Chapter 176: Iris

An overwhelming, tension-filled silence envelops the room which is only broken only by the faint sound of their blades grinding against each other and their strained grunts of effort as the two women conduct a serious power struggle.

Then, suddenly after a sharp intake of breath, Ayame shifts her weight and uses my frame for leverage as she leans onto my back, lifting her feet off the ground and placing it on the stomach of our opponent. With a fierce shout she kicks out mightily, with so much force that I almost fall face first onto the blood soaked wooden floorboards of the barracks.

The force of such a move should have sent the dark-haired woman crashing into the wall, but instead, she barely budges, only sliding back a few steps' worth of distance. Her expression is almost unreadable, nonchalant as she absorbs the impact, as if what the two of them had just gone through was just a normal training exercise.

… Aaaand I officially regret indulging in my farming desires. We should've gone straight to the warehouse instead of getting some easy XP.

I was way too greedy.

Though, in my defense, I paid close attention to the sounds of battle ever since we entered the outpost's territory, and the fighting is still heavily ongoing.

I estimated based on the many mighty monster howls and soldiers barking orders as well as wailing in desperation that we would have enough time to go through with this small detour to kill the easy prey, namely the soldiers lying on their backs while sick to the point of being borderline paralyzed.

Such sounds are still audible constantly, thus I can at least release a small sigh of relief knowing that not all soldiers are on their way back.

I finally straighten my back and turn at the newcomer and see that the two women are also busy measuring each other up instead of jumping at the other's throat instantly. As they are conducting their nerve-wracking staredown match, I evaluate the person standing in front of me. Searᴄh the Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The first thing that strikes me is the sheer murderous pressure her mere presence exudes. My body- my instincts are screaming at me that I'm facing a threat that is an existential danger to my life.

Her pitch-black armor seems to swallow the light around it, casting her in an eerie, creepy aura. There's something wrong with this person which stems from something more than her being simply a strong adversary of ours. reading-here-on-MVLeMpYr

Her long, straight black hair falls below her shoulders, framing a face that's both stunningly beautiful and utterly devoid of mercy, and even emotions to a disturbing degree. I don't think many things in this world can phase her.

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And then I finally realize what's creeping me out about her; it's those eyes, devoid of life or any semblance of joy.

I think I may have met the first official psychopath in my life.

Fuck...! Quinlan, please stop thirsting after the crazy bitch who almost sent you to meet the Goddess less than two weeks after arriving in this world! I grimace as I chastise myself inwardly. But she is so fucking hot...

The woman grips a massive two-handed longsword with such length that it's almost as tall as she is, with her being perhaps an inch or two taller than Ayame. She must really have amazing Strength to wield such a blade proficiently.

The hilt and crossguard are covered in intricate designs, the craftsmanship exquisite, almost mesmerizing in its detail. I instinctively activate my Primordial Eyes to analyze the weapon, hoping to glean some insight, but to my dismay, I see nothing- no properties, no aura. It's as if the sword itself is a blank slate, refusing to divulge its secrets, which only makes it more unnerving.

Her posture is one that's ready to strike at any moment's notice. The murderous glint in her eyes tells me everything I need to know- she's not just hostile, she's a trained killer, ready to eliminate both me and Ayame at the first sign of opening she gets.

She then glances around our surroundings, and her expression falters for a moment. "So you've killed them… Honestly, I don't know if I should be angry or grateful."

"Oh? Are you this so-called Iris? Did we get rid of your puppies? I must apologize in that case, I've never been good with pets." Ayame mocks her in a condescending tone, referencing the sign we found on the door of the dorm room that read "Iris's Loyal Dogs.".

"Indeed, you may call me as such…" Iris states in a low, monotone tone that is accompanied by an almost entirely uncaring attitude.

"And yes, imagine my surprise when I was coming to get these bunch of retards ready to search the premises, and I hear you two masked clowns massacring them… I instantly knew something was wrong when the werewolves attacked… They would never be cunning and underhanded enough to orchestrate the food poisoning preliminary attack, yet those rigid Vanguard losers took your bait hook line and sinker..."

I can't help but breathe a small sigh of relief. This means that I was correct in my belief that the fighting isn't over at all, but sadly this woman had some great intuition and managed to sniff our ploy out.

I decide to speak up; "I see how it is. May I ask how loyal are you to the kingdom, my would-be murderer? What would it take to make you look the other way?"

If possible I would like to avoid wasting time on this confrontation, time is of the essence and we are severely lacking in that particular resource right now, not to mention that time is not the only issue here, she is an extremely strong opponent, after all.

She scoffs dismissively. "I may've been exiled to this dump but I'm not a criminal scum like the rest of the degenerates present here, or you two for that matter. Anyways, it's been a while since I had the pleasure of executing one of you weirdos who fetishizes those overpraised Fuji-something blades… So, honestly, I'm not interested in a peaceful solution at all."

With Ayame's mask, her oriental features are not on display, so this Iris woman just called her this world's equivalent of the term 'weeb', thinking she was a local who bought their eastern blade.

Oh boy.

"I will take care of this bitch, you go finish our mission."

Damn. I knew Ayame would want to duel her after that comment.

"We should gang up on her together." I correct her.

"We should, but she is most likely higher level than me and I wiped the floor with you without using any spells, armor, real weapon or even the full extent of my stats, so you will just get the two of us killed." She rebukes me.

Ouch. I absolutely despise hearing this, but it's the depressing truth. For now…

Once again, I'm unable to help my beloved partner who saved my life on numerous occasions in the brief time period we've known each other.

Miserable…

I can't remain weak any longer! It's extremely shameful and painful to leave Ayame here while fighting in my stead. I make a silent vow that this is the final day where I'm a liability to those around me instead of a strong pillar that they can count on.

I simply refuse to remain weak!