A scarred man with wild, dirty-blonde hair sat in a chair behind a desk, cloaked in a long navy blue, white, and gold-trimmed coat, reading through thick reports and paperwork. In one hand he held a lit cigar that was filling his room with heavy dark grey smoke, coiling, and pooling around on the ground. He looked up when he heard a knock on his door.
“Come in,” Commander Arkenast said with a broad grin, eagerly leaning forward in his chair.
A man with dark hair appearing somewhere around his late twenties entered, holding a pile of documents. He came in front of the Commander and saluted. “Sir,” Officer Stanhope said.
The Commander paused when he saw the man, studied him for a moment, and then smirked. “You look tired. Been busy, have you?”
Officer Stanhope sighed. “Dealing with the cadets is… tiring, yes. I can’t believe this year will be the organisation of the special force again, and I have to train them for it.” He gave the Commander a suspicious look. “That is what you meant a few days ago, isn’t it?”
Commander Arkenast leaned back with a relaxed smile. “It is. The Main Navy Admirals have officially decided. The M.W.S. Dawnlight will sail again.”
“And it has to be this decade when I’m head instructor,” Officer Stanhope replied wearily. “But…. have you decided on the rest of the members, sir? This year won’t have enough.”
“They’re that bad?” the blonde-haired man responded, raising a bushy eyebrow.
“Not really…” the Officer said, grimacing. “Standards have actually risen this year, in fact. But not enough to be the crew of the M.W.S. Dawnlight.”
“Bit of a shame for all those who otherwise would’ve passed this year, but it is what is,” the Commander remarked, putting his cigar to his lips for a moment. He breathed out the smoke and he watched as it made coiling patterns in the shape of beasts. “The crew will be a mix of last year’s and the year before that. I’m thinking of putting him as second-in-command.”
Officer Stanhope raised an eyebrow. “By ‘him’ you mean….”
“The seaborne,” Commander Arkenast replied, nodding his head. “It’s about time he left my direct command.”
“… But his talent would allow him to go further,” the dark-haired man said, looking sceptical. “Wouldn’t that be a waste?”
“Look,” the Commander stated, the end of his cigar briefly sizzling as a small orb of water appeared to douse it before he discarded it in a bin nearby. “That boy has talent, sure, however, his temperament is terrible for a leader. But as the go between the crew and the Captain, he has the perfect disposition. He needs someone else who can make the harsh, cool-headed commands that his nature otherwise wouldn’t allow if he was in charge.”
“If you think so, sir,” the Officer replied, looking troubled. “But the go between the crew and the Captain…. Have you already thought things through that far?” he asked.
Commander Arkenast grinned and propped his chin up on the desk. “What are you implying, Officer?”
Officer Stanhope gazed at his superior for a beat, and then just sighed. “Nothing, sir. Anyway, I brought the battle reports on the cadets as ordered. I will supplement any additional details you need to the best of my ability.” He walked forward and deposited the reports on the Commander’s desk.
The Commander grinned wider and began scanning through them. “So, I get to see how able our little cadets are. Give me a moment to get up to speed.”
Officer Stanhope waited patiently as Commander Arkenast read them, the man gaining a thoughtful expression as he read their capabilities. Eventually, the battle-scarred man looked up.
“Indeed. It seems they are of a much higher standard this time around. But I can’t help but notice one particular cadet’s profile doesn’t seem to be in the right spot?” he said with a smirk.
Officer Stanhope nodded. “I thought it prudent to write a separate report for you, sir. It’s in the very back.”
“Hmm,” the Commander responded. He gained a lopsided grin. “Officer Stanhope, aren’t you reading a bit too much into what you think your superior’s intentions are? If you keep this up, you’ll start issuing orders without my command.”
The Officer just gave his superior an exasperated look, making the blonde man chuckle.
“Well, it’s true I would’ve asked you for a private report sometime soon,” Commander Arkenast acquiesced. “Now, let’s see how our newest star is doing…..” He went silent as he read the documents entailing the private report, his expression changing several times. He raised an eyebrow at one point, and slowly a broad smile began to spread across his face. He gave a short laugh before placing the report on the desk and then intertwined his fingers.
“All right, Stanhope. I’ve read it, and I like what I’m seeing. But I want to hear your personal views on her.” He grinned. “What do you think of Cadet Riftmire’s capabilities?”
Officer Stanhope sighed and rubbed his head. “I can only say exemplary on all accounts, sir. She’s a monster.”
