Volume 5, Chapter 13 – The Empire’s Strongest Warrior

“Fiene-sama, are you sure about this?”

“About what?”

Having finished our first meeting with His Majesty the Emperor, we were walking through the palace with Yihua-san guiding us.

“The matter of the Fanlin Mountains. If the opponent is that Undying Beast, there should be no need for Fiene-sama to personally put herself in danger by going there. Wouldn’t it have been sufficient to simply grant a blessing to the soldiers’ weapons?”

I see. Now that she mentions it, that’s true.

It seems Chris-san doesn’t want me going to the front lines unnecessarily.

“Well, I just ended up accepting it. Besides, even if we had been rejected back then, things might have turned out differently if we had forced our way in.”

“…I understand.”

She seemed reluctant, but she backed down.

“Saint-sama, the General is waiting here. General, excuse us. The Saint has arrived.”

“Enter.”

“Excuse us.”

Yihua-san knocked on the door, and upon receiving a reply, we entered the room.

“Saint-sama, this is Red Sky General Lu Fei. General, this is Saint Fiene Argentata-sama and her attendants.”

Inside the room sat a massive man who looked every bit the warrior—an incredibly intimidating, rugged-looking man.

He was so large that, despite sitting at a normal office desk, it looked as if an adult were sitting at a child’s desk and chair.

As the General stood up from his chair and approached us, his sheer size felt a bit overwhelming and scary.

My head only reached about the level of his waist.

“I am Lu Fei, the strongest warrior of the Empire and the man who aims to become the strongest in the world. The fact that the Saint has come here means my accompaniment has been approved?”

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“Nice to meet you. I am Fiene Argentata. For the time being, as a trial, I will be joining you in the hunt for the Undying Beast of the Fanlin Mountains.”

“I see. So you want to see my strength. Leave it to me. No matter what enemy stands before me, I shall cut them down.”

“Um, yes. I’m looking forward to it.”

Oh boy, what do I do? He might be the kind of person I’m not very good with.

Plus, I can practically smell the “muscle-brain” coming off him.

I really don’t need another muscle-brain.

“Hmph. It seems my strength isn’t trusted very much. Very well, first I shall defeat one of your companions and show you what I can do.”

“Then I shall—”

“No, I will do it. Shizuku-dono is likely still not back to her full strength.”

“Hmm… that is true.”

“Right, then—hm? By the way, what is your name, girl?”

“Christina.”

“I see. Then, Christina, follow me.”

The General left the room and headed straight for the training grounds.

We followed, and Yihua-san came along as well.

It seemed she would continue to act as our guide.

◇ ◇ ◇

After walking for about ten minutes, we arrived at the training grounds.

A crowd of spectators had gathered, though I’m not sure how they heard about it.

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“Let us begin. My name is Lu Fei, Red Sky General of the Red Sky Empire and the Empire’s strongest martial artist.”

“My name is Christina, Holy Knight of the White Moon Kingdom and the shield of Saint Fiene Argentata-sama. Now, let us fight with honor!”

“I see, so as a Holy Knight, you have been chosen by a Holy Sword. Interesting. I shall test how far you can keep up with my martial arts!”

The General swung a weapon that looked like a cross between a giant spear and an axe—a spear-axe, I suppose—with ease.

It looked incredibly heavy.

In contrast, Chris-san held her usual Holy Sword in a standard stance.

“Here I come!”

The General closed the distance in an instant and unleashed a strike that looked devastatingly heavy.

“!”

Chris-san didn’t take the hit directly and dodged wide, but a follow-up attack came flying in immediately—a horizontal slash.

“Guh!”

Chris-san blocked the strike with her sword, but she couldn’t withstand the force and was sent flying backward.

“What’s this! Is this the extent of a Holy Knight?”

“Kuh…”

A look of panic crossed Chris-san’s face.

Wait… is this General actually insanely strong?

“Shizuku-san, is that…?”

“Yes, it is impossible. The difference in strength is far too great. Even I, back then, wouldn’t have been able to win. Red Sky General Lu Fei is the Empire’s strongest martial artist, whose name is known throughout the land. I had heard he was strong, but I did not expect this. I believe there is a rumor that when a small-scale Monster Stampede occurred in the southern part of the Empire a few years ago, he defeated all one thousand monsters that attacked the town single-handedly. That may not be an exaggeration, but a fact.”

Wow, he’s that strong.

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I shifted my gaze from Shizuku-san back to the training grounds.

It was no longer a match; it was a one-sided beating. Even I could tell that rather than Chris-san barely holding on, the General was actually holding back.

“Hmph. What a disappointment.”

With those words, the General easily knocked Chris-san’s Holy Sword away with the next strike.

“Guh!”

Then, without mercy, the General swung his spear-axe down toward Chris-san.

“Eh?”

Chris-san let out a small sound, staring up with a stunned expression. At the same time, Lu-chan and Shizuku-san screamed.

“Chris-san!” “Chris-dono!”

“Defense Wall!”

CLANG!

At the very last second, I manifested a Defense Wall and blocked the strike.

“What do you think you’re doing! The match was already decided!”

I raised my voice and confronted the General.

“Hmph. I might have broken a bone or two, but I had no intention of killing her. If she died from that, she was simply too weak. Besides, it’s her own fault for being dazed. On a battlefield, she’d be dead.”

“How could you… say such a thing…”

“General Lu Fei, impressive. I am completely defeated. Fiene-sama, I am sorry. This was my own failing.”

Chris-san honestly admitted her defeat to the General.

Indeed, even from my amateur perspective, it didn’t look like Chris-san had any chance of winning; the gap in strength was just that vast.

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But even so, in a sparring match—and against an opponent who had already lost and was unarmed—isn’t it just cruel to launch a finishing blow that could actually kill them?

“Departure is tomorrow morning, correct?”

“Yes. The sooner the better.”

I answered him purely professionally.

Yeah, let’s get this over with quickly, then I’ll refuse to accompany him and head west.

“Yihua-san, could you guide us to the inn? Yihua-san?”

There was no answer. She’s just a corpse… wait, no.

Hmm? Is she staring at the General? And if I’m not mistaken, is her face getting red?

Wait, could it be?

“Yihua-san! Yihua-san!”

I tapped Yihua-san’s shoulder and gave her a light shake before she finally looked at me.

“Ah, yes. Saint-sama, what is the matter?”

“Um, the match is over, so I’d like you to guide us to the inn…”

“Yes. I understand.”

Then, I whispered to her.

“Also… by any chance, is the General the person you like?”

“!”

Yihua-san looked at me, her mouth opening and closing, her face turning bright red in a way that was impossible to miss.