He was carrying a sword in his right hand, but it was still in its scabbard.
The ground in the backyard was covered with dense grass, so the opening wasn’t at all serious with wind and dust. Gallagher’s guards stood on the one side of the filed, with one nervously holding a steaming snow-white cloth towel, and another holding a glass jug with lemon slices in it. In contrast, the people on Ann’s side were a lot less particular…
“Is Ann okay?” Nemo’s nervousness was directed elsewhere.
Now both he and Oliver could feel the strength of other creature’s magic power, but unfortunately, usually magic doesn’t represent real combat strength. Experience, reaction speed, combat skills, awareness and the likes determined the true strength of a warrior. There were many factors.
In terms of magic power, Gallagher’s was comparable to Ann’s. Since he was respected as the first Marshal of Alban, the emperor’s confidant, his combat experience and brains must be good as well.
“I don’t know, but she looks very confident. It shouldn’t be… a problem,” Oliver responded honestly.
Then the two looked at Jesse together.
Jesse somehow managed to find a cup of tea. At this moment, he was holding a saucer in one hand and a teacup in the other, tastefully sipping tea. The knight commander was standing next to him staring at the field solemnly, without any intention of letting up.
“Although he’s known for his tactics, Marshal Gallagher was also a strong swordsman when he was young,” perceiving the anxious eyes of the other two, the knight commander explained.
“Don’t look at me. Knowing everything will take away a lot of fun. Even I, sometimes, am happy to leave some suspense in my life.” Jesse put the teacup back on the saucer and spoke lightly.
As soon as he finished speaking, the two moved.
Once in the combat, Gallagher didn’t pay the slightest attention to the meaning of obsessive-compulsive disorder. He didn’t draw his sword, but directly waved the sword with its scabbard, and rushed towards Ann without hesitation. As he charged, a whirlwind suddenly expanded around him centered on his sword—
“I get it,” Nemo said deeply, subconsciously setting up a shadow shield for everyone. He didn’t know where, but an insect molt was swept up and almost smacked him in the face. “If this is the Marshal’s style in every battle, his stress… May be because he eats too much dust.”
Gallagher’s guards were prepared for this, and the moment the Marshal rushed forward, a translucent protective cover was propped up.
But Ann stood steadily, as if there were invisible roots under her feet. The smile on face didn’t dissipate, and the lightning wrapped around the tip of her spear.
“Your Highness, move. This is the sixth form of the Salter’s Family Thunpelt Hurricane Sword Technique—”
“Sorry, I don’t like to explain to myself while fighting. It’s embarrassing.” Ann propped the ground with her spear and avoided the sharp wind blade with a high jump.
The invisible air blade left deep marks on her leather armor. Her short hair fluttered out of sight. Her neat leather armor didn’t have a cloak, so her vision wasn’t disturbed by the wind, and she dodge just in time.
While she was moving, the brilliance of thunder and lightning swept through the air, and the unique scorching smell was almost instantly blown away by the wind.
“Good skills, but it’s nothing more than that,” Gallagher said coldly. “Your accuracy is questionable.”
“Really?” Ann sneered. “Your eyesight is also quite worrisome.”
Gallagher discovered the problem in the next second.
His weapon was completely scorched, and the exquisite scabbard that was instantly ignited by lightning turned into a charred, black, and brittle useless junk. What had once been a scabbard peeled off with the wind, revealing a sharp blade encased within.
Gallagher’s expression changed.
On a real battlefield, rashness could easily invite destruction. The impatience on the Marshal’s face turned into solemnity. He lowered his body’s center of gravity and looked at Ann vigilantly.
“Yes, that’s the look,” Ann hissed. “To be honest, I spent a bit too much time with the boys on my team, so my concept of normalcy has gone to hell— Thank you, dear Mr. Mad Dog. I’m going to get a little confidence back from you.”
“I don’t remember that Thun… something about your swordplay of your house, but as a courtesy, I’ll also telegraph my moves too— Salter, next I’ll kick your ass with my ‘self-created technique’.”
This time she didn’t hold back.
“It’s true that Ann Savage doesn’t stand out in person,” Jesse commented with a smile. “But don’t forget, our Miss Savage has survived the destruction of so many Black Chapter teams, and it’s not just because of her luck—”
“On the one hand, it’s to control her Black Chapter level, and on the other hand she couldn’t use Alban’s royal spells in front of others?” Oliver guessed quickly.