“Not many people I’ve heard termed a ‘monster’ in the central Empire have deserved the title, but this case might be different,” Commander Arkenast replied with a smile. “Let’s start from the top: her combat role?”
“Battlefield controller,” Officer Stanhope replied near-instantly. “There’s no other position for her. Her perception grants her wide-spread senses of the entire area with no blind spots, and she is perfectly capable of forming her magic anywhere within a large zone, reminiscent of a nascent pseudo-domain ability.”
“And she’s only Rank-1. What will she be like when she gains access to real domain abilities, I wonder,” the Commander mused. He narrowed his eyes at the Officer. “Her planning capabilities?”
“Ridiculous,” the Officer said with a shake of his head. “She seems to have an incredibly strong memory, likely brought about by her spiritual energy. She has an acute awareness of every detail, she’s creative and analytical, and this compounds to allow her to account for all outcomes. Granted, I don’t know her multi-tasking ability aside from her ability to cast multiple spells, as I’ve only tested her against individual fighters so far, so this might be different when I try to place her in the actual position of battlefield controller.”
“What about her magic itself?” Commander Arkenast asked curiously. “I’ve received the official verdict from All-Aeon Athenaeum: There is no subset of illusion magic capable of materialising physical illusions outside of those that mimic other elements.”
“Even better adaptivity than you theorised, sir,” the dark-haired man replied with a complicated look on his face. “Her illusions aren’t fixed. She can change them on the spot when needed to deal with difficult attacks, they can become permeable, and she casts them incredibly quickly. There’s only one issue: she doesn’t seem to cast mana-circles when she materialises her illusions.”
“No mana-circles…” the Commander repeated with a thoughtful look. “Yet they’re still classed as spells according to your Analysis?” The Officer nodded, making the battle-scarred man hum. “So, an ability that materialises the outcome of the spell without the required rune arrangements. No runic model could do something like that. It’s an Origin Skill ability.”
He looked at Officer Stanhope with a stern expression. “Keep no physical evidence of this observation, and speak not a word of it outside here. If the Main Army knows of her capability to repeatedly cast spells with no rune arrangement, they’ll stop at nothing to get someone with such high-intensity firepower. I’ll not have them ruin her chance of developing that unique magic further.”
“Yes sir,” the Officer replied solemnly.
“Onto her personality then. How difficult will she be?” Commander Arkenast smirked.
“To be perfectly honest, I don’t think she’d make a bad subordinate,” Officer Stanhope said, to the Commander’s surprise. “It’s not arrogance that makes her like that.”
“Huh,” the Commander said, leaning back with his arms crossed. “Really? So she’s not some fake noble from her little isolated outer plane who thinks they have a bit of talent? I might need some more details here.”
“So… I think her personality can be summed up as really not wanting to have anything to do with people,” Officer Stanhope replied wearily. “She doesn’t underestimate them. When fighting, she knows how to control her resource expenditure, and keeps the spells she uses to the bare minimum to defeat them. While at first, it seemed like she underestimated them, I could see later on that she had actually been slowly increasing the strength of her spells to accommodate to any adaption from the opposition, working out the best balance when fighting.”
He paused and sighed. “And while it also seemed like she was mocking her partners when they fought, her comments have actually made her opposition improve, rather than cause them to lose against her.”
Commander Arkenast stared. “You don’t mean….” Officer Stanhope slowly nodded, and the Commander burst out laughing. “She’s training them? How funny! Who’d ever help someone fight against them? What an interesting personality.” He rubbed his chin in contemplation for a moment. “What else?”
“She’s not very patient until patience actually matters,” the dark-haired man replied. “She doesn’t wait for her partners to prepare, always striking first, but never with enough power to end the battle first try. She doesn’t bother making conversation outside of her comments towards her opposition when fighting, which often sound demeaning, but are actually just rather frank and lack delicacy. She can also follow orders well, and never loses her temper while fighting.” He gained a strange expression. “Actually, she might have more of a military background than we expected. When she talks she doesn’t really sound like a noble.”
“I suppose I’ll have to revise my impression of her then,” the Commander remarked, tapping his fingers against his desk. “So, excellent fighting ability, an eye for detail, even when picking up on her opponent’s weaknesses, and she actually listens without complaint. Hm.” He thought for a bit and then smiled wryly. “Her relationships with others?”
