Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

"Your Majesty? What should we do with these people?" The Crimson Phoenix Knights also recognized the humanoid monsters.

Although their appearance changed significantly, they were still recognizable.

The empress controlled her emotions and responded with a stern look. "Don't kill them. Just restrain them!"

"Understood!"

The battle against the humanoid monsters began.

Roaarr!

The underground prison was filled with chilling beastly roars.

The Crimson Phoenix Knights were powerful, but they had to control their strength in this fight, making the situation quite difficult for them.

Among the humanoid monsters, there were Transcendent Knights. They couldn't use their mana, but their raw physical power was akin to that of a barbarian. This was the effect of the drug that was forced upon them.

"Park Sagwa, can you not recognize me? I am Your Empress!" Yskaela looked at the humanoid monster before her with a look of remorse.

The proud Duchess of House Park has been turned into a monster, one that was unable to recognize anyone.

Roaarr!!

Park Sagwa who had been turned into a beast roared at the empress before lunging at her with her mouth wide open.

Seeing this, the empress felt a wave of pain.

Park Sagwa wasn't just a subordinate, she was her closest confidant.

"I will make things right and make whoever did this to you pay a hundred times the amount of pain you suffered!" Yskaela mumbled in a cold voice.

Just as Park Sagwa was about to take a huge chunk off of her neck, she suddenly did a quick turn.

Whoosh!

Please forgive me for this.

Yskaela slapped the back of her head with just enough force to make her go unconscious.

Pah!

With the vast difference in their power, Park Sagwa couldn't even dodge. Her vision blurred and she slipped into darkness.

Is that Your Majesty…

After dealing with Park Sagwa, the empress helped the Crimson Phoenix Knights deal with the remaining humanoid monsters.

It took them half an hour to subdue all the monsters.

Everyone was exhausted after the battle. They weren't just physically exhausted, they were mentally drained too.

"Tie them all up and bring them out of this place." The empress commanded.

She could see that everyone was tired, but they had no time to waste. The members of the heretic cult might set up another trap for them if they delayed any further.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Everyone responded in unison.

…

Meanwhile, the battle against Rin Aspen was still far from over.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

After having consumed Changmin's blood, the demonic sword was already showing signs of awakening.

With every swing from Rin Aspen, the evil blood aura would follow.

At this moment, Alaric's destruction domain had already faded. It was sucking a lot of his mana so he had to unsummon it so he could continue fighting with Rin Aspen.

My Ice Domain can barely hold up against his Blood Domain.

Alaric was breathing heavily as he looked at Rin Aspen.

He turned his head to Bai Seol-hwa and Kangjeon Geum-hwa. He could see that they were exhausted, but they still had enough energy to go on.

Those two had also released their domains, but even with our combined efforts, we still can't take down that bloody bastard.

Roaarr!!

A furious, beastly roar echoed above the sky.

Zephyr swooped down and spat out a breath of flames at Rin Aspen.

Seeing this, Alaric smiled.

Luckily, we have Zephyr. Without it, things would have been bad for us three.

The draconic lion proved to be a capable teammate. It drew most of Rin Aspen's attention which gave them opportunities to catch him off guard.

With their efforts, they left wounds on Rin Aspen.

Bang!

Rin Aspen swung the demonic sword, cleaving the fire breath in half.

Whoosh!

His clothes fluttered vigorously as the strong winds blew by.

He could barely control his sanity. The sword's consciousness was corroding his mind and it was feeding him with evil emotions.

Kill! I need to kill them and drink their blood!

His bloodshot eyes stopped on Kangjeon Geum-hwa. The woman was the most weary among his enemies. She still had energy, but her mana was about to be depleted.

I will kill you first!

Having chosen his target, Rin Aspen charged towards Kangjeon Geum-hwa.

With a quick leap, he appeared right in front of her, catching her by surprise.

Whoosh!

Rin Aspen swung the demonic sword, causing the air to fluctuate intensely.

Kangjeon Geum-hwa gritted her teeth. She infused mana into her sword as she blocked the attack coming her way.

Clang!!

When their weapons clashed, Kangjeon Geum-hwa found herself flying into the air.

How is he this strong?

Her arms had gone numb from the impact and she could feel her insides twisting from the pain.

Just then, she saw Rin Aspen's sword coming straight at her. It was so fast that she could barely follow it with her eyes.

She wanted to move, but her body wouldn't listen.

"Deputy Commander!" Bai Seol-hwa cried out.

Just when she thought that she would die, a figure suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking Rin Aspen's sword in the nick of time.

Clang!

"Pull yourself together, woman! If you don't want to die, bite your tongue and come to your senses!" Alaric shouted at her.

Hearing this, Kangjeon Geum-hwa felt a mixture of embarrassment and gratitude.

With a snort, she somersaulted in midair and landed gracefully on the ground.

"Are you alright, Deputy Commander?" Bai Seol-hwa rushed to her side to check on her condition.

After making sure that she was fine, Bai Seol-hwa was relieved. "You should get some rest. You can leave this to us."

"No!" Kangjeon Geum-hwa shook her head.

"I know that you two are also tired. Even that beast is tired. If I rest here, you wouldn't be able to win against Rin Aspen. We need to do this together!" She exclaimed with determination.

Bai Seol-hwa wanted to dissuade her, but she stopped. She knew how stubborn her deputy could get.

"Alright, but you must not exert yourself."

"I understand. Let's do this!"