"Heh… not bad, that girl Aria!"
"But—"
Watching the frozen scene on the battlefield, Esdeath's eyes sparkled with a strange light, and a captivatingly radiant smile appeared on her lips.
The battlefield was now silent, no longer filled with the deafening sounds of battle. An eerie stillness hung in the air. Budo was shocked, Kurome was smiling.
As for Aria, who held her demon blade Poison Fang pressed against General Budo's back, her face was filled with bloodthirsty cruelty and endless malice!
Foolish old man, who told you to only pay attention to Seryu and Kurome, daring to forget the noble and magnificent Aria!
Hehehe… didn't expect it, did you? Aria is a hidden poison fang behind the enemy's back. If you dare to underestimate her, she will stab you from behind and make you understand why the flowers are so red, paying the price in blood for your foolishness!
Tsk tsk, you have to admit, Aria's expression and movements as she sneaks behind someone really fit the role perfectly!
But—
"Young lady, to attack from behind is a dishonorable act for a warrior!"
Budo's deep voice carried a hint of anger. Suddenly, the burly man had turned around, his tiger-like eyes glaring fiercely at Aria, who had tried to sneak up on him.
"Haha… Uncle, you seem completely fine?"
Sweat dripping from her forehead, Aria was unnerved by Budo's stern gaze. She forced a sheepish smile and asked nervously.
She couldn't understand why, after her strongest strike, this old man was still unharmed. He should have been poisoned to the bone, rolling on the ground, begging for mercy from Lady Aria. This was abnormal! This was impossible!!
"Hmph! As the empire's strongest old man, empowered by lightning, my body is as hard as steel. How could a petty thief like you pierce it?"
Seeing Aria's shocked expression, Budo snorted coldly, his face full of pride and disdain.
Of course, despite his confident and disdainful exterior, Budo was secretly relieved and wiped the sweat from his brow. Fortunately, this despicable girl wasn't as strong as the other two, and her power was still limited. Otherwise, he might have really been sunk just now…
Hearing Budo's reply, Aria's mouth opened wide in disbelief, staring at the towering steel giant before her, her eyes full of endless terror.
Meanwhile, Kurome twitched at the corner of her mouth, almost wanting to chop down Aria for failing at the crucial moment. The girl just stood there letting you slash her, and you couldn't even scratch her skin? So useless, why don't you just die?!
"Sorry, sorry, General Budo! I won't do it again, I really won't!"
Coming back to her senses, Aria abandoned all pride and repeatedly bowed to Budo, apologizing sincerely.
"Hmm, since you admit your mistake…"
Nodding, Budo, being a magnanimous man, decided not to hold it against her.
But—
"Hehehe… stupid old man, die! Die!! Die!!!"
Suddenly lifting her head, Aria's face twisted into a ferocious, bloodthirsty grin. Before Kurome and Budo could react, her katana ruthlessly struck Bud's body.
Uh, unfortunately, this time it still didn't hurt Bud at all. Sigh…
"You!!!"
Eyes wide with fury, almost spitting fire, Budo was enraged at this treacherous and malicious girl. Without hesitation, he raised his iron fist to strike her.
"Waaah… General Budo, have mercy!"
"I'm still young, I don't understand, I really didn't mean it! I know I was wrong, I really do, please forgive me just this once!"
Aria clearly saw how Budo's single punch had shattered Kurome's giant golden ape. Her small body couldn't possibly withstand that. She was terrified, tears streaming down her face as she clung to Budo's thick leg, begging for mercy.
The iron fist froze mid-air. Seeing the girl's fragile state, Budo hesitated. As a true warrior, it wouldn't be honorable to bully such a little girl. Besides, she was still young and naive. After all, he was the empire's strongest, the Emperor's Guard General, wasn't he? Sigh, he'd forgive her this time.
With that thought, Budo's aura gradually softened, and his clenched iron arm withdrew.
No doubt, Budo was indeed a magnanimous and honorable man!
Watching this hesitant farce, Kurome blushed and turned her head away. She was already ashamed to be associated with the shameless traitor Aria!
"Waaah… General Budo, thank you for forgiving this misguided girl. You truly are a—"
"A complete and utter fool!!!"
Aria stood up gratefully, but halfway through her sentence, her expression suddenly changed:
"Die! Die!! Die!!!"
Under Budo's utterly stunned expression, under Kurome-chan's dumbfounded look, and not far away, under Esdeath's dazzlingly intense gaze, Aria, like a crazed lioness, wildly slashed at Budo with her demon blade Poison Fang as if her life depended on it!
Kill him! Kill him!! Kill him!!! Today, Aria truly refused to believe that she couldn't even cut through the skin of a stinking old man who was almost ready to be buried!
Having been trained and cultivated by Esdeath for some time, although still far from matching Kurome and the other girls of Seryu, Aria was no longer the weak noble lady she once was. In just a few breaths, she had already slashed dozens of times on Budo, only stopping when her two small arms went weak. She bent over, gasping heavily…
Puchi…
A faint sound like something breaking rang out loudly in this endlessly eerie atmosphere. Seeing the blood-red droplets flying off Budo's body and dispersing in the air, Aria's cyan eyes kept growing wider and wider…
"Yeah… I did it!"
"You old stinker, you're not dying now!!! Kneel obediently before me, hahaha…"
Excited, she jumped up, one hand on her slender waist, the other pointing at Budo, laughing wildly with endless arrogance.
Even if you, General Budo, have a body as tough as diamond, what does it matter? Poison Fang's venom from me, Aria, still won't fail to kill you!!!
"Unforgivable!!! Unforgivable!!! Unforgivable!!!"
His eyes already red, although these small cuts were nothing to him, the fury inside Budo almost made him lose his reason. He had never been so angry before, never!
To be repeatedly mocked and deceived by a little girl like this was unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable! Could there really be such a treacherous and vicious girl in this world? Has the world already fallen into such darkness and depravity?
Fine, very well, then let me use the thunderous judgment to punish her!
"Summon the Thunder God!!!"
Under everyone's stunned gaze, Budo's body slowly floated into the sky. Dark clouds rolled and lightning surged. With both hands raised to the sky and a loud shout, countless bolts of lightning shot straight down.
Filled with endless might, the shocking scene seemed as if the entire world was about to be destroyed!
"Waaah… Kurome, Seryu, help!!!"
Her expression changed drastically again. Aria knew very well that she had provoked the old man too much and he was about to unleash his full power. She was instantly terrified, her face pale, and without hesitation ran toward Kurome and Seryu, who had just crawled out of the ruins.
"Aria, you idiot, don't come this way!!!"
Seryu was still a bit confused, but Kurome's expression was grave. Budo's main target was this shameless and hateful Aria. Wasn't she just drawing danger toward them? That despicable traitor of teammates!
As for Aria, she didn't care about any of that. She only knew that staying with Kurome and the others was safer. Even if they were to die, they would die together!
Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
Finally, under the horrified expressions of the three girls and countless people in the imperial capital, hundreds of lightning bolts fell like endless ferocious beasts straight to the ground…