Gazef was indeed shocked by Renner's strength, but only for a fleeting moment.

In response, Gazef swung his other fist toward Renner's face, but she tightly caught it with her other hand.

At the same time as Gazef threw his punch, his left leg kicked toward Renner's leg, attempting to throw her off balance.

However, Renner had already anticipated Gazef's intent and countered by colliding her right leg with his left.

In the next instant, from Renner's perspective, a large forehead was barreling straight toward her.

When Gazef realized all his attacks had been blocked, he didn't hesitate to use a headbutt.

Before becoming the Warrior-Captain, Gazef had often engaged in life-or-death brawls. To him, the means didn't matter—winning was all that counted.

Caught off guard by the sudden headbutt, Renner was momentarily stunned. She released Gazef and stumbled back a few steps, her head spinning.

Though Renner had greater defense than Gazef, her head wasn't as tough.

Gazef seized the opportunity to pick up a sword from the ground and slashed at Renner.

At that moment, six vampire brides emerged from the shadows, one after another throwing themselves at Gazef.

His attack was intercepted as one of the vampire brides used her body to block it.

A bloody gash appeared on the vampire bride's body but began to heal almost instantly.

"Impressive—truly worthy of the Kingdom's Warrior-Captain. I didn't expect that at all," Renner said, recovering her composure and speaking again.

"So, Warrior-Captain, how do you plan to turn the situation around now?" she asked with a smirk.

Gazef glanced at his remaining soldiers. Only a scattered few were still resisting; the rest had all perished.

These personal guards were seasoned veterans, comrades who had fought alongside Gazef countless times. And now, nearly all of them had been brutally killed here.

"Of course, I will..." Gazef adjusted his breathing, forcing himself not to let anger cloud his judgment.

"Sixfold Light Slash!"

Gazef executed his technique, striking the six vampire brides before him. Each received a deep gash across their chests, leaving massive wounds.

The severity of the injuries greatly hindered the vampires' ability to regenerate. If Gazef were to attack them again, it could very well result in their deaths. But Renner had no intention of letting Gazef have his way.

Just as Gazef finished executing his martial skill, a slender leg struck him in the stomach.

The force sent Gazef tumbling backward.

He rolled twice before stabilizing himself and landing firmly on his feet.

"Holy Ray!" Renner opened her palm, conjuring a magic circle. A beam of light shot forth from the circle in her hand.

Gazef quickly raised his sword to block the attack.

"Light Blade!" Renner unleashed another spell, summoning a sword made of pure light that flew toward Gazef from the magic circle.

Seeing the light blade, Gazef realized that his own sword couldn't block this attack. He immediately dodged to avoid it.

The light blade moved with incredible speed, grazing Gazef's arm before embedding itself into the wall.

A bloody gash appeared on Gazef's arm.

By now, all of Gazef's soldiers had been wiped out.

Renner gave Gazef no time to catch his breath. She picked up a sword from one of the fallen soldiers and charged at him.

Gazef immediately launched a counterattack.

"Martial Art: Slash!"

Clang! The two swords collided.

Gazef kicked toward Renner's lower body without hesitation—there was no room for chivalry in combat.

However, Renner evaded with an almost ghostly retreat.

The sudden lack of resistance caused Gazef to lose his balance and stumble slightly.

In that instant, Renner's sword thrust toward Gazef's neck.

Clang!

A flying sword struck Renner's blade, deflecting her attack.

Renner turned toward the figure standing by the window.

"Brian!" Gazef instinctively called out upon seeing the newcomer.

As Brian approached, he clearly saw Renner.

"Princess Renner?"

"Brian, she's not the princess!" Gazef said.

"Ah, right, there's no way the princess would be here!" Brian quickly realized.

"Actually, I really am the princess!" Renner said, telling the truth, though it was obvious no one believed her.

"Stop joking, the princess's strength isn't nearly enough to defeat Gazef," Brian said.

"How did you end up here, Brian?" Gazef asked.

"I sensed something was wrong, so I followed," Brian replied.

"Now that the two strongest of the kingdom are here, do you think you can defeat me together?" Renner said with a smile, her attitude completely playful. After all, as soon as the fight began, she had already determined that Gazef wasn't her opponent.

Renner smiled joyfully, but to Gazef and Brian, the smile was unsettling and even a little terrifying.

"Let's go!" Brian charged first.

"Secret Sword: Swallow Returning to the Nest!"

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Brian's speed increased drastically as he swung his sword toward Renner's neck. However, Renner easily blocked it with her own sword.