“Atrocious,” Officer Stanhope stated in a flat voice. “And she seems to have no intention of changing that. She mocks people she’s developed a dislike for, treats anyone as irrelevant except in specific circumstances like fighting, and couldn’t care less about the slowly increasing hostility towards her among the cadets. Although that’s been tempered by a bit of fear since last week.”
“Does she brag?” the Commander asked.
“Not exactly,” Officer Stanhope replied with an awkward expression. “But she’s so frank and pragmatic, she almost always states what she thinks to be facts, which more often than not, are actually true because she’s coldly analytical of herself as well. Of course, everyone hates her because she doesn’t care enough to phrase it differently.”
“So I better let her demonstrate her talent well if I place her in that position…” Commander Arkenast murmured. He waved off the Officer’s curious look and continued. “You’re switching to team combat soon, right?” He leaned forward and grinned. “She’ll be a team leader, obviously, but at the end of each day, I want you to do something more. I want you to set her up against everyone else.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Officer Stanhope blinked, and then his expression became incredulous. “Excuse me, sir? Everyone? She might be capable, but she’s still only a Level 52 21-year-old. Isn’t that a bit excessive?”
“Ah, but Stanhope.” The Commander grinned wider. “Have you ever seen her be properly pushed yet?” He smirked and tapped his finger against the report on his desk. “You’ve told me she’s won every single battle against the Vast Longevity Flowing Glacier Sect heir, while only being a mage and under additional limitations. I want everything on her to be revealed.”
The Officer observed his superior with mixed emotions before he sighed and nodded. “Then that will be the final battle each day from now on. But sir, please allow me to be frank about your intentions for her after this.”
Commander Arkenast gazed silently at the dark-haired man for a moment and then nodded.
Officer Stanhope rubbed his temples with a conflicted expression. “If you plan on placing him under her command…. How will this affect him? We both know the issues surrounding monsters and Atlanteans and if her illusions manage to copy that part of monster essence as well….”
The blonde-haired man at the desk crossed his arms and frowned, staying quiet for quite some time. The silence drew longer. As Officer Stanhope was beginning to believe he wouldn’t answer, the scarred man exhaled softly and ran a hand through his wild hair.
“Stanhope, you and I have both known the boy for six years now,” he stated, gazing sternly at his subordinate. “And suffice to say, it’s hard to find a single person here in White Squall Fortress who dislikes him. But as the Navy Commander stationed here, I must put my personal preferences aside, and do what is best for the Empire’s Navy Battalion.”
He leaned forward with solemnity on his face. “If I place him under her command, and it turns out her illusions have the same effect as the real ones, only two outcomes could occur. Either he finally realises he’s not meant for the Distorted Depths, and goes home, leaving his stubborn desire to repay ‘his debts’ behind, or Adrianna Riftmire can use his ability to help her refine the realism of her illusions. He’ll either leave the Navy or continue helping it if he stays, regardless of what ill effect it might have on him.”
Commander Arkenast looked down at his desk and then picked up the reports to read them again. “If that is all now, Officer, then you may leave.”
“….. yes sir.” The dark-haired officer saluted and turned around to leave the room. But just before he left, the Commander spoke up.
“Stanhope. If I had a choice,” he said, frowning slightly with a complicated expression. “Then I would always pick the first option. It would never be the second.”
Officer Stanhope regarded his superior for a moment and then nodded. He shut the door behind him, and the Commander returned to working in silence in his room, picking up another cigar off his desk to light.
----------------------------------------
Week 2 of October at White Squall Fortress.
“You’re looking in the wrong place.”
The dark-blue-eyed Sect heir just glared silently at her attacker as the illusory beast she had stabbed her silver-blue sword through turned transparent and disintegrated into indigo particles. The girl whipped around to slice at the grey tentacle trying to wrap around her neck.
“The real attack was from here, not there.”
Zhang Mingxia’s eyes widened as she tripped over another slimy limb trying to encircle her ankle, and muttered under her breath as she dived into a roll to escape the faintly luminous illusions. She abruptly stood up and turned to glower at the unaffected tall woman in navy blue and black uniform behind her, standing with her arms crossed as more indigo-blue mana escaped her.
“I’ve told you to look behind you,” Adrianna announced apathetically.
The dark-haired girl spun around and warily held her sword, and then paused when she didn’t see any attack. She looked over her shoulder questioningly, and Adrianna faintly raised an eyebrow.
“I didn’t say I was attacking. But Fireball.”
