BOOM!
The heavy battle axe swung down with crushing pressure, aiming straight for the small black figure.
However, this terrifying strike only hit an afterimage.
Sevitis gently tapped the ground with her toes, leaping backward several meters as lightly as a bird.
Not even a scratch appeared on her skirt.
“Hey! Why are you sliding around like a slippery loach, you little girl!”
Wu Meng hoisted the war axe that was even larger than herself onto her shoulder, puffing out her cheeks in frustration.
“Stop dodging! Take one of Teacher’s axe swings head-on!”
“Teacher really likes joking around, don’t you?” Sevitis replied with a perfunctory smile.
If she actually took a hit like that, even in her True Blood form, she might not survive…
She knew her advantage was agility. Going head-to-head in raw strength against this “humanoid monster” disguised as a little girl would be suicide.
She had to find an opening.
Sevitis quietly channeled her Magic Power, a subtle change flickering deep within her blue-violet eyes.
After seeing the text that appeared before her, a hint of cunning gleamed in the back of her vertical pupils.
She reached into her Space Pouch, pulled out a short sword, and hurled it straight at Wu Meng’s face without hesitation.
But Wu Meng casually swung her axe and deflected it with ease.
“Such a flimsy little dagger can’t hurt Teacher, you know.”
“Then take a closer look.”
Before Wu Meng could process what she meant, she poked her head out from behind the massive axe blade. Suddenly, a loud whoosh filled the air—
Dozens of swords of various shapes rained down toward her small face like a storm, instantly blocking her entire field of vision.
“My, my. That’s actually a little scary.”
Wu Meng said that, but her movements were anything but slow.
She spun the exaggerated battle axe in front of her, and the clanging sounds of metal shattering rang out continuously as she sliced through every incoming weapon.
Just as she was about to clear the last obstacle in her path, Wu Meng’s peripheral vision caught a shadow falling from above.
A grin curled at the corner of her mouth, and her eyes lit up.
“Got you!”
Without hesitation, she lowered her stance, swung the battle axe with both hands, and chopped upward at the owner of that shadow hovering midair.
But the expected impact never came. Instead, a dull clang of metal against metal resounded.
CLANG!
“Huh?”
Sensing something off, Wu Meng jerked her head up and realized that the “shadow” falling from above wasn’t the black-haired girl at all—it was a greatsword roughly the same size as her own body.
And because she had put too much force into that upward swing, her body, holding the elevated axe, was now wide open.
“Now who’s caught who, I wonder~”
The girl’s teasing voice drifted from directly in front of her, completely out of nowhere.
From the perspective of the surrounding students watching, this move looked absolutely miraculous:
The black-haired girl had first used some unknown method to send out a rain of swords to blind Wu Meng, then hurled that greatsword as bait.
While Wu Meng was focusing on the sky above, she herself had used this blind spot to silently slide along the ground, right up to Wu Meng’s front.
Was she about to win?! The students were so tense they didn’t even dare blink.
“Looks like you’ve got the wrong idea.”
“My little axe is heavy, yes, but that doesn’t mean my movements are slow~”
Before her words faded, the war axe, which had been raised high from inertia, reversed direction instantly and slammed down fiercely toward Sevitis, who had already set her stance.
“Of course I know that.”
Sevitis immediately recovered her stance and sidestepped lightly.
How could she possibly expect a “humanoid monster” that could swing a battle axe fast enough to leave afterimages to show an opening because her weapon was too heavy?
Her real killing move wasn’t that at all.
Even though the weak point she’d seen on the status screen was only a few short words, it was enough for her to seize victory.
Wu Meng’s monstrous strength was terrifying, allowing her to wield that intimidating axe with ease. But that was also her greatest weakness.
This little girl’s body was just too small and too light.
When she used all her strength to swing the giant axe down from high above, the massive weight’s recoil would inevitably cause her light body to hang in midair for an instant.
Even if only for a fraction of a second, with no ground to push off from, Wu Meng would lose all ability to dodge or counterattack.
“It’s over!”
