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"Alright, little one, how does it look now?"
Just past 7 AM, inside the cabin where Nia and Mengdie were resting, Xiu was proudly examining a piece of special oil-absorbing paper in his hand. Printed on it was a small black flame snake symbol, which he had just removed from Nia’s shoulder.
Nia, trying to turn her arm, touched her shoulder. Where once was the black snake tattoo, her skin was now flawlessly clear, free from any hateful marks. Barely believing it, she repeatedly touched the skin on her shoulder. Once she was sure the tattoo was really gone, she suddenly jumped up, excitedly running around the cabin.
"Fantastic! I'm free from the Black Flame Snake! Hey, useless magician, you're amazing! A magician gave me this tattoo, and I couldn't remove it no matter what I tried. How did you do it with just a piece of paper?"
Xiu laughed heartily, tossing the oil-absorbing paper into a nearby furnace. In just a few seconds, the black flame snake symbol disappeared. The apprentice magician, leaning on his staff, struck a deliberately profound pose and chuckled, "See? Now you must admit that technology is more powerful than magic, right? Hahaha, I really am a genius!"
"Yeah! You really are a genius!"
Nia, relieved to have her shoulder free of the tattoo, was in high spirits. Complimenting him seemed natural.
"Yes, I am a genius! Go on, keep praising me! Hahaha!"
"Yeah, you're a genius! I'm going to show my arm to Mengdie."
After tossing a casual compliment to the "genius," an extremely excited Nia rushed out of the cargo hold, heading towards the bow. But just as she pushed open the door to the bow, a loud crash sounded mere meters from her!
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"Bang—!"
A person wielding a huge sword crashed onto the cabin roof like a cannonball. The wooden boards shattered behind him, sending splinters flying into Nia's face, stinging her. But before she could react, the person immediately got up, sword in hand, and charged again towards the bow!
There, a girl with blood at the corner of her mouth and her body covered in dirt and sword cuts stood. Her gaze was fixed intently on the charging swordsman.
"What’s going on?!"
The scene was baffling to Nia, but even more astonishing events followed quickly. The swordsman feinted with his great sword, and as the girl retreated cautiously, he spun around and appeared behind her! His blade mercilessly aimed for the girl's spine!
But the girl's response was calm and collected. She lifted her left leg backward, bending her upper body forward, forming a T-shape with her right foot as the pivot. The sword grazed past her hair and back, and before the swordsman could change his move, the girl's raised left heel struck his sword-wielding hands. The swordsman's face tightened, his sweaty hands unable to hold the hilt, and the great sword was kicked mid-air by the girl.
Disarming her opponent, the girl's advantage surged. She leaped up, aiming a rapid kick at the swordsman's head! Startled, he raised his hands to protect his face. But the girl's move was a feint, and before he realized it, she was close to his body, her elbow, charged with full force, aimed directly at his abdomen!
"Oof—!!!"
Edward closed his eyes, bracing for the blow that could put him in bed for weeks. But soon, he realized Mengdie's elbow had stopped just before hitting him. Looking up, he saw a smile on the girl's face.
"Clang!"
The great sword landed on the deck with a loud noise. Mengdie exhaled, retracting her elbow and stepping back, bowing to Edward in gratitude.
"Mengdie Sister!!!"
As the fight ended, a horrified Nia immediately rushed to embrace Mengdie, worriedly looking at the blood on her lips.
"Mengdie Sister! Mengdie Sister! Are you okay? Why did that jerk hit you?! He... he... was he trying to force himself on you?!"
Mengdie casually wiped the blood from her lips, laughing it off. "Little girl, where did your mind go? We were just practicing real combat."
"Real combat... practice?" Xiu also emerged, slowly walking to Edward's side, then looking at Mengdie. The wounds on both of them were hard to associate with just "practice."
Nia, however, didn’t care about practice or not. She saw the blood on Mengdie's lips and Edward's unreserved stab at Mengdie’s back. After confirming Mengdie was not seriously hurt, she ran up to Edward, who was picking up his sword, and fiercely kicked his wrist.
"Nia!" Mengdie exclaimed, hastily scolding her.
Nia, pretending not to hear Mengdie, pointed at Edward, who was holding his sword, trembling like a child who had done something wrong. "Hey! You jerk! You imprisoned my sister, and now you want to do what to Mengdie Sister?!"
Edward’s face turned slightly red. Ignoring the blood at his mouth, he muttered, "I... she... it was Mengdie, she asked me to give it my all... so I did..."
"So, because my sister asked you to give it your all, you wanted to kill her?! If Mengdie Sister had dodged even a moment later, she would be dead under your sword now!!!"
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