After Brian's attack was blocked, his speed increased once again as he swiftly retreated. Using the momentum from his sword swing, he quickly turned around and struck at Renner.

"Martial Art: Dreaming Marsh!" Renner used her self-created technique.

Renner's sword thrust toward Brian's neck without any intention of blocking his attack.

But Brian was no longer the fearful man he once was. He was confident that his sword would reach Renner first.

Clang!

Brian felt as if his weapon had collided with another sword, yet there was nothing in front of him.

It felt strangely familiar to him.

"So it's an illusion! Just like that guy from Eight Fingers," Brian said, alerting Gazef.

Gazef didn't hesitate; he appeared behind Renner.

"Martial Art: Sudden Impact!"

Gazef's sword strike came like an enraged bull, aiming for Renner's back.

Shink~ The sound of the weapon tearing through flesh filled the air.

Just as Gazef was about to land his blow on Renner, a sword pierced his abdomen.

"Wait, she's all an illusion!" Brian suddenly realized. The Renner in front of him was a mirage; the real Renner was attacking Gazef.

"Martial Technique: Flow Acceleration!" Brian quickly rushed toward Gazef.

Renner, whom he had ignored, suddenly launched an attack against him.

Brian instinctively tried to defend himself, but he blocked nothing. This confirmed for him that it was indeed an illusion.

As Brian had let his guard down against the Renner in front of him, her sword lightly pierced his chest.

"Impossible!"

Brian swung his sword and struck at Renner, but his blade passed right through her body.

"Can you tell what's real and what's fake?" the Renner he had hit suddenly spoke.

After saying that, the fake Renner vanished.

Brian rushed to Gazef's side. While Brian's injuries weren't too severe, Gazef was in a different condition. During his rapid movement, he had been stabbed by a weapon, and the damage to him was much more severe.

The two of them stood back to back, alert to their surroundings.

"Gazef, did you feel any murderous intent when you were attacked just now?" Brian asked.

"No! I didn't feel any murderous intent at all," Gazef replied.

"Neither did I! Damn it, how is she doing this?" Brian said, his expression serious.

"It seems like the two of you are only this strong," Renner reappeared, smiling as she looked at the two of them.

The principle behind Renner's ability wasn't difficult to understand. She simply outranked both of them in speed, and she also had a special skill, Absolute Camouflage.

Renner was merely disguising the fact that she had no murderous intent.

Those with a level lower than hers were unable to see through her disguise.

Renner's level was currently 46, and Peroroncino had long since informed her of the most efficient way to level up.

Gazef was at level 45, while Brian was at level 44. Gazef broke through to the Heroic realm during the battle at Crane Village, and Brian regained his confidence after meeting Gazef, allowing him to break through to the Heroic realm as well.

Both had surpassed the limits that normal humans couldn't break through through their own strength.

However, in the hands of Renner, who had been born with the special skill Genius, none of this was particularly impressive.

If Renner weren't a princess, she might have been able to break through to the Heroic realm by relying on her own strength.

It was the identity of being a princess that held her back.

"I'm not going to bully you two. Let's have a fair duel!" Renner said, hoping to shatter the confidence of the two in front of her with a straightforward confrontation.

The reason for this was that Renner had learned that Peroroncino had once resurrected Gazef.

Renner didn't think Gazef was worth resurrecting, and she was also testing how far Peroroncino would tolerate her actions.

Since parting with Peroroncino, Renner had been given the order, "Do as you see fit!"

This meant that Peroroncino had entrusted her with 100 vampire brides, leaving the planning of the kingdom's destruction entirely up to her.

Renner felt that this meant Peroroncino truly trusted her. Or perhaps, Peroroncino simply didn't care about what Renner did.

Gazef and Brian were warily watching Renner. Her strange methods of attack were something neither of them could break through.

"Sure Hit Domain!"

Brian activated his domain.

Renner took a step back, moving out of Brian's domain.

She had already heard of Brian's ability.

"Give me my sword!"

Renner tossed away the sword that had belonged to an unknown soldier.

A vampire bride handed Renner a sword with an ornate scabbard.

The sword appeared very delicate, suited for someone with a slender build.

Renner drew the sword, which had 13 rune engravings on its blade. (Peroroncino had used the Administrator's Staff to grant all the dwarven runesmith Talent.)

This was the most powerful weapon the dwarves of the Magic Kingdom could craft at present. Peroroncino had given this custom-made weapon to Renner not long ago. (Before Peroroncino's incident.)

