In a daze, Sairi felt as if something was softly calling her, so she turned her head toward the forest and was startled.
There was a scruffy child, his face covered in dust, beckoning her over with a gesture.
Sairi was very surprised. Why would there be such a child in this forest teeming with monsters and wild beasts? Could he be lost?
Maybe separated from his family?
She had to lend a hand. Saving a life is worth more than climbing seven tiers of a pagoda; it would earn her merit.
Sairi intended to call out to Hilvia, but at that moment, the child suddenly ran off, leaving her puzzled.
In a hurry, Sairi shouted for Hilvia to follow her, then got up and chased after the child.
But the boy, though thin and weak-looking, was surprisingly fast, and she couldn’t catch up right away. Finally, he stopped by a riverside.
The child paused there, turned to look at Sairi without a word. Sairi emerged from the grass and stood a few meters in front of him.
Family.
“Little one, where are your family? Why are you all alone here?”
The boy didn’t respond but kept his head down, looking very reserved.
“Little one, I’m not a bad person. If there’s something you want to tell me—did you get separated from your family? I can take you back to the town to look for them.”
Still no response.
Sairi sighed. Could the boy be sick? Or just extremely introverted?
“Gurgle~ gurgle~ gurgle~”
While thinking, she heard the boy’s stomach growling.
“Looks like you’re hungry. Hmm… here, eat this.”
Sairi reached out her hand to her hairpin, and with a silent thought, a piece of bread she had bought earlier for lunch appeared in her palm.
She patted the boy’s head with one hand and placed the bread in front of him.
“Here, this is the bread I bought before I left. Eat this to fill your stomach first.”
The boy lowered his head even more, looking shy.
Thinking this over, Sairi gently grabbed both of the boy’s hands and guided them to hold the bread, bringing it to his mouth.
Finally, the boy started eating.
“How is it? Now can you tell me who your family is? We can look for them together.”
The boy swallowed a bite, opening his mouth only a little.
In a faint whisper, he said, “Go quickly! Here…”
Just as the boy spoke those two words, Sairi suddenly felt the ground shake.
She immediately stood up and looked around, but then heard voices from behind.
“Hey! Brat, didn’t I tell you not to talk? Looks like you don’t want to live!”
Sairi turned to see three cloaked figures wearing hats, and another man clad in gray armor, carrying a long spear on his shoulder.
“Who are you? What have you done?”
“Nothing much, just assigning this orphan a task. There’s a reward if completed. Didn’t expect the kid to spill the beans, haha.”
The armored man answered indifferently with a rough voice.
“What do you mean? What are you using this child for?”
“Obviously, to lure you here,” the spear-bearer replied bluntly.
“Me? What do you want with me?”
“We recognize your power. It feels familiar and strong. We want to find you first to obtain that power.”
“Strong, huh? Why don’t you look for Hilvia? She’s way stronger than me.”
***
Sairi suddenly realized that since they arrived, she hadn’t heard Hilvia’s voice. Hilvia hadn’t caught up—she was alone now.
“You mean your companion? Her name is Hilvia. Looks like we have another valuable target. Besides, she can’t catch up for now. After all, my illusion magic is top-notch.”
“What do you mean? Is Hilvia special?”
“The Holy Sword Hero of the Kingdom of Humans—how could she not be?”
“Holy Sword Hero? Impossible! How could she be in such a godforsaken, unknown place!”
“About a year ago, she ran away without permission, escaping the control of the Royal Capital’s forces.”
Sairi inwardly acknowledged this explanation. Hilvia had indeed mentioned she came from the Royal Capital and that she didn’t like the people there.
She had seen the Holy Sword in a book at Hilvia’s inn, but during battle, Hilvia’s sword didn’t look like that.
“Why should I believe you? You haven’t even told me who you are!”
“Hahaha, alright, alright. No harm in telling you. I’m Karimsaide, the guardian of this border region. These three are adventurers who report to me—Salanto, Sike Na, and Bilur. See? Very honest, right?”
Busy.
“Who’d believe that? How do I know you’re not lying!” Sairi placed the Rainbow Sword in front of her.
“You seem wary of us, Miss Sairi, but rest assured, we speak the truth. We only want you to help with a task.”
“Help? What kind of help? Using a child as bait, who knows what you’re scheming.”
Her tone was serious. Normally, no one asks for help by using kids as bait.
