The Battle Ends

It was a universally accepted truth across the continent that elves were natural archers and assassins. Even the elves themselves believed this.

Their elven blood granted them powerful perception and agile movements, but in contrast, they lacked a bit of talent in raw strength and other classes.

Consequently, when encountering an elf, most would expect their combat methods to revolve around keeping their distance with ranged archery or executing stealthy assassinations.

Hilia had been no exception, until an adventure after she ran away from home made her realize that her talent in swordsmanship seemed to be even greater.

It happened during a group raid to subjugate a monster. Her teammate was unfortunately ambushed, and the arm holding their sword was torn off. At the time, Hilia was too close to the target, making her highly vulnerable to attacks if she tried to draw her bow.

In that critical moment, she gritted her teeth and picked up the longsword her teammate had dropped.

The moment she held the longsword, a strange sense of familiarity washed over her entire body. She then executed a sword technique her teammate had spent years painstakingly practicing, successfully slaying the magical beast.

And she had only watched her teammate use it a few times on their way there.

From that point on, she realized that compared to her talent in archery, her talent in swordsmanship was far superior!

Ordinarily, she would use her bow and arrows to conceal her longsword, using the blade to decapitate enemies when they let their guard down, catching them completely off guard.

With a cold, sharp gaze, Hilia swung the longsword down fiercely across the sausage-lipped man's back, causing blood to gush out instantly like a geyser.

Struck by the slash, the sausage-lipped man swayed and trembled. He then sank weakly to his knees, his head hanging low as the ominous black mana around his limp arms gradually dissipated.

He seemed to still be muttering:

“To think you possess such a rare talent for swordsmanship... Elf, your value is truly getting higher and higher!”

“I told you, stop measuring my life on a whim!”

Hilia's voice was ice-cold, her beautiful face freezing over.

It was a cliché story. Hilia was born into the Elven Royal Family, with an older brother above her and a younger sister below.

Sandwiched in the middle, she was often ignored by her parents. It didn't help that her talent fell short of her siblings, causing her parents' attention to drift further and further away from her.

She grew increasingly quiet, spending her days silently reading books in her room.

She had tried multiple times to get her parents' attention, but all her efforts failed.

Later, after a diplomatic visit to a human empire concluded, her younger sister—who had gone on the trip—spoke to her about the interesting things she had experienced. Hilia, who had stayed behind in the clan territory, thought of the various stories she had read in her books.

Summoning her courage, she committed the most rebellious act of her life: running away from home.

She left her home to venture into the human world alone, becoming an adventurer to see all kinds of fascinating sights. At the same time, she hoped to make a name for herself to prove her capabilities to her parents, so they would look at her a bit more.

But on that day, upon merely hearing that her parents had thrown a grand birthday banquet for her sister, she lost her usual composure and accepted an A-rank quest to prove herself.

As a result, she encountered a Tier Six monster. Facing the hideous, gaping maw of the giant serpent with no way to survive, she could only wait for death.

At that moment, she thought of her parents again. She questioned herself: was it worth throwing away her own life just for the attention of others?

At the brink of death, she deeply understood the preciousness of life!

She didn't need to live up to anyone's expectations. Simply being alive was the greatest happiness for her.

She wanted to live. She had to live—simply as Hilia!

“So, no one gets to evaluate my life on a whim!”

Without any wasted movement, Hilia pressed her advantage. While the sausage-lipped man knelt wounded on the ground, she raised her longsword once more and thrust it toward him.

“Wind Pierce—Azure Bird's Wind-Piercing Strike!”

Becoming one with her blade, she was enveloped in green mana that gradually took the shape of an azure bird. The azure bird spun in mid-air, whipping up a violent storm. The powerful gales caused the surrounding trees to collapse under the strain.

She charged straight at the sausage-lipped man, intending to deliver a fatal blow with her immense power.

The muscular, sausage-lipped man wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Looking at this powerful strike, even before it reached him, he could already feel a fierce wind blowing against his face, throwing his dreadlocks into disarray.

Gathering mana in his arms once more, the image of the azure bird reflected in his eyes as he roared, “A mere Tier Three!”

He punched repeatedly, each strike leaving a translucent purple fist imprint in the air. The overlapping imprints formed a shield that surged forward with overwhelming momentum to meet the azure bird.

The azure bird let out a resounding cry as its light flared, its power intensifying.

“Ah—!”

The muscular, sausage-lipped man relentlessly swung his robust arms, moving so fast that he left afterimages in the air, looking like a multi-armed monster.

After this went on for dozens of seconds, the azure bird shattered into fragments and dissolved due to a lack of mana, and Hilia was once again sent flying.

Panting heavily, the muscular, sausage-lipped man stared at Hilia's airborne body. A few drops of sweat rolled down his face and dripped onto the ground, leaving dark spots on the dirt.