Zhang Mingxia hissed as a mana-circle materialised in close proximity to her, and she narrowly dodged the fist-sized angry orange orb that hurtled past her. Then she yelped as a Direwolf construct put its teeth around her ankle and yanked it, causing her to fall over and face plant onto the ground. A cold tentacle ripped her sword from her grasp and pointed it at the girl. Adrianna walked forward as she observed the Sect heir who was angrily glaring at her on the ground.
“That would be your 15th defeat today. I won’t count it though,” she stated indifferently as she took the sword from the construct and dropped it next to the cultivator.
Zhang Mingxia’s glare intensified. “And whyever not?” she hissed through gritted teeth as she got off the ground, grabbing her weapon.
Adrianna turned and walked back to her position. “Because it is obvious you entered this battle with emotions too turbulent to fight properly.” She faced the 19-year-old girl and raised her hand to cast a spell. “Now, again.”
Zhang Mingxia gazed silently at the woman and then turned her head as she crossed her arms. “No,” she stated crossly.
Adrianna tilted her head slightly. “No?”
“I’m not fighting you,” the heir growled, tying her weapon to her sash. “I’m done.”
“You are my paired partner for today. Instructor Stanhope ordered it,” Adrianna replied tonelessly.
Zhang Mingxia didn’t look at her. “And I shall go to him and request my partner be changed. This pairing does not aid me in advancing my abilities. It only exists to cause you to undermine me and suppress my own spiritual sense thanks to your spiritual energy, preventing me from exercising my real strength.”
Adrianna gazed silently at her with ice-blue eyes and then turned away disinterestedly to begin walking towards the Officer. “Then do it, and we’ll get his answer.”
The Sect heir frowned, but followed after her, heading towards Officer Stanhope. The dark-haired man looked up from his clipboard when he heard them approaching and made a grimace before hiding it behind a more neutral expression.
“Yes, cadets?” he said.
Adrianna crossed her arms and stood to the side as Zhang Mingxia walked forward with her head held high. A few cadets close by watched them with interest.
“I would like to request a change in opponent,” she proclaimed with a dark expression. “Cadet Riftmire has continuously insulted me, and my own spiritual sense has been rendered ineffective thanks to her spiritual energy. I wish to have a partner who I can demonstrate my abilities against in full.”
Officer Stanhope gazed at her wearily and then turned his eyes to the wild-haired woman watching the nearby fights. “Are you not going to explain yourself?” he asked her, his voice tinged with slight exasperation.
Adrianna glanced at him and shook her head. “I can’t force someone who doesn’t appreciate my efforts to see past their blinding emotions and understand what I’m doing. I have gone above what anyone else would do in my position,” she stated emotionlessly. “If she wants a new partner, I don’t care. She can do whatever she wants.”
The Officer sighed, and put a hand to one of his temples. “You could at least make an attempt at telling her,” he complained.
She eyed him dubiously and moved her gaze to the slightly confused and still angry Sect heir. She turned back to him with a flat expression. “Will she even believe me?”
“Just do it,” he growled, getting mad.
Adrianna sighed and turned to the sceptical and irate Zhang Mingxia. “Monsters have decaying souls. The stronger the monster, the more degraded the soul,” she explained coolly. “In the Distorted Depths, your spiritual attacks will have barely any effect, amplified by the resistance mana has to spiritual energy. You will have to rely on almost purely physical capabilities when fighting them like you have been doing with me.”
Zhang Mingxia frowned, but when neither Adrianna nor Officer Stanhope said anything more, she looked at the dark-haired man cautiously. “Is this…. true?”
“It is. Normally we don’t deal with cultivators, you have to understand,” he said. Then he whipped his head to the side to glare at Adrianna. “But that’s not what I meant, cadet.”
Adrianna didn’t say anything as she watched him wordlessly with her icy stare, making him groan and pinch his nose bridge in frustration. “You know what?” he said, pointing at some random spot. “Go. Just go and… train, or do whatever you want, while I talk to Cadet Zhang. Get out of here. Honestly, you lot will kill me sooner than the monsters do…” he muttered in a dark voice.
Without hesitation, Adrianna walked off, making him glower after her. He sighed and turned back to Zhang Mingxia. “Follow me for a bit,” he said.
She walked beside him as they moved to a more private area. He planted his hands on his hips as he gazed sternly at her. “Firstly, no matter what you say, I’m not changing your partner,” he stated firmly.
Zhang Mingxia’s eyes widened and she opened her mouth but was cut off by the Officer.
