Originally, when the green-haired girl suddenly declared an attack, Mr. Side-Swept Bangs immediately tightened his grip on his greatsword, alert and ready for action.
But after waiting for a while, Theresa didn’t make any threatening moves. She just took something out of her pocket, clenched it in her hand, and scattered a few bean-like objects around her before doing nothing further.
After staring at each other for a while, angry pound signs couldn’t help but appear on Side-Swept Bangs’ forehead. He roared and charged forward, dragging his sturdy iron greatsword, taller than most, with him.
“Tiger’s Fall Slash!”
Jumping up, spinning the sword, and then a heavy slash!
Though he was in the air, his movements were as smooth as flowing water. Even the seemingly heavy greatsword didn’t slow him down. Clearly, despite his foul mouth and hot temper, this guy had some real skills.
And he was even showing mercy. Violet could tell at a glance that he was using the flat side of the sword, not the sharp edge. Even if Theresa was hit, she would only be injured rather than killed on the spot.
As for whether Side-Swept Bangs genuinely had a soft spot or was restrained by the rules of guild duels, it was hard to say for now.
But even though Theresa lacked combat experience, she understood the importance of not letting the enemy get too close. She took a deep breath, and a faint jade-green light emanated from her fingertips as she gestured.
“Boom!”
To the shock of the guild officials and Side-Swept Bangs’ companions, the flat ground of the dueling arena suddenly arched upward, and a massive green vine, as thick as a water bucket, erupted from the ground, viciously slamming into Side-Swept Bangs in mid-air!
“??!!”
Although startled, Side-Swept Bangs reacted quickly. With his extensive combat experience, he immediately turned his blade and, leveraging the downward force, shouted as he swung, intending to split the thick vine directly in half.
Then, he was “whipped” away.
It wasn’t because the plant summoned by Theresa had become strong enough to crush a Mithril-ranked adventurer with a single blow. Rather, while Side-Swept Bangs’ attention was fully focused on the frontal attack, two more vines quietly rose beneath his line of sight and twisted together into a single strand in mid-air, viciously striking him from behind.
It seemed that Theresa intentionally made the first plant look so intimidating and loud.
Even standing still at first wasn’t due to a lack of attack methods, it was a deliberate ploy to draw Side-Swept Bangs closer to her, preventing him from seeing the seeds scattered in the distant background.
Onlooker Violet couldn’t help but chuckle. She hadn’t expected this usually simple and modest village girl to become so cunning in battle. Truly, appearances can be deceiving.
Side-Swept Bangs, tossed away like a fly swatted out of the air, traced a graceful parabola in the sky before finally landing and rolling several times, groaning in pain.
Theresa probably hadn’t expected her tactics to work so easily either. Seeing her opponent stunned and rolling on the ground, she hesitated, refraining from launching further attacks.
After a while, Side-Swept Bangs finally managed to climb to his feet, clutching his mouth where a tooth had been knocked loose upon landing. With a voice seething with both anger and embarrassment, he pointed at the green-haired girl and roared loudly.
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“The attack from below is despicable! How dare you launch a sneak attack! Do you have the guts to face me in a fair and square showdown?!”
Despite his decent physical condition, although Theresa probably hadn’t exerted much force, the harsh fall seemed to have dealt more damage to his pride.
“Huh?”
The little girl blinked, subconsciously glancing at the priestess at the side of the platform, who was struggling to hold back her laughter. Then, she turned her gaze back to her opponent, wearing an innocent expression.
“But, Miss Sethlin taught me to fight like this. It’s just a simple pincer attack. Aren’t adventurers supposed to be very skilled? How come you can’t even see through this?”
“You...!”
Whether from tone or expression, Side-Swept Bangs couldn’t detect any hint of mockery or sarcasm on the green-haired girl’s face. And as she said, it was indeed just a simple tactic, something even many monsters would use.
Side-Swept Bangs was simply blinded by rage, and seeing his opponent looking soft and defenseless, even weaponless, he had become careless and underestimated her.
But he couldn’t say that directly to his opponent’s face, so he could only grunt coldly and continue to prepare himself for another round.
“That doesn’t count just now, let’s go again!”
“Go again? Do you feel embarrassed enough?”
A deep, imposing voice filled with strength and reliability echoed from afar, followed by a chorus of heavy footsteps.
Hearing this voice, Side-Swept Bangs, who had previously been defiant and fearless, suddenly trembled and wilted. The fighting spirit that had just ignited seemed to be extinguished at lightning speed as he glanced fearfully at the imposing figure approaching with large strides.
He opened his mouth hesitantly, like a child caught sneaking into an internet cafe by his parents, and his gaze wandered around.
“Lea... Leader, why are you back so early?”
“Early? Not really. If I were any later, how would I witness the heroic posture of our brave and valiant little brother Cyril?”
The towering man referred to as the leader was clad in black full-body armor, with a steel helmet and a rhomboid-shaped giant shield. He didn’t carry any other weapons, and from his voice... he was evidently much more mature and seasoned compared to Side-Swept Bangs.
Accompanying him were at least twenty male and female adventurers, including the priest who had previously advised Side-Swept Bangs against his actions. It was quite evident that something had happened.
“Leader, I just...”
“Just what? Just because you’re annoyed with a few girls, you want to use force to bully them? Cyril, oh Cyril, when I took you in and made our agreement, did I ever say that a greatsword is to be used like this?”
“I...”
“What ‘I’? Why don’t you get down from there?!”
“Yes, yes!”
The sudden increase in volume scared Side-Swept Bangs once again, and cold sweat immediately poured out. He quickly sheathed his greatsword and trembled as he jumped down from the platform, keeping his head down and obediently approaching the tall man without daring to make a sound.
“Oh? Not fighting anymore?”
The sudden change caught Theresa on the platform off guard, and the leader also turned his head immediately, speaking with a completely different tone, smiling softly.
“No more fighting, no more fighting. I’ll admit defeat for this kid. This is a mistake from our Black Knights Mercenary Group. Young lady, why don’t you come down? Let’s discuss how to resolve this, okay?”
“It’s a pity, I was just starting to get a feel for it...”
Although initially resistant, Theresa seemed to become more eager after exchanging blows. However, she wasn’t one for needless conflict. She nodded and withdrew the plants standing guard by her side, then jogged over to Violet’s side.
At this moment, after a brief negotiation with the guild members who had come over, the leader turned back and looked at the three girls standing together.
“It’s all a misunderstanding. I’m the leader of the Black Knights Mercenary Group... Hmm? Wait a minute, you...!”
The man paused for a moment, suddenly staring at the priestess’s face with a half-smile for a long time, then suddenly took off his helmet, revealing a resolute face filled with surprise and disbelief.
“Miss Violet? Are you Miss Violet?!”
Well, it’s not a case of sharing the same name after all.
The black-haired girl also smiled.
“Long time no see, Uncle Lester.”