Advantage
"Mean!!"
Having barely escaped the dangerous attack, the female archer spoke through grim teeth.
"Mean?"
Kalin leaned leisurely against the tree trunk beside her, looking as relaxed as if she were on vacation rather than fighting.
"Hey little sister, how many years have you been an archer? You still can't understand the simplest of principles?"
As she spoke, she stood up, and with her movement, the enormous, towering ancient tree also slowly stood up, its intertwined, hard roots pulling from the soil, its thick branches waving and making a loud whooshing sound.
This was completely unexpected by the female archer.
At the very beginning of the battle, she had thought it would be just an ordinary duel. However, she hadn't expected Kalin to have no intention of engaging her head-on. After dodging the archer's initial attacks with the natural agility and sharpness of an elf, she jumped onto a nearby tree and whistled. What happened next was completely unexpected by the archer. With Kalin's whistle, the ancient trees that had been dormant awoke one by one, quickly surrounding the two of them and clearly protecting the elf before them.
For the female archer, the situation had become quite dire.
"As an archer, the most important thing is to keep your distance, isn't that right?"
As Kalin moved, the vines on the tree suddenly lunged at their prey. Although the female archer managed to dodge the attack again thanks to her skill and the blessing of divine magic, her initial sense of relief vanished when she realized that the encirclement had shrunk again with her movement.
This can't go on.
Although both are Weapon Spirit, the female archer completely lacks Kalin's ability to summon treants. While she possesses extraordinary range and power thanks to divine assistance, her strengths become useless after being lured into this forest by Kalin. The slowly approaching treants reduce the archer's evasive options, while Kalin, the key figure, hides herself among the dense foliage and branches. The loud noise generated by the treants' movements makes it impossible to detect their trajectory or pinpoint a target for attack.
This cannot continue.
Facing the slowly approaching treant, the female archer made up her mind. She reached out and drew her bow. Then, holy light condensed on the bowstring. As the female archer released her bow, a crescent-shaped energy wave shot out rapidly, easily severing the treant's dense branches and successfully leaving them with obvious wounds.
But this was better than nothing for the tree-men; on the contrary, the enemy's resistance seemed to enrage them even more. A continuous rustling sound rang out, like a unique dialogue between trees, and the female archer, sensing that something was wrong, did not hesitate any longer. The instant she fired her arrow, she pushed off with her toes and darted into the tree-men's encirclement before it could close in.
Once we leave this forest and reach the plains...
The vines that shot up interrupted the female archer's thoughts. She quickly dodged to the side, only to find that her path was being slowly blocked by branches. Although she didn't know what this meant, she knew it was definitely not going to make things better.
"Waaaaah!!"
Three holy arrows were fired again, eliminating the obstacle in front of her. Although firing three arrows simultaneously was quite skillful, in the current environment, even the female archer with extraordinary abilities was helpless. The narrow, enclosed space had severely suppressed her abilities. Under these circumstances, even dodging was extremely difficult, let alone attacking or counterattacking. Although as an archer, she could move freely through the forest like Kalin, which was why she had been lured here by Kalin. However, the female archer never expected that her opponent, clearly an elven archer, would do something only druids or mages would do. Now, the branches were no longer objects for the female archer to climb at will. After all, the trees, possessing their own consciousness, were clearly not on her side; if she did, she would only be walking into a trap.
We're almost there!
After dodging several obstacles around her, the female archer finally saw a light in the distance, which made her eyes light up. As long as she got out of here and reached an open area, she could blast these damned treants to smithereens!
Just as the female archer quickened her pace, trying to escape the eerie encirclement of the treants, the treants seemed to have noticed their prey's imminent escape. Branches, vines, and even thick, hard roots attacked her, doing their utmost to hinder her. At this moment, the female archer had already pushed her abilities to the limit. Enveloped in divine light, she left only white afterimages, easily dodging the treants' obstruction. Even when branches and vines intertwined and blocked her path, they were sliced apart by arrows formed from divine light, losing their original function.
This is the final step.
The female archer, having stepped out of the shadows and back onto the sunlit plain, had no time to feel relieved. Just then, a green flash shot out from between the leaves, striking her squarely in the chest.
"Bite!"
