A few months ago…
When the Arcane Knight exam had ended, every guild found itself with four new Squires. It was the duty of the guild to raise those Squires well and ensure they'd be ready for whatever came next.
The Wandering Coin was a guild currently led by Gorgon. She was half Arcane Knight, half supermodel, and was usually busy and practically never around her own guild base. Because of this, Briefcase, her Vice Captain, was the one always left in charge.
The Wandering Coin guild base was a long stone wall placed near the border of the kingdom that wrapped around the entire land. The base itself only took up a small part of this gigantic wall and was a large pillar that poked out from the side of it at a weird angle.
It used a series of charms and enchantments to make each room massive, so despite the pillar not looking that big, the inside of it was basically a castle with hundreds of rooms and floors.
On one of these floors, the new Squires had been placed and were ordered to clean the entire room. Said room was a training dojo that hadn't been used in nearly two hundred years, leaving dust, cob webs, and trash everywhere.
"This sucks." Brave Larison sighed. She was a young woman in her early twenties with reddish-brown hair and bright blue eyes. She was dressed very casually in a hoodie and didn't bother with armor or a weapon. "Why are we cleaning? We should be training."
"Quit complaining," Fate Williams grunted. "You're lucky a foreigner like you even made it into the Knights." Fate was in her mid-twenties and looked like how you'd imagine nobility. She was extremely beautiful with done-up blonde hair and a dress that protected very little. She also had a large, fluffy wool jacket placed over her and walked around in a pair of slippers shaped like the heads of sheep, which sort of ruined her regal look.
Brave shot the lesser noble a sour look. "And what's that supposed to mean?"
"You're not from our kingdom," Fate said flatly, giving the red-haired girl a glare. "The position of Knight should only be held by those from our kingdom, yet here you are."
Brave stood up and got in the other woman's face, returning the glare. "Excuse you? My brother is a very powerful Knight. Not only did he get a title and Knight Gear, but he is destined to eventually become the captain of the Pantheon guild."
"You only got in because of Battery," Fate said, flipping her hair casually. "So pathetic."
"And you only got in because your daddy is a Knight." Brave shot back. "Don't act like you nobles struggle to find spots here. Practically every Knight has ties to your families."
"I got in through skill-"
"You got in because someone you never knew did something great." Brave stated bluntly. "And years later you're still living off that person's hardship. You're all lucky Haru declared those who helped her of noble blood; otherwise, you'd be as worthless as the rest of us."
"Will you two shut up?" Kale Blue sighed. He was the youngest of them at only eighteen and came from the noble family of Blue, which served directly under the Lunars. He had extremely pale skin, and his hair was very blue. He was also skin and bones, looking frail, with chainmail draped over him and a pair of short swords at his side. "You two are both acting so tough, but we all know the truth." He looked at Fate and Brave. "We got demolished in the exams. None of us are special, and that first test proved it. I was destroyed by that Cultivator."
Brave winced and grabbed at her neck, recalling how easily it had been snapped by that Yuan girl. She was lucky that had been just a simulation; otherwise she'd truly be dead. Fate was also shivering, and the memory of being punched so hard that her heart exploded flashed through her mind.
"That Yuan clan member was a monster." Fate agreed.
"You guys are lucky." In the corner, Nick Ale let out a bitter laugh. "I didn't even get to fight her. I was backstabbed."
"Backstabbed?"
"This incredibly weak girl, Olivia, grabbed me from behind, and she stabbed me to death." He hissed and rubbed at his side, getting phantom pains from that incident. "I trusted her, and she betrayed me. That bitch ended up as a Knight also. How does that make any sense? She's no Knight. She's a witch. A lying traitor."
Fate eyed the three Squires up, and then she giggled. "Well, you know, there is one good thing about all of this."
"Oh?" Kale raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"
"That Yuan girl didn't even become a Knight, and that… witch was placed into the Phoenix Flight guild. Do you know what that means?"
"What?" Brave asked curiously.
Fate clapped her hands, and her smile grew. "We can get our revenge! By being placed into a guild, we're going to get lots of training, as well as special pills, which will accelerate our growth! They say that when you become a Squire, you become fifty times stronger and 'level up' a ton! All of us are going to improve so much while those losers in the Phoenix Flight guild will slow down and be unable to keep up. We'll evolve and grow, and should we ever run into any of them again, I'm certain that we'll be able to beat them."
Nick got a look in his eyes and chuckled. "Yes. That sounds good to me. I'll improve and grow. While that witch stays at her level, I'll become a being so great she'll regret ever stabbing me in the back."
