Chapter 264: The Strongest Bronze (XIIII)

“Wait for me! Hey, wait up!”

Samimi had ultimately underestimated how troublesome Selina could be. The girl clung to her like a persistent leech.

“My lady, didn’t I say we were going on a top-secret mission? Stop following me,” Samimi said, her voice tinged with urgency. Being tied down by this girl made it impossible to get anything done.

“Why do you keep calling me ‘my lady’? Are you mocking me? Do you think I can’t beat Mimi? Let’s fight right now!” Selina demanded.

Samimi was speechless.

This girl’s character setting was just like the Unified White Knight, Fabiana—she was extremely thin-skinned.

She was the type of knight lady who was constantly paranoid, feeling like the whole world was out to get her. You couldn’t say a single word to her without her taking offense.

At the same time, she held the same position as the original Samimi—the Villainess. Her character design was essentially “poison added to poison.”

Her way of speaking was incredibly grating, and her personality was like a mother-in-law in a soap opera. She was the kind of stubborn woman that even Samimi found nauseating to deal with.

However, it had to be said that as a Villainess, Selina was far more qualified than Samimi herself.

Her background was that of a “backdoor hero,” and her existence served to humiliate all the adventurers who worked hard for a living. She was a thorn in the side of every adventurer, a true local scourge.

Samimi could already guess the entire plot moving forward.

Selina’s natural role was to constantly seek death, disgust the protagonist, suppress the protagonist, and push the protagonist’s revenge and anger meters to the max—only to be crushed in the end, fulfilling her mission as a stepping stone.

However, those “Red Ghost” and “Blue Ghost” twins from yesterday didn’t look like they had the fate of protagonists. Their designs felt more like mid-tier bosses, which would make Selina a sub-boss along the way.

‘Now I can only wait and see if that righteous-looking Brave Lie Kun is the destined protagonist of the Southern Region.’

But according to the internal introduction, Brave Lie Kun’s age was about the same as the higher-ups in the Church. He didn’t seem like protagonist material.

‘Could it be… that I’m supposed to be the protagonist?’

After all, someone else had already taken over her role as the Villainess.

“We’re going to challenge Brave Lie Kun. You’ll have a chance to fight later,” Samimi said.

“Huh? Brave Lie Kun? I’m supposed to fight a Senior Hero?” Selina was stunned.

“My lady, if you can’t handle it, just go home and enjoy your life of luxury. This is the dirty work meant for us low-life servants who work like cattle,” Samimi replied, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

“Why must you speak like that?” Selina asked, looking aggrieved.

Samimi didn’t know why the girl was acting so hurt. But the Villainess archetype was just like that—emotionally unstable. One moment she was arrogant and overbearing, and the next, she was wallowing in self-pity. The original Samimi had been that kind of strange woman, too.

“What’s wrong with how I speak?” Samimi countered.

“You weren’t like this before. You used to act all manipulative and innocent, opposing me at every turn. Why have you become like this now?” Selina asked.

“We are just mercenaries hired by your family. How could I dare speak loudly to you, my lady?” Samimi spoke with mock humility.

‘There is already a pathetic gap between us.’

‘Besides, wasn’t your greatest wish for us to speak politely and quietly? Now that we’re being polite, you’re still unhappy. What do you actually want?’

But that was just the strange psychology of a teenage girl. Fortunately, Samimi was a master of girl psychology and could see through whatever game this girl was playing at a glance.

To put it nicely, she was like the Unified White Knight, Fabiana—”high maintenance.” To put it bluntly, she was just being difficult.

If you treated her poorly, she was unhappy. That was understandable.

But now that they were being gentle, she was still unhappy. Wasn’t that just being masochistic?

The only difference between “tsundere” and “difficult” was looks. If she was pretty, it was tsundere; if she was ugly, it was just being a brat.

Unfortunately, it seemed Samimi wouldn’t have the chance to give Selina a slap today.

She was still staying at the Yaoguang Guild. To burn bridges so soon would be a bit dishonorable, and Samimi wasn’t that kind of person.

‘One Villainess should not make things difficult for another. We are now a coalition of stubborn women in the same boat.’

“Our mission today is to scout the Third Guild and test their foundations. My lady, you should go back. We can’t let others see that we’re together,” Samimi explained.

But as she said this, the three of them had already walked down the street in broad daylight. No secrets had been kept, and it was already too late to say such things.

Furthermore, after the Dark Nun made such a splash against the Red Ghost yesterday, the news had spread everywhere. Every adventurer knew there was a little monster like her.

In contrast, not many people paid attention to the little mage lady, thinking she was just a cow breeder.

“Was this an order from Lady Meihua?” Selina asked.

“No, this is our own intention. Lady Meihua has helped us a lot, and we want to repay her great kindness. So, we volunteered to scout the enemy for the guild. We are saints of the Church, after all. This kind of work is best suited for us, even if we have to endure infamy for ten thousand years,” Samimi said, talking total nonsense with a straight face.

“…”

Selina was both skeptical and a little moved. Her mind was quite conflicted.

Samimi said she was trying to drive her away, but it was all talk. She made no actual move to push her out.

