"Do you really think that you can stop me, flame?" The woman sighed, lowering her hand as the men around her got into position, "I am moon princess Valentine, one of the most terrifying that you'll ever face, and I am here to take what's mine!"
"I don't really care, but you can keep yapping if you want to." Lily frowned, spinning her daggers in her fingers as she took in a deep breath. Valentine sighed, and the cloaked men dashed forward in unison, "Hiding behind these pathetic fellows?"
Lily watched as one of the men threw a fist at her face and as she dodged it, a dagger revealed itself, slashing through the air. Her eyes widened at that point, as the others got their daggers revealed at that moment, each and everyone slashing at her.
She dodged the blades effortlessly, backing away from the aggressive group. She stood calm, watching as a fist calm flying at her face from one out of the ten men, and she spun her dagger and slashed, spilling blood as the hand was severed into two halves.
The man cursed, stepping back as another stepped in. He spun around and stabbed for her chest while another stabbed at her back, forcing Lily to act quickly. She kicked one in the face, then spun around to slash across the other's neck with her blade.
A dagger pierced into her shoulder at that instant, but she grabbed its user and tossed him into the air. Tilting her face to the side to dodge another slashing dagger, then with a cold gleam in her eyes returning the favour with a roundhouse kick to the face.
As the bodies dropped, only five remained standing. One of them pulled a sword and slashed for her back in a wicked arc, but she spun around to block it with her small knife, unable to dodge the two arrows that were fired into her chest and thigh.
Lily gritted her teeth, pushing the man's blade back and throwing him off balance. She stabbed into his chest with her blade, pulling out then throwing the blade at an archer. He blinked, only to find the dagger stabbing into his neck, eyes wide in shock.
"Hah… Hah…" Lily panted, pulling out the arrows from her body and tossing them to the ground, turning to the stunned leftovers. She cracked her neck, picking up the sword from the dead man and sheathing her daggers, "What a mess, am I right?"
The tree men remaining clustered to rush her, but their leader called them out to halt, causing them to turn around to stare at her confused. She stepped forward, "I said stop it, boys. I think I have seen enough, you can't beat that thing… I will handle it, myself."
Before she finished with her speech, Lily dashed past the men and targeted Valentine, slashing her blade. Valentine swung her hand in a rising arc, and Lily darted to the side to dodge, watching as the space in a straight line was torn apart by a strange force.
"What the fuck is that?" Lily cursed, staring at Valentine as if she was some sort of big bad monster— which wasn't far off from the truth. She blinked, "A skill of such destructive magnitude? Definitely something worthy of praise from a pampered fool."
"Watch your tongue." Valentine frowned, swinging her hand in a sweeping arc. Lily's pupils narrowed to needle point and she jumped away, watching the area in front of the frowning Valentine distort from that same strange attack.
"Short cooldown? The fuck…" Lily landed on the ground metres away, frowning as she eyed the woman before her. It was an attack that kept her from closing in, and she needed that distance weakened for maximum damage, "This will be tough…"
All Lily needed to do was get past that woman, and— if Augustus kept his word — even this skill wouldn't stand in face of her time manipulation! Lily braced herself, grinning as Valentine lowered her hands, then dashed forward at a frightening speed.
——
"I don't know what to do… we aren't prepared for a full scale attack just yet." Melissa rubbed the side of her head, drumming her hand on the desk, "I have had the militia train even harder, but I don't think that will be enough to face a full army."
"He really confirmed it, didn't he?" Augustus, sitting straight across Melissa, watched her with his eyes as cold as ice. She stopped drumming her fingers, lifting her gaze to look him in the eyes, "We cannot be bullied by these bastards. We are going to fight back."
"How? Unless we somehow get out hands on a massive group of strong soldiers, then it would be a dream facing the army and surviving." Melissa spoke honestly, sitting up in her chair and glaring at Augustus, "We can evacuate the village now, and escape."
"Then, you'd surrender the Ten Thousand Year Old Autumn Leaf to them? Those weak bastards would use it against the Sun Palace!" Augustus knocked on the desk, then stood to his feet, "If you burrow me some villagers, then I will lead us to victory."
"What?" Melissa raised her head to stare at Augustus, then shook it. She leaned back in her seat and sighed, "Just because I started talking with you doesn't mean I can trust a random stranger with my people's lives. You haven't proved your worth enough."
"You have a point, don't you? I guess I can trust you." Augustus sat back down, a cold gleam appearing in his eyes as he crossed his fingers and rested his elbows on the desk, "I want to tell you of a secret. This secret will help us win the upcoming war, Melissa."
Melissa turned to him, raising a brow. He cleared his throat, looking from left to right. The room was big and all, but there was only one door leading in and out— it's locked. The gleam in Augustus's eyes grew, "This secret may turn your weak soldiers into demons."