Fierce Battle
The figure that suddenly appeared and blocked Lupa's fatal blow was none other than Isa, the temporary commander of the Shadow Warriors' operation.
He took Lupa's shot head-on, his body trembling slightly. Although he didn't retreat, he was clearly not at ease. His ordinary face remained expressionless, except for his sharp, eagle-like eyes.
Lowell, sitting on the logs of the porch, let out a soft "Oh?", his tone tinged with amusement, as if he had witnessed something interesting. He rested his chin on his hand and lazily began to speak:
"Huh? You didn't run away? I thought you rats hiding in the gutter would run away as soon as you saw you couldn't win. There's nothing shameful about that. Assessing the situation and preserving your life is the wise thing to do. Why make such an irrational choice?"
Isa did not answer, nor did he even shift his gaze. He was completely focused on Lupa in front of him, his aura calm as still water, yet with undercurrents surging beneath.
On the other side, Linié, who had been quietly waiting, turned her deep blue eyes to Lowell. Although she didn't speak, her calm gaze clearly conveyed a question—reinforcements have arrived, may I make my move?
Lowell scratched his head, as if just remembering something, and muttered to himself, "Ah... I almost forgot, you actually have a bit of a battle maniac streak deep down..."
He recalled that beneath Linié's seemingly emotionless personality, there would occasionally be a pure interest in "enjoying" battle.
He nodded and said to Linié, "Alright. Anyway, your 'Imitation' magic can replicate your opponent's moves in actual combat to learn them, so give it a try."
"Yeah, they're bullying Lupa, Linié's going to blow their heads off." Linié, having received permission, gave a simple reply, then, wielding her dark blue magic battle axe, strode towards the battle.
In the center of the battlefield, Lupa saw Isa blocking her way, and her heterochromatic eyes blazed with even stronger fighting spirit. Without hesitation, she flicked her spear and thrust it out like a venomous dragon! Isa, however, neither dodged nor evaded. His hands, which had somehow donned a pair of dark metal gauntlets, were now adorned with exquisite grappling techniques as he directly grabbed the spear shaft, attempting to overcome its force with skill.
The two instantly clashed. Lupa's marksmanship was swift and fierce, carrying a wolf-like ruthlessness; while Isa's moves were unpredictable and cunning, often deflecting attacks at the last second, his figure like a ghost, always finding a gap in the shadows of gunfire to counterattack. For a time, it was difficult to determine who was superior.
Just then, Linié joined the battle. Instead of helping Lupa to flank Isa, she went straight for Mark, who was waiting for an opportunity, and the injured Elsa.
Mark saw the pink-haired girl approaching expressionlessly. Although he felt something was off, he relied on his agility and thrust his dagger forward, intending to launch a surprise attack using the same tactic as before. However, just as he got close, Linié's battle axe flashed upwards with a speed that was completely at odds with its heavy appearance, creating a sharp arc of light!
This strike was powerful and heavy, carrying a domineering force capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks! It was one of the signature techniques of the dwarf Warrior Eisen — Sky-Splitting Strike!
Mark hastily attempted to parry with the deft force of his dagger, but a loud clang rang out, leaving his arm numb and causing him to stagger backward, his face filled with disbelief. "This... this is?!"
Having forced Mark back, Elsa, enduring excruciating pain in her wrist, manipulated the silk threads to wrap around him from the side.
Without even glancing at it, Linié made a grabbing motion in the air with her other hand, and a spear formed instantly from magic power took shape. She then used the same concise and efficient thrusting technique as Lupa to precisely pierce the knot where the threads were intertwined!
It was Lupa's spear skills!
"Sizzle!" The invisible threads were forcibly torn apart by the sharp energy attached to the spear tip.
During a lull in his fierce battle with Lupa, Isa caught a glimpse of Linié's incredibly lifelike and even identical Imitation of her move, and a hint of undisguised amazement finally flashed across his usually calm eyes.
This pink-haired girl's fighting style was simply terrifying—one minute she was using an axe, the next a gun? And that was clearly the "Sky-Splitting Strike" of the Warrior Eisen I had seen once before! What? Had Eisen taken on a disciple?
However, Linié's "performance" was not over yet.
She seemed to feel that using both the axe and the spear wasn't enough, and suddenly dispersed both weapons. To Mark and Elsa's astonishment, she magically conjured a sword again, wielding it with both hands, and then, in her signature, flat voice, clearly uttered the name:
"The Sacred Sword Sky-Splitting Slash, which pierces through the dawn stars and brings an end to evil."
Before she finished speaking, an incredibly refined sword aura, seemingly capable of tearing through the night sky, burst forth with her seemingly calm slash! Its majestic and righteous momentum was exactly the same as Himmel's sword moves!
"Pfft!" Mark couldn't dodge in time, and the sword's energy grazed his waist, causing blood to spurt out. He screamed and fell to the ground.
Meanwhile, Isa, who was locked in combat with Lupa, was also momentarily stunned by this sudden and powerful attack filled with an aura of "justice."
"Hey, hey..." Lowell, sitting some distance away, couldn't help but facepalm at the sight, muttering helplessly, "You learn moves quickly, but how did you manage to pick up those ridiculously embarrassing and cringeworthy names for those moves that Himmel came up with?! You shouldn't be learning that... You're supposed to be a normal kid."
Linié's strikingly different attack did indeed create an opportunity.
Taking advantage of Isa's distraction, Lupa shot out with lightning speed, finally seizing the opening exposed when Mark fell to the ground, and pierced his heart with a single shot!
The light in the agile assassin's eyes quickly dimmed, and he completely lost his life.
Having dealt with Mark, Lupa didn't hesitate. She immediately turned around, her spear pointing directly at Isa, forming a pincer attack with Linié.
Isa faced increased pressure as he was attacked by two men.
But he was indeed exceptionally strong. Even under these circumstances, he defended flawlessly and even managed to launch occasional counterattacks, forcing Lupa and Linié to temporarily retreat.
Although Linié has a wide variety of moves and an excellent ability to Imitation, she is ultimately slightly inferior to a seasoned warrior like Isa in terms of absolute experience and on-the-spot adaptability, and she narrowly escaped death several times.
Seeing this, Lupa shouted, "Linié, switch positions!" She realized that Linié was no match for her, so she took over the main attack on Isa and handed the relatively weaker and injured Elsa to Linié.
Upon hearing this, Linié immediately carried out the order. Her deep blue pupils locked onto Elsa, who had been interfering with her with silk threads, and her magic battle axe materialized once more, carrying a chilling killing intent as she pressed closer.
Elsa's wrist was severely injured, and her mobility was limited. Faced with Linié's silent yet deadly offensive, she was struggling to defend herself and was in grave danger. It seemed that Linié's powerful axe strike was about to cleave her in two from head to toe—
Elsa!
Just as the battle axe was about to fall, a figure suddenly appeared and used his back to block the fatal blow!
"Puff--!"
The battle axe slammed into flesh with a sickening thud. Blood instantly stained his clothes.
"Ugh..." Hawk-Eye let out a painful growl, but his movements did not stop. He used the momentum of his forward charge to pick up the still-shaken Elsa around the waist.
"Damn it... that really hurts. 'Swift Wind Step'..."
Before he finished speaking, his figure seemed to blend into the wind, his speed suddenly increasing again as he fled into the dense forest.
"I won't let you escape..." Linié's emotionless voice rang out.