Watching Sōken Ishida, whose neck was pressed against a Reishi arrow, the Wandenreich members who had gathered around were momentarily stunned.
Immediately afterwards, looks of disbelief appeared on their faces one after another.
Sōken Ishida was a genuine veteran. Even though he had withdrawn from the Empire, his combat prowess as a pure-blooded Quincy was unquestionable within the Wandenreich.
But now... such a legend was actually being held hostage by an unknown, short-statured Quincy?
"He was actually caught..."
"Who is that woman? Which family is she from? I've never seen her..."
Hushed discussions spread through the crowd, but most dared not act rashly.
After waiting for a long time, Soifon still did not see any members of the Sternritter arrive. Perhaps they disdained to show their faces, or perhaps they were prying from the shadows.
Soifon's tone carried a provocative disappointment: "Is this the extent of the Empire's Quincys? How truly... pathetic."
Almost at the moment her voice fell, Soifon flicked her wrist, seemingly roughly pushing Sōken Ishida away from her.
Sōken Ishida was caught by a few quick-reacting Empire members and rapidly pulled to the rear for protection.
At the same moment, dozens of azure Reishi arrows lit up, shooting toward Soifon from all directions.
Ding—
Soifon did not move. Azure Blut Vene covered the surface of her body. As the arrows struck her, they emitted crisp sounds like shattering glass before bursting into scattered motes of light.
The noisy Gate of the Sun seemed to have been pressed on mute.
All the Empire members who had attacked were dumbfounded, the anger and contempt on their faces instantly replaced by shock.
—It was Blut Vene! A Blut Vene of extremely high purity!
To be able to block dozens of Heilig Pfeil simultaneously with such understatement—a Blut Vene of this defensive intensity could absolutely not belong to some nobody!
"You..." The middle-aged Quincy leading them spoke with a tone of awe. "Exactly which family of Quincys are you from?!"
"Me? Just a passing-through Quincy." A look of anger surfaced on Soifon's face. "If not for your Emperor, I imagine I would never have had any dealings with you people in this lifetime."
That leading middle-aged Quincy raised his hand to stop his impulsive companions.
"Close friends among the mixed-bloods in your family... were targeted by the Auswählen, is that it?" he spoke slowly. "Is this the reason you took Sōken Ishida hostage and broke into the Empire?"
Soifon did not answer, merely looking at him coldly.
"You should feel honored."
The middle-aged Quincy continued, "The power of those people merely returned to His Majesty's glory. This is their destiny born as Quincys. And you, my friend..."
Puchi.
His voice came to an abrupt halt.
An azure Reishi arrow had precisely pierced through the center of his brow, entering from the forehead and exiting through the back of his skull.
The arrow's momentum did not diminish; carrying a splash of red and white mixed fluid, it nailed itself onto the pure white wall of the Gate of the Sun behind him.
In the next instant, dozens of Heilig Pfeil were released from Soifon's Spirit Bow at the same time, killing every single Quincy near the Gate of the Sun.
On the square, the only ones left standing were Soifon and Sōken Ishida, whom she had "held hostage" to get here.
Soifon put away her Spirit Bow, not even sparing a second glance at the corpses.
Four figures appeared silently near the Gate of the Sun, their gazes meeting Soifon's.
Haschwalth, Bazz-B, Bambietta, Meninas.
Walking slowly up to her, Haschwalth didn't even glance at the trash Quincys she had shot dead. He extended a hand toward Soifon:
"To possess such power yet choose to be an enemy of the Empire, it is truly too regrettable..."
"His Majesty would appreciate your talent."
"Join the Empire, swear loyalty to His Majesty, and I can promise to bestow upon you the power and glory of the 'Sternritter'."
Pa—
Soifon slapped Haschwalth's hand away. An expression of surprise finally appeared on the latter's face.
"However, I refuse." Soifon's voice echoed at the Gate of the Sun. "I came to the Empire solely to kill the 'His Majesty' you speak of."
The air seemed to freeze, yet a hint of approval appeared in Bazz-B's eyes as he looked at Soifon.
Taking advantage of their moment of surprise, Soifon condensed a Heilig Pfeil in her hand and slashed it toward Haschwalth.
Ding!
A faint light shone as Haschwalth drew his sword, steadily blocking Soifon's arrow.
Then, in the instant the longsword and the arrow touched for a second time, Soifon's Heilig Pfeil actually shattered upon impact.
His expression did not change in the slightest:
"Your power is strong... but facing me, who possesses a Schrift, is your misfortune."
"But I am very fortunate to have struck the weak point in the Reishi structure of your Heilig Pfeil."
[Schrift B - The Balance]: Transforms enemy fortune into misfortune; transfers one's own misfortune to the opponent.
simply put: a winning army will become arrogant, an arrogant army will be defeated, a defeated army will grieve, and a grieving army will win.
A perfect cycle, essentially.
Soifon's pupils constricted slightly, but her movements didn't pause for a moment. At the same instant the arrow shattered, she had already retracted her hand and retreated half a step.
Blut Vene switched to Blut Arterie. Soifon's speed instantly increased by several tiers as she used Hirenkyaku to shoot arrows at Haschwalth.
Three Heilig Pfeil attacked his throat, heart, and sword-wielding wrist simultaneously from tricky angles.
Puchi—
Soifon's Heilig Pfeil intensity was simply too high. Haschwalth, in his base state using only Blut Vene, was unable to block them completely; his blocking arm was pierced.
The look of appreciation in Haschwalth's eyes grew stronger.
This combat style that utilized the basic abilities of a Quincy to the extreme, this near-instinctive transition between offense and defense—it was extremely rare even within the Sternritter.
"Come to our side." Disregarding the wound on his arm, he invited her again. "Your talent should not be wasted on meaningless hatred. His Majesty's great undertaking requires power like yours."
Without responding, Soifon suddenly leapt backward, opening up the distance from Haschwalth. At the same time, she drew her bow and fired an arrow at the other three Knights observing the battle.
Just as she expected, the firelight of the explosion mixed with the blue Reishi, blasting out a cloud of smoke.
Almost simultaneously, Soifon gave a covert wink to Sōken Ishida—time to withdraw.
Soifon turned into a blur, charging straight for Sōken Ishida. It looked like she was going to kill him to seize the treasure, snatching the pass from him to leave this place.
In a flash, the smoke was suddenly blown away by a strong gust of wind.
"Invader, don't you think about running!"
Meninas's fist intercepted her head-on, blocking the path between Soifon and Sōken Ishida—
Now!
Switching Blut, Soifon's fist was coated with a layer of Reishi gauntlet as she delivered a heavy blow to the back of Meninas's neck.
A muffled thud.
Meninas's eyes instantly lost focus. Soifon scooped her arm around, tucking Meninas's unconscious body under her armpit, then arrived beside Sōken Ishida and snatched the key to the Gate of the Sun from his hand.
"Stop her—!"
Haschwalth finally began to panic. His longsword erupted with unprecedented Reiatsu as he slashed toward Soifon.
But it was already too late. The white light of the teleportation gate swallowed Soifon and the hostage Meninas, leaving only Sōken Ishida behind.
Standing in place for a long time, Haschwalth slowly sheathed his sword.
"Find her. Find that shorty Quincy..."
"Issue a highest-level wanted order to all Quincys active in the World of the Living."
"—Anyone who provides valid clues about this person shall be granted the qualification to participate in the Sternritter trials."
____
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