"And if we ever run into Yuan again, we'll break her pretty neck." Brave smirked and cracked her knuckles. "We're going to become strong."
And so, just like that, the four Squires who had been at each other's throats came to a mutual understanding.
They'd become strong enough to defeat the people who humiliated them.
***
Present day…
Nick bit his lip hard enough to draw blood as he glared down at the smiling face of Ken Yuan. He hadn't even gotten to face her in the first exam since Olivia had taken him out, but apparently Yuan killed his other three teammates so easily.
This led to Fate, Brave, and Kale, all three holding a powerful grudge against the Yuan woman. All four of them had trained their asses off, doing various dungeons, upgrading their gear, consuming pills, and so much more, all for the hope they'd be able to get their rematch. When they learned that Ken Yuan had become a criminal, they were all eager to challenge her, and it just so happened that Lady Luck was smiling down upon them, because here she was now.
After the military outpost in the city was defeated, Briefcase had been informed of the terrorists. Since they were just mere Phoenix Flight members, he didn't take it very seriously and decided to just send some Squires and one regular Knight. After all, the Phoenix Flight guild was incredibly weak, so beating three of their members, two of which were Squires, should have been incredibly easy with just one Knight and four Squires.
Yes. It was stated again and again and again that the Phoenix Flight guild was the weakest, so why? How? Nick couldn't fathom it. How had his Vil level spell been deflected so easily?
"Hey!" Ken Yuan called up to the others. "Why are you all just standing there? Why don't we chat? Or if you prefer, we can do a reenactment of the first exam? This commotion has caused all the locals to leave, so no one is here to get in our way! Good for you guys since nobody will see me destroy you."
"Don't get cocky, you bitch!" Brave yelled down from the perched hand.
"How am I the bitch? You're the one whining." Ken snorted, enraging the red-haired girl. Lazily, she glanced at Ragna. "Yo, I'll beat these scrubs, get Biggie, Sieg, and that other girl out of here."
Ragna hummed. "Sadly, it won't be that easy. I can sense another Knight waiting near the entrance. He's likely ready to step in if the Squires lose."
"Can you beat him?"
"Perhaps." Ragna hummed. "I'll try at the very least." He grabbed Biggie, the crystal that held Sieg, and Kim. "Come on, you two. Let's go."
Kim wanted to protest, but she couldn't as Ragna moved far too fast. She glanced back at Ken, her eyes transfixed on the blonde-haired girl who became smaller and smaller as Ragna left the battlefield.
"I found her." Kim smiled. "My teacher."
Back on the battlefield, Ken watched as the metal hand began to get lower and lower to the ground. Once it got close enough, the four Squires jumped off and stood before her. She gazed at Brave, Fate, Nick, and Kale. Despite acting cocky, she was honestly a bit worried. All four of them had gotten way stronger, and she could tell they were out to kill her.
This was going to be a real battle, and it was a four-on-one. She'd have normally never sent Ragna off, but that girl and Biggie couldn't fight, so he needed to get them out of here, and Sieg was still trapped in that weird crystal thing.
Ken sighed and began to stretch. "Oh well. Four on one, five on one, one hundred on one, it doesn't matter to me." She grinned. "I'm the-" Brave used a Mana Step and flashed forward, ramming a powerful punch of swirling blue energy directly into Ken's stomach. It caused the cultivator to nearly throw up, and before she could respond, Brave sucker-punched her across the face. Ken was sent flying back, and she rammed into the side of a building, cracking it. Despite the pain, she still smiled. "-strongest." She finished. "Row Flame Bolt!"
Fire swirled in the air, and Ken launched out her spell, shooting it toward Brave, but it never reached her. "Vil Water Domain." Off to the side Kale held a finger up, and the rain from the storm began to glow, and the energy in the air shifted. Before the air had been filled with chaotic mana, but now it was all water mana. The fire spell fizzled out and faded, never even reaching Brave, and Ken's eyes went wide. "No fire magic of Row level shall exist within my Domain," Kale declared.
Brave flashed a grin of her own and balled her hand into a fist, then pointed out with her finger at the surprised Ken. "Row Imaginary Bang." A beam of blue energy launched from the tip of her finger and howled through the air, but Ken managed to throw herself out of the way.
