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The distance between them was probably about ten of the giant swords that Lichter held.

Normally, one would think they were too far apart. However, neither side dared to blink. They simply couldn’t.

One was a gifted swordsman who’d received power from a witch. Another was a girl who’d inherited the soul of an unmatched hero, and the third was a powerful mage who had the blood of the Wolfen, a rare breed among the Beast Tribes, flowing through her veins.

They were already engaging with each other. At this distance, there was no time to wait and see how the other side would react.

It would only take a moment for Lichter’s giant sword to send Seletina flying, or for Seletina to dodge and counterattack, or for Imitia to cast a spell and intervene.

It seemed as though time had stopped.

“……”

A moment felt like an eternity, and the wind that caressed their cheeks began to carry heat and weight.

Impatience tinged the air around them. But Seletina and Imitia’s souls were experienced enough to not be swayed by it. They would not falter.

Lichter was the first to act. He swung his giant swords grandiosely and foolishly charged forward.

And, while it was unwise, Lichter was simply too fast. It was a daring move that verged on stupidity.

“Here he comes!”

The young girl and the half-beast readied their weapons, preparing for the impact.

The black knight, darkness trailing behind him, swung his right sword horizontally. Both the speed and the force of the attack were frightening.

“Whoa?!”

Seeing that she wouldn’t be able to withstand it, Imitia involuntarily took a step back. Next to her, Seletina stepped forward without hesitation.

Goosebumps shot up throughout Imitia’s body. Seletina narrowly avoided the powerful blow by bending down slightly and lowering her head.

The blade of the sword ended up only slightly grazing the skin of her cheek. If she had miscalculated the distance, then the fight would’ve already been over.

Seletina counterattacked without wasting any time. Her attack was swift and precise.

With both hands gripping the Sacred Sword, she cut a straight line from Lichter’s shoulder to his stomach. A high-pitched sound echoed in the area. The strike, potent enough to cleave space itself, caught Lichter off guard.

Yet, it left no damage. The slash was blocked by the sturdy, dark armor, and the blade never penetrated the flesh.

Lichter didn’t even react to the attack. This was because Seletina’s strikes were light. Her attacks lacked weight because of her weak physique.

While one could use a technique to get through some hard armor, this armor proved too resilient for such methods. Only someone with the strength of Loggins, the kingdom’s strongest knight, could cut through this armor.

Despite this, there was no doubt in Seletina’s eyes. Instead, she recognized she could go all out, knowing her strikes wouldn’t reach.

Her sword did not stop. In the blink of an eye, it ran through Lichter’s torso three times.

The sounds overlapped in rapid succession, blending together into what seemed like a single strike to an ordinary person.

But they were all in vain. Standing there, unconcerned, Lichter just took them.

He swung his giant sword down leisurely, as if Seletina’s barrage of blows were nothing more than a gentle breeze.

If the sword struck Seletina’s skull, it would easily cleave her in two from head to toe.

However, Seletina managed to lower her body just before the impact and evade to the side, causing Lichter’s sword to slam into the cobblestone, creating an explosion.

But it wasn’t an explosion per se. The strike gouged the pavement so deeply that it seemed like an explosion had occurred.

Stone rubble flew into the air, shattered from the impact. This went to show just how powerful Lichter’s strike had been.

As Seletina covered her face, the rubble hit both of her arms, bruising her so badly that she staggered back, moaning in pain.

Lichter, in turn, stood up slowly, preparing for a follow-up attack as if nothing had happened just now.

He tightly gripped his left sword, ready to advance on Seletina once more, but Imitia intervened.

With a sharp kick, Imitia struck Lichter’s left wrist, aiming to stop him from raising the sword.

Because of her Wolfen transformation, her muscle strength was formidable and not to be taken lightly, even though it was not on par with Lichter’s present strength.

Lichter’s mind went blank when Imitia’s attack caught him off-guard. In that brief moment, his vision was filled with red.

Imitia thrust her wand right in front of Lichter’s helmet.

“This might hurt a little.” Imitia said, and a pillar of blue flames engulfed Lichter.

The pillar’s firepower and intensity were staggering. If it were cast on an ordinary person, it would have incinerated every bone in their body to ashes.

However, Lichter took it head-on. Walking leisurely through the blue flames, he seized Imitia by her slender neck.

“Urgh…?!”
“Lichter! Stop it!!!”

Lichter remained unfazed. He maintained a tight hold around Imitia’s neck. His other hand held a giant sword.

Head raised high, Lichter turned to look at Seletina. It seemed as though he was saying, “Protect her if you can.”