. If only he could smile more, it would lessen his intimidating aura and more people might come to like him.
"Such an intriguing person." As he watched her left, a faint smile escaped from Leon's lips once again.