The female archer, who sensed the green light's presence just a second before it appeared, was unable to stop in her tracks. Kalin seized her most vulnerable moment and launched an attack. Having just taken her final step, she had no way to change direction to dodge the attack, and it was too late to draw her bow and fire back. So, the only thing the female archer could do now was raise her pristine white longbow to her chest, hoping to withstand the sneak attack.
The green arrow shattered upon impact with the pristine white bow, turning into particles of light that vanished into thin air. The female archer, who had taken the hit head-on, turned pale and stumbled backward, only realizing the gravity of the situation when she felt the slippery vines on her thigh.
"Ugh!!"
This time, the female archer was no longer able to dodge the tree people's attacks as before. Several vines coiled around her from the branches of the trees in all directions, wrapping around her body like venomous snakes. The longbow in the female archer's hand had long been thrown aside, and she could no longer exert her strength.
"I told you so."
Only then did Kalin emerge from the dense foliage of the forest.
"The most important thing for an archer isn't power or speed, but the timing of a fatal blow... However, it seems you still haven't grasped that point."
"You... you... what do you want to do?!"
The female archer raised her head angrily. Although it was unclear what she had originally intended to say after "you," her question immediately shifted to the one described above when she realized that the vines had easily penetrated her leather armor and skirt.
It's nothing really.
When confronted with the female archer's angry questions, Kalin simply shrugged.
"It's just that a little one I know really enjoys doing this to people. She seemed to be having a lot of fun, so I wanted to try it out... even though you're not human... well, whatever, I don't really know if Weapon Spirit feel this way, so using you as an experiment wouldn't be bad."
"You wicked, filthy spirit, the glory of the great God of Justice will one day destroy you all... Waaah..."
Thick, damp vines blocked the female archer's mouth, forcing her to swallow her words. Kalin, meanwhile, sat down against the tree trunk with a look of interest, leisurely taking out a flask of wine from beside her.
"Although it's called Weapon Spirit, it's not much different from an ordinary human... I was thinking it would be fun to fight... I hope you can give me some new enjoyment. Well then, good luck."
"Waaaaah...!! Waaaaah!!!"
Under Kalin's watchful eye, the previously muffled roars quickly transformed into heavy panting, echoing through the dark, silent forest. The vines easily stripped the female archer of her outer garment, revealing her beautiful, slender body beneath. Slippery tendrils coiled and entwined around her, leaving glistening trails of moisture on her white skin. The female archer's eyes were tightly closed, seemingly angry at the humiliation she had suffered, but Kalin clearly had no intention of showing compassion for her enemy; the concept of treating prisoners humanely was entirely absent from the Seven Ring Spirit Envoys' dictionary.
"Nice figure... and seems to have a good sensibility too."
Kalin took a sip of her drink and stared at the scene before her, idly offering her thoughts.
"It might seem boring at first glance, but once you start playing, you'll find it's quite challenging... Anyway, you only said not to kill, not that you can't break it, so I won't hold back..."
But before that, the necessary tasks still need to be completed.
With that thought in mind, Kalin rolled her eyes, then closed them, and began Telepathic Communication with the other Ring Spirit Envoy.
"Everyone, my mission is complete. How about you?"
Me too.
"Although there's no way to defeat the enemy, it seems this poor lady hasn't yet managed to escape the maze."
"This... Sister Nia, I'm so sorry, I think I went a little too far... I killed someone..."
Anna... is... working hard...
Anna is indeed trying.
Her battle with the girl had lasted hundreds of rounds. The once harmonious and beautiful grassland had been reduced to puddles of mud by the clash of daggers and fists, resembling a scene from a stage play that had been utterly destroyed. Although Anna possessed superb assassination skills, she couldn't enhance her strength like her opponent, and her physical strength wasn't enough to withstand the girl's punches head-on. The girl, realizing this, intensified her attacks, while Anna, like a ghost in the night, appeared and disappeared between the girl's blows, narrowly avoiding them.
"You're decades away from defeating me!"