Sevitis calculated the timing perfectly. Just as Wu Meng swung her axe down and her body was about to lose weight, Sevitis tensed her thigh muscles, ready to deliver the decisive strike.
Would she… win?
The watching students all wondered.
BAM!
BOOM!
Just as Sevitis was about to strike, her pupils suddenly contracted.
Wait… Why two sounds?!
The sound of the axe hitting the ground should have been just one. That extra cracking sound was…
Sevitis’s gaze shot downward, and then her brain froze.
No hovering.
Wu Meng’s feet, clad in little leather boots, hadn’t left the ground at all from the axe’s recoil.
Because at the same time she swung the axe down, Wu Meng had used an unreasonably brute force to stomp right through the mithril floor, which was said to withstand a full-force attack from a fifth-order.
That’s just too unfair…
Her plan had completely backfired. Sevitis’s flawless rhythm was shattered by that domineering strength.
Now, that battle axe was already right above her head, accompanied by a gust of wind.
CRASH!
The roar of the axe flipping up the floorboards echoed across the entire training ground.
The violent shockwave kicked up a cloud of dust, swallowing both tiny figures.
The watching students were completely stunned. The entire arena fell into dead silence.
Everyone held their breath, staring at the smoke.
“Who… won?”
A gentle breeze blew, and the dust gradually cleared.
The scene in the center of the training ground was finally revealed clearly to everyone.
No blood or gore. No one had fallen.
Wu Meng’s foot was deeply embedded in the broken floor, and her terrifying battle axe hung suspended in midair.
The sharp blade was less than a centimeter from Sevitis’s slender neck.
The dark, cold edge of the axe had even severed a few strands of Sevitis’s fluttering black hair.
At the same time, despite staying in a half-crouching posture, Sevitis had already thrust her sword forward.
The gleaming tip of the longsword was pressed unerringly against Wu Meng’s throat.
One wrong move, and it would be a stalemate.
The two remained frozen, each at the other’s vital point, for several long seconds.
Then, breathing raggedly, Sevitis stared at Wu Meng, whose eyes were also wide open.
The corner of her mouth twitched involuntarily.
“Not bad, little one. You’re the first person who’s come up and accurately grabbed hold of this weakness of mine.”
Wu Meng broke the silence first, grinning and praising her.
“You flatter me.” Sevitis withdrew her sword, her voice still a bit tight.
“But too bad.” Wu Meng let go, allowing her giant axe to drop vertically, burying itself firmly into the broken floor.
“It’s obvious you’re still seriously lacking experience fighting against ‘intelligent life,’ isn’t it?”
“Real opponents are different from monsters that only act on instinct. People improve and grow.”
“Since even an outsider can spot a weakness at a glance, don’t you think I would have found it too? You can’t always completely erase certain physical shortcomings, but you can find ways to overcome them.”
Wu Meng patted the dust off her skirt.
“Got it, little girl?”
“…”
Sevitis was silent for a few seconds, digesting the words seriously. Then she slowly nodded.
“I understand.”
After a moment of thought, Sevitis voiced another doubt in her heart.
“Then how do I judge which weaknesses are actually exploitable and which are fake openings deliberately left by the opponent?”
Wu Meng shrugged and shook her head.
“How would I know?”
“…”
“But I do have one suggestion.” Wu Meng suddenly leaned in, reaching out a small hand to gently tap Sevitis’s chest.
“Instead of relying too much on your eyes, why not try trusting your ‘heart’?”
“The heart doesn’t lie.”
Sevitis frowned and took half a step back, not quite understanding this cryptic advice.
“Just reach out and feel it yourself. It’s beating. It’s cheering.”
Wu Meng grinned, revealing two cute little fangs, and raised both hands high above her head.
“No matter how calmly you pretend on the surface, your heart won’t lie!”
“It’s rejoicing over this thrilling battle we just had!”
Sevitis didn’t place her hand on her chest as instructed.
Because even without reaching out, she could feel her own heartbeat clearly.
Thump! Thump!
Looking back, this seemed to be the first time she had so vividly and actively felt her own heartbeat.
That sound was so intense and so alive.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.