Dae-Ryeon

She swung the branch.

She infused it with [Sword Aura] and parried the sword.

Parried.

Parried.

Parrying.

Even as the branch blocked, parried, and pushed back the sword, the leaves attached to the branch remained healthy, fluttering with each swing.

She placed it against the neck.

“…I lost.”

The knight tried to avoid the branch aimed at her neck, but

the distance the branch thrust forward was greater than the distance she retreated.

She readily admitted defeat.

She left the training ground.

Jang Yu-ha greeted the knight as she descended from the training ground, receiving her name and signature on a piece of paper.

“Thank you.”

“You’re strong.”

The knight signed the paper Jang Yu-ha offered, sharing her thoughts on the duel.

“Even though we’re all Experts, I didn’t expect you to not even break a sweat.”

“That’s because it’s Amel. She could win even against a Swordmaster. I don’t know what you felt from the fight against such a strong person, but I’ll gladly accept the Wish Ticket.”

“Yes… but we are knights. Please make a request within the bounds of regulations.”

“Don’t worry about that. Your captain will provide the answer.”

“The captain, you say?”

Then, next.

A knight fell.

As the next knight came down from the training ground,

Jang Yu-ha looked at the signed name.

“Sir Lux, you’ll be glad you gave your Wish Ticket to Amel.”

So she said, receiving a signature from the next knight.

Amel continued to defeat the knights with her branch,

and almost all those who gathered, captivated by her appearance, were defeated. Those who became interested in the duel and participated met the same fate.

“How presumptuous. You can’t go all out when you’re holding a branch.”

“….”

A new knight stepped up.

He was a male knight who had been diligently training even during Amel’s appearance, and he shouted as he pointed his sword.

“Don’t lump me in with the guys you’ve beaten so far. I acknowledge your skill, but if you don’t draw your sword, you’ll be left with only one arm.”

“….”

Amel shrugged.

The knight became visibly angry at her nonchalant attitude.

“You’re acting arrogant because you’re a Hero and can’t die. You’re insulting me right now. Stop talking and draw your sword! How long are you going to keep insulting me?!”

“….”

Amel twirled the branch between her fingers.

She thought about what to say and voiced her thoughts on the knight’s words.

“Has it never occurred to you that you’re the one insulting me by saying such things?”

“What?”

“You’re not qualified.”

As if implying that they were all the same, Amel cast her gaze towards the audience.

“Do you think you’re worth me drawing my sword for?”

“That’s an insult.”

“An insult, is it?”

Amel smiled wryly.

She gripped the branch in her fist.

“Alright, fine. I don’t like insults either. So, I’ll prove to you why I said you’re not qualified.”

She held her right arm out horizontally.

“Cut.”

“…What?”

“Cut, I said.”

She gestured as if slicing her right arm with her left index and middle fingers.

“Are you telling me to cut your defenseless arm right now?!”

“Yes, with that precious sword of yours. As you said, I’m a Hero. Losing an arm is nothing. So, feel free to cut.”

“….”

But the knight’s face was filled with disbelief.

Was it really okay to cut?

Was this really alright?

Being stuck in the boonies, he probably didn’t know what a Hero was, hence the reaction.

How cute.

She chuckled.

“Just as you thought I insulted you, I also felt insulted by your words. But since I was the one who gave the insult first, I’m giving you a chance. Here.”

She raised her right arm.

“Cut, I said.”

“….”

“Hurry up and cut with your pathetic sword!”

“…Don’t blame me if you regret it.”

“You’re the one who’ll regret it.”

“….”

The knight took a deep breath and gripped his sword tighter.

Amel defiantly raised her right arm.

As if it really didn’t matter if he cut it.

The knight raised his sword.

He struck down.

Thud!

The sword struck her right arm,

stopped by the skin layer.

“Hey.”

Amel’s expression wasn’t good.

“If you’re going to do it, do it with all your might. You’re insulting me right now. I told you to cut, didn’t I?”

“….”

Murderous intent flashed red in her pupils.

She glared at him as if she would kill him.

“I’m giving you one more chance, so you better put your heart into it this time.”

“…So there was a reason for your confidence.”

The knight gripped his sword again,

and surrounded it with [Sword Aura].

Around them, people frowned, disliking the cold blade of the [Sword Aura].

But the knight struck Amel’s arm with the sword covered in [Sword Aura].

Crack.

It broke.

The sword.

“….”

The knight looked at his sword.

The sword broke starting from the part that touched Amel’s arm.

The cross-section was coldly frozen.

It had frozen and shattered.

She looked down at the knight.

“That’s what it is.”

“….”

“Get up if you’re going to do more.”

“No… I lost…”

The knight left the training ground.

Amel remained in the training ground.

She stroked the arm that had been struck by the sword.

“I was going to show you it would still be attached even if it was cut.”

She grumbled, disappointed that she couldn’t show what she wanted to show.

She shook hands.

“It’s an honor.”

“Yeah. You did well too.”

“Thank you!”

The knight retreated happily.

She signed with a pleasant feeling.