“We only want you to come with us to the Royal Capital, along with that Hilvia, to complete the leaders’ mission.”
“No!” Sairi replied immediately without hesitation.
“Then we’ll have to take coercive measures.”
“What do you mean? What are you going to do!”
The four readied their weapons. Karimsaide wielded his spear, Salanto held a black one-handed sword, Sike Na carried a war hammer, and Bilur, the woman, nocked an arrow to her bent bow aimed at Sairi.
“Disgusting!”
Faced with this, Sairi couldn’t help but curse.
Using a child as bait, the “help” is probably no good. They threatened her when refused and went straight to attack mode. She wasn’t about to play along.
And with Hilvia absent, she was in danger. Looks like she had to rely on herself this time.
“Don’t act tough, little girl. I heard you’re not very strong, but you can eat a lot. Once you get to the Royal Capital, you can eat whatever you want, as long as you obey.”
“Eat a big fat ghost!”
Upon hearing this, Karimsaide’s face visibly twitched with two bulging veins.
“Shameless! Then I’ll knock you down, torture you, and send you to the Royal Capital! Attack!”
The three cloaked figures immediately launched their assault. Sairi quickly scooped up the boy and teleported aside, running toward Hilvia’s direction while shouting her name loudly.
Can’t beat them, so dodge! Coward’s tactic!
Things.
You give the way~~~
Suddenly, Karimsaide appeared ahead in her line of sight. Sairi stopped, pointing the Rainbow Sword at him.
She then set the boy down, telling him to hide to the side.
Looks like this fight was inevitable. Should she transform? Embarrassing as it was, but the more people knew about it…
In moments, the four had surrounded Sairi.
“Looks like you’re really going to fight.”
“Not at all, Miss Sairi refused first. Last chance—come with us!”
“No!”
Her answer was resolute and decisive.
“Then attack!”
At those words, the three charged. Sairi first parried Salanto’s sword strikes with her Rainbow Sword, then stepped back to dodge Sike Na’s heavy hammer, and slipped behind a tree to avoid Bilur’s arrows.
One against four was tough to handle. She shouted for Hilvia again.
Suddenly sensing something off, Sairi left the tree and saw Karimsaide’s spear pierce straight through it, uprooting it.
Karimsaide was indeed strong.
No good. Must take out Bilur first—her ranged attacks kept interfering.
Salanto swung his black sword; Sairi blocked with her sword and spun the Rainbow Sword in a circle. Salanto lost control of his sword.
Sairi then delivered a fierce kick between his legs, causing him to howl in pain.
The sharp pain overwhelmed Salanto, and he loosened his grip, dropping his sword. His legs bent inward, and he covered himself with his hands.
Not giving him a moment’s rest, Sairi stepped forward, using Salanto as a meat shield against Bilur’s arrows.
She grabbed the back of his head with one hand and repeatedly elbowed his face with the other, delivering two heavy blows that left his face covered in blood.
In this state, Salanto couldn’t push her away and trembled as he raised his hands to protect his face.
Without hesitation, Sairi kicked him again between the legs.
Salanto was suffering from two intense pains simultaneously, unable to defend against either.
At that moment, the clumsy Sike Na finally found an opening and raised his war hammer to strike from the side.
Sairi stomped on Salanto’s abdomen, then forcefully kicked, sending him flying aside. Using the reaction force, she rolled on the ground and dodged Sike Na’s attack.
“Clap~ clap~ clap~”
It was Karimsaide’s applause.
“Miss Sairi, you’re impressive. Your strikes in battle are decisive and ruthless. Now it’s my turn to deal with you! Everyone, fall back!”
Sike Na and Bilur obeyed, helping Salanto retreat as they prepared for a one-on-one fight between Sairi and Karimsaide.
The two faced off. Karimsaide struck first, lunging his spear toward Sairi.
She dodged to the side as Karimsaide didn’t withdraw his spear, instead swinging it at her body.
Sairi immediately held the Rainbow Sword before her; the spear clashed with the blade, producing a loud sound.
But her strength was no match for Karimsaide’s. His spear swung forcefully, sweeping Sairi and the Rainbow Sword aside and slamming them against a tree.
Ouch! That hurt. Karimsaide’s strength was incredible; that hit nearly broke her spine. She couldn’t face him head-on—had to find a chance to sneak attack this guy.
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