"Let the battle begin!"

Aya declared boldly.

And then she was engulfed in black mist.

"Idiot, how dare you not attack first during this time, you deserve to die." The black sorcerer sneered, waiting for Aya to collapse to the ground, corroded into bones, after the black mist dissipated.

"Cough! What is this thing! It's choking me!"

But instead, Aya was seen coughing and using her palm to fan in front of her, walking out of the black mist unscathed. The black sorcerer almost had his eyes pop out in shock.

This is unscientific, no, this is not magic! What is the principle behind it?! He knew very well the effects of the magic he just casted, it was a high-density undead aura. Even a powerful knight would be corroded to bones if they were not skilled in magic defense. But... that maid just walked out as if nothing happened?!

This power seems weaker than smog!

The stubborn black sorcerer unleashed his magic again, two larger clusters of undead aura covered a large area around Aya. The grass and leaves on the ground withered, the land cracked, but... Aya still approached him.

The reason is quite simple, because Aya is a Dragon.

Dragons are a mythical race blessed by the gods, and the main manifestation is their formidable defense. Even when Aya transformed into a human, her physical appearance could still generate an invisible "scale of defense" that could resist large amounts of damage during combat.

What's even worse is that the black sorcerer is an undead sorcerer. If he used other types of magic, they would at least cause some physical damage like fire explosions or wind-blade cuts. But the undead aura is purely magical damage, indistinguishable from regular mist to Aya except for a bit of choking.

"I have to say, you, as a magic user, are really pathetic. Even a fireball spell would be stronger than this." Aya immediately floated and sneered when she saw that the opponent's attack had no effect.

Fireball spell?! To compare such a basic magic spell used by beginners to practice, with a high-density undead aura?!

The black sorcerer was almost infuriated to the point of spitting blood. He gritted his teeth and slammed the bone staff he was holding onto the ground, summoning a magical formation. Two undead black knights, engulfed in black flames, riding skeletal horses roared out from within. The black flaming swords spun above their heads and charged towards Aya.

The magical formation was still active, and countless skeletal soldiers, controlled by YuanYuan, climbed out from it, forming an army of undead creatures.

A cold sweat trickled down Aya's temples, her mocking smile slightly askew.

Looks like she mocked too much this time.

...

"Ora ora ora ora!"

The princess seemed addicted to fighting. With the Ice realm activated, her body within five meters became a machine that could create weapons without cooldowns. With a simple grasp in the air, she formed an ice sword in her hand as she swung it towards Xiyano.

Although breaking this kind of junk was basically a matter of two or three swings for Xiyano's beloved sword, "Black Falcon" - Telan's craftsmanship was simply appalling, sometimes it wouldn't even form a sword shape but just an icicle when swung carelessly.

However, with Telan continuously unlocking the Ice realm, she unleashed a dual-wielding style with infinite draw-cut. Once her weapon was broken, she immediately pulled out a new one from the Ice realm, momentarily overpowering Xiyano who had the initial advantage.

Xiyano felt a bit lost in his heart. He had heard that the Silver Valkyrie was a master of swordsmanship, thinking that he could have a beautiful and poetic sword duel like he did back in his hometown. But now, Telan indeed had the strength, but her insane fighting style was just lunacy! It completely shattered Xiyano's fanciful and poetic imagination.

The ice sword clashed with Black Falcon once again, Xiyano exerted more force with his arms, trying to suppress Telan.

"You, how long can you continue wasting Chi like this?" Xiyano asked through gritted teeth. In his eyes, continuously releasing Chi in such a large area was simply a waste of energy. Even someone at the rank of a grand knight would not be able to sustain it for long.

"Ehehe, who cares about that!" Telan held the sword with one hand, and with her other hand free, she made a funny face towards Xiyano. "This lady had a deal with the gods, with unlimited blue bars and zero cooldowns, are you afraid?"

"Enough!" Xiyano roared, Black Falcon pressed down, the sharp blade directly cut through the Chi-enhanced ice sword, forcing Telan to dodge backward.

"Oh dear, don't be so agitated, too much excitement is not good for the heart.""Don't use these playful techniques in battle anymore! Show me your real skills!" Seno angrily swung his sword in the air, making a sharp sound as it cut through the air.

"Well, it took me three seconds to come up with this move, and you're dismissing it like that…" Tilan said a bit regretfully, "But since you said that, I'll give it my all. Come on, show me your 'Kiai'."

Almost every warrior has their own specialized abilities, and as a Sword Saint, Seno's greatest strength is his speed. With the enhanced power of Chi, his rapid sword strike called "Kiai" is unstoppable.

After fighting with Tilan for so long, Seno could tell that her swordsmanship was strong. In a direct confrontation, he wouldn't be stronger than her. But as long as he struck when she had no time to react, how could she possibly defend against attacks she couldn't see?

Warriors like Seno and Tilan, who have reached this level, have a reaction time of less than 0.01 seconds to any attack. And Seno's speed is just fast enough to achieve that.

With his ultimate speed and the fastest Kiai, Seno's special move is unstoppable.

