“Fiya, be careful.”
Seeing the vicious glint in the soldiers’ eyes and their clear readiness for real combat, Weiss couldn’t help but speak up in warning.
Fiya didn’t even look back, her proud voice carrying a trace of disdain:
“Mr. Weiss, you need not worry. As opponents, they are far from worthy of witnessing my swordsmanship.”
Weiss pressed a hand to his forehead and corrected her.
“No, what I mean is be careful and hold back. Don’t actually kill anyone. If you want to teach them a lesson, keep it within the range that healing magic can fix.”
Only then did Fiya understand his meaning. She nodded her slender neck slightly as a sign of accepting the order.
Their conversation wasn’t hidden at all—every word fell clearly into the ears of the officers opposite them.
The officer’s face instantly turned the color of pig’s liver, veins bulging on his neck.
This wasn’t just contempt—this was blatant humiliation.
He felt not only his own, but the dignity of all Imperial soldiers present being trampled and ground underfoot by these two unknown mercenaries.
“For the dignity of the Empire!”
He let out a hoarse roar and gave the order with a wave of his hand,
“Seize them!”
At his command, the personal guards all attacked at once.
Waves of magical power surged from within them, instantly creating a heavy pressure.
These personal guards were completely different from those useless soldiers who only stood sentry; each one was skilled at enhancing themselves with magic.
In a flash, blades and sword shadows enveloped the black-haired female swordsman.
Yet Fiya’s figure darted through the gaps between the attacks, her longsword in hand drawing precise and elegant arcs.
The ringing clash of metal on metal sounded endlessly.
Every frontal assault was casually deflected and sent back by her, as if it were nothing.
The officer’s pupils shrank suddenly.
He’d originally thought this would be an easy show of force,
But it seemed he had kicked a steel plate.
This woman’s strength was extraordinary.
His mind blared with warning, and he grabbed the squad leader from the crowd, yanking him by the collar until the man’s eyes rolled back.
“Hey, what’s the background of these mercenaries?”
The soldier was so frightened his soul nearly fled, stammering:
“N-Not too sure, sir… they seem to have just arrived… Oh, right, right! I saw them come over earlier with Lady Weisswood!”
Weisswood?
The officer’s brows furrowed as his mind raced.
Are they from the Reconnaissance Knights?
Could it be the Reconnaissance Knights have some operation and hired these mercenaries to assist in the investigation?
He couldn’t help glancing in the direction of Jingri Town.
Currently, the army only knew that the valley contained a large number of Abominations, the intel was vague, but it clearly stated there was a danger of an Abomination Tide.
It wasn’t unusual for front-line reconnaissance teams to hire mercenaries as scouts or cannon fodder to reduce casualties.
But if that was really the case—
The officer’s gaze returned to the center of the battlefield.
The strength of this black-haired female swordsman was too much—what kind of cannon fodder was this strong?
While he was lost in thought, the outcome was already clear.
When he turned to look again, his heart jolted violently.
The personal guards he was so proud of now lay sprawled on the ground.
Some were clutching dislocated arms, their joints twisted unnaturally.
Others were holding their ankles, severed tendons leaving them to writhe in pain on the ground.
Even the magic warrior in the team who could conjure a defensive shield—his powerful magical barrier was now shattered into countless fragments of light, and he himself had a sword wound deep enough to show bone across his chest, lying unconscious.
Before the sword of that female swordsman, all defenses were as fragile as paper.
A cold sweat broke out across the officer’s back.
He didn’t have time to think further, shooting a scornful glare at the squad leader:
“Go! Bring me the Reconnaissance Knight who brought them here!”
The squad leader scrambled away as if granted a pardon, rolling and crawling off the scene.
Fiya paid no attention to the incapacitated guards, simply standing quietly, eyes on the ashen-faced officer and the group of Imperial soldiers trembling in fear behind him.
With the habitual flourish of a noble knight, she spun her sword to flick off the few drops of blood staining the blade.
“Your subordinates seem lacking in ability. Next, will you, sir, come personally to test your skills against me?”