“That’s because you’ve improved far more than if I had paired you with anyone else this week. All of the people who’ve fought her have improved far better than if they hadn’t fought her. None of you have realised it yet,” he explained tiredly.
The Sect heir just stared at him, disbelieving. “I have not succeeded in defeating her even once!” she exclaimed indignantly. “We’ve fought over and over again, and I’ve only had to listen to her demeaning remarks while I struggle uselessly against her. That is not improvement,” she said, upset.
Officer Stanhope glanced in the direction of Adrianna. “That’s just as much a testament to her own ability to control her strength as it is to your tenacity and endurance,” he replied, looking back at her. “Have you not realised the difference in her spells since the start of these spars until now?”
Zhang Mingxia frowned, considering it. Her eyes widened a tad, but she still scowled. “She’s just treating me as a training target for her own practice,” she muttered crossly.
“She’s right in that your emotions have blinded you,” Officer Stanhope stated flatly, crossing his arms. “Just because she has not revealed her full strength yet does not mean she’s still using the same level of strength this entire time when fighting you. She’s been helping you guys become used to fighting her, and learn to adapt to her fighting style.”
“No sound-of-mind combatant would train others to go against them,” she replied sceptically. “Why would she ever do such a thing?”
He gave her a dreary look and then glanced over his shoulder to watch Adrianna casting spells for practice. He returned his gaze to Zhang Mingxia and gestured to the cold woman in the distance with a tilt of his head. “Do you think anyone knows what’s going on in that head of hers?”
Then he frowned slightly and held his chin. “Although I believe in this context, it’s because she’s thinking long-term.”
“Long… term?” Zhang Mingxia repeated, confused.
The Officer gazed seriously at the Sect heir. “You’re aware of what’s going to happen. You also know all the remaining cadets will be placed under a Squad Leader from the same camp. She’s conscious that you will likely be her future crewmate, and so understands you need to be as familiar with her abilities as she needs to be with yours. And the better you perform, the better for her and her squad.”
The girl stared at him and then looked at Adrianna in the distance. She scoffed after a while. “How arrogant. Does she think of herself as my superior already?”
The Officer paused and looked at her suspiciously. “What do you mean ‘already’?”
“It is obvious, is it not?” Zhang Mingxia replied with a complicated expression. “The Commander himself got her to demonstrate her capabilities, she has remained as the strongest ranking individual here during our spars, and I have noticed the Officials and instructors observing her more frequently than the other cadets. She will be our Squad Leader next year.”
Officer Stanhope glared sternly at her. “Cadet Zhang, keep those opinions to yourself in the future and do not talk about this again. It is not up to a cadet to guess our intentions.” She nodded, embarrassed, and so he sighed. “Regardless of whether she is chosen for it or not, I doubt she cares. Cadet Adrianna Riftmire is only here to refine her unique magic by studying the monsters here, after all. She can do that with or without high status.”
“She…. only wants to study monsters?” the girl replied, stunned. “She’s not here for status? Or learning to fight?”
“I don’t know for sure, but nor do I care,” he stated shortly. “It’s none of my business. I am only discussing a cadet like this with you because you are the leader of the company from the Vast Longevity Flowing Glacier Sect. I believe you have enough sense to understand I wouldn’t bother explaining this if you were one of the other cadets.”
Zhang Mingxia went quiet for a bit, but then her face screwed up. “But this isn’t an explanation for the insulting way she treated me, Cadet Mason and Cadet Sherwood,” she replied sourly.
Officer Stanhope raised an eyebrow. “I did notice you and Cadet Sherwood seem to be rather hostile towards her compared to the others. What’s this about?”
Her angry expression stiffened, making him narrow his eyes. “Cadet Zhang. Tell me what you did,” he ordered sternly.
The cultivator seemed to wilt as she reluctantly explained how they tried to follow her to work out where she was going to sleep, and how Adrianna reacted. By the end of it, the Officer was looking at her with a dark expression on his face.
“I’d treat you that way too if I wanted to sleep,” he berated her crossly. “It is none of your business what she gets up to at night. You are not a bunch of mischievous children trying to pull pranks on people. You are going to be joining the military,” he stressed. He frowned and glanced at Adrianna. “I suppose having the sleeping habits of a cat is one of the least terrible weird personality traits to have….” he muttered.
Zhang Mingxia looked at him curiously but he ignored her and began walking off. “Anyway, we’re done here. You can have the rest of the session off for now, but I want to see no more complaints about you being her partner from now on, you hear me?” he said, jabbing a finger at her.