“Elf, after executing two consecutive moves that far exceed your level, your mana must be nearly depleted! Just surrender quietly!”

Then, seeing Hilia's tightly gritted teeth and the unyielding look in her eyes, he let out a mocking laugh:

“It seems you still have a trump card. Hahahahaha! Go ahead and use it. Let me crush your hopes with my own hands.”

Hilia snorted coldly. Ignoring the sausage-lipped man's provocation, she raised her longsword and charged forward once more.

She indeed had one last trump card, and now was the time to use it. This was her final struggle!

Hilia rushed toward the sausage-lipped man at extreme speed. As he swung his fist to block, she suddenly ducked, her sword tip bypassing his fist to slash across his chest.

However, it only produced a sharp metallic clang, as if she had struck a solid object.

The sausage-lipped man's smug voice rang out again: “Don't think you're the only one with a magic tool!”

Hilia furrowed her brow slightly but did not react. Pushing off with her legs, she changed her trajectory and slashed upward at him once more.

“Useless, useless! What a weak attack!”

As fist and sword clashed, the muscular, sausage-lipped man mocked her continuously, feeling the feeble force transmitted through the blade.

Hilia used the momentum of the clash to leap into the air. A green wind-element magic circle materialized beneath her. Stepping on the magic circle as if it were solid ground, she adjusted her direction and thrust toward him again.

Wind Magic—Wind Tread!

Following that, Hilia's figure seemed to turn into the wind, continuously slashing at the muscular man from all directions. Her speed steadily increased until her form could no longer be tracked by the naked eye.

The muscular man repeatedly swung his fists to defend, each clash of fist and sword producing a crisp, metallic ring.

But as time passed, he realized he was gradually failing to keep up with her speed. Tiny cuts began to appear one after another on his face, arms, and body.

This realization infuriated him. Rage rushed to his head, causing him to lose his mind. His eyes rolled back, showing only whites, and the mark on his forehead glowed with a deep, dark aura.

“Are you kidding me?!”

Ominous black mana surged from his body as a violent gale whipped up around him. Enduring Hilia's onslaught, he punched the ground with all his might.

The powerful shockwave from his fist blew away everything within a hundred-meter radius, clearing out a massive crater in the center.

The speed of Hilia's continuous strikes was affected, slowing her down. At the exact instant she slowed, a sinister smile curled on the muscular man's lips. The next second, he extended his arms slightly, bending forward like a wild bull as he charged straight at her.

“Got you!”

With every step he took, shallow craters formed in the ground, sending shattered stones flying.

Hilia's expression remained unchanged. Her calm eyes shone with a bright light. She did not dodge or evade, thrusting her sword straight ahead.

A delighted smile spread across the muscular man's face. He threw a left hook to meet the tip of Hilia's sword, while his right hook swept upward to strike her abdomen.

It was over!

Just as he was about to hit her, a translucent green barrier materialized and blocked the hook.

One second!

The fist and sword collided without making a sound, as if the world had been muted. Hilia passed through him as effortlessly as slicing through tofu.

Having passed through, she knelt on one knee, her fingertips slightly pale as she performed the motion of sheathing her sword. Her exquisite face was devoid of joy or sorrow, perfectly serene, as she softly whispered:

“Chaotic Wind Flurry—Azure Bird's Wild Dance.”

Behind her, the muscular man remained in his double-punch pose.

However, right after Hilia uttered those words, a gentle breeze blew past, and his body instantly disintegrated into tiny fragments, scattering all over the ground.

Hilia tried to stand, but immediately after, her body felt as if it had been struck by a massive force. She spat out a mouthful of blood as her skin split open, revealing the raw, red flesh beneath. Geysers of blood erupted from various parts of her body.

In an instant, she was covered in blood, collapsing weakly onto the ground in a bloody mess.

This was the backlash of using that technique.

This technique was a sword skill she had developed by combining her own strengths. Its initial power wasn't high, but it allowed her to stack momentum with each consecutive strike using her speed. At her current strength, the final power generated was enough to kill a Tier Four, Rank Five extraordinary.

However, this move also had a massive drawback—it put an immense strain on her body. If she couldn't withstand the burden during the process, her body might explode and kill her before she could even defeat her enemy.

Therefore, she rarely used this technique. She just hadn't expected this excursion to be filled with so many ups and downs.

First encountering a Tier Six monster, then a Tier Four cultist... It really was...

“So unlucky!”

Hilia muttered weakly as she lay on the ground. Droplets of blood dyed her vision crimson, her consciousness gradually fading before she slowly closed her eyes.

Before losing consciousness, only one thought remained in her mind—the silhouette of a handsome youth.

“You must... stay safe.”