Could it be… the rumors weren’t true after all?
That thought flashed through Clarette’s mind as she followed Eileen’s instructions—she lightly nicked her fingertip with the sword and let a drop of blood fall onto the blade.
The blood slowly flowed along the sword’s central groove, and in an instant, a crimson crest bloomed on its surface like fresh ink on silk.
At the same time, a strange sense of resonance stirred within her.
The moment she gripped the hilt, it felt as though the sword had fused with her wrist—as if they were connected by blood.
Suddenly, strange scenes flickered through Clarette’s mind.
Wait—are these my memories? No, that can’t be right…
The thunderous roar of the obsidian dragon jolted her back to reality.
She nearly forgot she was still standing on a battlefield!
Uncle Ansel was still holding the front lines, waiting for their backup!
Charging forward, she arrived just in time to see Uncle Ansel being sent flying by a swipe of the obsidian dragon’s claw, shield and all. It looked brutal, but thankfully, he didn’t seem too badly hurt!
Low level? Then make up for it with top-tier gear!
The dragon’s aggro was completely focused on Ansel now.
Even after being swatted away, he used the momentum to scramble back into position, the obsidian dragon roaring and charging after him like a monstrous game of cat and mouse.
“Where’s backup?! I can’t hold out much longer!”
Just as Ansel’s shout rang out, Eileen—still perched atop the carriage roof—ripped open her first magic scroll.
A towering wall of fire roared toward the obsidian dragon!
The flames weren’t powerful enough to do much damage, thanks to the dragon’s high magical resistance, but it was enough to halt its advance, if only temporarily.
Clarette immediately recognized it—Hellfire, an A-rank fire spell.
It was a heavy mana-drain spell, but due to its excellent damage potential, most high-level mages loved using it.
And that scroll… that scroll alone was worth two hundred gold coins!
That was about two and a half years’ worth of income for a fledgling adventurer like her!
“This isn’t casting magic—this is throwing money at the monster until it dies!”
Even as the thought crossed her mind, Eileen tore open a second scroll. Then a third!
A brilliant rainbow of magical effects burst from the sky, one after another, enveloping the obsidian dragon.
Clarette, clutching her sword, didn’t dare approach—the magic radius was too wide.
And good thing she didn’t.
All the scrolls Eileen had just unleashed were packed with debuffs—hexes and curses crafted by sorcerers and black mages.
Although those types of mages tend to have gloomy, antisocial personalities and aren’t well-liked, Eileen had taken advantage of that—she bought scrolls from these socially anxious black magic users in bulk, and at dirt-cheap prices!
And Eileen loved these scrolls.
‘Blindness,’ ‘Petrification,’ ‘Paralysis,’ ‘Confusion,’ ‘Bleeding,’ ‘Armor Break,’ ‘Mental Erosion’—a barrage of debuffs came crashing down all at once.
The obsidian dragon, struck by the full force, blacked out on the spot and looked utterly incapacitated. Even Clarette, just watching from the sidelines, paled in shock.
She understood—Eileen had let her see this on purpose.
It was a silent warning: If you ever dare betray me, I can throw these at you too.
Just imagining it made Clarette feel hot all over.
If all those debuffs landed on a person instead of a monster, they’d be no better than a breathing corpse. What a blissfully ruinous experience that must be…!
Unbeknownst to her, a certain door deep within her heart had begun to crack open.
Just like that “dream” from the other night—it wasn’t a fantasy. It was a mirror of her true inner self.
Of course, dragons are naturally resistant to magic, so the effects wouldn’t last long.
Eileen knew that perfectly well.
She never expected the debuffs to bind it forever—just long enough.
Battles are all about timing.
This wasn’t a video game where monsters have beefy health bars and just stand there while you chip away forever.
In the real world, if you break through defenses and strike a vital point, just a few well-placed hits can be fatal.
“Layla! Aim for the eyes and the joints!”
The moment Eileen’s clear, commanding voice rang out, the maid had already drawn her bow to full tension.
The arrow whistled through the night, a gleaming streak of silver that pierced straight into the obsidian dragon’s eye.
