83 Speed against Patience

The very large street in front of the Guild of the Adventurers was still relatively calm and peaceful. People were walking happily in this beautiful day, some were conversing among the brave fighters and warriors that protected them from monsters. Some sellers were still preparing a bit their stands, ready to grab the attention of thirsty or hungry humans with very odorous food. But the resting sound of those small talks and early routines suddenly let place to an ominous silence.

At first, it was those close to the building, but it spread in an instant, everyone wondering what was happening to create such an abnormal situation. The rumors inflated at an even more frightening speed, letting even the commoners that rarely heard any news from the internal state of the guild to be the witnesses of what will unfold.

The first to appear in a place where the rest of the adventurers were clearly getting away was Meridiana. Her face was still hidden by the masterwork of Agnil, only slightly more shining than normal iron. The tight scales that embraced completely her entire body left no place for imagination since everything was displayed. Just with her shape, she was able to gain a lot of admirers, not that they will amount to anything in her view.

Even if at her waist was still hanging the two daggers specially crafted for her, she didn't make a single movement of her hand toward them. The exquisite design and beautiful appearance couldn't hide the fact that they were just relegated to became kitchen knives. Something that was stronger than her or her magic will not be harmed by those pretty things, and in that case, only Davion could do something. As for the current situation, she felt that she will lower her standard if she used those daggers.

While her anger was still calmly brewing behind the iron helmet, the general sentiment of her opponents was jovial. It was not that they didn't put her in their eyes … well, actually they did that very thing. Even the female thief and the elf that were beaten blue by the succubus only remembered that she took them by surprise. Not to say that she was weaker than them, in fact, they were comparing her to someone just barely under their level. But it was in case of a duel between two people, not their full squad against just one petty and angry woman.

Only the knight that served as a leader was more composed, but the more he saw his companions acting lightly, the less he felt that it was worth to worry that much. They will only injure her slightly, none of them dared to harm someone badly in the middle of the street. Even if she insulted their group, it was not that it didn't happen before. In the end, they were still alive while the others were rotting in a dark cavern or dissolved inside the stomach of a monster. As for whether they had a part in their death, only a few knew the answer.

"Let it be known that I didn't warn you before. Even if you are acting arrogantly, disregarding anyone else besides yourself and definitely not worthy to be called an adventurer. You are facing a group of adventurers of rank M, called the …"

"AOOOOOOH" She voluntarily faked that she was yawning just to stop this nonsense. With only hearing the second sentence, she realized that they were just trying to make the public stand on their side. And while she absolutely didn't care at all about adventurers, since they will soon become more useless than sunglasses inside a cavern, she couldn't let the public have a bad opinion of her. And as expected, the brawny man still had his mouth slightly opened, turning it into a rictus.

"Since you can't appreciate goodwill, I don't think we need to waste more time, you can have her for yourself, we won't intervene." The knight just waved at the woman in leather armor and then proceeded to look with expectation at the incoming battle.

"Thank you." She was overjoyed that she could make that arrogant bitch in iron armor kneeled in front of her. She hadn't forgotten at all that the slap she received took nearly an entire week before being healed. She refused any sort of treatment, and even her lover, the elven archer, was slightly worried about that fixation. But now, it was all in the past. Since she will make her suffer so much more.

Even if she was totally exposed, as opposed to her main ability as a thief, she still felt that she wouldn't lose. She immediately took out her two knives, and the visible enchantments that the two received were fully displayed to everyone that had a bit of knowledge. While many were dissatisfied with Meridiana, and in a certain measure Davion even if he did nothing, they were frowning at that sight. One should only take out their weapons when they wanted to kill, and it was still, in the end, a normal fight. The spectators were looking at each other, inquiring about the nature of the battle, but none received a satisfactory answer.

"I heard that you are more beautiful than any woman in this city. Even if you hide behind that helmet of yours, when I will be done, you will yearn for that past." Without explicitly saying it, the threat was obvious. No one was foolish enough to not realize that it won't end with just some slight injuries. Taking a proper position, she didn't even wait for the succubus to even speak before rushing toward Meridiana.

Because they were quite close, the distance was crossed in less than a second. The eyes of the audience flashed with surprise, seeing such a high speed. The five or so meters were looking like half of a meter, and one could easily feel a small trace of mana in the air. The more experienced adventurers still approved such a power, even if they inwardly lamented that it was used so shamelessly. Everyone held their breath, seeing the two deadly knives getting closer and closer of the immobile armor.