"That weapon!" Gazef sensed the difference in this weapon. It was far more powerful than the kingdom's prized Razor Blade.

"This sword is called Black Jade," Renner said with a smile.

Renner truly cherished this sword, but its power was so overwhelming that it felt as though it effortlessly cleaved through anything—one swing and the target was gone.

Renner, holding Black Jade, confidently stepped into Brian's "Sure Hit Domain."

"Martial Art: Claw Strike!"

Brian fused his Six-Light Slash into one concentrated attack, turning his technique, which usually targeted multiple opponents, into a single devastating blow.

"Martial Art: Snowflake!"

Black Jade suddenly glowed, with small white snowflakes floating around its blade.

"Clang!"

The sword and weapon collided, sparks flying. In the next moment, Brian's weapon was shattered.

The sword swung toward Brian's face.

"Martial Art: Ability Enhancement!"

"Martial Art: Water Flow Acceleration!"

Just as Brian was in danger, Gazef appeared, standing in front of him to block the attack.

Since Gazef wielded a great sword with immense hardness, it didn't break like Brian's weapon. Instead, it withstood the impact with Renner's sword. It also seemed that Gazef's strength was suppressing Renner.

Brian casually picked up a sword from the ground.

"Martial Art: Ability Enhancement"

"Martial Art: Sure Hit Domain"

"Martial Art: Claw Strike"

During the brief moment when Gazef was suppressing Renner, Brian rapidly used his martial Arts.

Renner dismissed it with disdain and released magic with one hand.

"Light Grace!"

A shield of light appeared in front of Brian.

When Brian's sword struck the light shield, it cracked and then shattered completely.

Brian's sword continued to swing toward Renner.

At that moment, Renner realized:

"Brian's martial Art, Claw Strike, is powerful. His attack just now should have been stronger than mine, but his weapon wasn't as strong as mine, so it was his sword that broke."

But realizing this was useless.

Renner couldn't react in time.

Brian swiftly decapitated Renner.

The vampire brides around them watched emotionlessly as Renner fell dead.

Gazef and Brian were both in poor condition due to their previous injuries.

Brian dropped the sword in his hand and picked up Renner' sword. Although it wasn't the perfect fit for him, it was undoubtedly a top-tier weapon.

A vampire bride dressed in a red bridal gown stepped forward.

Gazef attacked her, but she easily blocked his strike and knocked him back with a single palm.

She was one of the trump cards that Peroroncino had given to Renner, a 50-level vampire bride, the Red-Clad Vampire Bride.

Unfortunately, Renner didn't have the chance to use her before she died.

Previously, it had been the Red-Clad Vampire Bride who used her special ability, long-range mental control, to silently make the soldiers disappear one by one.

Brian was about to use Claw Strike again, but having already used it twice, his body was pushed beyond its limits.

The Red-Clad Vampire Bride stepped forward and approached Brian.

Without hesitation, Brian swung his sword, but the Red-Clad Vampire Bride grabbed it with her hand, leaving a blood mark on her palm.

She forcibly took Renner' Black Jade sword from his hands.

"Take her body, we leave!" The Red-Clad Vampire Bride said, turning her back to Brian as she ordered the other vampire brides.

The other vampire brides took Renner' body away.

The Red-Clad Vampire Bride's mission was to protect Renner. Now that she was dead, resurrecting her became her top priority. As for revenge, that was not her concern. She felt no emotion over Renner' death.

The Red-Clad Vampire Bride was one of those vampires who didn't have many emotional fluctuations.

After the Red-Clad Vampire Bride and the other vampire brides left, Gazef and Brian sat on the ground to tend to their wounds and drink healing potions.

In the previous situation, they didn't have a chance to deal with their injuries.

"Ha, I didn't expect someone this strong. Gazef, we made it out alive," Brian said, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah, we survived..." Gazef looked at his dead subordinates, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

"If only I could have died with my men..." Gazef thought to himself.

"Gazef, now is not the time to be sentimental. We need to become stronger, and then avenge them!" Brian shouted loudly, recognizing the thoughts in Gazef's eyes.

"That person just now is definitely not someone we can't defeat. If I was at my peak, I might have had a chance to defeat her by risking everything. So, Gazef, we have no choice but to keep getting stronger."

"Swinging our swords is our life!"

In that moment, Gazef felt the strength of Brian's resolve.

It was once Brian who had given up, and Gazef saved him. Now, however, it was Gazef who wanted to give up, and Brian stepped forward, ready to save him.