The building behind Ken shattered and collapsed as the beam pierced through the stone as if it wasn't even there, but the fox girl paid that no mind, and instead she charged forward on all fours, blitzing toward Brave. "Vil Flame Bolt!" She launched fire from her elbow, using it like a rocket, and smashed a strong punch into Brave's chest, which the Knight barely blocked with a barrier. A shimmering shield covered Brave, but Ken struck again and shattered it, and she slammed her fingers forward as if they were knives and impaled them into Brave's stomach, making the girl yell in pain. She went to strike again, but one of the other Squires stopped her.
"Row Fluff Boxer."
Ken recoiled when a powerful fist suddenly slammed into her face. The force of the punch nearly caused her to black out, and she was left seeing stars. It was followed by a second, even stronger strike to her shoulder, which absolutely shattered it and once again launched her flying back. She roughly rolled across the ground and managed to slam her hand into the ground to halt her fall. Her shattered shoulder popped back into place, and she glared up in anger but then froze at what she saw.
"What in the world?"
A ten-foot-tall sheep stood on two legs. Its eyes were glowing with a powerful blue light, and it wore a pair of shorts that were a deep black. Large red boxing gloves also covered its fists, and it was making several quick steps back and forth, throwing out air jabs.
Off to the side, Fate grinned and clasped her hands together. "Row Fluff Samurai." She declared.
The sheep's body glowed, and suddenly it changed. Now it was decked out in traditional Mordheim armor, and it carried a long samurai sword.
"Seriously? She makes sheep?"
The samureep sheathed its sword, then used a Mana Step, flashing forward and drawing with enough force to slice the street apart. Ken would have been split in two, but she managed to jump into the air and just barely avoided the strike. As she came down, she rammed her leg into the weird sheep's head, tearing it clean off. Stuffing and wool blasted out of it, and Fate was already weaving her hands together to summon another one.
Ken used the first one's corpse and launched herself off it as hard as she could. She came flying at Fate, ready to take her out, but Nick jumped in the air and pointed his sword at her. "Vil Iron Wall!" The metal formed into a barrier, and Ken rammed into it hard enough to dent it, but she couldn't shatter it in one go.
Kale then appeared next to her and swung two short swords, and thanks to his Water Domain spell, his energy was greatly amplified, cutting the cost of his spells by a ton while also increasing their damage. "Row Water Cutter." Blood flowed as Ken failed to dodge this one, and her side was split open. "Row Water Cutter. Row Water Cutter. Row Water Cutter." Kale did a dance, going back and forth, and kept launching his slices, nicking Ken each time. Her regeneration kept healing and mending, but the attacks just kept coming. "Row Water Cutter. Row Water Cutter. Row Water Cutter."
"Vil Imaginary Strike." As soon as she saw an opening, Brave Mana Stepped behind Ken and compressed a great amount of mana into her fist and then jammed that strike into Ken's stomach. Her punch went all the way through, punching a hole in the fiery woman, and Brave's fist came out the back.
Ken felt her organs erupt, and the mana that was around Brave spread out into the inside of her body, shredding her from the inside out. Using all her might, Ken grabbed Brave's arm and tore it out of her; then she threw the woman away, tossing her at Kale.
"Vil Flame Feel!"
"Row Fluff Axemen."
The right side of Ken's body nearly got torn off her as Fate's sheep appeared behind her and swung a woodsman's axe with enough force to cut down a dozen trees.
"Row Iron Spear! Row Iron Tree!" Nick's sword spat out a massive lance, which rammed into Ken's chest and impaled her. The metal then continued to spread, turning into a branch within her body.
The large sheep Fate created grabbed Ken and twisted around, smashing her into the ground, and the iron branch within her body took root, pinning her down just in time for Kale to take aim.
"Vil Water Dragon!" Kale declared, the water swirling into the image of a snake-like dragon that blasted toward the downed cultivator.
Ken gritted her teeth, and fire flared around her as she raised her mana to the max. "Vil Flame Dragon!" Using her teacher's spell, she unleashed an attack just as mighty as Kale's, a winged beast blasting out of her.
Water and fire met in the air, and the two dragons slammed together, both spells canceling each other out. It also kicked up a wave of steam blocking everyone's sight, and Ken used that as her chance. She tore her body apart, peeling herself out of the metal branch that was pierced through her, and she tumbled to the ground, her guts spilling out of her.
"Vil Flame Feel-"
Brave appeared next to her before her healing was done, and the woman smashed a powerful kick directly into Ken's head, nearly cracking it open. Dazed and seeing stars, Ken recoiled, and her head was forced up just in time to see Nick's massive iron hand, which smashed down into her, crushing and shattering the ground as well as most of her bones and organs.
