Taking down the heavy chains hanging on the gate so lightly was not something an ordinary nun could do.
Lita didn’t deny that the church might have some strong individuals—that was only natural. There’s probably no faction that’s a soft, helpless little cake. But sending a nun with that level of capability to show her church-owned assets, and specifically saying it was because Cecilia was interested in buying a house—it was hard to believe this was a coincidence.
Either this nun meant her harm, or something in this room might be harmful to both her and the nun. As Lita tried to step into Cecilia’s thought process to consider the problem, she felt a chill down her back for no reason. She spun around abruptly and saw a rapidly approaching dagger nearly piercing her throat.
Several days earlier.
“The target is a swordswoman. Her attacks focus mainly on her sword, but she doesn’t carry it with her at all times during daily activities. So the moment she steps into the courtyard is our opportunity to strike. That’s the plan. Do you all understand?”
The girl in the nun outfit narrowed her eyes and looked at the people around her with a warm, spring-like compassionate gaze.
“Just killing someone? That’s simple, isn’t it?”
A scrawny man giggled.
“Hmph, actually hiring us ‘Eight-Claw Spiders’ together—the price is high.”
Another bare-chested, burly man crossed his arms and snorted a puff of hot air from his nose.
The seductive woman swayed her hips and pressed her body against the man.
“To kill a Crest Knight, of course we must pay the utmost respect.”
The short old man sitting against the wall let out a rat-like sneer.
“Hehehehe, and the payment is generous. Miss, rest assured.”
“I’ve been wanting to kill a Crest Knight for fun. I heard one was already at death’s door a few days ago. How pitiful. But if it were us, we definitely wouldn’t leave her alive.”
“What a shame, my sword is about to reap another soul.”
“It might not be you who kills her! I won’t let you have it!”
“Nun big sister, if you’re the bait, you’d better be careful.”
Listening to the chatter in the room, the nun pressed her palms together in a prayer gesture and smiled even more radiantly.
“Then I’ll be waiting for your good news.”
A sneak attack? While my attention was just on the nun, she seized that chance to attack? It could hardly be called a sneak attack anymore. The blade was heading straight for my vital point. Assassination might be a better word.
“Hehehe, she doesn’t even have a weapon. I’ll take the Crest Knight lady’s head!”
The scrawny man who reached Lita first let out a few sneers and thrust his dagger straight at her throat. Before his smile could fade, Lita’s hand had already grabbed his head faster than his dagger could strike, slamming it straight into the ground. The impact of his skull hitting the earth made the man grunt, his eyes rolling back as he passed out.
At the same time, Lita’s sharply raised foot had already connected with the short old man’s chin. The force of her kick sent him flying, crashing into the wall nearby. With both men knocked away, Lita didn’t pause for a moment. She immediately twisted her body and dodged away from her original spot. In the place where she had just stood, several throwing knives were now deeply embedded in the ground.
There was also a bare-armed brute descending from above.
An attack from four people right off the bat? But I still dodged. Lita thought, scanning the courtyard with her peripheral vision. Besides the two who had fallen, there were seven more standing there. Counting the nun, that made nine in total. Quite the turnout.
The old man who had been kicked away also got up now, dusted off his clothes, and seemed unharmed.
I held back a little too much. As expected, there’s still some psychological burden when it comes to hurting humans.
“Come on, kid! Let me, Overlord Spider, personally twist your head off.”
The bare-chested man slapped his own scar-covered chest and turned to face Lita again.
“Aren’t you cold, not wearing clothes in this weather?”
“Not cold at all! Just thinking about getting to kill a Crest Knight with my own hands gets me fired up already.”
“Oh, that’s pretty impressive.”
“Of course! I’m definitely impressive!” The bare-armed man laughed heartily.
“Overlord Spider!” The sword-wielding man beside him barked. “She’s stalling for time.”
“What? You were stalling for time?” Overlord Spider’s eyes widened with a look of betrayal.
Well, I wasn’t really stalling. I was just sizing up these weird-looking guys—barely any of them seem human—and thinking about how to break out. Oh, I take that back. There is one pretty big sister among them.
Not good. That man is totally enraged and already charging in with his fists. Lita dodged swiftly, evading the man’s fast and heavy attacks one after another. Unfortunately, I can’t use my abilities freely, and I’m a bit hesitant about harming humans, so this might get troublesome.
The man, on the other hand, was getting more and more into it, throwing a flurry of punches while yelling “Ora ora ora!” Well, compared to the Purple Evil Spirit, he’s still too slow. If I had the leisure, I might shout “Muda muda muda” and trade blows with him.
