King Brunen's Candidness

After King Brunen learned of the matter, he held a long talk with his daughter, Madalina. No one knew the specific details of their conversation.

It was only known that during the next morning's physical training, Madalina completely changed her style; her red, swollen eyes suggested that the content of their talk had been rather heavy.

A rhythmic knocking sounded at the door, and Luo Ya, who was inside his room, opened it to find King Brunen standing there.

The two entered the room and sat down. "This is the training method for the Line-Cutting Void, Lord Luo Ya. I hope Madalina can become an outstanding swordmaster."

"Heh, I'm a bit curious why it has to be her? With her personality, she's better suited to eating and drinking under your protection."

Luo Ya took the booklet from before him, puzzled.

"Madalina is my only daughter. She will be the Queen of Norberto in the future; she cannot remain as she was before."

King Brunen then explained the ins and outs of the situation to Luo Ya.

It turned out that King Brunen had suffered several severe injuries in battles during his younger years. Although he had survived them, he was destined not to live much longer.

Now over fifty, he could pass away at any moment, and these injuries had also resulted in him having no other heirs, even after taking many royal wives.

In this world, the consequences of a country lacking powerful martial force for protection were self-evident.

Therefore, when he first handed over his ancestral sword techniques to Luo Ya, the two requirements were to protect this country and to mentor Madalina.

After hearing the full story, Luo Ya scratched his head and looked at the booklet in his hand that recorded the Line-Cutting Void.

One had to understand that while Luo Ya didn't care at all about killing or arson, he was the type to yield to soft approaches rather than hard ones.

Seeing a burly man like King Brunen bow his head in sincere request, honestly explaining the situation, and even giving Luo Ya his reward in advance—it could be said he had managed to get a handle on Luo Ya.

"Heh, go find a few more doctors to wait at the training ground." After saying this, Luo Ya put away the booklet and stood up, heading toward the training ground.

The five royal physicians, who usually served only the King, arrived at the training ground shortly after Luo Ya.

When Madalina saw Luo Ya, she pursed her lips and nervously grabbed Annajia's wrist.

Bang! A helmet and a wooden sword were tossed onto the ground by Luo Ya.

"Since you've made up your mind, let's begin." He drew a wooden sword and gestured for Madalina to put on her helmet.

"You shouldn't unleash such killing intent on a little girl," Annajia said helplessly from the side. After Luo Ya picked up his wooden sword, the solid, tangible killing intent made everyone present feel a chill, even though Manix Island was a summer island with a hot climate year-round.

"Do you have a problem with my training method?"

"And what if I do? Does it make you proud to throw your weight around against a little girl who has never trained before? You loser."

"Heh, it's been a long time since anyone dared to speak to me like that." Ryujin Jakka appeared at Luo Ya's waist, and his eyes glowed with a scarlet light.

Annajia glared back at Luo Ya without backing down, her long, slender legs covered in pitch-black Haki.

Before Madalina could even react to the situation, the nearby doctors hurriedly grabbed her and ran into the distance.

Most doctors on the high seas were very perceptive; generally, no one would attack a doctor, as everyone eventually suffered from aches and pains.

Many great figures had died of illness. But when gods fight, mortals suffer; if they didn't run when they saw a fight brewing, they would have nowhere to complain if they were caught in the crossfire.

As the onlookers scattered, the two opponents struck at the same time.

Support Slash! Ryujin Jakka was drawn from its sheath, and a dense, fiery sword aura slashed diagonally toward Annajia.

Annajia abruptly bent her knees, dodging the sword aura while using the force from her feet to deliver a side kick toward Luo Ya.

The flames entwined around Ryujin Jakka flared up violently as he slashed vertically in front of him.

Suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of crisis, Annajia pulled back her leg and dove to the side.

BOOM!

As Annajia rolled across the ground, she saw a long, narrow blade mark appear where she had been standing, splitting the training ground's hard stone floor in two, with a charred, deep pit still emitting heat.

She couldn't help but gulp as she looked at Luo Ya.

"Heh, try not to die." As Luo Ya's words fell, a pillar of fire reaching toward the heavens entwined around the Ryujin Jakka he held high.

Everyone on the island could see it clearly, and the high temperature caused Madalina's hair, hiding off to the side, to begin to curl slightly.

Castle Wall Flame!

As Luo Ya swung his blade, the giant pillar of fire descended straight toward Annajia, and the terrifying inferno began to spread rapidly across the training ground.

BOOM! As the fire pillar landed completely, the entire training ground was filled with scorching flames.

The doctors and Madalina, who were watching, had run out of the training ground early, but they were still nearly hit by flying debris and fireballs. Fortunately, King Brunen, who was in the palace, discovered the fire pillar and arrived in time to shield them, sparing them from disaster.

Madalina looked at the sea of fire before her and said tremblingly, "Fa-Father, is this... is this really something a human can do?"

King Brunen was also shocked by Luo Ya's strength and had no time to answer his precious princess, instead hurriedly asking the doctors about the situation.

An older doctor soon recovered from his shock and explained the cause and effect of the conflict between Luo Ya and Annajia to King Brunen.

By this time, the equipment in the training ground had been mostly burned to ashes, and the once-hard stone floor had turned into black, scorched earth.

Luo Ya sheathed his sword, bent down to pick up a burning piece of wood, and lit a cigarette.

He said to King Brunen, who had come to his side, "Don't worry, she isn't that easy to kill." After saying this, he slowly exhaled a puff of smoke.

As soon as his words fell, the mounds of scorched earth and stone on the field shifted, and several stone slabs that hadn't been blackened crashed down, revealing Annajia, who had been hiding beneath them.

Her originally long, black, straight hair had transformed into curled, ear-length locks, and her entire body was covered in black soot.

Watching Annajia, who now resembled someone from Africa, Luo Ya chuckled, "Heh, you won't be this lucky next time."

After speaking, he greeted King Brunen and departed with a flourish, leaving behind a field of scorched earth and a shaken Annajia.

"Then let's take the day off, and we'll switch to a new training ground tomorrow," King Brunen said awkwardly to the group.

He then dragged a wide-eyed Madalina away.

For a moment, only Annajia remained on the field; she wiped her pitch-black face, cast a thoughtful glance in the direction Luo Ya had left, and went off to find a place to bathe.