The blade cut through the armor neatly, blood splas.h.i.+ng out from the cuts like red strings.
The knight did not make any sound as she had expected but instead grabbed her hand firmly as if to gain more time for his companions.
Unfortunately, he misjudged the difference in their power.
No. 76 easily escaped from his grasp, kicking him away while drawing out her blade.
Her kick felt like a blunder blow and his armor was entirely deformed. The knight spat out a mouthful of blood and smashed on the ground, no longer making any sound.
It seemed like her fists and kicks were more convenient. No. 76 glanced at her already dull blade, threw it away and jumped towards the rest of them with her bare fists.
The hunters instantly became the prey.
She jumped high and started jumping on the clumsy knights" shoulders. Every time she landed on a knight"s head, she would clamp his helmet with her feet and then spin with the help of her body inertia, which resulted in a crackling noise as his cervical spine broke.
Compared with No. 76"s swift movements, the knights" counterattack and dodging were not different from that of a pile of wood.
There was no problem even if she was unable to land on their heads, as she could hit their joints to make them lose their balance and then finish them off with a fatal kick. She could also easily trap her opponents with her physical gestures and lead them to attack her simultaneously only to end up killing themselves in the end.
"This... is impossible!"
"A d.a.m.n monster!"
After a few rounds, the knights realized that their enemy was not normal. Not only did she possess extraordinary strength but was also an expert in the art of fencing and close combat skills. She was obviously an experienced fighter and her killing skills did not match the look of a twenty-year-old girl at all.
"Everyone move aside!"
With a loud cry, Sir Lougan led his horse in the crowd towards No. 76.
The rest quickly closed in around her, trying to trap her among them.
No. 76 sneered, did not retreat but instead went straight ahead and grabbed with her hands the horse"s front legs, immobilizing it while it neighed nonstop.
No one could believe in their eyes when they saw what happened next. She lifted both the knight and his mount in the air and threw them to the others around her. The ones that got hit sustained wounds ranging from fractures and bleeding to immediate death. The knight himself sustained the worst impact naturally. As he fell from the horse"s back, his body was distorted into an unnatural shape.
The surviving pursuers instantly scattered.
They jumped on their horses rus.h.i.+ng to escape from this "monster". But No. 76 did not plan to give them this chance.
As soon as the enemy gave up resisting, a ma.s.sacre started.
The night had already fallen when No. 76 finally finished cleaning up the battlefield.
The bodies of the knights were thrown into a nearby field and were covered briefly with some wheat straws. Discovering them was only a matter of time but by that time the witches would have already retreated to the Kingdom of Graycastle.
She crawled in the most extravagant coach, removed the cus.h.i.+on that Yorko usually slept on and carefully took out a colorful sparkling magic stone ring under the mattress. Even under the weak moonlight, one could see a cyclone swirling inside the transparent crystal.
After carefully examining the ring, No. 76 put it in her robe, fixed the cus.h.i.+on and lay on her back.
Next, she only needed to reach the next village and hire a wheeler to take her to the Kingdom of Graycastle.
They would probably not stay long at the border, maybe not even one day, but as long as her destination was the Western Region of the Kingdom of Graycastle, she would be able to meet those witches one day.
Looking at the bright moon outside the window, she sighed.
400 years had pa.s.sed. The Union that used to reign the world had disappeared like dust in the wind. The only thing that remained unchanged was the stars in the sky.
Only when she looked up to the sky, would she feel like she was still alive—not just being alive underground or in the present after the disappearance of the Union, but actually living at the Holy City of Taquila 400 years ago.
That extremely prosperous witch empire.
The road to escape afterward... that could not be counted as living anymore.
The only thing that kept her going was a last remaining hope.
"So, how does it feel to have a female body once again?" someone asked, "Do you feel like you"re being yourself again?"
She took deep breaths and moved her wrists and heels. "The distance is shorter."
"Of course, because this body is kind of small. A body too st.u.r.dy wouldn"t be convenient to serve those humans." The voice laughed. "Furthermore, female G.o.d"s Punishment Soldiers are already so rare. Don"t be so picky."
"Appearance and age are also very important," someone else said, "a.s.suming the tastes of humans haven"t changed a lot, none would want those body sh.e.l.ls that look like men. Just looking at them makes one feel disgusted. You can ask Elena if you don"t believe me. She would prefer a male body instead of a defective product like that."
"Correct. Among everyone, yours is the best looking."
"You know what I mean, Pasha." She shook her head, staring at the huge sarcoma in front of her with the moving tentacles. "Like this, I have to practice my limb control from the start. From sewing to holding a blade, each move would require a long time to master."
"It"s okay." A tentacle dropped down and slowly poked her forehead. "We have got all the time in the world."
"Why do we need to deal with common people?" Alethea, who was soaking in hot magma, blew a chain of bubbles in dissatisfaction. "Can"t we bring the witches here to test their talent?"
"Are you confused because of the long sleep?" Pasha refuted her. "It"s not like 400 years ago anymore. One or two would be alright but do you plan to catch a hundred witches and bring them all in the mountains? I don"t want to be regarded as a monster from the later generation."
"Even so, can"t we let a witch execute this task? Don"t forget that all of these bodies are actually enemies of the witches."
"First of all, she must completely trust us and possess the ability to protect herself. Where can we find someone like that?Nowadays the common people control the world so it"s inevitable to deal with them—just like in the Land of Dawn at the first Battle of Divine Will."
Pasha paused, stuck a tentacle out and pointed at her. "What do you think?"
She played with her sword, threw it in the air and just by slightly moving her body she let it slide into the scabbard. "I don"t have any preference… as long as I can see Taquila"s glory once again."