Chapter 209

Clang!

The clash of longswords and daggers sparks fly, and only the sharp metallic sound echoes through the forest.

An unknown number of collisions already.

“Ugh…!”

“Why!? It’s clearly 3 against 2…!”

“No matter how many people you have, the difference in skill can’t be overcome!”

As Aila said, despite having one more person on Arisa’s side, the battle was gradually tilting in Daria’s favor as time went on.

In battles with fewer participants, the difference in each individual’s skill becomes even more significant.

However, there is a limit to that.

In the face of overwhelming power, numerical superiority doesn’t mean much.

Arisa, despite her lack of achievements, has the skill to be promoted to Silver Rank Adventurer immediately if judged purely on ability.

But that evaluation is only due to her exceptional talent as a Scout, specialized in reconnaissance and tracking.

If you look at her pure combat ability excluding her Scout skills, she falls just short of being a true Silver Rank Adventurer.

The only reason she’s managing to hold her own against Aila is due to the difference in equipment.

Thanks to the Artifact Knife found in the Ruins of the Ancient Empire.

Being able to wield cutting power similar to aura without any maintenance cost is a huge advantage, and it’s only because of that artifact’s power that she’s barely managing to keep fighting.

Meanwhile, Yuri and Liche, who are facing Daria, aren’t doing much better either.

Liche’s combat ability is the strongest among the three, but her opponent is the Holy Kingdom’s Special Operations Saint, who is optimized to counter someone like her. While Liche’s pure magical ability might be the most threatening among the three, her actual combat experience is practically nonexistent, having just left the mansion.

Yuri is in an even worse position. While she does have exceptional talent in martial arts, the problem is that no matter how talented she is, it takes time for that talent to fully bloom.

But she’s not even a full-fledged adventurer yet—just an adventurer hopeful. Her combat ability is stronger than one might expect, but in other words, it’s only as strong as one might expect.

Combined with her lack of real combat experience, it’s barely better than nothing.

This is evident from the fact that Liche and Yuri are barely managing to hold their own against Daria alone.

In contrast, Daria and Aila are specialists with versatile abilities, capable of handling both monsters and human combat.

This created a power gap large enough to overturn the numerical disadvantage. What initially seemed like a hopeful situation when Yuri joined quickly began to tilt in Daria’s favor.

Clang!

The outcome was soon decided.

“The dagger…!”

The dagger Arisa was using.

She had been holding one in each hand to block Aila’s attacks, but the problem was that only one of them could fully withstand Aila’s aura.

One was an Artifact from the Ancient Empire that could stand up to aura, but the other was just a well-maintained but ordinary dagger.

There was no way she could keep blocking Aila’s aura-infused attacks forever.

“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. I’ll control my strength and strike with the flat of the blade.”

“Miss Arisa!”

“Arisa!”

With one weapon lost, Aila, who was already gaining the upper hand, solidified her victory.

She smiled, adjusted her grip, and struck Arisa with the flat of her blade.

Clang!

Or at least, that’s what she intended.

If not for the aura-infused pebble that flew in and deflected her sword.

“Who’s there!?”

“Things just got annoying. I didn’t plan on running into the Holy Kingdom’s dogs.”

“What do you mean? Captain. Isn’t it a good thing to cross swords with the Holy Kingdom’s knights?”

“…Sigh. Right. That’s just like you.”

It was none other than Daria who recognized the two.

Her mind was filled with knowledge useful for her missions, regardless of the field.

The skill to throw an ordinary pebble and deflect Aila’s sword, even if she held back.

And the noble accent that slipped into their conversation.

A golden-haired nobleman and a redhead who seemed hot-tempered.

And the redhead’s way of addressing the nobleman.

She quickly deduced their identities.

“Could it be… the Empire’s Holy Sword Knight Order?”

“…As expected of the Holy Kingdom’s dogs. Did you figure it out just by the smell?”

Albert frowned in displeasure at Daria’s shout of recognition.

“What are the Empire’s lackeys doing here?”

“You can’t possibly be asking that seriously, can you? Like you, we also have business with them.”

“Business…?”

“But first, it seems we need to deal with you.”

“Heh! I never liked the Holy Kingdom folks anyway. This works out!”

With that, Albert and Louis drew their swords, and the situation entered a new phase.

…

“Ugh… This isn’t good.”

“We almost had them…”

Aila and Daria.

The two bit their lips as they spoke.

This is troublesome.

That was the feeling they both had.

Unlike the relatively easy opponents in Arisa’s group, the Empire’s knights are the elite of the elite, even within the Spine Empire.

Why such elites would come all the way to Astram in the Kingdom of Eustia is unknown, but one thing is certain: the two are far from friendly.

With the Empire’s Knight Captain and Vice-Captain joining the fray, the odds of victory plummeted.

They were considering whether to cut their losses and retreat when…

“Whoever you are, thank you.”

“No need. It’s dangerous, so leave this to us and stay back.”

“No. It’s fine. This happened because of us, so we can’t just stand by and watch…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you for now…”

Before they knew it, Albert’s group had fully joined Arisa’s group.

Albert approached Liche with a friendly smile, urging her to quietly hide behind them. Liche thanked him for his kindness but refused, saying she couldn’t just hide.

But Albert, not taking no for an answer, moved closer to Liche.

In the tense moment of battle, instead of joining forces, Albert kept insisting on protecting her, causing Liche to frown.

“But…”

“Liche! Watch out!”

Whoosh!

“Ah!”

“…Not bad reflexes.”

The moment Albert reached out, Arisa pulled Liche to her side to protect her.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Albert, a step too late, grabbed at the air where Liche had been.

Albert’s group never intended to protect the three and fight the Holy Kingdom’s nuns.

Saving Arisa in that critical moment was only to prevent the Holy Kingdom’s nuns from taking her before they could.

In essence, Albert’s group wasn’t particularly friendly toward Arisa either.

In fact, like Daria’s group, they saw them more as prey.

So, Albert had planned to approach Liche under the guise of helping, take her hostage, and demand the artifact.

Realizing this, Arisa’s group quickly distanced themselves from Albert, their expressions wary.

Albert looked at Liche and Arisa with a regretful expression.

“I wanted to take the artifact peacefully without shedding blood… But you’re ignoring my goodwill.”

From his perspective, taking Liche hostage was an attempt to resolve the situation as peacefully as possible.

After all, if he used force, someone would inevitably get hurt, and he didn’t want that to be himself.

His sneak attack was actually a consideration for Arisa’s group.

Seeing this, Louis laughed heartily and comforted Albert.

“Hahaha! Captain, what do you mean by peaceful resolution? People like us who only know how to swing swords should just take what we want by force.”

What seemed like Albert’s group joining Arisa’s group turned out to be them establishing their own independent force.

And so, the situation became a three-way battle between Arisa’s group, the Holy Kingdom’s group, and the Empire’s group.

The situation had entered yet another phase.