"Finally, I've been waiting for you, Silver War Maiden," the handsome man said with a smile. He was dressed in a unique attire, not the typical clothing worn by men in this country, but a loose robe known as a "kimono" from the East. He wore a dark blue outer coat, a pure white inner lining, and tied his long black hair into a ponytail, resembling a woman. His hair fell to his collarbone.

"I can't say I'm happy to see you," Tiran pouted, staring at the long sword in his arms. "You're here to cause trouble too, Sword Saint? I'm curious who could persuade you."

"Apologies, but I have no choice but to help. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to fighting you," Nishino shrugged.

"But I'm in a hurry today, can't spare time to spar with you. Do you mind changing another day?"

"Nishino, stop wasting time and get on with it," the person behind Nishino, completely covered in a black robe with a hood that concealed their face, urged impatiently.

"You see, I don't want to either. It's just that I've been entrusted..." Nishino sheathed his sword and placed his hand on the handle.

"Fine, there's nothing more to discuss," Tiran nodded, glancing at the figure beside her who hadn't revealed their appearance, calmly flexing her wrist. "Let's start."

In an instant, killing intent erupted.

"Barifulia, leave first, you fool."

Tiran's voice echoed in Aya's ears as she felt a gust of wind rush past her. When she looked again, the white figure had already engaged in combat with Nishino.

Since they had originally gone out for dinner, Tiran didn't have any weapons on her, which should have put her at a disadvantage compared to Nishino who wielded a long sword. However, the actual situation was quite the opposite.

Flashes of light flickered as Tiran vigorously threw punches, each one accurately landing on weak points of the sword, emanating a rhythmic percussion sound.

The vibrations from the hilt made Nishino quite uncomfortable. He hadn't made the first move and had missed the opportunity, he couldn't even unsheathe his sword quickly enough. Added to that, Tiran's chosen tactics were quite effective, nullifying the advantage of his long-range sword with close-quarters combat, leaving him with no choice but to continuously block.

However, someone worthy of the title "Sword Saint" like Nishino surely possessed more than just this ability. After blocking a few punches, he forcefully swung the hilt to create distance and drew his sword!

Nishino wasn't a knight and hadn't undergone the assessments of the Knight Association, so he didn't have an official rank. But there was no doubt that someone deserving of the title "Sword Saint" would not be inferior in strength compared to the highly evaluated knights of the association.

A ten-meter long, icy arc swiftly grazed Tiran's hair, leaving a deep slash on the ground beside her.

"Oh, quite impressive. Without a weapon, it's indeed a bit difficult to fight against you," Tiran raised a hand, catching a strand of silver hair drifting down. Even though she had managed to dodge in time, she had almost been hit.

"It's just a retaliation for the sudden attack, next up is my turn." A smile disappeared from Nishino's lips as he gripped the sword and pointed it diagonally at Tiran.

Then, he vanished.

Clang!

The ice attribute chi instantly extracted moisture from the air and condensed into a translucent ice sword in Tiran's hand, intercepting Nishino's strike as he reappeared mid-air. However, the power behind this strike caused her to take a step back.

"A straightforward sword technique, Sword Saint," with a sword in hand, Tiran's demeanor became even more dignified, reminding Aya of the first time she saw Tiran swinging a sword dozens of meters long through the air.

Amidst continuous clashes, Nishino's figure moved with incredible speed, reaching a point where it was impossible for the human eye to keep up, launching attacks at Tiran from all defenses.

Yet Tiran appeared calm and composed, using her ice sword to deftly block each of Nishino's strikes.

"He's quite strong," Aya continued to hold Barifulia, who was still unconscious, in her arms, feeling a sense of fear and excitement. Tiran, who lacked a proper weapon, was at a disadvantage against the prepared Sword Saint Nishino. At least in terms of weapon quality, her hastily formed ice sword was far inferior to the beloved sword in Nishino's hand.

"I hope this thing won't break halfway through..." A crack.

The heavily burdened ice sword broke once again after blocking a strike, emitting a crisp shattering sound. The broken ice sword blade fell to the ground, turning into a pile of ice shards.

"Oh damn, I jinxed it!" Aya quickly closed her mouth, too scared to speak.