The lightning was more magnificent than any they had ever seen.
The female warrior bared her white teeth as lightning wrapped around her, making her look like some ominous magical beast. The metal hunting spear became her means of controlling the lightning at this moment. The sharp tip of the spear broke through the storm, and the lightning guided by the tip of the spear kept making hissing sounds like millions of snakes lurking in the dark.
“Those aren’t standard royal spells. She rewrote and perfected them, and now Mr. Salter should know the level of his opponent.” The former knight commander showed a rare raised at the corner of his mouth.
Gallagher panted heavily, and an electrocuted wound appeared on the back of his left hand, that was very conspicuous.
He took a deep breath, and the storm rose again.
The marshal pushed his body with the wind, rushed all the way to the sky, and then rushed down at full speed at Ann.
At the same time, several air bullets hit Ann’s chest mercilessly— Ann stepped back a few steps after being hit, spit out some blood on the ground, and then wiped the blood from the corners of her mouth.
The hunting spear drew a semicircle as she stood in place. The grass was scorched by lightning, causing ashes and smoke to rise together. The figure of the female warrior disappeared in the smoke and dust. Marshal Gallagher didn’t continue to rush in blindly but slowed down and used a storm to blow away the smoke.
A figure gradually appeared. Marshal Gallagher was about to advance, when he was surprised by a sharp pain in his back as he turned around—
“I caught you.”
The female warrior’s whole body was covered with wounds drawn by the wind blade. Black and red blood seeped through the cracks of her leather armor.
She grabbed the marshal’s back collar with one hand, then locked his throat with her arms, and put her knees on his back.
But the marshal didn’t intend to stop. The wind enveloped the dust and sand and struck Ann in the eye. He let out a roar. Relying on his size advantage, he rolled over and tried to fight back.
But when his fist was about to connect to Ann’s ribs, Gallagher hesitated for a moment. He was pretty sure that if he punched her, his opponent’s ribs would be broken and it would pierce into her lungs, so he hesitated for half a second and changed the direction.
This reaction was also expected by his opponent.
Ann closed her eyes, arched her back, and pressed the body of her spear, that was entwined with lightning, against the marshal’s throat. The opponent’s fist only struck the female warrior’s abdomen, but she didn’t utter a sound, while letting a sharp stone hit her cheek…
She pressed her entire body on Marshal Gallagher’s chest and abdomen, and blood dripped on the marshal’s face.
The tingling caused by the electric current paralyzed his throat. Gallagher looked at Ann’s bloody face in shock.
“Tie,” she said coldly, opening her eyes. It was lined with blood, and she looked like a carnivorous beast.
“No, I lost.” Marshal Gallagher glanced at the dirt and blood stains on his body and looked away unbearably.
“You didn’t do your best,” Ann said lightly. “You hesitated with the last punch. If this was a real battlefield, you would be a corpse by now, Mr. Wild Dog.”
“How can I dare hurt Her Royal Highness.” The marshal’s long, well-groomed hair was scattered in a ball and spread out on the grass creating a wretched scene.
“How can I dare hurt an important leader of the resistance,” Ann sneered. Instead of getting up, she raised her fist. “This in itself isn’t a terrible exchange.”
Gallagher stared at the fist and the old scars on it. In advance, he had thought her Royal Highness would need to do her best to fight against him. He didn’t notice that his opponent’s didn’t use her left hand at all— In a sense, he had lost this match completely.
“Don’t underestimate people,” Ann said in a deep voice as the blood still slid down her cheek. “You may be a real gentleman, Mr. Mad Dog, but I’m a fugitive.”
She slammed down her fist, swiped it across Gallagher’s temple, and punched heavily into the soil.
“Listen, I held back because this isn’t a form of combat, you’re familiar with, which meant I have an inherent advantage while you’re only holding back because you’re arrogant as hell. It’s strange that with your tail cocked that high, you’re still able to win on a real battlefield. I almost wonder which bastard son of Zenni’s you are.”
Jesse choked on the tea he was drinking, while Adrian glanced at him with some doubt.
“Sorry,” Gallagher grunted in a low voice.
“Speak up.” Ann wiped the blood from her face.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. You have made enough proof that you are indeed a real warrior.”
Although Marshal Gallagher looked reluctant, with shock and resistance in his voice, his tone was serious.
