The Crimson Crisis

Babain suddenly felt Qian disappear in front of him. He reacted at once: she had not vanished. The Mountain Maiden had already crossed past her and circled behind him, but she had moved too quickly. His eyes widened slightly as he stiffly turned his head, catching only a crimson afterimage from the corner of his eye—the tip of a long ponytail.

Behind Viscount Babain, the Cruzian nobleman who had been inciting everyone from the beginning saw the scene even more clearly. In his eyes, the Mountain Maiden had still been negotiating with Babain a moment ago, but in the blink of an eye, she had already slipped past him. Her left foot lightly touched the ground as her entire body tilted to the same side. The blade of the spear in her hand led the way, flashing with a line of icy light. The girl raised her head and stared at him. It seemed as though a ring of golden flames were burning outward from within her eyes, while her crimson ponytail danced with her movements like a fluttering feathered sash.

In the blink of an eye, that fire dragon had reached him—

Not good!

The Cruzian nobleman's hair stood on end. He instinctively raised the longsword in his hand.

Clang—

A line of sparks flashed past. The Cruzian nobleman staggered backward. The force transmitted through the spear was astonishingly great; he had only barely blocked it by gripping his longsword with both hands. At the same time, that had cost him any chance to counterattack. His entire body went cold, and only one thought churned through his mind: So fast! He had never dreamed that this seemingly delicate and somewhat introverted girl would attack without a word. Worse, her target had not been Babain, but him. How had she