On the village road near the exit, the battle had already reached a fever pitch.
The mana-infused blade carried a scorching glow. Every swing of Lucia's sword forced the knight before her back again and again.
Under normal circumstances, she would have won long ago. But now she was fighting four enemies alone. Even with the upper hand, she had to stay alert for attacks from every direction, leaving her no chance to press her advantage effectively.
"Leave, Lucia! It'd be better for you to escape than for all of us to die here!" a villager urged.
Lucia remained silent and kept fighting. Given her current strength, she truly could have chosen to protect herself. If she wanted to leave, no noble knight would be willing to risk his life trying to stop her.
But she could not bring herself to do it. Her father was the militia captain, still fighting desperately at the village entrance to hold back the enemy, and the task he had given her was to escort everyone out. Even if fleeing alone was truly the most rational choice, it was not one she could make.
Just then, a fearful roar rang out. It was Hank, the young man whose swordsmanship ranked second only to Lucia's in the village. Wielding an axe, he charged at a knight who had been about to ambush Lucia from a tricky angle. His actions drew the knight's attention and stopped the sneak attack, but also made him the knight's target.
That knight did not even spare him a proper glance. He simply thrust his sword backward at him.
The blade, empowered by a combat technique, gleamed with an icy blue light. Hank was a magic swordsman still in the Apprentice Realm, with Mana Points that had only just surpassed 150.