“…As a soldier, I pay tribute to all true soldiers.”
“Very good. That look is more like it.” Ann stood up and loosened her grip on the marshal. “Now we can get down to business.”
Two hours later.
“Fuck.” Ann yelled, nearly overturning the table in front of her. “I’m not a rotting corpse. Did you need to fucking wash your hair one by one? How about using a cleaning spell?”
“Then I will feel uncomfortable, Your Highness.”
The marshal washed for more than an hour before showing up. He had changed into his dark robe again, only this time, the smell of perfume was much lighter.
The two looked at each other very unpleasantly for a few seconds.
Marshal Gallagher looked quite uncomfortable. He seemed to be entangled in maintaining respect for the royal family, contempt for the vulgarness, and praise for the strong, so he wasn’t sure what kind of attitude he should put on.
Ann’s attitude was much more obvious. The left side of her face was full of “where did this asshole come from” and while the right was “I really want to kill someone” written all over.
“I’ll do it,” Oliver spoke sincerely, trying to break the deadlock. “Lord Marshal, we have bad news about the prince’s side. This matter is a long story…”
The “new bone jade bomb” and “Trent Plague reappearance” weren’t trivial matters, but when Oliver finished talking it was still shorter than the time it took than Marshal Gallagher’s bath.
“I see, thank you for your information.” The marshal looked serious. His long blond hair was no longer messy. “If you have no opinion, I’ll announce tomorrow that the princess has been found.”
“Next, I will increase the speed of advance of the frontlines. The prince has never experienced a real war. Before he reacts, I will swallow this part of the territory south of Alban as soon as possible.”
Marshal Gallagher tapped a corner of the map with his finger.
“If my father closed Clementine Academy, the lords here shouldn’t bother me, but thanks to all of you, the closure will not last long. We may have to endure several unplanned conflicts. War is no better than fighting alone. Maybe Horizon helped you escape the maze last time, but I’m not as kind as Godwin Lopez.”
“Huh?” Oliver didn’t respond for a moment.
“Thank you very much for your care of Her Royal Highness.” Gallagher nodded. “But you can all leave now. I can see that the princess cherishes you very much, and I don’t want you to get hurt. Mr. Cross, I don’t mean to target you. I respect your former glory very much, but you know your current condition…”
In a rare move, the knight commander looked away with a blank face without comment.
“I have to correct your two misconceptions.” Ann stretched out her legs and folded both feet unceremoniously on the edge of the table.
“First, they take care of me? But forget it, the other way around is more like it. I’ve been tossed around by them that I’ve aged thirty more years. Second, you’d better keep them, Mr. Mad Dog.”
Gallagher was obviously not used to the name “Mr. Mad Dog”, and it took a long time to react.
He frowned and looked at Ann: “I already understand your strength, Your Highness, but like I said, war and adventuring are completely different. No matter how strong the individual strength is, it can’t withstand tens of thousands of people together— To be honest, after announcing your news, the two neighboring armies will be mobilized to deal with us. I must carefully measure their strength. There is no room for any mistakes on the battlefield.”
“Oh,” Ann said. “Isn’t that just, right? We have three armies here.”
“Armies?” Gallagher politely raised the tone at the end of the sentence.
“Yes— The leader of Tumbleweed, it’s mission time, and the employer is going to make a request.” Ann narrowed her eyes.
“Oliver and Nemo, you two are on the same team. Cross and Dylan, you two are on the same team. I think this should be able to handle two battlefields— Dylan, to be honest, right now I still have no idea about your strength. Do you need me to leave the parrot with you?”
Jesse saluted exaggeratedly. “Of course not, your Royal Highness. I just need that goat.”
“Then Bagelmaurus follow me. Let’s keep an eye on the marshal’s ass in case a female assassin is sent across the street to make this guy’s severe arrogance relapse again. How about it, commander?”
Gallagher expression was like he seen a ghost. “Two men on each side of the battlefield. You call this an army?”
“Trust me,” Ann said. “If you don’t want to damage your relationship with the nearby lords, they’ll handle it better than anyone else.”
“There may be tens of thousands of troops on the opposite side.”
“I know.”
The author has something to say:
Ann: I can finally share with the majority of the people what I held in my heart all this time. I’m very happy.
Nemo & Ollie: No!
Jesse: It’s time to make a big contribution again. I feel that I haven’t made money since joining Tumbleweed.