The attack startled Qiu Meng, and she hastily turned to block horizontally.
The first strike hit, and she felt like her wrist was about to break. She immediately propped the blade with her left elbow, trying to absorb the impact with her whole body.
She barely held.
But her footing was thrown off, exposing a gap.
‘Not good…!’
Her father gave her no time to breathe. The second strike followed immediately. This time, it wasn’t just raw force—it used his weight and angle to completely shatter her unstable stance.
The vibration from the wooden sword traveled to her left arm, and the numbness crept from her arm to her shoulder.
But just then, Qiu Meng suddenly lowered her body and swung her sword at her father’s lower leg.
“Take this—!”
She gambled that he wouldn’t react in time.
But the moment the sword came down, Dante’s wooden sword was already blocking at his thigh.
“Good idea.”
“But you telegraphed it too clearly.”
Thud!
Dante deflected her sword and followed with a thrust. That instant, Qiu Meng clearly saw the gap between magic-enhanced swordsmanship and her own.
Around Dante, there was a faint, almost imperceptible current of air. As the wooden sword shot forward, it split the air with a sharp sound.
This strike… she couldn’t block.
Qiu Meng bit her lip hard. The pain forced her body to move. She rolled sideways, barely dodging the attack.
She tasted a bit of blood at the corner of her mouth. Sweat dripped from her forehead to the ground, but her heart pounded wildly.
Then, her father instantly changed his technique, turning the thrust into a sweeping horizontal strike.
Qiu Meng reacted almost without thought, using her shorter height to lean back sharply. The wooden sword swept past her forehead, knocking off her hairpin and cutting a few strands of pale hair.
As the hair fell, she saw no wavering in Dante’s eyes.
Her father was truly teaching her.
He was also telling her that combat was never the beautiful thing depicted in storybooks—it was a reality where a moment’s hesitation could tear you apart.
“Daughter.”
But while Qiu Meng was still stunned, Dante closed in again.
“Hesitation on the battlefield means death.”
A vertical chop came down.
Qiu Meng saw it but couldn’t dodge in time. The wooden sword, though held back, still struck her on the head.
“Ow!”
She plopped down on the ground, both hands covering her head, tears almost squeezed out by the pain.
Dante lowered his sword and stepped over to check her injury. After confirming it was only pain and no broken skin, he let a faint smile show.
“Fast reflexes.”
Qiu Meng looked up at him pleadingly.
“Really?”
“Really,” Dante nodded. “Your movements are messy, your strength is weak, and your stance is unstable, but your dodges and reactions aren’t something an ordinary child would have. Where did you learn that?”
Qiu Meng froze.
She couldn’t exactly say that stuff came from past-life movies, games, and countless fantasies while lying in a hospital bed…
So she mumbled vaguely, “From books… and I thought it up myself.”
Dante didn’t press further. He just ruffled her head.
“But your problems are obvious too. You’re too weak, and you can’t use magic. Against an ordinary kid, you might win with reflexes and cleverness. But if you meet someone who can actually use magic and enhance their body with it, you’ll have a hard time fighting head-on.”
Qiu Meng pursed her lips.
After that, she wanted to find some weapon that didn’t rely on magic. Her gaze wandered around the training ground and finally settled on the bows and crossbows in the corner.
Dante followed her gaze.
“Interested in ranged weapons?”
Qiu Meng nodded, then asked cautiously, “If I don’t have to compare strength, just aim… can I do it?”
Dante’s expression became a bit complicated.
“Try the bow first.”
Qiu Meng immediately walked over and picked up a training bow. It wasn’t too big for her, but when she hooked a finger on the string, she found it barely budged.
“Nngh…!”
She switched to both hands, gritted her teeth, and her face turned red.
The string only moved a little.
Dante sighed.
“See?”
Not giving up, Qiu Meng pointed at the crossbow beside her.
“What about this one?”
She picked up the crossbow and quickly ran into a crueler problem.
