Chapter 301: Chapter 352: I Said You’re Arrogant
"You are the attendant of the other Campione the king mentioned?"
After confirming that Mariya Yuri was unharmed, Seishuin Ena immediately turned her gaze to Liliana.
From the girl before her—this Blue Knight of similar age—Seishuin Ena also sensed an unusual aura.
This made Seishuin Ena reveal a somewhat joyful smile.
As the only daughter of the Seishuin family that revered martial strength, and the Hime-Miko of a battle-loving heroic god, it was not without reason that Seishuin Ena was compatible with the sword Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi.
She too was a martial arts enthusiast, one who found joy in the emergence of powerful opponents.
So, even when facing off against Kaiser and entering a state of combat, knowing full well that she was no match for a Campione, Seishuin Ena would still smile happily during the battle.
This time was no exception. The Hime-Miko of the Long Sword was purely delighted at the appearance of a strong enemy.
"King..."
Liliana caught onto the key point from Seishuin Ena’s words.
"You’re also an attendant of some Campione?"
Faced with Liliana’s questioning, Seishuin Ena shook her head in denial.
"Ena is not merely an attendant of the king, but a concubine who has devoted her body and soul to him, you know?"
As she spoke, Seishuin Ena removed the sword bag from her shoulder and introduced herself with a smile.
"I am Seishuin Ena, Hime-Miko under the god-slaying king—Kaiser."
"Though not the first, Ena is the second in line, you know?"
"By the way, that Yuri over there is the first."
These words not only caused Liliana’s expression to grow serious, but also made Mariya Yuri blush furiously.
The first... That’s not true!
"Kaiser, the seventh king who emerged in this country not long ago?"
Liliana couldn’t help but glance at Mariya Yuri.
"So you’ve already submitted to the new king?"
Mariya Yuri gave no response, only lowered her head, which counted as silent consent.
"Tch..."
Liliana clicked her tongue.
The situation had grown a little troublesome.
Who would’ve thought that the Hime-Miko targeted by the Marquis had already become subordinate to another Campione...
And she, representing Marquis Voban, had actually made a move against the subordinate of another king. In a way, this was a full-blown diplomatic incident.
No, if it were merely a diplomatic incident, things wouldn’t be too bad.
Liliana knew very well just how arrogant and unreasonable Campiones could be—at least the Marquis certainly was.
Even if he knew that Mariya Yuri already served another king, he likely wouldn’t give up.
And that, without a doubt, would provoke a conflict between the two kings, eventually leading to disaster.
"What terrible... luck."
Liliana had already given up hope for a peaceful outcome in this mission.
"Looks like the knight lady already understands the situation." Seishuin Ena looked at Liliana’s constantly changing expression and kindly added, "Also, our king already knows that the Marquis has come here and intends to lay hands on his Hime-Miko, you know?"
"What does the knight lady intend to do?"
Seishuin Ena looked at Liliana with great interest.
Liliana fell silent for a moment, then took a deep breath.
"O wings of mine, steel that becomes the phantom blade——"
The Blue Knight began chanting Kotodama and extended her hand.
"O silver master, grant me your strength!"
As the Kotodama fell, a silver saber appeared in the Blue Knight’s hand.
It was a silver military saber with elegantly curved lines and a beautiful blade.
The Silver Master—paired with Cuore di Leone—this magical sword now appeared in the hands of a prodigy on par with the wielder of the latter.
This scene made the smile on Seishuin Ena’s face deepen.
"Even after knowing Yuri is our king’s, the knight lady still chooses to fight?"
Seishuin Ena was not angry about it. On the contrary, she looked even more delighted.
"...Personally, I don’t want to see a battle break out between two Campiones."
Liliana seemed to have resolved herself.
"But to prevent the situation from getting worse, this is the only way."
If she simply gave up and returned, with the Marquis’s temperament, he surely wouldn’t accept it.