The officer’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
Though wary of Fiya’s strength, so many soldiers were watching—
As their commanding officer, his pride and dignity would not allow him to retreat.
The officer squeezed a low growl through gritted teeth.
“Mere mercenaries—don’t you dare look down on Imperial soldiers. I’ll show you the supreme might of Miggan!”
As soon as the words fell, his magic surged like a volcano.
A visible red shockwave exploded out from him, scattering dust and grass in all directions.
With stomach-turning cracks of bone and the sound of muscles tearing, his body began to swell at a terrifying rate.
His tailored uniform burst apart, reduced to flying scraps.
In just a few breaths, a hulking figure three meters tall appeared before the crowd.
He had transformed into a Berserker.
The shadow cast by his massive frame nearly covered both Fiya and Weiss, who stood a little ways behind her.
The standard longsword in his hand looked laughably small in his now-enlarged grip—like a mere dagger.
Weiss squinted, mouth forming an O-shape.
“This Empire really… As long as someone’s strong, they don’t care what form it takes, huh.”
Fiya’s eyes widened.
“A giant transformation powered by condensed magic? That really is rare.”
But rather than feeling wary, she was more intrigued.
She sized up the giant before her with great interest.
“I’ve never fought a giant before. I wonder if you, sir, can count as one.”
As she spoke, Fiya moved.
Her figure turned into a streak of black lightning, heading straight for the massive body before her.
Though the officer’s body was huge, his reaction was far from sluggish. Swinging that “dagger” with his giant hand, he met Fiya’s sword slash precisely.
“Clang!”
A deafening crash.
As if that sound was a signal, waves of metallic humming followed each collision of sword and iron.
Each blow from the Berserker came with a roar of wind and thunder, smashing shallow pits into the ground and creating an intimidating display.
Yet he had no chance to attack—he could only defend, forced back step by step.
He couldn’t understand.
How could the force behind this female swordsman’s seemingly delicate blade be so overwhelming?
Even with his family’s secret martial arts and his magically enhanced strength, he could only barely hold his ground.
Each block sent searing pain through his palms.
The Imperial soldiers around them stared, dumbstruck at this battle between gods and demons, with no thought whatsoever of joining in.
In a slaughterhouse for the strong like this, stepping in uninvited was suicide.
Unlike the bystanding soldiers, Weiss saw more clearly.
Fiya was gradually gaining absolute dominance.
But at this moment, she wasn’t in a hurry to settle the match—
Her expression was one of interest, as if trying out different techniques, constantly changing her attacks.
Sometimes she struck with lightning speed; sometimes her blows carried tremendous force.
Even when she landed a hit, it only left a shallow white mark on the Berserker’s tough skin—just a scratch.
And with the Berserker’s impressive stamina, the fight appeared even on the surface.
Only now did Weiss belatedly realize—
Back at the kingdom’s border army training ground, he’d seen Fiya unleash a fully-powered sword slash and knew she was extraordinary.
But he hadn’t expected her to be this strong.
It seemed the members of the kingdom’s Knight Hall could truly rival the Empire’s Banner Generals.
As time passed, Fiya’s assault only grew faster.
Her pressure crashed over the Berserker like endless waves, unceasing.
The officer in Berserker form was starting to buckle—his breathing was ragged, his movements slowing.
Just as he was about to collapse, a sharp whistling split the air.
A coldly gleaming arrow tore through the sky, aiming straight for Fiya’s back.
Weiss, sharp-eyed, tensed up.
“—Watch out!”
But even before he finished speaking, Fiya had already reacted.
Her body seemed weightless, twisting impossibly to narrowly dodge the lethal arrow.
The arrow brushed past her clothes, embedding itself deeply in the distant ground, its fletching still trembling.
Having dodged the sneak attack, Fiya put some distance between herself and the officer, her eyes sharply turning toward where the arrow had come from.
At that moment, a figure holding a longbow finally appeared from the corner of the camp.
It was the Reconnaissance Knight, Weisswood.
Her face was marked with impatience and irritation as she called out in a clear voice:
“Heard there were mercenaries making trouble here. I didn’t expect you all to actually have the nerve.”