“Priestess?” Even Niubao got distracted, and she was immediately struck by a horizontal slash from the Nodachi, falling into a defensive position.
“What are you looking at? How dare you get distracted while fighting me?”
Red Ghost laughed loudly and suddenly changed her stance, swinging the Nodachi down in a heavy vertical strike. However, the nimble Niubao dodged it with a quick side-step.
*Crack!*
The blade slammed into the earth, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Niubao took advantage of the heavy sword’s recovery delay. She charged with all her might through the dust, closing the distance to Red Ghost with precision.
The Nodachi was still stuck in the ground, making it impossible for Red Ghost to bring it back for defense.
However, Red Ghost’s large hand was already resting on the Wakizashi at her waist. She swiftly drew the short blade and engaged Niubao in close-quarters combat. Blades clashed and shadows flickered; she didn’t yield an inch.
Finally, Red Ghost delivered a powerful flying kick aimed straight at Niubao’s chest, sending her tumbling away.
The first round of the exchange finally came to a complete end. Niubao had lost by a narrow margin, and a clear footprint was now visible on her black nun habit.
Niubao skidded across the ground and stood straight up, her expression unchanged and her breathing steady.
“Huh? Most people wouldn’t be able to stand after taking a kick from me.” Red Ghost’s laughter subsided slightly.
On the other side, at the edge of the training field, Samimi was still facing off against Azure Ghost.
“What are you talking about? I don’t understand.” Samimi played dumb, denying the suggestion that she was also a “Nodachi Hero.”
“It seems everyone has secrets they can’t tell,” Azure Ghost spoke in riddles. She didn’t leave, staying right by Samimi’s side to watch the duel between Red Ghost and Niubao.
However, Samimi felt as if a blade were constantly pointed at her throat, ready to slice her neck at any moment. For the first time, she felt the chill of death so close to her.
This distance was the perfect range for a master of the blade to strike. She didn’t know how fast the other woman’s sword was, and she didn’t want to find out.
Azure Ghost’s sword speed was likely equal to the speed at which Samimi could activate a mana shield. The woman was here to keep her in check; if Samimi made any suspicious move, the blade would be drawn instantly.
‘I can’t believe there’s a stat monster who knows how to target the backline. Since I arrived in the South, no one has actually tried to do anything to me, this beautiful Priestess. Even the female adventurers who dislike me only gave me dirty looks. The most extreme case was Selina cursing at me a few times.’
Samimi could guarantee that this Azure Ghost had killed people before.
Well, that wasn’t a strange thing in this Otherworld. Qiqi Zhu had killed bandits. A lady who had never killed anyone would be the true outlier here.
Regardless, Samimi didn’t dare move. She had intended to secretly cast a Support Technique or something on Niubao, but it seemed she wouldn’t have the chance.
*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*
On the training field, Red Ghost continued her assault. Gripping the Nodachi with both hands, she began to unleash wide, sweeping slashes.
It was a sword technique clearly designed for slaying large Magic Phoenixes and wasn’t particularly suited for dueling. But while techniques are rigid, people are flexible. A master could adjust their movements to make any strike unpredictable.
To put it simply, Red Ghost’s strength allowed her to swing that massive Nodachi as fast as a rapier. With such terrifying speed, any move became a killing blow.
The proof was that Niubao kept choosing to evade. Faced with the chaotic slashes of the great blade, she couldn’t find an opening to charge.
This was the most frustrated Niubao had been since she started fighting. Before, she would charge in and out of enemy lines like a champion, and no one had ever been able to stop her. Now, facing the great blade, she found herself at a loss.
Samimi’s gaze sharpened. She looked serious, but internally, she was very satisfied with Red Ghost’s strength as a Tutor.
‘Because Niubao hasn’t lost a single battle with my help. We’ve basically crushed everything in our path. Since I’m always there to back her up, she won’t be able to grow.’
But it wasn’t right to say Niubao was arrogant. Unlike those four ungrateful wretches in the Hero Party, she didn’t become a fool without her Support Techniques. She had a good understanding of her own actual strength.
Still, without Samimi’s assistance, Niubao was indeed not as powerful as before.
At the very least, she couldn’t perform that Afterimage Movement from earlier. Without Samimi’s Support Techniques, Niubao’s strength was significantly affected.
But a support master couldn’t follow one forever, and there would come a moment when mana ran out. Support Techniques were no longer Samimi’s trump card anyway; those high-mana-cost Ancient Magic spells were.
*Glint!* Niubao’s Ruby Ring flashed brightly. She reached into the void once more and pulled out another Kun Knight sword.
She didn’t plan to sit and wait for death. Dual-wielding, her gaze grew cold as she dove into the range of Red Ghost’s blade.
“Die!” Red Ghost immediately pulled her blade back for a horizontal defense, effectively blocking all of Niubao’s offensive lines.