In that case, she could only fight with all her might and see how far she could go.
Though it seemed a bit reckless, in this world, that was a common occurrence.
When dealing with matters involving Campiones, people were always this powerless. Even Andrea Rivera—Salvatore Doni’s close friend and confidant—was completely helpless before his king and lived in constant turmoil.
Liliana Kranjčar had experienced that helplessness four years ago. Now, she could only take things one step at a time.
Of course, the development of this situation could be summed up in four words for Seishuin Ena...
Exactly what she wanted!
"No matter what, it’s not acceptable to lay a hand on the king’s woman, you know?"
Ignoring Mariya Yuri’s glare from the side, Seishuin Ena unfastened her sword bag.
"Just happened to receive a blessing from the king—a new sword—so I’ll use this sword to duel with the knight lady."
With that, Seishuin Ena drew out Shirayuki-no-Sode from the sword bag.
The spiritual sword, completely white including the scabbard, instantly drew Liliana’s gaze.
Especially when Seishuin Ena unsheathed the blade—even Liliana showed a look of admiration in her eyes.
"What a beautiful sword..."
It was definitely the most beautiful sword Liliana had ever seen, perhaps the most beautiful weapon she had ever laid eyes on.
And more than just beauty.
As a witch with Hime-Miko qualifications, Liliana, like Mariya Yuri, possessed the talent for Spirit Vision.
Though not as strong as Mariya Yuri’s, and only triggering occasionally, this power still gave Liliana a strong spiritual intuition, allowing her to instantly perceive the immense spiritual energy contained in this beautiful snow-colored blade.
"I pray to the one I serve, grant this body the secret blade and guidance of the snow."
Seishuin Ena naturally chanted a Kotodama she had never used before, activating the spiritual energy of Shirayuki-no-Sode.
At once, snowflake-like radiance shimmered on the blade of Shirayuki-no-Sode.
"Let’s warm up a bit, knight lady." Seishuin Ena said cheerfully, "Let Ena experience the swordsmanship of a Western knight."
"I’m Liliana Kranjčar, not some ’knight lady.’" Stimulated by the fighting spirit emanating from Seishuin Ena, Liliana entered combat mode as well. "In accordance with the teachings of the Bronze Black Cross and the orders of the Wolf King, I draw my sword against you!"
"Got it, Miss Liliana!" Seishuin Ena’s smile turned wild, shouting, "Let’s cross swords for the sake of our kings!"
The two beautiful girls stared at each other in the middle of the street, their gazes colliding like sparks—intense and powerful.
Mariya Yuri could no longer get involved between the two of them, and at some point had retreated to a corner, her eyes filled with worry.
And the two girls in the standoff, at some point, simultaneously kicked off the ground, riding the wind, and charged toward each other.
...
Meanwhile, several kilometers away...
In this bustling urban area, there stood a rather luxurious hotel.
On the top floor of the hotel, in a beautiful sky garden, a silver-haired old gentleman sat leisurely in a corner of the open-air garden, sunbathing as he gazed into the distance.
"Kranjčar’s granddaughter indeed has some skill."
Voban smiled leisurely, as if he had seen something.
"At the very least, her swordsmanship is enough for her to become one of my undead servants."
If one looked closely, they would see that Voban’s eyes were glowing green like a wolf’s.
This was the Authority that struck fear into countless people around the world—Eyes of Sodom.
For humans, the Authority Eyes of Sodom was a true disaster.
Once stared at by Voban with those eyes, regardless of species or number, they would instantly be turned into salt pillars. This power was akin to that of a legendary one-eyed demon god—just one glance to kill. Terrifying.
However, for gods and Campiones, these demonic eyes were not so terrifying.
Due to their astonishing magical resistance, the effect of Eyes of Sodom was greatly reduced against gods and Campiones. At most, it could temporarily saltify part of their body. So in battles against such beings, this Authority served only as a support, unlike the overwhelming threat it posed to humans.
