[Vol. 8] Chapter 100: The Swordswoman
If only the Church had come to chase and stop them, Rudolph was more than 90% confident he could complete the escape plan perfectly with the help of his outside allies. But if other unknown forces got involved, it would create a lot of problems, and that was the main reason he kept urging the group to move faster.
But in the end, something still went wrong...
Very soon, the head of the family rushed through the not-too-long line of carriages with his guards and reached the front.
Their destination, the teleportation gate, was built in the countryside, far from the city. By now, their group had left the main road and entered a quiet village path. There were barely any people around. On the wide open fields full of golden rice plants, a single person standing ahead on the road immediately caught Rudolph’s eye, and his pupils shrank slightly.
It was a woman.
She wore simple clothes with no makeup. Her long gray hair, an uncommon sight in the Holy Empire, was loosely tied back and hung down behind her. She carried a sword at her waist. Though she had a bit of beauty, to Rudolph, who had seen countless beautiful women from many different races around the world, she didn’t stand out much in looks.
What truly caught his attention was her presence, or more accurately her aura.
She was just standing there quietly, but somehow, this gray-haired girl, probably just a regular human and maybe around twenty years old, felt like she was completely one with the world around her. For a brief moment, Rudolph even had the illusion that there was no one there at all, like the space in front of him was empty.
But when he blinked again, that feeling flipped. Suddenly, it felt like he wasn’t just looking at one lonely girl…
But at the entire world itself.
Heaven and humanity becoming one.
This was not just a feeling. It was a sign of a powerful level in martial arts. A state of mind and body that could only be reached through deep understanding and connection with nature and life.
It was a mysterious power that could only be shown by those who had returned to the basics and found true clarity in their martial path. Since Rudolph was a child, he had only ever felt this kind of power from one other person.
Coincidentally, that person had also been a pure human.
The strongest warrior in the Austre Empire, unmatched for a hundred years, who eventually became lonely, sealed his sword, and retired to the mountains to open a dojo and teach his martial wisdom to future generations. He was the founder of the “Swift Wind Style,” and many believed he was the strongest human to ever live, the Sword Saint.
The Swift Wind Sword Saint, Bevis Bernard.
Although the aura around the girl in front of him still felt young and not yet fully developed, unlike the Sword Saint, whose power could flow smoothly at will, she was like a young dragon compared to an ancient one.
There was still a big gap between them, but either one was something normal people could never hope to stand against. Both belonged to a whole different level of power.
And more importantly, she used a sword, just like the Sword Saint. She had reached the same state of “Heaven and humanity becoming one.” So many similarities, could it really just be a coincidence?
Could she be… one of the Sword Saint’s six personal disciples? Or maybe a hidden student that no one knew about?
Rudolph hesitated.
He didn’t believe in gods. He didn’t worship them, and he wasn’t afraid of them either. In his mind, if such powerful god-like beings truly existed, like the Church said, they would never lower themselves to deal with a mere human like him.
That’s why, instead of fearing the distant, unknown Goddess, he feared someone real, someone who had shown overwhelming power without care for rules or consequences.
He feared the Sword Saint more.
Because if they made an enemy of the Sword Saint, the Lombard family would be in serious trouble.
“......”
Most of Rudolph’s anger vanished the moment he realized this. He knew very well, whether he looked at her strength or her possible background, fighting this girl was the worst choice. Even though it was obvious she had come with bad intentions, and even though time was short and he was extremely anxious, he still forced himself to calm down. After thinking for a moment, he raised his voice slightly and spoke in as polite a tone as he could manage.
“Praise the Goddess. May I ask, young lady, what is your name, and why are you blocking our path? I am Rudolph Lombard, the head of the Lombard family. In the name of the Goddess, I have urgent business to attend to. If there’s no special reason, please kindly let us pass.”
Hearing his respectful and slightly cautious voice, the girl finally looked up at him.
Her eyes were very normal, no glow, no strange symbols. Compared to the angels or Saintesses Rudolph had seen before, her black-and-white eyes looked clear and plain. Yet they felt like mirrors that could see through all lies. That look alone made Rudolph pause, especially since he had just casually used the name of the Goddess out of habit.
The next second, the gray-haired girl shook her head and softly opened her lips.
Her voice was also calm and ordinary, but what she said made the face of everyone in the Lombard family, including Rudolph, change slightly.
“At a time like this, you’re still trying to use the name of the Goddess to trick people? Rudolph Lombard, nothing in this world comes for free. As one of your elders liked to say, ‘If you accept the cause, you must face the result.’ Even immortals and saints can’t escape this chain of cause and effect. So what makes you think your kind, mere mortals, can?”
“So… will you kneel and surrender? Or do you want me to do it by force?”
The moment she said that, the air went completely silent, you could hear a pin drop.
“...Tch.”
Rudolph’s face twisted with changing emotions. A moment ago he still held on to a bit of hope, but now his expression turned cold and fierce. He raised his hand and gave the command without hesitation:
“Give it everything you’ve got!!!”
As soon as he shouted, over ten figures shot out from different parts of the carriage line, attacking the girl from all directions!
From just a few words, it was already clear, this girl knew all about the Lombard family’s situation, and even what was going on in the Holy Capital. She was clearly waiting here to stop them on purpose. Now the situation had reached the point of no return. No matter how strong she was or what background she had, Rudolph had no choice but to fight.
What came next could be dealt with later. But if they were stopped here, there would be no later for the Lombard family.
As one of the top noble families in the Holy Empire, second only to the three Divine Bloodlines, the Lombards had very deep roots. They had trained their own private warriors, fighters completely loyal to the family, not connected to the Church at all. Even now, with the family rebelling against the country, these warriors chose to follow Rudolph without hesitation. They were one of his most valuable trump cards.
Compared to the pawns left behind in Angel City to distract the enemy, the hundred-plus fighters guarding the convoy were all incredibly strong, each at least as powerful as a high-ranked adventurer, with Earth-level strength or above. They were trained killers, elite family warriors who lived for battle.
And the ten or so attacking now had received special body-enhancing techniques from a secret organization. Their physical strength was already close to the limit of what living beings could reach. If someone was caught off guard by their sudden group attack, even a legendary warrior might die on the spot!