Faced with the horizontal slash, Niubao could only choose to duck or jump, but neither was a great option.
While the old Niubao could perform various high-difficulty jumps and flips, that was against weaklings. Her current opponent was no rookie.
Crucially, Niubao had already clashed with Red Ghost before and ended up being kicked away. Red Ghost still had that Wakizashi, just waiting for the enemy to close in for a blade struggle.
Red Ghost was the embodiment of every melee warrior’s dream—proficient with a great sword and skilled with a short blade, with almost no weaknesses.
She looked like a brute, but she was actually meticulously careful. She could suppress Niubao in close quarters and outclassed her in every aspect of experience.
*Boom!* Finally, Niubao acted as if she were throwing caution to the wind. With nowhere to hide, she simply thrust forward—a move with absolutely no technique.
“Hahaha!” Red Ghost almost laughed. She pushed her Nodachi forward like a bulldozer, slamming it against the golden sword.
However, something unbelievable happened. Red Ghost unleashed her full power, only to find that this pig nun could actually block her horizontal slash with a single hand, forcing the blade to a halt.
*Whoosh!* A gust of wind followed as Niubao suddenly lunged forward, the Paladin Sword heading straight for Red Ghost’s face.
*Clang!* At the critical moment, Red Ghost freed one hand to draw her Wakizashi and parry the Paladin Sword.
The two of them stood there, dual blades crossed, locked in a contest of strength, neither giving an inch.
In the second round, Niubao actually regained her footing and fought to a draw.
“To be able to compete with Red Ghost in strength… what race is this girl? A normal half-beast wouldn’t have this kind of raw power,” Azure Ghost asked.
“You aren’t a normal Human Race either,” Samimi countered.
Azure Ghost didn’t reply, just watched the fight.
“Let me guess… you’re probably the [Oni Race], right?” Samimi asked with a smile.
“How do you know?” Azure Ghost asked coldly.
Samimi smiled mysteriously but didn’t answer.
‘You’re Eastern-style Nodachi users with horns and incredible strength—if you aren’t the traditional Oni Race, what are you? This is a fairly common anime element: a stylized version of traditional monsters. After all, original folklore monsters weren’t exactly great-sword-wielding beauties with super strength.’
“You must still have data on us internally. What is it? Is the Ecclesiastical Court sending people to deal with us sisters?” Azure Ghost said.
“Where are your thoughts wandering to? Don’t overestimate your importance. We don’t care what you are. Even if you tried to cause trouble, the Adventurer’s Guild would be the first to deal with you. What does that have to do with the Church? Don’t go throwing muddy water on us; we’re just here for training,” Samimi said.
“Training? A Saint coming here for training? You think I’ll believe you?” Azure Ghost questioned.
“This is a brand new policy from Archbishop Samimi. She wants us to come out and gain experience, not stay huddled in the small Royal City and rot away,” Samimi lied through her teeth.
“Samimi… the Archbishop? Is she that famous Pig Demon Nun?” Azure Ghost asked with interest. “I heard she’s quite formidable… but I think it’s all just the Church creating hype.”
“The Pig Demon Nun possesses the Human Emperor’s Complete Scripture of the Sun, an ancient divine weapon on the same level as the Blade of the Hero that you adventurers are trying to steal. She can summon the Goddess’s guardian Twin Angels and use the dual power of both the Human Race and the Goddess. How do you think her strength measures up?” Samimi praised herself with a straight face.
Azure Ghost was momentarily silenced by the shock.
“I personally saw her take on thousands of Kingdom Knights and Ecclesiastical Knights by herself in the Royal City. She then summoned the Light of the Sun to blast everyone away. It was like a god descending to earth. It was only because she was surrounded by the Holy Knight Order, who were all high-level experts, that the Church managed to capture her. It was an unfair war of attrition; she didn’t lose honorably,” Samimi continued to flatter herself.
“Fine, fine.” Azure Ghost looked annoyed and quietly walked away, putting some distance between them.
But this time, it was Samimi’s turn to follow her, continuing to chatter. “I originally wanted to go to the Third Guild to see just how strong those so-called Hero Candidates are. After all, our Church has an Assassin Saint, the Holy Knight Second Captain Ophika. You’re a Hero too; have you seen the strength of that Assassin Saint?”
At the mention of the “Assassin Saint,” Azure Ghost’s mood soured even further. Her killing intent became almost physical, as if the air around them had frozen.
Looking at her expression, it was clear that the strength of that Assassin Saint was nothing to scoff at. She was likely even more powerful than these Twin Heroes.
Which brought back the original question: just how much money did the Shield Axe Hero Selina have to pay the Adventurer’s Guild to become a Hero?
“That woman will be defeated by us. There’s no need for you Saints to worry,” Azure Ghost said coldly.