Off to the side, Nick grinned as he watched his massive iron hand slam down onto the terrorist. It was true that in terms of power Ken Yuan was very strong. All of them had expected they could easily beat her since they got their training, but it seemed they had underestimated her total power.
Still, even with her strength, she was no match for all four of them. Thanks to Kale's Water Domain, fire spells doubled in mana cost and had their power halved. On top of that, Row level spells couldn't even be used at all, which meant if Ken needed to use a spell, she'd have to use a double-cost Vil level one.
They had come up with the plan due to her regeneration. Cultivators were known for being hard to put down since they could merge with their spirits and recover from damage that would kill any normal mage. The way to defeat a Cultivator was to either damage them so badly they were reduced to mince meat and couldn't heal or run out of the mana they had.
The Water Domain was also taxing Ken's basic healing, and soon she'd run out, especially as all four of them were dealing massive amounts of damage to her.
They were going to win.
The iron fist had rammed into Ken so hard she had been shoved into the sewers below the city. She took a moment to catch her breath and winced as her organs and bones recovered.
'L-Lord Yuan,' The voice of Yujin said quietly. 'I'm reaching the limit of my energy.'
"It's not your fault." Ken rubbed her head, feeling her skull and brain fixed. "I took too many heavy blows and allowed myself to be damaged. We're not out of this yet, though-"
The roof above her shattered a chain of blue energy wrapped around her neck. Ken began to choke, and the chain was tugged up, dragging her body through the destroyed roof and back to the city up top.
Brave laughed and began to swing the chain, which was attached to Ken, around, smashing the girl into various buildings. It was a good thing the guards had told everyone to evacuate the block because the Knights were holding nothing back and didn't seem to care about damage at all.
Ken grabbed the chain that was around her neck and snapped it right as Nick reached her. "Vil Iron Explosion!" He declared and slashed his sword directly across Ken's stomach. The wound was shallow, but the true damage came next; for every bit of iron within Ken's blood, it began to glow, and then she screamed in pain as sections of her body erupted.
Various holes were torn through her flesh, black smoke billowing out of her, and her heart stopped. She dropped to the ground, vomiting, and was forced to use a lot of her mana to repair herself. "Vil Flame Feel. Vil Flame Feel. Vil-"
"Row Fluff Boxer."
Fate's sheep reached Ken and began to violently beat her into the ground. It delivered punch after punch and hit her until she dropped to the ground. All four Knights watched as Ken's tail and ears faded away. Then, a second later, her blonde hair began to flicker.
'L-Lord Yuan. I can't maintain the form any longer.'
"It's fine, Yujin." Ken groaned and spat out a tooth. "Don't push yourself."
'I-I must. Your body is still damaged. If I leave now, you won't heal!'
"I'll be okay, Yujin." Ken clasped her hands together and forcefully dropped the form. Her hair and eyes finally returned to normal, and Yujin appeared in front of her, falling to the ground. His body had grown extremely small, and his glowing aura had faded significantly. Ken smiled at the Knights, who were all still looking at her.
Brave's eyes were narrowed, but the woman had a smirk on her face. "You're giving up?"
"Sure." Ken hummed. "Yujin's tired, and I don't want to get beaten up anymore."
"You're smart." Brave nodded. "Surrendering is the best choice of action."
"Well, looks like you got me. Guess I underestimated you." Ken grabbed her gourd and got ready to seal Yujin back in. "You guys win; you can go ahead and arrest me if you want-"
"Row Iron Spear."
The gourd she held exploded as a rod of iron shot through it and her hand, leaving a hole through her palm. Ken screamed in pain and clutched at her wound. "What the fuck? I had surrendered?"
Brave also looked shocked and glared at Nick. "What the hell are you doing?"
"What?" Nick grinned. "I didn't hear her surrender, and for all I know, that could have had a weapon in it."
"I also didn't hear her surrender." Fate hummed.
"Huh?" Brave gave the other girl a bewildered look. "Are you guys deaf?"
"It's a little tragic." Kale sighed. "We asked her several times to stop, but she just wouldn't. In the end, the terrorist was too dangerous, and we were forced to get her done. I bet such a story would get us noticed by the Knights, right?"
Brave suddenly looked disgusted. "Are you guys serious? That's not how a Knight behaves! Stop this at once!"
"Or what?" Fate rolled her eyes. "I should have known a foreigner like you would side with this mutt." As she spoke, the large boxer sheep stomped over to Ken and went to smash its foot down on her head. "She's dangerous. We're doing our jobs as Knights and getting rid of the monster."