And so, they brought Selina along all the way until they arrived at the barracks gates of the Third Guild, [Hell Poetry].

*Gulp.* Selina swallowed hard.

The Third Guild was already prepared. Over 100 guild members were waiting at the entrance. Without needing any words, they silently escorted the three of them inside.

Samimi noticed that the Third Guild had cleared the area. There were no public trials today; they were only receiving the three of them.

Other adventurers could only watch from a distance. However, everyone was crowded around the entrance, peeking through the gaps in the gate. Some even climbed onto wooden blocks, desperate to see the show.

“Didn’t you say you were coming here quietly to cause trouble? How does everyone already know?” Selina asked.

“I don’t know. Someone must have leaked the information,” Samimi said dismissively.

It was definitely because they had caused too much of a scene at the Sorrowful Knife Guild yesterday. The news had spread, and everyone knew they were “shopping around” for guilds to challenge.

Plus, the high-profile intervention of the Yaoguang Guild last night let everyone know that the guild was connected to them.

As a result, the Third Guild had gone on high alert.

They had actually predicted her move successfully. Samimi had originally planned to do what she did yesterday—slip into the crowd of trial-takers.

Who would have thought that Hell Poetry had already set a “Hongmen Banquet” for them, waiting for them to walk right into the trap?

The Third Guild members didn’t lead the three of them to the sandy practice field. Instead, they were taken to a more formal stone arena inside.

There was a long elders’ table there, similar to the one they had seen at the First Guild yesterday. However, the one sitting there wasn’t a bunch of old men, but a single female swordsman in black.

The other side wasn’t playing around; the boss had shown up personally to intimidate these unruly young pests who didn’t follow the rules of the adventurers.

She sat there leisurely, pouring tea even though her eyes were bandaged. One look was enough to tell she was a “fake blind person,” just like the Dark Nun version of the Rice Bug.

Even Samimi stopped her joking, her expression gradually becoming serious.

This woman’s face…

It was just like when she first met the Nun. She was the type of person who was clearly a ruthless elite among elites.

Both “Sword Saints” looked to be about 25 years old. Compared to “beautiful girls” like Samimi and her group, they might seem older, but they were actually very young, and their strength was already equivalent to S-Rank Adventurers.

One had to realize that S-Rank Adventurers were usually old foxes. Reaching that rank in one’s early thirties was considered being a genius. Generally, one only had the qualifications to be a “King” at age 40.

For example, the Azure Moon Rampaging Dragon they met before, or the squinty-eyed guy in the trench coat from yesterday whom they called a “scrub”—they were all men in their thirties.

What on earth did Selina have that allowed her to be called a “Brave” alongside people like this? Was there some kind of fraud involved?

“Why are you looking at me?” Selina asked.

“Nothing,” Samimi said, turning her face away.

“If you have something to say, just say it. I’m not that petty,” Selina said, sensing that Samimi was hiding something from her.

“Then you go fight the Brave Cresia,” Samimi said.

Selina remained silent.

“Young ladies, meeting you is fate. Please sit and have some tea,” Cresia said, raising a hand to invite them.

Samimi and Selina looked at each other and could only approach the long table. They certainly weren’t going to sit, so they just stood there awkwardly.

Niubao picked up the entire teapot and gulped down all the tea in one go. She even chewed and swallowed the tea leaves, shocking everyone present. It was a clear display of dominance.

The surrounding members of the Third Guild were stunned. ‘Is she even human? Is that something a human can do?’

“I am Cresia. I seek your guidance,” Cresia said politely.

“My name is Samimi, and this is Samimi. We are investigators sent by the Cathedral to inspect the South,” Samimi introduced them.

“Then what does the Brave Lady from the Yaoguang Guild wish to discuss by coming to our humble abode?” Cresia asked, her expression unchanging, like a zombie.

“I…”

Selina quickly looked toward Samimi, because she truly didn’t know what she was doing here.

“Our Church also has a ‘Saint,’ so we wanted to come and see if you are truly worthy of the title ‘Cresia,'” Samimi said bluntly.

“Is this the intention of the Yaoguang Guild?” As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding members of the Third Guild became visibly upset.

“It’s just a friendly spar. To learn from each other through martial arts and make progress together,” Samimi called out.

She made it sound nice, but it did nothing to quell the crowd’s resentment. Everyone here was a martial artist with a hot temper; they couldn’t stand this kind of provocation.

Moreover, the Hell Poetry Guild had been recruiting many talented people lately. They were much stronger than the declining Yaoguang Guild.

“Your seniority is not suitable for a match with me. If you wish to spar with me, call Lady Meihua or Kun over,” Cresia said, waving her hand and rejecting the request.

Her reasoning was clever, leaving Samimi unable to find a flaw for a moment.

Seniority was a perfect excuse. As long as the ranks didn’t match, nothing could be done.

“Well, that’s a problem then. A wasted trip,” Samimi said, waving her small hand and feigning a smile. “At least we got a walk in. Let’s go.”

“No rush,” Cresia said, clapping her hands to call them back. “We happen to have two young and promising female disciples in our guild. I am sure they will be able to satisfy you.”