“Yes sir,” she replied unhappily.
Officer Stanhope had a frown on his face as he returned to his normal position before his eyes went wide and he dashed off to head towards one particular pair of opponents.
“Hey! Arventiel! I said no flying over five metres! Get down from there, and stop making faces at Cadet Liao! And you, Baxtimer!” he shouted, pointing at the short-haired redhead, currently wielding long black chains covered in raging orange flames. “Stop setting Cadet Leutia’s hair on fire! In fact, stop setting everything on fire!”
Zhang Mingxia observed him with a strange look on her face, before sighing, and slowly walking over to the area where she and Adrianna trained at. Adrianna looked over, and they briefly made eye contact, but the tall woman glanced away and continued practising her magic. The Sect heir scowled, but didn’t bother looking at her again, and walked over to where she saw Liliana and Catherine taking a break. While the two weren’t paired, their battles had ended at the same time.
“No cigar?” Catherine asked.
Zhang Mingxia gave her an odd look. “I am unfamiliar with that turn of phrase.”
“She means no luck,” Liliana explained, currently polishing her bow as she sat on a log.
Catherine frowned as she looked down at the archer. “….yes, that’s what I meant,” she said, appearing conflicted.
The Sect heir didn’t notice her strange reaction and just sighed as she leaned against a tree. “Were you aware she had been adjusting her strength as we adapted to her abilities?” she asked awkwardly.
“What? She has?” Catherine asked, shocked. “So we’re not just really, really bad?”
The heir nodded, making Catherine cross her arms. “Huh,” she said. “But…. why?”
“So we learn,” Zhang Mingxia replied dully.
“That makes me feel a bit…. unhappy,” the redhead said with a frown. “Are we that subpar compared to- oh.”
They all watched as Officer Stanhope began tearing at his hair as another pair of fighters caused him grief and wouldn’t listen to his instructions, currently destroying the surrounding landscape with overeagerly thrown elemental attacks.
“I’m not sure he’s paid enough for this,” Catherine murmured. Then she paused with a questioning look on her face. “Actually, how old is he? 27, 28-ish? Isn’t he quite young for this job?”
“He’s 36,” Liliana commented offhandedly, looking up from her bow. Catherine stared at her, so she explained, “I overheard one of the other instructors say his age.”
Catherine directed her stare back to Officer Stanhope and then scowled. “Is this the water element striking again?” she muttered darkly.
“I believe this instance is due to being Rank-3 or higher,” Zhang Mingxia announced. “Those who have passed their Rank-3 tribulations can change their appearance, as they age much slower compared to the early ranks.”
The redhead considered it and then made a face. “Does that extend to healing scars?”
Zhang Mingxia looked at her curiously. “Yes, why?”
Catherine’s nose scrunched up. “Then… what’s with Commander Arkenast?”
They all contemplated her words, thinking about the battle-scarred man, who had obviously not bothered to remove the traces of his past injuries. They gained strange expressions.
“… Personal preference, perhaps?” Zhang Mingxia spoke up hesitantly.
“I don’t get men,” Catherine muttered. She pointed to Officer Stanhope. “He chooses to look in his late twenties, while the middle-aged Commander chooses to look as terrifying as possible like he’s trying to demonstrate what will happen to everyone once they join the Navy.”
“I think the difference is Officer Stanhope is married,” Liliana replied, placing her bow back in its quiver. “Also, the Commander isn’t middle-aged. He’s 452 years old.” She blinked when she registered the bemused stares of Catherine and Zhang Mingxia.
“How do you know this stuff?!” Catherine exclaimed incredulously. “Do the Officers really like to gossip around us that much?”
“Uh…. I, just asked?” Liliana said, scratching her cheek. “They seemed happy enough to share.”
Catherine and Zhang Mingxia traded glances. Catherine leaned over to whisper into the Sect heir’s ear. “Am I that ugly?”
“I don’t quite believe that is the issue here,” Zhang Mingxia remarked, eyeing Liliana oddly. “I think her disposition is just one that enables her to endear herself to people.”
“Including a bunch of hardened, callous and cold military men and women,” Catherine muttered.
The blue-eyed archer just blinked, nonplussed, and puzzled by their conversation. They continued to make idle chatter until Liliana and Catherine said their goodbyes to continue fighting their partners. Zhang Mingxia just sighed and began practising her blade arts and footwork, now feeling a little pressured after the discovery that her spiritual arts wouldn’t help her when facing monsters.