A roar of agony and fury followed, shaking the air.
The pain shocked the beast out of its debuffed state ahead of schedule—it charged straight toward Eileen’s position in a rage.
Panic rippled through the ranks of soldiers.
But atop the carriage, Eileen remained perfectly still.
The night breeze played with her silver hair, making it flow like a luminous river dividing the stars in the sky.
Her face was calm, expression composed.
She crossed her right leg over her left, white lace-trimmed stockings perfectly arranged, without a trace of fear.
That single image soothed the nerves of the panicked soldiers.
Lady Eileen… what’s your next move?
They didn’t have to wait long.
Layla’s bow sang once more.
This time, her arrow struck the dragon squarely in the joint of its front limb—an absolutely critical hit!
And don’t forget, the obsidian dragon had been in full charge.
With its leg pierced mid-sprint, the massive beast tumbled violently, its own weight becoming its greatest burden.
The earth trembled with the impact, a seismic crash that told everyone just how hard that fall was.
“What are you all standing around for? Here to watch a show?!”
Layla’s scolding snapped the soldiers out of their daze.
Under Ansel’s command, the soldiers collectively drew their greatswords. Under the moonlight, the blades rose like a forest of steel.
Eileen’s voice rang out again: “Aim for the joints and the eyes!”
Attacking the thick armor was pointless—it was too tough.
But no matter how indestructible the armor seemed, the joints and the eyes were always vulnerable.
Still, hitting those precise spots? Easier said than done!
Thankfully, Layla’s here—her sniping is pinpoint accurate!
Without her, we’d never have stopped that charging obsidian dragon—it was like an armored tank barreling through!
Eileen continued munching on popcorn and chocolates, watching the scene unfold as if it were a blockbuster movie.
By this point, the battle was all but over.
The soldiers had already hacked through the obsidian dragon’s limb joints with their greatswords.
Now immobilized, the creature was no different from livestock waiting for the slaughter.
The clash had stirred the town’s guards from their sleep.
They arrived in a flurry of confusion, only for Eileen to shoot them an annoyed glance and snap, “Just stand there and watch—don’t get in the way!”
What she didn’t notice was the deep irritation on the face of the town guard captain.
****
Beating down a helpless enemy? Clarette lived for moments like this!
This thick-skinned, rock-hard freak is the perfect test subject for my new weapon!
With that thought, her sword—Yolandelle—transformed into an Elemental Blade, a core ability of spellblades: Magical Sword Mastery.
The weapon could switch between elements like water, fire, wind, or earth.
Right now, she chose water.
And as everyone knows, creatures with rock and fire affinity take quadruple damage from water.
Just imagining this mighty magical beast dying miserably under her blade, unable to resist, made Clarette’s breathing quicken with excitement.
Instead of striking its vital points, she began poking and slashing at random parts of the obsidian dragon’s body with her water blade.
Each time the creature let out a scream of agony, her eyes sparkled with delight.
At some point, a blush had bloomed across her cheeks, and the sweet, almost seductive smile on her face sent chills down the spines of everyone watching—Uncle Ansel included.
The soldiers all reached the same unanimous conclusion: “Clarette… is terrifying!!! This woman isn’t normal!”
Out of sheer mercy, Ansel decided to end it quickly.
He raised his sword and sliced the dragon’s throat clean through, sparing it from further “yandere-style” torture.
Clarette, however, looked rather disappointed by the abrupt finish.
As the beast’s massive body fell still, a flood of experience points surged forth, making the soldiers stare in disbelief.
They had done it—they actually defeated an S-class magical beast!
And without a single casualty.
That kind of victory?
Practically unheard of.
“Maybe Lady Eileen… isn’t as useless as the rumors say?”
That thought began to take root in everyone’s minds.
At that very moment, just as the obsidian dragon took its last breath, a fiery-red figure came running up from the end of the road.
While running, she shouted, “Everyone fall back! That’s an S-class monster—you’re no match for it! Leave this one to us to hand—le…”
Her voice faltered as her eyes landed on the dragon’s corpse, and the massive pool of blood surrounding it.
Late, and not even fashionably!
Tftc!