A crossbow wasn’t some magical little tool you just pulled a trigger on—you had to draw the string first.
And this training crossbow, though not a military heavy crossbow, was still ridiculously heavy for a twelve-year-old.
She tried pulling it with her hands. No luck.
She changed position. Still no luck. The light in her eyes dimmed bit by bit.
“Father… is there any other way…?”
She looked up at him, her voice so soft it was almost fading.
Dante looked at her, paused for a moment, and finally walked over.
“There is.”
Qiu Meng snapped her head up.
“Point the crossbow down, step on the stirrups on both sides with your feet, and pull the string with both hands. Go slow. Don’t hurt yourself.”
Qiu Meng immediately followed his instructions.
The crossbow was almost half her size.
Stepping on it, bending down, and pulling the string took her over six minutes for the first load. She nearly got pulled over by the crossbow’s weight more than once, and her fingers were red from the friction.
But finally, click.
The string caught.
Qiu Meng stared at the loaded crossbow.
‘I did it!’
Then she lifted the crossbow with effort and aimed at a nearby tree. The heavy weapon made it impossible to hold steady for long, so she just aimed roughly and pulled the trigger.
Whoosh!
The bolt flew out and embedded itself in the tree trunk’s edge.
It was way off, but it hit.
Qiu Meng froze for a few seconds, then broke into a smile.
“I did it!”
Dante stood nearby, his expression a mix of relief and lingering worry.
“Being able to use it is one thing; knowing how to use it is another. Ordinary people can’t get high-level crossbows. And more importantly, it’s not a toy.”
“I… I know that!”
Qiu Meng hugged the crossbow and nodded seriously.
“I’ll learn properly!”
She tried loading it again. This time, the movements were noticeably smoother—still exhausting, but faster than before. Dante didn’t stop her, only pointing out issues with her posture.
After several rounds, Qiu Meng finally got too tired, her arms trembling.
Dante handed her a cup of water.
“Take a break, little princess.”
“Mhm…”
Qiu Meng obediently took the water and gulped it down. As her throat eased, she realized she had been yelling so much that her voice was a bit hoarse.
Just then, urgent knocking came from outside the training ground.
Thump, thump, thump!
The sound was heavy, as if pounding on someone’s heart.
Dante frowned, set down his cup, and went to open the door. A young guard stood outside, his face pale, legs still trembling, his chainmail stained with mud and blood.
“Captain… something’s wrong!”
“Something happened at the wall! Old Ma… a monster tore off his leg!”
Qiu Meng’s heart sank.
The same Old Ma who had been laughing drunkenly and tried to pat her head just a while ago?
Dante’s expression turned cold in an instant.
“Speak clearly.”
“A monster attacked the border patrol point.” The guard swallowed hard. “It looked like a bear, but bigger. Under its fur, it had stone-like growths. Red eyes. It’s not a normal monster… it’s like something was modified.”
“The Demon Race?”
“No,” the guard shook his head quickly. “The Demon Race can control monsters, but we’ve never heard of them transforming ordinary beasts like that. At least, we haven’t.”
Dante fell silent for a moment.
Qiu Meng saw a deep look in her father’s eyes.
Not the Demon Race, but capable of controlling large animals and mutating them?
Dante asked no more. He turned, wiped away his sweat, quickly put on his chainmail, fastened his belt, and grabbed his sword and shield.
“Lead the way.”
The guard hesitated.
“But Captain, you just finished training…”
“So what?”
Dante tightened his wrist guard, his voice low and steady.
“Our duty is to protect the civilians from harm.”
Qiu Meng stood to the side, her chest tight.
“Father…”
Dante turned around, crouched down, and patted her head.
“I’ll come back.”
“Promise,” Qiu Meng tried to keep her voice from trembling. “You still have to teach me more.”
“Promise.”
With that, Dante began a series of preparations that left Qiu Meng completely baffled.
He took out several small round bottles from a cabinet and poured white powder into them. Qiu Meng caught a pungent smell and coughed twice.