The sheep brought its foot down toward Ken, but Yujin flared up and shoved her out of the way, transforming into a large fox form. He roared, but the sheep's foot stomped down and nearly shattered his back. The sheep then began to strike at Yujin's face, hitting him over and over again.
"No!" Ken screamed. Without the container, she couldn't pull Yujin to safety, and he also now lacked his main form of recovery.
"He's the last of your worries." Nick declared. "Row Iron Spear!" Another rod rammed into Ken's leg, and Nick began to fire several of them through sections of the downed cultivator's body. "Row Iron Spear!"
"Row Imaginary Shield!" A blue barrier formed around Ken, blocking the last rod, which was aimed at her head. Brave held her hand out and winced when her three teammates glared at her. "Stop! We're Knights! We're supposed to be heroes! Like Haru and the other legends! This isn't what heroes do!"
Nick sighed and shook his head. "You don't get it, do you? We are heroes! That's why we can do stuff like this! We're justified! She's an enemy! You don't show mercy to enemies because they won't show mercy to you! She has to die! Didn't she kill you during the first exam?"
"That was a simulation!"
"And she tried to kill us just now!"
"When we were all fighting back! That was different! Death between two warriors is something that can be noble, but what you guys are wanting is an execution! And on a person willing to surrender, no less."
Fate rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Fluffers, kill the fox."
The sheep raised its fist and was about to bring it down, but then it exploded into a hail of cotton. Fate's smug look faded, and she frowned, taking a cautious step back.
The barrier around Ken was gone, and despite having holes in her body, the cultivator was standing up. She was also poking at herself. Her finger would touch random spots on her body, and then she ended it by jamming it into the side of her head.
"I wanted to give up because I thought it would be a shortcut to getting to Olivia." Ken finished checking her body over and lowered herself, looking at Yujin. "I've changed my mind." All emotion was gone from her face. Not anger, not pain, not even disgust. She was completely blank.
Kale felt a chill, but he fought through it and lifted his swords. "Row-"
Ken was suddenly crouched down next to him, and without saying anything, she grabbed him by the balls and pulled, ripping them away. Kale let out a hellish scream and crashed to the ground as blood poured out of his pants. Needless to say, his concentration ended, and the Water Domain vanished. This allowed Yujin to heal up a bit better.
Ken tossed the discarded hump of flesh away and then kicked Kale upside the head, mercifully knocking him out.
"What the fuck?!" Nick squeaked out and collapsed to the ground in horror.
"I didn't mind you hurting me, but harming Yujin makes me mad," Ken said quietly. "He's very precious to me, so I'll be taking something precious from you. Nobles love spreading their bloodline, so I decided the men won't have kids and I'll make the women too ugly to get a husband."
Ken looked to Fate next, who was pale and shaking. The blonde girl screamed and clasped her hands together. "Vil Fluff Knight!" This time, the largest sheep yet appeared clad in thick armor. "Kill her! Kill her! Kill her-"
Ken flashed behind the sheep, which was too slow, and she grabbed Fate by the jaw and snapped it to the side, cutting the woman's shrieks off. Then Ken entered the same boxing stance the Sheep had used, and she began to deliver vicious punches, caving in Fate's face.
By the time she was down, Fate no longer held any beauty, and she was babbling nonsense, losing focus and ending her own spell.
Nick dropped his sword to the ground and shook his head. "No, I'm done, I-"
Ken reached him and smashed him into the ground. After that, she took her foot and brought it down on his crotch as hard as she could, hitting him over and over again until only a red smear remained on the front of his pants, and he cried himself to unconsciousness.
Brave stumbled back when Ken glanced at her, and the mage raised her shaking arms, entering a fighting stance, but the look on her face made it clear she was terrified.
Ken sighed and walked over to Yujin, picking him back up. "You guys arrived at this place pretty quickly." She said quietly. "Take them back to your base. I'm sure they have medics and a Phoenix potion or two somewhere that can regrow the organs. Take too long, and it'll leave a nasty scar."
Brave blinked. "Y-You're going?"
"If I knocked you out, then no one would be able to get them back in time to save their lives," Ken said in an annoyed tone. Her emotions were returning, and she winced as the pain set back in and her wounds grew much worse. "Hurry up and leave. They can still recover from what I did to them. I just wanted to teach them a lesson, not actually disfigure them. Let them know, though, that the next time I see them, it'll be their throats that I tear out."
Brave gulped and then watched as Ken began to weakly limp away. Nervously, Brave glanced around at the downed Squire. "Looks like we lost yet again."