-In the Vast Swamp.
The filthy black mud that Eileen encountered before was just the basic part of the swamp’s expansion outward. However, as she and Nana ventured deeper, the surroundings started to twist more and more.
The trees were no longer merely bare but grew in irregular shapes with their branches twisted. The stench in the air became almost unbearable, making it hard to breathe. The vast area of the muddy swamp meant they had to be careful with every step.
Eileen sneaked a glance at Nana, the newcomer beside her. This old relic’s new companion had the same cool face, seemingly unaffected by the foul smell, as if she had no sense of smell. Eileen, trying to hold her own, refrained from covering her nose with her hand.
‘Humph!’
She didn’t want to lose to this arrogant newcomer! .
The moment Nana asked to deal with the Vast Savage Swamp alone with her, leaving the Renji behind, Eileen sensed a hint of hostility.
She was both puzzled and a bit hurt. ‘I didn’t provoked Nana, or… did I?’
But soon, this feeling turned into a surge of temper. As soon as Nana spoke, Eileen agreed without waiting for Renji to speak. She wanted to see what Nana was really up to.
However, since they had parted ways with the Renji, Eileen had been waiting, but Nana didn’t make any move. She remained silent as ever, cold as ice. 𝘪𝑎.
As they delved deeper into the swamp, the filthy creatures that attacked the camp became more frequent, and some couldn’t be avoided just by circling around.
Eileen looked at a two-to-three-meter-tall bear-like filthy mutant Tainted Corpse blocking their path and smiled.
‘My Time has come’
‘The filthy creatures that had attacked the camp before were too weak to show my real strength. But this one in front is different’ Eileen took the lead, not giving the dragon lady a chance, and charged forward alone.
The [Great Annihilation] skill activated instantly, and Eileen’s aura surged to its peak in a matter of seconds. With deliberate elegance, she swung her crimson greatsword high into the skye, following the girl’s graceful leap, the sword transformed into a scarlet blade of light, slashing toward the bear-monster.
Splut!*
A gaping wound appeared on the monster’s body, and blood mixed with filthy black mud gushed outward. However, Eileen intentionally avoided striking at vital points. After the initial successful strike, she continued to unleash a flurry of sword strikes around the massive creature’s body.
Each strike left deep sword marks on the monster, but it couldn’t touch Eileen’s clothing. The creature, on the other hand, possessed great strength capable of shattering rocks with a single swipe but couldn’t even come close to reaching Eileen. To an onlooker, it seemed as though Eileen was effortlessly toying with her opponent.
Thud!*
After a heavy noise, the monster covered in wounds, finally collapsed, unable to rise again. Eileen, satisfied with her performance, sheathed her greatsword and without showing any sign of exhaustion, returned to stand beside Nana(Nova), who had been observing the entire battle.
“This big guy had some decent strength, but it’s a pity he lacked any combat skills. So, Nana, you should pay attention to this as well. Dealing with some naive enemies is fine, but in case you encounter someone like me, having all that strength won’t help if you can’t land a hit.”
Eileen gave these words of advice in a “wise elder” tone. The reason she had been pleased to see the bear tainted corpse was that it was a classic example of immense strength combined with clumsiness, perfect material for her to demonstrate her abilities to Nana.
While Nana’s ability to lift hundreds of kilograms with a single hand was impressive, her advantage lay mainly in physical strength due to her being a demi-human. That’s why Eileen decided to focus on teaching her combat techniques.
However, Eileen soon realized that she had been mistaken.
Her words had indeed produced an effect, and Nana finally reacted, but her response was rather peculiar. In Eileen’s bewildered gaze, Nana walked over to the nearby polluted Tree and plucked a branch from it.
Without waiting for the girl to speak, Nova’s gaze shifted to another mutated Corpse wandering nearby. Then, Eileen felt like her vision blurred for a moment, and Nova disappeared from her original spot.
“Huh?!”
Eileen saw Nova, who seemed to be joking, standing in front of the monster with a tree branch as a weapon, and she was left dumbfounded. Panic and anxiety quickly filled her.
As an elder (In Renji’s team), how would she explain to the Renji if the newcomer got injured? But the next moment, Eileen’s attempt to rush over and help came to an abrupt halt. She stood there like a wooden statue, frozen in place. Her mouth gaped open with an expression of utter disbelief.
Indeed.
Nova didn’t even leave Eileen a chance to intervene. The tree branch in her hand transformed into a sword as sharp as any in the world. Each strike left the creature with bloodied holes, just like the battle Eileen had fought earlier. As the creature fell with a thunderous crash, Nova sheathed her sword—or rather, returned the branch to its natural form.
When Nova returned to Eileen, who was still standing there in shock, she raised an eyebrow and simply said three words.
“Want to learn?”
“I-I…”
Eileen’s pride as an “elder” didn’t last more than a few seconds. It was completely overshadowed by her amazement at the inexplicable skill or power that Nova had demonstrated. ‘Who wouldn’t want to learn something like this?’
“So, you want to?”
Eileen didn’t hesitate to surrender to Nova, raising a white flag, and quickly asked in a hurried tone as she approached Nova:
“How did you do it? Using a tree branch as a weapon? Isn’t that too extreme?”
Nova shook her head calmly and said, “If you follow my training method, you can achieve it quickly.”
“Really?! Will it be effective soon? Then let’s start! I’m ready Sister Nana~!” Eileen responded eagerly.
𝘳𝑎.𝒸ℴ