Lime?
Her father was putting lime into tiny bottles like spice containers?
Next, Dante took out three small bottles of rapeseed oil and tucked them into a pouch on his waist. He placed a few arrows wrapped in oilcloth into a quiver, then inserted a small iron plate into the front of his chainmail.
Qiu Meng broke into a sweat.
This was nothing like the knights she imagined.
‘…?’
Finally, her father took out a section of bamboo tube, stuffed it with several powders she didn’t recognize, added fragments of low-grade fire mana stones, and sealed it simply.
Qiu Meng remembered that those fire mana stones were usually just used as kindling to light stoves.
‘Father… is he making a makeshift mana explosive device or something?’
Dante then shortened a wooden practice spear, attached the bamboo tube to its side, and cut off the head of a discarded iron crossbow bolt, binding it near the spear’s tip with rope.
The whole process was terrifyingly efficient.
Half an hour later, he was fully armed.
“Daughter, I’m heading out.”
Qiu Meng stood at the door, her hands clenched tight.
“Yeah. You have to come back.”
Dante nodded, then followed the guard away. Soon, the sound of horse hooves came from outside the yard, fading into the distance toward the road leading to the wall.
Qiu Meng stood still.
The things her father had just taken were absolutely not standard patrol gear.
She bit her lower lip.
‘I’ll just take one look… yeah!’
‘I won’t get close. I’ll just make sure Dad’s okay.’
Then, Qiu Meng went back to her room, grabbed her small slingshot, and slipped out through the back door.
***
At the same time, deep in the forest outside the Border Wall.
A temporary camp was hidden among dead trees and rock walls.
Three bandits stood in the center of the camp, looking nervous. Before them was a mage draped in a gray-black cloak.
The mage wore a hood that obscured their face. Only their hands were visible, constantly wringing together.
“Done?”
The mage’s voice was distorted, clearly disguised.
A tall bandit grinned.
“Of course, sir. The stuff has been released. But I don’t understand why you’d have something like this…”
He didn’t finish.
The mage suddenly raised a hand and grabbed his throat.
Crack.
The sound of bone breaking rang out.
The bandit’s smile froze on his face. His hands flailed helplessly against the mage’s arm. In his wide eyes, a strange emblem was reflected: red, green, blue, purple interwoven, four small flags forming an ominous pattern.
The next instant, fire exploded from his throat.
He didn’t even have time to scream. His body was consumed by raging flames. The smell of charred flesh spread. The remaining two bandits turned pale, not daring to breathe.
The mage released his grip, letting the charred corpse fall to the ground.
“You just need to do the job.”
He turned around slowly.
“Don’t ask about what you shouldn’t know.”
The two bandits nodded frantically.
“After it’s done, you’ll be paid well. Now, keep driving those things toward the patrol points.”
The bandits bowed and retreated.
The mage walked alone to a corner of the camp, confirmed no one was around, and pulled a dark mana stone from his pocket. The stone glowed faintly, and soon an elderly voice came through.
“Done?”
“Done.” The mage replied. “The mutants have already attacked the wall patrol point. Once panic spreads, those defensive magical artifacts will be sold without a hitch.”
The elderly voice chuckled low.
“Good. In a border place like this, a few dead guards—a few fewer mouths to feed—lightens the city’s ledger a little. And I want to see how that count managed to stockpile so much… Natural Essence.”
The communication cut off.
The mage put away the mana stone, took out a pocket watch, and checked the time.
He was silent for a moment, then sneered.
“The big shots in the city really have no conscience. Doing something like this just for taxes and orders.”
Not far away, a bear-like monster prowled through the forest. Its back was arched high, rocky lumps embedded in its fur, eyes bloodshot, saliva dripping to the ground with a corrosive hiss.
The mage watched the monsters, his fingers intertwining uneasily again.
“Almost time,” he murmured.
“Now let’s see how long that guard captain can last.”