But now is not the time for fun. Even though Lita had the leisure to think about these things—proving that the pressure from this man was far less than that from Ke Xia Er, who had nearly killed her before—it was still not the time for play. Right now it looked like only this man was facing her, but the others were all watching eagerly. Some were already making moves from the shadows.
Everyone saw Lita, who had been forced back repeatedly, suddenly pause. Then, instead of continuing to dodge, she charged into Overlord Spider’s embrace. Lita grabbed his belt tightly and yanked him backward. Her seemingly slender arms somehow erupted with immense strength, swinging the massive man outward like a meteor hammer.
But that wasn’t the most shocking part. The man who was swung outward simply shattered. Like chunks of meat chopped up by a blade. The bloodstained strands of silk along his flight path revealed the cause of his death.
“Silk-Controller Spider!” A furious roar rang out.
“No, it’s not! He was supposed to force the Holy Knight onto my silk threads!” The beautiful woman’s face turned pale.
Lita’s expression was also extremely grim. Even though he died from his own companion’s trap, this man was dead. By my own hand…
Living in such a world, Lita had always considered that one day she might have to take a human life. She had killed countless non-human creatures, but no matter how many bugs or goblins she killed, it was different from killing a human. Therefore, Lita had always avoided it—even in her battle with Doris, even in her battle with the Mysterious Piper. Even after all those battles and witnessing so much death, she truly did not want to kill anyone.
Yet now, a living person had been ended by her own hand. That was an undeniable fact. Fear, shock, regret, nausea, self-blame… all sorts of emotions.
They didn’t seem to be there at all.
My emotions are way calmer than I expected. No thoughts like “If you want to kill, you have to be prepared to be killed.” He’s dead. That’s it. And these people who wanted to kill me—it’s better for them to die here too. That’s it.
“She killed Overlord Spider! Quick—”
An old woman shrieked, but before her words were fully out, she had already turned into a cold corpse. Lita released her grip. The old woman, her neck twisted halfway around, collapsed limply to the ground.
Six left. Fear began to spread.
“You dared to kill Broodmother Spider!”
The short old man screamed hoarsely, trying to pull something from his pocket. The surrounding people quickly backed away and launched attacks at Lita.
But Lita didn’t intend to give him that chance. Even against a weak opponent, she would go all out.
“Trap Spider!”
Thud. Thud. The object the old man was about to pull out landed in Lita’s hand. Two thrown blades precisely pierced the screaming man’s forehead and flew out the back of his head.
Five left. No screams. The remaining few all braced themselves.
Invisible threads converged on Lita, surrounding her in an instant. Lita grabbed the threads reverse-grip and yanked hard, pulling the beautiful woman into her arms. She tied the thread into a knot—around the woman’s neck. With a pop, the woman’s head was easily severed by the thread and rolled to the ground. Lita took a deep breath.
Four left.
“Well done, Venom Spider.”
The sword-wielding man spoke.
“Hehe, hehehe, it worked. Even though Silk-Controller Spider croaked, she really did us a big favor.”
The man called Venom Spider was drenched in sweat but wore a smile of successful scheming.
“Hey! Crest Knight! You’re dead! You’ve been infected with my deadly poison! There’s no cure! Well, maybe there is—if you can live long enough to find an antidote! Hahaha! You’re gonna die!”
Lita opened and closed her palm. A faint purple was seeping into her body. Then she staggered a step. It seemed she really was a bit dizzy.
“Hehehe, it’s working! It’s working! Within a minute, she’ll—”
“Half a minute. She only has half a minute left!”
“Even though the employer is watching, to be safe, I’ll cut off her head with this sword.”
The sword-wielding man said coldly, walking slowly toward Lita.
Well, it really is a bit uncomfortable. I actually got hit. How embarrassing. Ah, I’m not dizzy anymore. The Dream Demon’s poison resistance is no joke—it’s actually pretty impressive. But for it to make me a little dizzy, this poison is pretty strong.
Thud. Splat.
The sword-wielding man’s head rolled to the ground. The sword in his hand also pierced Venom Spider’s chest.
“How… can you… be fine…”
Venom Spider spewed large amounts of blood from his mouth, then went limp.
But at least he saw it before he died. Lita had swiftly broken the sword-wielding man’s arm, used the stolen sword to cut off his head, and then hurled the sword straight at her target.
Lita took a deep breath. One left. No, actually two.
She walked slowly toward the man who had been lying unconscious from the very start. She raised her foot and ended his life like stepping on an ant. Good. Now it’s correct. Only one left.
Lita turned her head to look at the nun, who was smiling gently. She noticed the nun was looking back at her. As the nun’s gaze fixed on her, Lita felt a surge of power far beyond the others, sweeping over her like a tidal wave, engulfing her entirely in an instant.
Just as I thought. This nun is not on the same level as those trashy underlings.