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"What\'s with this person...?! Are all the Guard Commanders this strong...?!" Revel muttered to himself under his breath as he was knocked back by the force of the young woman\'s blow.

Just now, Revel believed that he was taking advantage of the young woman\'s brief moment of distraction; however, it turned out that she had never truly taken her sights off them.

Revel was a part of Assault Group C along with Love Mist and Benevolent  Tea.

Love Mist was a magic caster, and Benevolent Tea was one of the few support-type classes in the 9th Division. Therefore, they worked well together with Revel, who was a close-range fighter.

"Revel, don\'t attack her head-on! We have to create an opening before you strike! Until then, just focus on defense!" Love Mist warned.

"Damn it..! Alright, I got it!" Revel responded in a frustrated tone as he retreated back a couple of meters.

So far, it seemed that no matter what approach they took against this young woman from Tempest, it was impossible to land a solid hit on her.

Not to mention, the speed of those twin swords she wielded was too fast!

If not for the fact that Benevolent Tea granted Revel a protective barrier before his attack just now, he may have been immediately cut down in one go.

In addition, there was a terrifying and cold aura coming from the young woman that the other Guard Commanders did not seem to possess. This increased the pressure of going against her to the point that it felt suffocating.

"Fulgencio, stop wasting time and take care of them. If we are delayed because of this contingent\'s incompetence, what face will my Tempest kingdom have left?" The young woman stated.

She then continued, "I shall personally see to the protection of the carriage."

Out of nowhere, a thick layer of black smoke rushed out at the young woman before circling around her.

"As if we\'ll just allow you to do as you please." Love Mist said as she held the simple wand in her hand forward.

The wand was the source of the black smoke and came from one of Love Mist\'s skills called Dark Smoke Tomb.

The skill allowed her to conjure a stream of black smoke that, when inhaled, caused enemies to become trapped in an illusion. Simultaneously, it lowered their overall sense of perception and slowly ate away at their natural defenses.

Unless one knew of the skill\'s effects beforehand, it was incredibly difficult to counter—even if one possessed a skill that removed negative effects. And this was due to another effect of Dark Smoke Tomb called Chained Fantasy. This made it so that as long as an enemy used a skill that removed negative effects while under the effects of Dark Smoke Tomb, its cooldown time would triple.

However, the most terrifying thing was that Dark Smoke Tomb would automatically activate again and place them under the effects a second time without their knowledge. It was as though one were dragged beneath two layers of illusions, and if they broke the first layer, the consequences would be even greater.

This is why the skill was so challenging to overcome unless one had some foreknowledge of its effects. At least, that\'s how it was supposed to be.

"I can only keep her trapped for fifteen seconds at most! Revel, you-" Love Mist called out; however, before she could finish her words, a cold sword intent swept past her.

In the blink of an eye, the thick black smoke was blown away and dispersed.

At the same time, Love Mist\'s eyes widened in shock as she felt cold sweats run down her back.

"Love Mist!" Revel shouted with concern; however, he was just as shocked as Love Mist by what had just transpired.

"That\'s...!" Benevolent Tea gasped as she saw the object that rushed past Love Mist.

BANG! Neeeeigh!

As the object flew right past Love Mist, it headed toward the young woman on the warhorse, who intercepted it with her twin swords crossed.

The object was a long metal rod roughly 1.5 meters in length. But, rather than a normal metal rod, it more so resembled a rough spear with its pointed tip.

Those who had not seen it before would think that it was just that—a spear. However, those of the 9th Division knew exactly where this "metal rod" came from. Though instead of a metal rod, it was more accurate to call it a large arrow.

When the large metal arrow collided with the young woman\'s twin swords, it spun with a vicious rotation that made it resemble a drill of sorts. This caused her warhorse to be pushed back several meters and showed no signs of slowing down.

"It would appear that we have another rat hiding in the forest. To believe this little surprise attack is enough to take me down—insolent." The young woman said with a cold gaze as the aura around her surged.

Crash!

The next moment, after losing a great deal of its momentum, the large arrow was knocked toward the ground by the young woman as she received a new surge of power.

The young woman managed to successfully deflect the attack; however, she narrowed her eyes as she looked down at her slightly trembling hands.

"Hmph." The young woman let out a light scoff as she tightened her grip on her twin swords and controlled the aura around herself, which caused the trembling in her hands to cease.

But, there was a sharp glint that appeared in her eyes as her gaze wandered deep into the forest from the direction the large arrow had emerged.

If that arrow had appeared even half a second later, Love Mist would have been cut down by the young woman\'s sword intent just now!

...

"She managed to block it? This is unexpected." Menerva said to herself as she stood in front of her giant bow stationed into the ground.

At the moment, Menerva was located roughly fifty meters away from the clash taking place between the 9th Division and the Tempest contingent.

Just a few moments ago, she fired off a shot and set it on a path that would not only assist in eliminating one of the Guard Commanders but also lend a hand to one of the Assault Groups, all the while targeting the carriage.

In other words, she attempted to accomplish three goals with one shot. However, while she was able to assist one of the Assault Groups, the other two goals had unexpectedly fallen flat.

Though this was no fault of Menerva\'s. What she did not know was that the Guard Commander she aimed for was not your typical Tempest Guard Commander. And she quickly pieced this together the instant her arrow was intercepted and deflected.

"Lieutenant Niflheim may not be aware of their presence. Just in case, I shall properly inform him." Menerva said as she switched over to voice chat while preparing her next arrow.

...

Meanwhile...

"DIE!" Aloysius roared as a heavy layer of killing intent bombarded Izroth while the Centurion swung downward with his battle axe, displaying a terrifying wave of strength.

BANG!

Izroth successfully parried the battle axe\'s blow; however, the force of the strike was enough to knock him back several meters.

\'What freakish brute strength. It\'s not quite on the same level as that guy, but it\'s certainly above that of your average Centurion. I can see why one of the Ten Beast Guardians fell under Glacia\'s assault.\'

With his Heavenly Golden Body and Might stat, there were not many people Izroth had come across that could contest him with brute strength alone, let alone overwhelm him.

Hakros was from the Wild Lands and possessed a special bloodline; therefore, his monstrous strength came naturally. But, the person in front of Izroth did not appear to be from the Wild Lands. Nor did they seem to be anything particularly special about them. However, for some reason, the force behind this person\'s blows was enough to send him backward.

If not for having his Eighth Sword Form: Formless Sway active and reducing incoming parry damage by 100%, Izroth would have received a great deal of damage.