"Silver War Maiden, your sword broke," Nishino didn't take advantage of the situation, but rather stopped for a moment. The killing intent was like water teetering on the edge of a cup, swaying but not overflowing."Ah, yes, as expected. I wouldn't be surprised if a toy like that could compete with your 'Black Falcon.'" Tiran looked regretfully at the hilt in her hand, casually discarded it, and released an extremely cold chi that formed a freezing Qi The Realm with a radius of about five meters.

"So, if the quality is not enough, then I'll make up for it with quantity... Kicks that don't tire out, Wokkes!"

In the span of a breath, dozens of differently shaped ice crystal weapons appeared within the freezing Qi The Realm. Like machine guns, they relentlessly fired at Shino with powerful force. The crystal weapons reflected the moonlight in the dark night, shining brightly like countless shooting stars.

"How is it, Aya? Isn't it a super cool move?" Tiran turned around and made a victorious gesture towards Aya.

"What a stupid move, and what kind of name is that?!"

"Unlimited Blade Works! I just came up with the name, although it's a bit suspicious... But the power is absolutely guaranteed!"

Then Shino slashed through the falling stars.

Tiran's smile froze on her face. She remained silent for three seconds and then retaliated.

This princess is crazy! Aya felt like facepalming, but both his hands were holding the beauty in his arms, so he could only look up at the sky to express his frustration.

Before he could shift his gaze to the sky, he noticed the companion of the sword saint who had been watching the entire time.

That sneaky guy was holding a bone staff taller than himself, muttering something with his head lowered.

"A magic user?" Aya was taken aback and observed carefully.

Indeed, it was a magic user. His muttering should be reciting spells, and the black magic formation under his feet was almost indistinguishable in the night, but it emitted an extremely dangerous aura.

...

The black-robed mage's eyes hidden beneath the hood were fixed on the intense battle not far away, with a sinister look in his eyes.

That guy, Shino, actually didn't follow the planned ambush and challenged them openly. Didn't he realize what they were doing? It was clearly an assassination, but it turned into a stupid knight's duel?

They caused such a commotion at Hes Manor, even triggering the protective barrier. It's likely that the princess's knights and the guards from the city were already on their way.

This was the time to finish the battle quickly, while the Silver War Princess was not at her peak! As long as they succeeded in assassinating her here, then their final goal...

As for a sneak attack from behind, that was despicable and shameless, but he wasn't a knight who followed chivalry anyway, so he didn't care.

The grand magic was almost complete, the chanting of the spell was coming to an end, and next...

The black mage smirked and raised his bone staff in his right hand.

"Hey, look over here and give me a smile!"

The protective formation around him suddenly shook, and the black mage turned his head in surprise, looking at a white-haired maid in a lace-trimmed maid outfit. Her face wore a brilliant smile as she swung her fist and struck his protective barrier with one punch!

With just one punch, the invisible barrier that could withstand attacks from a high-level knight's level already trembled violently. Aya followed up with a second punch, and the barrier shattered with a resounding crash!

While the barrier mitigated most of the force, the remnants of the punch still exerted significant pressure as it grazed his body, forcing him to interrupt the chanting of the grand magic.

How is this possible? According to the information he received, the only combatants to be wary of around the Silver War Princess were the maid head, the butler, and the knight commander of the Kingdom of the Cross. Where did this maid, who easily shattered the defense barrier with two punches, come from?

"Phew, luckily I found out in time. I guess I've helped you out now, right?"

"Who are you?" the black mage blurted out.

"Can't you tell? I'm just a cute little maid passing by!" Aya shrugged naturally and suddenly felt somewhat guilty as he looked back at the figure behind him.

Farther away in a safe spot, the unconscious Vālīfariya was lying on the grass in an ungraceful position, seemingly having bumped her head on a protruding rock.

It's really not my fault. I just casually threw her away earlier out of necessity, out of necessity. It wasn't intentional.

To be honest, Aya didn't want to engage in a fight with someone whose strength was unclear but felt powerful while his powers were sealed. But considering the set rule that if the master dies, the servant dies too, he couldn't just watch Tiran getting stabbed and had to toughen up."Anyway, let's fight!"