SKRIEEEEEE SKRIKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Two strident and acute sounds drilled the ears of the spectators and even the female thief. Seeing the immobile Meridiana, all thought that she was so scared that she couldn't even move a muscle. But even if that was found to be true, it was still irrelevant. Because the two most prized weapons of the thief didn't even make a dent on the shining armor. They only violent grazed the body, forcing her to back off.

At that time, everyone could clearly see what was the aims of the woman. One knife headed to a shoulder while the other tried to pierce her leg. From the outside, it could have appeared to be merciful, since it was not vital locations. But if her attacks truly hit, the victim would have lost complete control of the two limbs. Their nerves would have been totally severed, and an imperceptible trace of poison was spread on the two blades. Not even a qualified priest or alchemist could have healed those injuries.

"Hehehe, that's it? All you can do? Pathetic." The mocking words hit the thief harder than any slap in the world. Even when she attacked a totally immobile target, she still couldn't hurt her. Gripping tightly the two knives, she attacked once more, but this time, aimed at an altogether different part of the body.

"NO!"

"STOP HERE!"

"SHE IS MAD!"

The previously veterans that were just looking with interest at the duel broke out of their neutrality and tried to interrupt the battle before it ended badly. Before, they could see some spells to reinforce her speed, and they allowed it. But now, the thief was in the same condition as she would if she was facing a monster. At the same time, even the most ignorant rookie or innocent bystander felt a pressure on their mind. Like someone wanted to kill them.

Because of the presence of mana, most warriors could display a form of killing intent, intentionally or by accident. But the very presence of this meant that someone wanted to kill someone else. Monsters and animals could produce the same sensation, only at a generally more powerful level. Alerted by that familiar intent, they could only lament that she was too fast and them too slow. Strengthened by the mana inside her body, the female thief was even faster than before. Now, normal humans couldn't even keep up with her image. But all saw clearly the result.

One woman was standing on top of a statue wearing an iron armor. Her two legs were ensnaring the neck of that armor, locking her firmly on its shoulders. The tight leather armor was not big enough to hide what happened, and where her two knives were planted. Every armor has some weakness. Whether it is the joints, its durability or its weight. As for the helmet, to be considered as such and not a bucket blinding its wearer, it needed to have some openings.

The two holes that let Meridiana see were now blocked by the sharp blades. However, unlike what everyone thought, the thief was not happy or even satisfied, but completely terrified. At first, she truly wanted to blind Meridiana, and let her suffer miserably for the rest of her life. Even if she loved her husband and he deeply loved her back, she still enjoyed the stare of the males around her. To know that she was still extremely beautiful was a pleasure. When someone even more gorgeous than she appeared in the surroundings, she couldn't help but feel a bit of envy or jealousy.

But none of them dared to humiliate her multiple times in front of everyone. When she realized that she may have made a mistake, it was already too late, and her attack already hit. If it was only this, she would have only been shameful, and not scared like she was. Because, the moment she wanted to retract her weapons, she realized that something was wrong.

Because she was a thief, she was extremely perceptive about distances. She knew her entire equipment fully, how much they weighted, even how long each lock pick was. And her instinct told her that none of the two knives even touched the skin of Meridiana. And when she tried to pull them, none of them were moving at all. Looking left and right, her opponent still hadn't even lifted her fingers.

That could only have meant one thing, that was totally unthinkable if she didn't know that the knives never touched the body of Meridiana. "Everyone has been fooled, even me." She thought about all they saw since the beginning, and that nothing could have let them figure out the truth. Turning around, she began to articulate her warning when a small hand closer her mouth.

Looking at the iron helmet that was shaking its head while chuckling, the female thief knew that she was going to have a very bad time. Even when she used her legs and pushed with all her strength, she still didn't manage to escape the strong grip of Meridiana. Her last effort was wasted, and she didn't have the time to think about anything else before her head crashed into the ground.

"Weakling like you shouldn't be responsible for protecting others." The succubus then stood up once more, not looking at the small pond of blood that was slowly growing under the skull of the female human. Even if it looked bad, Meridiana made sure that the stupid woman wouldn't die before she finished to injure the rest of her friends.

After what happened, no one reacted to her words, all were too baffled by the sudden reversal. All it took was just one action from the iron armor, and the entire duel was over. Too many questions were left unanswered. Why was Meridiana not injured by the two knives? How could the thief let herself be caught without reacting? What will be the reaction of the other adventurers? In the end, all the eyes were looking at the dumbfounded knight, that had his eyes wide open like his companions.