Before moving out today, Liver had already told his two companions that the road might be a bit bumpy.
So Niou and Daidara weren't too surprised by the sudden fight.
For the Three Beasts, who usually crushed their enemies, an enemy was just someone showing up to die.
But after they clashed, the two realized—the guys who showed up to die this time were actually pretty tough.
Long before coming to this world, Aaron had considered the possibility of sonic weapons.
Earplugs were easy to find, so he'd stocked more than a dozen pairs in his storage space. He didn't expect them to do much, but they were cheap and easy to grab.
Of course, after coming here and getting the "Knight of Owner" buff, he'd used self-hypnosis to strengthen the earplugs into D-rank Noble Phantasms, rendering Niou's flute mostly useless against them.
As for Niou's superhuman physical skills... truth be told, even the Kiana who had just arrived in this world wouldn't have been easily beaten by his techniques.
What's more, the current Kiana had awakened the second stage of her Bloodline. Thanks to sparring with Aaron, her already formidable physical condition had reached an even higher level.
And during this month of training, Kiana had also become proficient in using parts of [Spectator]'s power.
Expecting her to master Illusion was probably a bit much, but relying on Insight (to read expressions and thoughts) and future-sight (to read muscle movements), she could already easily suppress her opponent.
Not to mention, the weapons in Kiana's hands were military-issue machine pistols that Aaron had bought from the Imperial Capital's black market during a secret trip.
Although these small military-issue machine pistols were obsolete equipment, even as cast-offs, they had the 'self-reloading ammunition' trait.
Only in a place as rotten to the core as the Empire could Aaron so easily buy military-issue equipment on the black market.
Relying on these two military-issue weapons, strengthened by Aaron into D-rank Noble Phantasms, Kiana was easily suppressing Niou.
If Liver hadn't found time to help Niou several times during the fight, Niou might have already been shot through the head and killed on the spot by Kiana.
As for Liver and Daidara, they were even more shocked. They never expected this opponent to be so strong.
Usually, when facing enemies, the Three Beasts were always on the crushing end of a one-sided fight.
Forget Liver, most of the time Daidara could just swing his Teigu [Double-Bladed Axe: Belvaac] and tear the enemy apart with the resulting shockwave. Even Niou rarely had to do anything.
This time, Liver had considered the possibility of the enemy being a Teigu user, but he felt that with the three of them, taking them down wouldn't be a problem.
Because of this confidence, he hadn't chosen to walk the river path—his 'home turf,' with no cover, hard to ambush, and hard to 'fish' from. Instead, he'd chosen the forest, a route where combat was easily initiated.
Well, he'd certainly lured out the enemy.
The problem was, this enemy was a bit too strong. They had a two-on-one advantage, and they were still being faintly suppressed.
*Although the lack of surrounding water is a factor, the two of us are still being suppressed in a 2v1...*
*As expected of the man Bulat entrusted with his Teigu. He's not easy to deal with.*
Liver's Teigu, [Water Dragon's Possession: Black Marlin], was created from the water-manipulating organ of an aquatic Danger Beast.
A Teigu user holding it can freely manipulate the liquid in anything they touch—of course, expecting Liver to control the blood inside Kiana and Aaron's bodies through armor or at a distance was obviously impossible.
If they were by a river, Liver would have far more water to control and a greater variety of attacks.
With an ample water source, he could use his water-based special moves to completely overwhelm his opponent.
But right now... there wasn't enough water!
The only water he could use was the groundwater in the forest.
And just pulling that groundwater up from the hole with his Teigu was troublesome enough, let alone using it to attack... Honestly, Liver felt this amount of water was enough for ordinary people, but against a Teigu user of this caliber, it was completely inadequate.
He'd seized a few chances to support Niou, but the price was... while he was busy helping Niou, Daidara was beaten half-to-death in a direct one-on-one.
For Daidara, who craved battle, this might not be a big deal. But Liver knew very well that if Daidara was taken out, he would definitely lose in a one-on-one.
*What a pain... No wonder the Minister risked a counterattack from the northern tribes to recall Lady Esdeath to the Imperial Capital.*
*I can feel that this young man's movements are still green. In other words, this kid hasn't been fighting long. He's a rookie.*
*But on the other hand... he's suppressing both of us with rookie-level skills. That means, once he matures, he will become an extremely difficult opponent.*
*And this enemy... will 100% become a threat to Lady Esdeath.*
*Therefore, I must eliminate him here. Otherwise, if he's allowed to grow...*
*No, wait, with Lady Esdeath's personality, she might even be happy to meet such a strong opponent?*
*No, no, no. That's not for me to think about.*
*I can't let the enemy go just because Lady Esdeath might find him interesting.*
"Anyone who threatens that lady, even if I have to give it my all—"
Before he could finish, a sudden burst of offense from Aaron forced him to take a large step back.
Aaron, still wearing earplugs, had no idea what Liver was trying to say.
But after a certain amount of fighting, he understood...
*Sigh. I overestimated these three.*
*Liver is decent. Experienced, good technique.*
*His Teigu is useless because of the location, but that just makes him the hardest of the three to deal with.*
*As for Daidara and Niou...*
*A big oaf who only knows how to swing an axe, and a shrimp whose physical skills are just 'okay'. Why did I have any expectations for them at all?*
*Attacks that can't hit and 'just okay' skills... in a real fight, they're just two pieces of trash in my eyes.*
*Can you guys please try a little harder?!*
*Sparring with Kiana is way more effective than sparring with you!*
......