"What happened?!"
Razen quickly ordered the soldiers to make way.
In the next moment, the four of them saw the figure standing in front of the five hundred elite troops from Falmuth.
She had brilliant golden hair and was clad in silver-blue armor. She sat upon a rock, with a sheathed knight's sword propped in front of her.
Her entire being seemed to merge with the entire world.
"Who is she?"
Razen's pupils contracted slightly.
He couldn't sense any aura from the knight girl.
Yet, the inability to detect anything was what made it most unsettling.
"Who are you?"
"Why are you blocking our army's path?"
Razen called out loudly from horseback.
Compared to his seriousness, Shogo and the others seemed far more relaxed.
After all, Artoria was a woman... a female knight, no less.
In the isekai stories they'd read, characters like her were always there to provide some fan service for the readers.
"You're mistaken."
Artoria lifted her head, her expression calm. "It's not me blocking you... it's you who have invaded our territory!"
"Your territory?"
Razen grew even more uneasy and wanted to press for more details.
However, Shogo moved faster than him.
"Are you saying you've been here all along, and we're the ones in the way?"
Shogo snorted in dissatisfaction. He leaped forward, landing right in front of Artoria, tilting his chin up as he looked at her. "Up close, you're pretty hot."
"Shogo!!"
Razen scolded him, but Shogo interrupted irritably. "When did you get so timid, old man? It's just a woman, and she's got you scared?"
"Hey! Woman!"
"Wanna come with me?"
Shogo had a crude personality, but he was still a normal guy. Seeing such a beautiful girl, how could he not be interested?
"Shogo, what are you doing? At a time like this! Jeez~~"
Kirara Mizutani complained, her impression of Artoria extremely poor.
She couldn't help it... Artoria was just too beautiful.
Especially that cool arrogance mixed with a dashing aura; it stood out so much that it made Kirara quite jealous.
"Hah..."
Artoria didn't respond to Shogo's question.
She was amused by this guy.
However, Artoria was no longer the King of Knights of old, who would lash out in rage at a few provocations.
In her eyes, Shogo was already a dead man.
And why should she care about insults from the dead?
"Clang!"
With that, the knight girl slowly stood up. She didn't draw the Sword of Promised Victory.
There was no need to unsheathe it against trash like this.
He wasn't worthy of dying by her sword!
"Pfft, hahaha~~"
"You wanna fight me?"
Her actions only drew a sneer from Shogo. He figured he should teach this woman a lesson.
Besides, the idea of conquering such a haughty female knight got him excited.
"Can you leave these people to me, Miss Artoria?"
Artoria's hand, which was about to lift her sword, paused slightly.
"Rimuru?"
She looked to her side, where a blue-haired girl was gazing at the soldiers behind Shogo.
"Leave this man to me."
Artoria pointed at Shogo. Him alone... she absolutely wouldn't let him go!
Insulting women, and humiliating her personally.
Even the straightforward and just Artoria was stirred to an irrepressible killing intent.
"Alright!"
Rimuru nodded slightly, then ignored Shogo... who was still shocked by her sudden appearance... brushing past him as she headed straight toward the Falmuth legion.
"Hey, when did you... ?!"
Shogo reacted as if just snapping out of it, reaching out to grab Rimuru.
"Whoosh!"
But before he could touch the blue-haired girl, a sword... still in its blue-gold scabbard... slammed heavily into Shogo's abdomen.
"Boom!"
The young man shot backward like a black meteor, flying at astonishing speed into the distance. Along the way, he shattered over a dozen rocks before finally crashing into the broken ground.
"Impossible!!"
In that instant, all the Falmuth soldiers wore expressions of horror.
Especially Razen.
In that split second, he hadn't even noticed Artoria's movement!
'And that's not all!'
'She didn't leak even a trace of magicules!'
That was what terrified Razen the most: 'This one is definitely not human!'
Humans couldn't possess such power!
Just like Shogo... to gain a powerful body, he had to activate his unique skill, Berserker.
And in that process, the consumption of magicules was unavoidable.
But Artoria?
Her attack seemed like pure physical strength, without using any skills or arts.
Yet with such a simple swing, she had sent Shogo... who had Berserker passively active... flying!
"Monster..."
Before Razen could finish, Kyoya Tachibana had already charged forward.
He drew one of the swords at his waist and thrust it mercilessly toward Artoria's face.
However, Artoria paid no attention to Kyoya's attack.
She turned and walked toward where Shogo had landed.
"Don't underestimate me, you bitch!!"
Kyoya was thoroughly enraged by Artoria's disregard.
Despite his nonchalant appearance, he had a dark and cruel personality, and he never forgave those who provoked him.
"Clang!!"
Unfortunately, Kyoya's sword technique was blocked by an utterly terrifying force.
It was a single finger.
Yet this seemingly fragile finger became an insurmountable barrier, halting Kyoya's sword tip dead in its tracks, unable to advance an inch!
"How is this possible..."
Kyoya's face twisted in ferocity; the scene before him shattered his worldview.
"It's you?"
Rimuru's fingertip held back Kyoya's sword edge, her eyes cold as ice. "The one who slaughtered so many monsters and animals in the forest."
Kyoya's strength was actually the greatest among the three.
But this guy had a deranged obsession with the screams of flesh and blood.
***
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