Physical Limit

A clamor of footsteps approached from outside the door, growing closer and closer.

"Everyone, be careful!"

The swordsman in the lead warned the people behind him in a low voice. After they passed the corner, a battered, dilapidated door came into view.

The group slowed their steps and pressed forward.

The swordsman at the front drew a deep breath, then reached out to pull the door handle.

But at that very instant, a tremendous force suddenly struck from behind the door. The iron door shot out like a cannonball and slammed hard into his face, knocking him to the ground. Immediately after, a petite figure leapt out from behind the door and stamped down hard on the iron door.

The swordsman pinned beneath the iron door went silent at once.

Everyone shuddered.

They saw that petite figure standing on the iron door, staring coldly at them across the narrow passage, her aqua-blue eyes filled with icy killing intent.

"Kill her—"

Someone shouted.

Everyone raised their swords and swarmed forward.

Hilde advanced instead of retreating. With one hand, she lifted the iron door beneath her feet and hurled it like a throwing dart, directly smashing the group charging at the very front off their feet. Then she stepped off the wall and sprang forward, sword light surging from the blade in her hand.

The blade came down, and the sensation of muscle and bone being severed by the sword was unmistakably clear.

The blood that sprayed out instantly dyed Hilde entirely red, even turning her flowing golden hair a savage crimson.

One of them tried to raise his sword to block Hilde's attack.

Her sword momentum did not change. Gripping the hilt with both hands, she cut down straight over his head.

"Clang—"

With a clear ring, the sword in the enemy's hands was cleaved apart by that tremendous force, yet the force of her strike did not lessen in the slightest, cutting his entire body in two from top to bottom.

Blood sprayed as if it cost nothing, and the narrow passage turned into a bloody slaughterhouse in an instant.

"Is this all you've got?!"

Hilde sneered. These enemies were, at most, only intermediate level in their schools. Most of them could not even withstand a single exchange with her.

The terrifying scene scared the remaining few, who had not yet had time to make a move, out of their wits.

They immediately turned to flee.

Hilde was just about to pursue them when a wisp of fierce wind suddenly brushed past her ear.

"Bang—"

The next moment, those men's heads burst like flowers.

Hilde turned her head and glanced behind her.

She saw Rudeus slowly lowering his arm.

"Next time you run into a situation like this, leave it to me."

Rudeus glanced at Hilde and spoke very seriously.

"Save your strength."

"...I don't need you to remind me of that."

Hilde muttered, casually wiping the blood from her sword on the corpse of an enemy on the ground before sheathing it.

Her gaze passed over Rudeus and turned to Eris, who had just walked out of the room and was barely managing to steady herself against the doorframe.

The latter's face was pale.

It was unclear whether it was because her body had not recovered yet, or because she had been affected by the bloody scene.

Seeing this, Rudeus took her hand.

Eris froze for a moment.

"We're short on time. You probably haven't gotten yourself back in shape yet, but we have to start running."

Rudeus said.

"...I know that without you telling me."

Eris bit her lower lip and, forcing herself to endure the smell of blood, turned her head away, avoiding Hilde's gaze.

"Let's go."

Hilde said, her tone somewhat cold.

Then she cleared the way in front, striding off toward the sewers.

"Next, we'll return the way we came."

As she quickened her pace and hurried along, Hilde discussed the plan with Rudeus behind her.

"The sewers can lead directly outside the city. There's still some time before dawn, and if we hurry at full speed, we should still be able to reach a nearby town before daybreak. Once we get there, Rudeus, you and Eris will take a carriage and leave for Fittoa Territory."

"Fittoa Territory is Boreas family land. Once you get there, everything will be safe."

After saying that, Hilde took a deep breath.

She calmed her violently pounding heart a little.

Since coming to this world, this was the first time she had experienced such an intense battle.

To be honest, her stamina was almost at its limit.

Just keeping her walking posture steady already required her full concentration.

Although the enemies were not particularly skilled, and aside from the four swordsmen she had encountered outside the room at the very beginning, none of the people who came to reinforce them afterward were even advanced swordsmen, they had still been steadily draining Hilde's stamina.

Come to think of it.

Although Hilde could achieve an almost crushing victory against intermediate swordsmen, in truth, she herself had not yet reached the level of an advanced swordsman.

Because she had not yet learned how to cloak herself in battle aura.

The reason she seemed able to fight Isolte, an advanced swordsman, to a draw was only because her natural constitution far surpassed that of ordinary people. Stamina, strength, speed, toughness—the advantages in these factors allowed Hilde to possess an extremely high level of ability even without cloaking herself in battle aura.

But there was still a limit.

I have to avoid fighting as much as possible...

As Hilde was thinking this, her ears suddenly twitched.

From the passage ahead, the faint sound of approaching footsteps came.

"There are way too many enemies..."

Hilde could not help muttering under her breath.

The enemies kept coming one after another, making her feel as if she were fighting the entire world.

Thinking about it carefully, that did seem about right.

A mere seven-year-old brat trying to challenge the dark side of this city—should that be called not knowing her own limits, or just arrogant overconfidence...

But either way, it did not matter.

At this point, even if she knelt and begged for mercy, there was no way they would let her live.

So there was no option except victory.

"Hilde, why did you stop?" Rudeus asked.

"Enemies are coming from ahead."

"That fast? How many?"

"About five or six."

That should count as good news.

Although she did not know how many enemies remained, they were not coming in one big cluster, but in separate groups.

That gave Hilde a little breathing room. At the very least, she could recover some stamina in the gaps after dealing with each wave of enemies.

"Hilde, let's avoid fighting. We'll take a detour first and get past this wave of enemies before anything else," Rudeus suggested.

"Are you sure?"

Hilde frowned slightly. "If, after these enemies pass, a second wave appears before we reach the exit, we might end up being attacked from both front and back."

Rudeus insisted, "We'll figure something out when the time comes. For now, we should avoid back-to-back battles."

"...Hmph."

Hilde gave a soft snort. She knew Rudeus must have noticed her exhaustion.

Saying it in such a roundabout way.

How annoying.

Still, for the time being, she would take Rudeus's well-meaning consideration into account.

For now, they would do as he said.

After looking left and right, Hilde led Rudeus and Eris into a corner to hide.

There were many corners like this in the sewer, with exits to the surface connected above them. But there was no telling where they would end up if they went out from here, and it would be troublesome if they accidentally barged into the enemy's main base.

After hiding in the corner, they waited in silence.

The footsteps in the distance drew closer and closer.

At last, a group came into view. They wore dark gray cloth clothes and carried swords at their waists. Their formation was loose, yet subtly coordinated with one another. Clearly, these people were not the same useless rabble from before, but a squad accustomed to working together.

The one leading them was a one-eyed man, with a scar on his left cheek stretching all the way to the base of his ear.

Hilde watched as the group passed by outside the corner and was just about to leave.

Suddenly, the one-eyed man at the front stopped.

As if he had sensed something, he began looking around.

Hilde held her breath.