Chapter 279: Punching Bag

Elysia raised her brow, wondering why this black knight still insisted on that invitation. Yet, she asked anyway, despite the reluctance. "Hm, didn't you cancel our spar earlier, Miss Hannah?"

"Eh? Did I say so? No, no, nothing's canceled. Now Princess Evelyn is feeling better, and it's time for you to spar with me at least once. Regarding what I said earlier, although it sounded harsh and crude, that's what I need to say. Don't take it personally, all right?" Hannah waved her hand in front of her face with a faint smile. She expressed a reconciliation to Evelyn, not only to Elysia.

"Hng..." Evelyn gave a subtle nod, but she didn't even raise her head to look at Hannah.

"Alright, it's decided! Let's go to the special zone over there~" Hannah clapped her hand and immediately grabbed Elysia's hand.

"Uh, no, wait." Elysia replied with defiance by trying not to get up from the bench. This black knight lady was so arbitrary to decide.

Evelyn was a little amused to see her best friend having a tug-of-war with Hannah. However, she knew her best friend refused the invitation because of her... Elysia wanted to accompany her here.

"Ely, please do a spar with Miss Hannah. I'll be here with Ella, Miss Ariel, and Granpa Max-imeanie to watch you. I wish you good luck." Evelyn touched Elysia's arm gently.

"Hum? Huff, all right. Ella, please take care of Eve." Elysia waved her hand and stopped putting up any resistance. She only allowed herself to be dragged away by Hannah after receiving Ella's response.

"Eve, are you really all right? I'm sowwy?" Ella sat closer to Evelyn with a guilty expression.

"That's fine, Ella. It's just me being pathetic." Evelyn shook her head with a self-deprecating smile.

"No, no, don't say that. You're not pathetic, Eve. Ely will come with her countermeasure plans for you. We wish you all the best." Ella persuaded Evelyn not to think so.

Evelyn didn't answer that. She just sipped her warm tea and looked at her best friend, who had just entered the most extensive zone.

By their side, Maximilian just sighed and glanced up at the bright sky. He didn't have to say anything to Evelyn because Elysia had it all done. Moreover, he also didn't know what to say because the problem shouldn't be brought up again.

Meanwhile, Ariel just sat quietly next to Ella as if she was there only as a statue. In fact, she didn't know what to do.

Some other people like Rosie also wanted to go to Evelyn, but Rosie's mother suggested otherwise. Evelyn needed some quiet time. Because of that, they only watched the sparring session between Hannah and Elysia.

"Want to try gravity 10 times heavier than normal?" Hannah asked for confirmation while setting the rules on the control rune.

"I can handle it, but with magic." Elysia gave a positive response, but she said the last word in a soft whisper.

"Charming, you won't regret it. Anyone who is sparring with me shall get new experiences. Rosie and Fran are among them. Please enter the zone as the zone barrier will be erected in 30 seconds." After saying that, Hannah walked into the zone.

Yet, Elysia glanced at Rosie and Fran for a moment. They were a little scuffed or, she could tell, a little battered? How many times did they fall and rise again at the spar with Hannah? Not to mention, with real swords and weapons...

"Gulp..." Elysia was a little nervous for some unknown reason.

"Elysia, what are you doing there? Get in quickly." Hannah exclaimed, and Elysia rushed into the zone before the barrier was erected.

Elysia ignored why this black knight lady suddenly became familiar with her. They would go tomorrow morning, so whatever.

"Perfect. The rules are simple, we will do sparring with real weapons. Feel free to try to injure me. However, I will not strike back other than defensive moves. Is that understandable?" Hannah took out two black greatswords from her Space Bag, one weapon in each hand.

[| Lv. 167 | Saint Gladiator Knight | Hannah White | Female (442) | HP: 421,600 / 424,000 | EP: 321,900 / 329,500 |]

[| STR: 87 | AGI: 46 | VIT: 35 | INT: 29 |]

Elysia took a quick glance at Hannah's status screen before replying. This black knight lady was indeed stronger than Ariel in terms of numbers.

However, one's overall strength was not always about numbers... Many considerations for it such as skill, technique, experience, and so on. General facts about increasing the body's capabilities with Reinforcement Magic were also one of them.

"Are you sure, Miss Hannah? Wouldn't that be dangerous for us?" Elysia felt a little indecisive.

"Of course, I'm here to train you for experience in a battlefield simulation. Fret not, just don't overdo it on me, or I'll accidentally strike back." Hannah stuck her greatswords on the ground and gave a 'come on' hand gesture.