But, Eyes of Sodom was not limited to just salting effects.
While using these demonic eyes, Voban’s vision expanded drastically, allowing him to clearly see scenes several kilometers away and even gain x-ray vision, ignoring obstacles.
Thanks to this, Voban could kill someone several kilometers away without moving from his spot. Turning all the residents of Tokyo into salt statues was entirely within his capabilities, and once affected, reversing the salting required tremendous effort.
Even the highest-level healing magicians, jujutsu users, and Taoists could only temporarily revive a salted victim. To permanently reverse it, unless one possessed a special Authority, a divine artifact, or Voban himself performed the reversal, even gods or Campiones could not undo the saltification caused by Eyes of Sodom.
To this day, aside from Voban voluntarily reversing it, there has never been a single case in the world where someone successfully broke the saltification caused by Eyes of Sodom.
At this moment, Voban was using those demonic eyes to observe the sword fight between the girls several kilometers away.
In his vision, the battle between Seishuin Ena and Liliana could only be described as brilliant.
Liliana moved like a dancing butterfly, her body gliding as if flying. Each slash of her silver saber seemed to resonate with a strange musical tone, dazzling the eye and disorienting the mind.
Yet against such enchanting swordplay, Seishuin Ena met each strike head-on. Her snow-white spiritual blade cut through the air with beautiful arcs, full of power, deflecting Liliana’s sword time after time, even forcing her back multiple times and sending her flying into the walls of nearby buildings.
Liliana repeatedly adjusted her stance. Though her movements were light and graceful, her attacks were fierce, never resorting to petty tricks. Occasionally, she would cast supportive spells in an attempt to suppress Seishuin Ena.
Compared to Erica, Liliana’s swordsmanship might not surpass hers, but in the realm of magic, as a witch, Liliana held an absolute advantage—at a level Erica couldn’t reach.
While Erica could lighten her body for super-high jumps, Liliana could cast the art of flight, soaring through the sky like a butterfly darting through flowers, attacking Seishuin Ena from all directions, leaving her barely able to respond.
Seeing this, even Voban couldn’t help but offer praise, though his smile remained dismissive.
Naturally so.
"No matter how fancy the tricks, to a lofty Campione, they’re just child’s play. That’s probably how our old senior thinks, right?"
When such a voice echoed behind him and entered his ears, Voban’s expression did not change.
"That’s the most natural thought. How is that arrogance?" Voban chuckled without turning. "Besides, aren’t you also one of those lofty Campiones?"
"To barge in ignoring the host’s will—what else would you call that but arrogance?"
Hearing this, the newcomer responded flatly.
"And what right does someone who barges in and snatches people from their homes, against the host’s will, have to speak of arrogance?"
Standing at the edge of the garden beside Voban, Kaiser gazed toward the intense battle between Seishuin Ena and Liliana, a faint glow flickering in his eyes.
It was the special vision granted to Kaiser when he obtained the Golden Sword as an Authority.
Although it was meant to discern the essence of enemy gods, at this moment, even if Kaiser couldn’t see the full battle like Voban, he could still perceive the clashes of magical power and spiritual energy.
From those phenomena, Kaiser could already roughly determine how the fight between Seishuin Ena and Liliana was progressing.
"Who do you think will win?"
Kaiser didn’t look at Voban, nor did he mention Mariya Yuri again, instead posing that question.
"Regrettably, I’m not particularly good at distinguishing who’s stronger or weaker." Voban shook his head and said, "Especially when it comes to those outside the realm of gods and Campiones, even Divine Beasts are mere trifles I can dispose of with ease."
"Whether humans are strong or weak makes little difference to me."
"So, you’re asking the wrong person."
Hearing this, Kaiser’s expression remained indifferent.
"You’re not unable to tell—you just don’t care to."
"To you, whether humans are strong or weak really doesn’t matter."
"That’s why I said you’re arrogant."