Balke looked around, trying to find her.
“Above you,” a cold voice rang out.
Balke looked up and saw Ailiya sitting on a thick tree branch.
Ailiya answered his previous question, “No one taught me; these are basic stealth techniques for an Assassin. Your senses are just too dull. You probably don’t have much experience facing an Assassin head-on.”
Before Balke could respond, several of his subordinates behind him could no longer hold back their laughter.
“The boss got humiliated!”
“Hahaha, what am I seeing?”
“It’s over, it’s over. The captain has really run into a tough one this time.”
“Hey, hey, hey!” Balke’s face turned red as he shouted at his team members. “What are you little brats making a fuss for! This is called… it’s called… what was it again…”
He got stuck for a long time, desperately gesturing at the Diviner next to him.
The Diviner sighed, held her forehead, and reminded him in a voice that was almost inaudible, “Gentlemanly grace.”
Balke immediately slapped his thigh. “Right, it’s called gentlemanly grace. Didn’t you hear what Sid said? In the face of a lady, this is called gentlemanly grace, understand?”
“Boo—!”
The team’s jeers grew even louder.
“Here he goes again, the boss is finding an excuse for himself again.”
“I remember during the duel with the Holy See’s knights last time, the boss seemed to say the same thing.”
“Oh!” one of the team members suddenly slapped his forehead in realization. “I remember now! That time he said he forgot to eat bread in the morning and was too hungry to swing his sword!”
“Dammit!” Balke completely lost his cool, roaring in exasperation.
“Can you guys be useful for once instead of just watching the show? Watch closely. I’m going to show you a move today and let you see the true strength of a Tier 2 adventurer.”
He turned to Ailiya, the embarrassment on his face instantly replaced by a burning battle intent.
Sid clicked her tongue and stepped forward to dissuade him. “That’s enough, don’t make it too big of a scene.”
“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing,” he whispered to Sid. Then, he spoke to Ailiya, “Pardon me, Miss Ailiya.”
It seemed Balke had even thought of the excuse he would give to Sise, the tavern owner, since Ailiya was her employee.
The next second, Balke’s aura suddenly surged.
“O Wind, bless me in this moment. Rise, until the end of freedom!”
As he chanted, the surrounding air began to surge wildly, and green currents of air gathered on his longsword.
The grass and trees in the forest were forced down by the invisible wind pressure. Immediately afterward, his body slowly and uncontrollably floated upward.
**[Sky-shattering Azure Storm]**
This was the Tier 2 ultimate skill of a Storm-style swordsman.
However, facing this grand move, a smile appeared on Ailiya’s plain face as she sat in the tree.
This scene was far too familiar to her.
**[Sky-shattering Azure Storm]**
This skill had a large area of effect, high damage, and maximum visual impact. Its only drawback was the long charge-up time, during which the user became a floating target that was extremely easy to interrupt.
In the early days of the game, everyone was a novice and often had their mental state broken by this move falling from the sky.
But later, as everyone’s strength improved, they learned how to counter it. The strategies became more and more creative, and this move became a “free point” skill in PVP.
Whoever used it was essentially giving the win away because once interrupted, they would be subjected to a humiliating airborne combo.
Seeing Balke still seriously gathering power and posing in mid-air—
**[Precise Throw]**
Ailiya flicked her wrist, and a dagger whistled through the air, unerringly striking the spine of the sword where the wind magic was converging.
*Clang!*
A crisp sound of metal clashing rang out.
Balke’s eyes widened. “Huh???”
He felt a strange vibration travel from the sword’s blade, instantly disrupting the flow of mana. The old partner that had accompanied him for years simply…
Slipped from his hand.
He froze in mid-air, his mind going blank.
‘I’m finished…’
The moment this thought popped into his head, a silver figure appeared before him.
Ailiya delivered a neat flying kick, firmly planting the sole of her shoe on Balke’s face.
*Thud!*
Balke fell straight toward the ground.
“Not good, the boss was shot down!”
“Quick, quick, quick, catch him!”
The four team members below scrambled forward and finally managed to catch Balke just before his face hit the dirt.
“Hahaha, I lost.” He stood up and spread his hands. Though his expression showed a bit of regret, his tone carried a hint of admiration.
Ailiya walked over to Balke and gave him a slight nod. “Thank you for the lesson.”
“Uh… I should be the one saying that, Miss Ailiya.” Balke smiled self-deprecatingly.
“There really is always someone better out there. I didn’t expect that even though I, Balke, am considered a somebody in Fengyue City, I would be given a lesson by a young girl today.”
“Hahahaha!” The team members behind him burst into laughter once again at the worst possible time.
“You brats, you still dare to laugh!” Balke shouted in shame and anger, turning to chase them around the clearing.
“Boss, don’t hit the face! We still rely on our looks to eat!”
Sid looked at this group of jesters with a headache. Then she looked at Ailiya, who stood there calmly as if nothing had happened, and finally could not help but cough heavily several times.
“Ahem! I say, did we forget something important?” She pointed at the five mercenary rascals nearby, who were tied up in a line and still groaning.
Balke finally stopped, regained his captain’s dignity, and began to give orders.
“Alright, enough playing around. Quickly treat the wounds of these guys and bring them along. We should try to get back to the city before dawn.”
The group immediately sprang into action.
Before long, the team finished their rest.
Balke walked to Ailiya’s side. “Let’s go, Miss Ailiya.”
Ailiya nodded and silently followed behind the adventure team.
***
Morning, Wind Moon Tavern.
Balke sat at the bar holding a mug of ale.
He peeked at Ailiya, who was wiping tables nearby, and could not help but feel impressed.
‘This girl’s stamina is inhuman. After tossing and turning all night, she can still work now as if nothing happened.’
He took a sip of ale, his mind still replaying that bizarre duel from the night before.
“It shouldn’t be,” he muttered under his breath.
‘Why did she rush over then? Wasn’t she afraid of dying? Even the Tier 4 masters of our style wouldn’t dare to take it head-on.’
‘This script is wrong. In a normal duel, shouldn’t she look shocked, then dodge desperately, and then be pursued by my gorgeous sword skills? Finally, I would defeat her with restraint and coolly say, “Little girl, you’re still far from it,” followed by the whole crowd cheering for me?’
The more Balke thought about it, the more frustrated he felt. He downed the rest of his ale in one gulp.
“Forget it, I won’t think about it.” He slammed the mug onto the table and let out a burp.
“Regardless, I am still the strongest Storm-style swordsman in Fengyue City. There is no doubt about that.”
Thinking this, he felt much better.
The alcohol rushed to his head; his head tilted, and he fell asleep right there against the bar.
“Tch, this drunkard.”
Sise, the owner, wiped the bar with a rag and pushed Balke aside, clearly used to his behavior.
“Excuse me, which of you captured the criminals who attacked Master Leo?”
Balke looked up groggily. “It was us…”
The newcomer was dressed in a butler’s uniform with a family crest pinned to his chest. His gaze swept around the tavern, finally landing on Ailiya and Balke.
“By order of the Marquis,” the butler took out a wax-sealed letter from his coat.
“The Madam wishes to express her gratitude for your heroic deeds and hopes to meet the people who captured the bandits in person to show her appreciation.”
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