Who knows what kind of Wish she’ll make.

Don’t get too excited.

But the words in her heart didn’t come out.

“Is that it for the rookies? Are there more?”

She waited for the next opponent.

She looked around the training ground.

The two knights who seemed to have the best skills among the knights hadn’t come out yet.

She looked to see where they were, but they weren’t nearby.

“Amel, I think that’s all.”

“Is it?”

“The two we were expecting have been assigned to duty, so they won’t be able to come even if you wait.”

“….”

She wondered if this person really wasn’t a telepath.

At that moment.

“What are you all doing gathered here?”

Beogeureo dismissed the knights.

The knights scattered to take their personal time, and Beogeureo approached Amel.

Beogeureo approached and looked at her with suspicious eyes.

“Are you really Anonymous?”

“Do you need proof?”

“If it’s true, I need your help. But it’s a very important matter, so I apologize for the inconvenience, but if you are Anonymous, you must have defeated the Death Knight.”

Beogeureo said cautiously.

“If you have anything you obtained from defeating him, could you show it to me?”

“….”

She didn’t have anything.

Jang Yu-ha was making a confident expression, but what did she get from the [Death Knight]?

She really didn’t have anything.

When she first defeated the [Death Knight], she had a broken [Dark Sword] and armor.

She had given it all to Lee Su-ju to use when making equipment.

But well,

“Amel, you caught him last time, right?”

“….”

Amel looked at her shadow.

She raised her hand.

“Chocolat.”

The shadow deepened.

Something bulged up.

Silver hair emerged, tearing through something sticky like black liquid.

She brought out her arm and then placed it on the floor, completely pulling her body out of the shadow.

Just as the [Dark Knight] had risen from the shadow of the [Eternal Order Priest], a silver-haired dark elf rose from Amel’s shadow.

“Chocolat.”

“….”

“Sword.”

The dark elf, called Chocolat, took out a dark-colored sword from her shadow.

She received the [Dark Sword] held up in both hands,

and Amel lent the [Dark Sword] to Beogeureo.

She held it out for him to take, but

Beogeureo didn’t take it.

“It’s what the Death Knight used.”

“Huh…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s the first time I’ve seen it in perfect condition. You’re fine even though you’re holding the Sword of Death.”

“…?”

Beogeureo was sweating and trying to act as nonchalant as possible.

“I acknowledge it. You really are as absurd as I’ve heard.”

“….”

Amel returned the [Dark Sword] to Chocolat, and Chocolat returned to the shadow.

Beogeureo didn’t ask about Chocolat.

“Ah, Amel.”

“…? Why?”

“You didn’t kill him?”

“….”

The omission of the subject made her think about what she was asking.

It was Chocolat.

Jang Yu-ha, being a Hero, would have seen Chocolat’s information window.

But recalling what Jang Yu-ha had shown, it didn’t seem strange even if she knew about Chocolat’s existence. It seemed her ability wasn’t omnipotent.

“I tamed her.”

“…Amel, you are.”

“Huh?”

“…You seem really amazing.”

“….”

A blank space as if she was about to say something else but corrected herself.

Amel somehow liked the existence of that blank space.

She smiled and replied.

“You know now?”

Back in the guest room.

Jang Yu-ha said.

She grinned.

“First, now that we’ve proven that the person here is Anonymous, I’ll tell you why we came here. But the General probably already knows.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The Dungeon.”

Jang Yu-ha said as if giving a hint to the answer.

Beogeureo’s eyes widened.

“The Dungeon must have been quite a burden for you lately. We’ll help you. Didn’t the higher-ups tell you to ask for help?”

“…You know it well.”

The Dungeon.

It was the place where the [Eternal Order Priest] was trying to occupy by sacrificing the Demon Beasts of the [Demon Beast Garden].

Beogeureo explained about the Dungeon.

“The Dungeon is called the Altar of Blood.”

“The Empire’s Knights have been guarding it for so long that we don’t know when they started.”

“According to ancient documents, a terrifying being is sealed there.”

“As you’ll see when you go to the Dungeon, the power of the sealed being leaks out and summons the blood-craving dead.”

“They’re like Undead, but different from Undead, but recently, an Elder Lich appeared and occupied the Dungeon.”

“The Elder Lich’s goal is to break the Seal of the Dungeon and collapse the front lines.”

“If the northern front collapses, the damage could spread for kilometers from the front lines.”

“In this urgent situation, the temple promised large-scale assistance, and a large-scale operation is underway.”

“The higher-ups have instructed us to seek Anonymous’s help and buy as much time as possible.”

“Since we don’t know when the Seal will be broken, we must buy time until the temple’s reinforcements arrive.”

“With Americano, who even defeated the Death Knight, helping us, it’s like having a thousand troops. Please, could you lend us that power?”

Beogeureo said,

and Jang Yu-ha said.

“What’s the reward?”

“We’ll try to accommodate whatever you want.”

“Then…”

She demanded.

Amel was also curious.

Jang Yu-ha said brightly.

“Give me a chance to meet His Majesty the Emperor. The world can be at peace.”