Duel?

Foreigners were called Foreigners because their customs were fundamentally different from those of the Empire.

They were like the primitive tribes Lilith knew of, who ate raw meat and drank blood.

Their customs had never changed over thousands of years. This was also why the First Emperor had driven them all out a thousand years ago rather than subduing them.

Because the First Emperor knew that these Foreigners could never be civilized!

After being driven out of the Empire by the First Emperor, these Foreigners had never abandoned their designs on the Empire's land.

It was not because they held any deep attachment to the land where they had once lived. They simply wanted to plunder the Empire's food—or its women.

Most of the women taken away became breeding tools. If any woman died from unbearable torment, she would become food as well.

Because of this, the Empire's hatred toward the Foreigners had never faded.

It was not as though no Emperor had ever wanted to wipe these Foreigners out completely.

But the land beyond the Empire was not only barren desert; it was also extremely dangerous.

Mountains, swamps, Icefields.

These had become the greatest obstacles preventing the Empire's armies from exterminating the Foreigners.

After suffering many losses, the Empire's Emperors came to understand that wiping out the Foreigners was unrealistic.

And because the barren land outside the Empire could not support too many people, the Foreigners often raided the Empire's borders.

It was both for food and to reduce their population.

The corpses Esdeath and Lilith saw now all belonged to Foreigners.

These were people abandoned by Foreign tribes because of their injuries, disabilities, or old age. Their attack on the Empire's city now was nothing more than an attempt to seek death.

Or perhaps they wanted to serve one final purpose. Even killing a single Imperial citizen would make it worthwhile.

However, the soldiers guarding the border were extremely familiar with these Foreigners.

It was only a small band of several hundred Foreigners. Before they could even reach the city gates, a few volleys of arrows had killed nearly all of them.

Some people were dragging the Foreigners' corpses aside. No one needed to deal with the bodies; before long, wild beasts would carry them away.

If the corpses had not blocked the road, they would not even have wanted to touch them.

Esdeath did not step out immediately.

Going out at a time like this could easily lead to misunderstanding.

If they encountered suspicious people, they would not show any mercy. They would simply shoot them dead with arrows. Even if they died, they would die for nothing.

After waiting for a while, Esdeath and Lilith headed toward the city gates.

"Stop! Who are you?"

The moment Esdeath and Lilith appeared before the gate guards, one of them shouted them down.

The two gate guards' hearts beat rapidly. Looking at the two beauties, one older and one younger, both felt as though they had fallen in love.

"Hello. We're here to enlist. Are there any procedures?"

Esdeath stated her purpose directly.

Lilith, meanwhile, was examining the city, which had stood for who knew how many years.

"Enlist?"

The gate guard looked at Esdeath, then at Lilith.

Then his gaze lingered on Lilith for a while longer.

Esdeath frowned. For some reason, she felt as though she had been outdone.

"The army isn't somewhere two little girls like you can enter. You'd better give up that idea."

The other soldier wore a lecherous grin. "Of course, it's not impossible either, provided you listen to me. Heh heh heh."

Lilith turned to look at the lecherous soldier, speechless inside. Sure enough, she should not have expected too much from soldiers in another world.

Esdeath's expression darkened. Although she had lived in a tribe since childhood and did not understand many things,

she could clearly sense the malice radiating from that lecherous soldier.

It filled Esdeath with murderous intent.

"..."

Lilith shivered, unsure whether a cold wind had passed by. The air around them had suddenly become much colder, and goosebumps rose even on her smooth arms.

Lilith looked at Esdeath and discovered that her expression was terrifying. She had never seen Esdeath make such an expression before.

Though she had only known Esdeath for a few days...

Lilith stepped forward and took Esdeath's hand, hoping she would not act impulsively.

Offending the gate guards at a time like this was not a wise decision.

If they enraged that lecherous soldier and he became even more shameless, he might call a few soldiers to arrest them.

Then it would turn into Esdeath beating up all those soldiers.

"I want to duel you!"

"Duel? Me?"

The lecherous soldier burst out laughing as though he had heard a hilarious joke.

Esdeath's delicate, demure appearance was indeed very deceptive.

"What? Are you scared?"

Esdeath continued to taunt him.

"Why would I be scared? Don't start crying after I beat you up." The lecherous soldier had indeed taken the bait.

But when he looked again at the skin exposed beneath Esdeath's undersized clothes, he grinned lecherously once more.

He had already imagined the sensation of "accidentally" touching Esdeath's body during the duel.

At the thought, drool unconsciously dripped from his mouth.

The dispute at the city gate drew the attention of many soldiers, and some had already come over.

The other gate guard watched this unfold and tried to stop his companion, but failed.

He sighed, feeling that his companion was going to suffer badly.

And besides...

He turned to look at Lilith. Earlier, beneath the fur cloak draped over her, he had caught sight of a corner of the dress she was originally wearing.

Though it had only been a glimpse, he could tell that the fabric was anything but ordinary.

He immediately concluded that this little girl had to be a noble young lady or the daughter of a wealthy family.

After all, girls from wealthy or noble families were all very beautiful.

Yet he still had doubts. Why would someone so distinguished come to a place like this? And from this direction, no less?

The duel began very quickly. No, it would be more accurate to say that it ended the moment it began.

Before the soldier dueling Esdeath could react, he had already been thrown to the ground.

Lying in the snow with a blank expression, the soldier had no idea what had happened.

Who am I? Where am I? Why am I lying down?

Even among the watching soldiers, few had clearly seen what had happened.

They were still regretting that such a beautiful girl was about to be taken advantage of by that lecherous bastard. They wished they could take his place.