As he sheathed his sword and stared at Tilan, who still had a relaxed expression, a murderous intent surged in Seno's calm black eyes.

Since you're underestimating me like this, I'll make you pay for your arrogance, Silver Battle Maiden!

He took a step forward and struck.

...

Kicking a skeleton soldier into a pile of scattered bones, Aya jumped back to avoid the sword strikes of two Black Knights.

Disgusting, it's too disgusting. If I knew, I should have just killed that guy without wasting time talking.

At least dozens of skeleton soldiers have fallen in front of Aya, and she has taken out two or three Black Knights already, leaving bone fragments all over the ground. But the summoning array behind the Black Mage seems limitless, constantly replenishing the soldiers she defeats.

Skeleton soldiers are nothing special, just the lowest level undead creatures. It's easy to kick them one by one, but it gets annoying to kick dozens in a row. And with the Black Knights lurking nearby with their swords wreathed in black flames, it could cause some trouble if they manage to hit Aya.

Swinging the sword she snatched from the hand of a Black Knight, Aya flung several skeleton soldiers away before the sword snapped with a crack.

"What a useless sword! How could it be so sturdy in that guy's hands..." Aya wondered. When she fought a Black Knight earlier, she had to put all her strength into two or three punches to break his sword. But now that she had it in her hand, it felt off. The goods delivered by the store were a disappointment!

"But it doesn't matter, I still have Dragon Scales. Bare-handed is fine too." Aya casually tossed away the broken hilt of the sword and locked her gaze onto the Black Mage hiding behind the undead army. "I just need to take you down."

The Black Mage, faced with Aya's wine-red eyes behind the undead army and the rebuilt protective barrier, felt an indescribable sense of danger and broke out in a cold sweat.

Clang!

The screeching sound of sonic boom accompanied by a powerful gust of wind swept through from the side, drawing the attention of both Aya and the Black Mage for a moment.

...

"How is this possible?!" Seno's body stiffened, his hands trembling slightly as he held the Black Falcon. He couldn't believe what he was seeing right in front of him.

The Black Falcon, this unparalleled sharp longsword, should have cut through Tilan's body and drenched her in blood - that's how it should be. But the top portion of the blade was completely broken, and Tilan was holding the shattered fifth part of the blade in her hand with a smile.

Just a moment before his strike, Seno clearly saw that Tilan was completely defenseless. Even if she had been prepared, how could she have effortlessly shattered the Black Falcon, which was wielded with the power of Kiai, with her bare hands?!

A blank mind continuously replayed every frame of the scene that just happened, but Seno still couldn't understand.

He had observed every movement of Tilan's clearly just now, and even found it easier than in the previous battles because Tilan's movements were so slow. The whole scene appeared to be in slow motion to him. Plus, with his exceptional speed and control of timing, there was no reason for him to fail!

"How did you do that?" A bitter expression appeared on Seno's face.

"I've already told you, I made a deal with a deity, so of course, you can't defeat me." Tilan casually inserted the shattered blade tip into Seno's belt and lightly patted his shoulder, with a smug look on her face. "Young man, you don't understand true power at all... Come on!"

Suddenly, she fiercely punched Seno's abdomen, sending him flying. The Sword Saint's body crashed into a big tree over ten meters away."Finished with work... huh?"

Just as I clapped my hands to greet Aya, my younger sister Fubuki Todoroki flew towards me, just like the Sword Saint I just knocked away, crashing onto the ground in front of me.

"What's going on, Aya?"

Seeing Aya, covered in dirt and with her maid outfit torn in a few places, Tiran felt a pang of sympathy for a second, but then burst into laughter.

"Laugh all you want! If you hadn't sealed my power, I wouldn't be like this now!" Aya pushed herself up with her arms and brushed off the dirt from her body, looking towards the distant Black Mage. "Tsk, is this guy cheating? Clearly, he's a Magic user, why is he playing melee?"

The army of undead around the Black Mage had all disappeared, and his own appearance had undergone a drastic change. He was surrounded by a dense aura of death, his black robe flowed without wind, his bone staff turned into a pitch-black scythe, and his metal bracers and gloves encased his hands. The skull-shaped shoulder guards emitted a faint green light from their eyes.

This appearance was definitely that of a legendary grim reaper.

"Well, after all, every mage has the heart of becoming a melee god," Tiran also felt a bit of a headache. "Grim Reaper incarnation, High-level Undead Magic..."

The Black Mage, now an incarnation of the grim reaper, glanced at Nishino, who was barely standing with the support of a fallen tree trunk. He no longer had any hope for this comrade. A frontal challenge turned into an easy defeat, this stupid guy was indeed unreliable, he had to do it himself.

Just then, the sound of galloping hooves came from nearby, and a formation of knights quickly rushed over. At the forefront, Gauvain raised his long sword, shining with a chi light, entering battle-ready mode.

"Kingdom Cross, huh? In the way, huh?"

Realizing that the assassination plan had failed, the Black Mage clicked his tongue, maintaining his grim reaper form and swiftly dragged the fallen Sword Saint, Nishino, towards the boundary of the estate.