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Emilia had trained extensively in multiple types of weapons in her previous life as a princess, but her mastery in many of them was only considered 'worthy of praise' by her instructors mostly because of her status as a princess.
After all, even if she wasn't particularly sickly, Emilia's body still looked quite delicate and weak when compared to the sturdy and buff men, and being able to contend with an actual knight in anything at all could already be considered astonishing.
Of course, after she grew up and 'worked hard' for a few more years, she was eventually able to defeat even the strongest knights in her kingdom at the time, though most people assumed that they must have been going easy on her.
Although this 'virtual' body wasn't as strong as the one Cynthia gave her, it was still slightly superior to the one she had in her life as a princess. And with a sword in her hand, Emilia felt that if she really failed to defeat this draconic knight, she would be letting down everyone who ever believed in her.
"One must not let their emotions rule themselves when holding a sword, young one." Kaira chided gently, as if unbothered by the crimson-haired elf's persistence.
But Emilia could tell that the draconic knight wasn't having nearly as easy a time as it might first seem, which greatly boosted her confidence.
She ignored the pain in her arms from the violent clashes of their blades, and continued to ferociously hack and slash in a seemingly insane manner, without any form or beauty.
However, to the draconic knight's shock, it was still impossible to find any openings in her movements. It was as if every move she made was decided upon only after looking at her opponent's reactions, and even adjusted in real-time as needed.
Kaira almost couldn't believe it. 'Not to mention an elf child, even an ancient elf shouldn't have this kind of ability… I must be mistaken.'
It was much more realistic to assume that the young elf girl had some incredible fighting talent or instinct, after all.
In fact, before the fight started, although Kaira appeared courteous and respectful on the surface, it wasn't really from the heart.
After all, the main reason that the dragons and their descendants treated elves so well stemmed from the fact they'd had a mutually beneficial relationship for a long time, and the elves also made for good wives. The children they birthed were comparable in strength to pureblooded dragonlings, and were also far easier to conceive.
But deep down, most dragonlings believed that the only beings that had the qualifications to stand on equal footing with them were the demons.
However, Kaira wasn't stupid. After realizing Emilia's unexpected potential, it was impossible to continue underestimating her simply because she was an elf.
Once the draconic knight started to take the fight more seriously, the sound that the swords made on each collision became even more jarring on the ears, and it was hard to believe that neither of them showed any signs of chipping or breaking.
In fact, it wasn't that the weapons were unbreakable, but most of the force behind Kaira's blows was actually being deflected by Emilia using tricky angles and parries. However, the difference in their speed and strength obviously made it impossible for the crimson-haired elf to pull it off every time.
Once every few hits, the force she had to handle sent pain and shock ringing through her flesh and bones, but Emilia didn't let it show on her face.
When fighting a clearly stronger opponent, it was all the more important to not show any weakness.
The fight seemed to get more and more ferocious, with the blade light and the sparks from their clashes being the only thing most could watch in a daze between their tightly tangled figures. And just when it seemed like one of them might inexplicably lose their head in the chaotic fight, a thick, scaled lizard tail swept Emilia's legs off the ground.
Some of the girls watching couldn't help but scream in shock, but the most dumbfounded of them all was Kaira, the draconic knight.
The purpose of the tail sweep was to break Emilia's rhythm and corner her flawlessly, but how could the girl who was able to react to all those movements in a fraction of a second suddenly be unable to see this coming?
Not only was she swept off her feet, but Emilia didn't even defend herself properly while rolling over, leading to heavy bruising on most of her exposed skin. Even her face wasn't spared.
The burning pain from the draconic knight's inner thigh soon cleared these doubts, and Kaira's scaled face twisted uncomfortably upon realizing that it was all the little elf's trick. The obviously ecstatic grin on the face that beautiful face that had been bruised heavily made it obvious.
Somehow, in that small chaotic moment when she was swept off and rolled on the ground to 'avoid' the next attack, the crimson-haired elf's sword had managed to discover and slice through a vulnerable point on the draconic knight's body.
"Although all your scales look tough, it's only the ones on your forearm that can perfectly defend against my sword." Emilia giggled as she swung her sword around. "Not as tough as you look, are you?"
Of course, the wound she managed to inflict wasn't particularly deep, but Emilia didn't care about that. Even if her sword only left shallow scratches on the enemy's scaly skin at best, the poison would still slowly seep through and accumulate, and victory would be hers.
Kaira also seemed to realize her strategy, and sneered. "It seems you have chosen your path, young one. But be mindful, being reckless and daring might bring you short-term success, but eventually… it will lead to your downfall."
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"… I was unable to teach you anything today, but one day, I shall." Kaira smiled, though the blood seeping through the sharp fangs made the image incredibly terrifying. "Until we meet again… Emilia."
The crimson-haired elf only dared to breathe a sigh of relief when the draconic knight finally collapsed under the effects of her sword's poison, and quickly withdrew from the challenge before the next one could start to materialize.
Not only was she completely exhausted, but there also wasn't that much time left in the day. If the day ended before she could finish her fight, it would be considered a loss anyway, so there was no point in trying.
"You really know how to fight like a maniac, huh?!" Crystal hugged her tightly the moment she exited the arena.
Most of Emilia's equipment had already been heavily damaged, with even her skirt being torn, so the blonde girl's hands rested directly on the elf's smooth skin. One could even see how 'emotional' she was, given her deeply embedded fingers.
For a while, numerous burning and envious gazes settled on Crystal's fingers, but the blonde girl remained completely oblivious.
Many couldn't help but wonder if they would be able to see some 'fingerprints' if not for the fact that most of Emilia's skin had already been bruised from the fight.
But while certain people were very dissatisfied with Crystal taking advantage of the situation to feel Emilia up, or at least that was how it appeared, they couldn't really disagree with her words.
Nico also nodded while casting a 'Mend Wounds' on the crimson-haired elf. "Scared this grandma to death! If I hadn't kept reminding myself that this was a game, I might have already passed out from fright, you know?!"
Emilia sighed happily as she felt the soreness and pain slowly fade away from her body. "But wasn't it worth it? I managed to beat him, err… or her? Anyway, I did it!"
Sylvia coughed. "Although it's good to focus on what you want, you should also take care of yourself more."
Knowing that they were just caring about herself, Emilia didn't bother to refute her, and just nodded with a smile.
Meanwhile, Danielle just hummed thoughtfully while waiting for the results, which was unexpectedly taking quite a while.
Obviously, this was no surprise to Emilia. It wasn't that 'Arcadia' couldn't process the results of the 'Warrior's Challenge' fast enough. With the power of an entire world's 'minds' behind it, that was hardly a task worth mentioning.
The reason it took a while, in fact, was to allow the 'original owners' of all the images that 'lost' in the challenge to 'comprehend' their experience, as the impact that the fight had on them was also a part of the score.
Of course, even Emilia wasn't sure if the defeated NPCs would be able to remember their experience later, or if it would never be committed to their 'memory' at all.
Either way, she really hoped to never meet that draconic knight again.
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