"Uhm, if you insist... Okay, here I come. Please go easy on me." Elysia took her Celestia from her Space Storage in the disguise of her Space Bag. The jet black odachi became her weapon of choice.

"Oh, what a beautiful sword. But, are you sure, Elysia? A weapon that thin you would use against my precious greatswords? It could break, you know?" Hannah's eyes gleamed slightly at the odachi's glow, but worry soon followed.

Elysia glanced at her odachi with some thought. Celestia's sheath was lost and possibly destroyed due to the explosion of the dome barrier at that time. It felt a little incomplete, but what could she do about it?

She came out of her thoughts and grasped her odachi with both hands. "Yes, this is my weapon, Miss Hannah. I won't always clash with your greatsword because I prefer ranged attacks now."

'Yes, Ely, using Celestia's slashes and then boom-boom, kaboom! You will give this black knight lady a lot of trouble, hehe...' Elena cheered happily, looking forward to it very much.

Elysia didn't answer Elena and only smiled faintly. "Please be prepared, Miss Hannah."

"Fine." Hannah rolled her eyes and pulled out her greatswords. She prepared with her stance for defense. "Attack me from anywhere at any time. Beware of defensive attacks."

"Here it is, Crescent Moon." Elysia swung Celestia down with intent. She was aware of the rules in mock battles or spars when carrying out a dangerous move. It must be said when used.

A nearly transparent sword beam shot towards Hannah swiftly and tore through the ground and anything that blocked its path.

Hannah grinned before she crossed her greatswords as a shield.

*Bam!*

The violent impact pushed Hannah several tens of centimeters back. She was forced to use magic energy to repel that one attack perfectly.

"What was that attack just now? So strong for an Apprentice Mage to carry out." Hannah mumbled under her breath. She was pretty stunned by the power of this newbie girl.

Nevertheless, there was no time for such thoughts as Elysia continued her follow-up attacks. "It's not finished yet, Miss Hannah. Crescent Moon, Crescent Moon, Flame Arrow--"

Elysia bombarded Hannah from all sides while maintaining a safe distance. She stepped through the air and continued to attack.

Hannah was quite overwhelmed by fending it all off with her greatswords and magic. She even used her barrier to protect herself from the attacks.

"Lava Eruption." Elysia swung her hand from the bottom up. A pillar of hot lava erupted from beneath Hannah without any magic circle at all.

*Bang!*

Hannah was thrown into the air, still within the spherical barrier. It was like a marble being bounced into the air.

When she struggled to keep up with the incoming attacks, she was thrown into the air instead? Was she being played with? Who was this Elysia girl? Hannah wondered in surprise and performed a flip before setting her foot in the air.

Unfortunately, she had no idea that the girl in question was none other than the Goddess's disciple. A person at the Apprentice level with deceptive appearance and impression if measured from a limited point of view.

"You, little girl... Are you really still at the Apprentice level? Your aura energy is still white, but your magic and attacks just caused me a lot of trouble." Hannah pointed at Elysia using her greatsword.

"Yes, that's me, Miss Hannah. Remember what you said earlier? Please don't launch attacks on me, hehe..." Elysia chuckled sweetly.

She used this opportunity to practice using magic to produce efficient attacks and magic based on expectations... So as not to overuse EP, causing excessive destruction, and much more.

"Here comes the other. You can dodge and block it anyway. Flame Bomb, Wind Blast, Frost Blitz." Elysia launched another series of attacks. She seemed to create a battle zone with many seasons at once in just a short time.

*Boom!* *Clang* *Clang*

Hannah sweated a little while swinging her greatswords, feeling a little regretful of saying that earlier. If she couldn't counterattack and only carried out defensive strikes, wouldn't she be nothing more than a punching bag?

Well, she did say that, but they were nothing more than flowery words to sweeten her sentences.

In this case, where could Elysia gain experience on the battlefield? Hannah's eyes lit up slightly with realization. She landed immediately and drew closer to Elysia in an instant.

"Hehe, long-range attacks are in your favor. Then, what if I get close to you to ward off your attacks? Let's clash with close-range techniques, Colossal Blow!" Hannah swung her greatsword vigorously at Elysia's fire orb attack, but her real target was the magic caster.

"Yeet! Wait, what? Did you spoil what you said, Miss Hannah?" Elysia parried with her odachi with a slight surprise and jumped back right away.

"Of course not. I didn't attack or cast magic on you, you know? I just warded off your attacks, but from a distance, that can hurt you. So, fight me properly! This isn't the spar or mock battle I was expecting." Hannah cried out her grievances. Then, she used her sword and magic to attack Elysia, with the excuse of deflecting Elysia's attacks.