The girl shouted triumphantly, but Anna remained completely unmoved by her shouts. She simply dodged, seized an opening to counterattack, and then slipped away before her opponent could retaliate. She then repeated the same attack pattern. Although she didn't know what weapon the girl was made of, she clearly possessed considerable experience in physical combat, and some of her techniques were even completely new to Anna, especially her leg techniques. Although Anna had seen many warriors since the Magic Empire era, she had never seen a warrior who could use her legs so nimbly to attack. This made Anna feel quite uneasy. If the opponent were a mage or something similar, she would be more confident in her attacks. But facing this completely unfamiliar new species, Anna felt somewhat lost.
The opponent's leg attacks are quite threatening, so we should start there.
The opponent's strengths can sometimes be their most fatal weaknesses. This is a lesson Li Lin once taught Anna, and now is the time for her to put it into practice.
If the legs could be restricted, the target's attack power could be reduced by more than half. While this sounds easy, it's incredibly difficult to execute. As an assassin, Anna never enjoys prolonged combat. When Angela attacked her, she saw through the little girl's assassin nature and changed her strategy from speed to a defensive counter-attack, forcing Anna into a decisive battle, which is why Li Lin stopped her. The same applies now. Normally, if her first strike fails, Anna should retreat and wait for another day. However, she is not merely an assassin, but also a member of the Seven Ring Spirit Envoys. Since her sisters are also fighting the enemy, she cannot leave.
This is the pride of the Seven Ring Spirit Envoys.
Anna dodged the girl's punch once again. A gust of wind, formed from divine power, brushed past her cheek and grazed Anna's face. Anna, however, paid no heed to this. Instead, she thrust her dagger in a counter-clockwise motion, following the girl's spinning trajectory, attempting to restrict her opponent's movements. If successful, the stalemate would be broken, and Anna, having seized the initiative, would have more options.
That's how it should be.
Thump!
Whether it was because she had heard that the other Ring Spirit Envoy had completed their missions, making Anna anxious, or because the girl who was launching a fierce attack had finally found an opening, the girl unexpectedly and accurately kicked Anna's wrist just as Anna was about to turn around. This caused Anna to stop abruptly, and then she was sent flying in an impossible way. Under the impact of divine power, Anna's petite body rolled several times in the muddy water on the ground before finally coming to a stop. Just then, the girl was already beside her, and stretched out her foot to stomp on Anna's head.
If this attack hits, even the Seven Ring Spirit Envoys would not be unharmed. It wouldn't be surprising if they were to shatter like a watermelon struck by a heavy object.
But the girl missed a step.
A divine power trembled on the ground, causing the earth to shake slightly, but this seemed insignificant compared to the sudden dimming of the surrounding shadows.
The black dagger silently pierced the girl's wrist from above. Anna's petite body floated down from the air, her black eyes burning with anger—and a chilling killing intent that spread outwards, freezing even the blood and marrow.
Before the girl could react, the spinning dagger easily severed her right hand, then plunged deep into her neck, still dripping with blood. At the same time, Anna's left-hand dagger slid down her shoulder, deeply embedding itself in her heart and twisting it forcefully.
This would be a fatal move for any human, but the girl's lightning-fast left fist once again proved that she was not human.
But this time, she failed. Perhaps the girl simply didn't notice the even greater flame burning in Anna's eyes as she attacked.
Sharp, fine black lines danced across the girl's body with lightning speed. Under Anna's control, the sharp, pointed dagger sliced through the girl's left fist without resistance, piercing straight into her lower abdomen before flicking back, tearing through the gaps between bones and internal organs. The crisscrossing daggers transformed into almost invisible black lines that ravaged the girl's body, then, with Anna's backward leap, drew two perfect arcs as they recoiled, ending the final attack.
When the girl fell to the ground again, every part of her body had been precisely cut open: thighs, calves, joints, arms, wrists, fingers, shoulders, collarbones, and even her waist. Every part was as precise and smooth as if it had been operated on. When the black dagger flew from Anna's hands and pierced the eye of the girl's head as it rolled to the ground, no one would doubt that she was still alive.
"I got a little... excited..."
Anna stared at the shattered corpses before her, coughing softly as she lowered her head in a somber mood. It seemed that only now did she realize the true consequences of her attack.
"Father... will he scold... Anna...?"
Anna murmured to herself as she slowly walked to the girl's body and pulled the dagger from her eye. Then, the shadows that had been covering the ground rose up like waves, engulfing the petite figure.