Display of skills

On Mantrea, back at the mansion in the middle of the lake, Julie supervised the soldiers during their daily routine from a giant pillar of water that moved along with her steps. However, the pillar was only a couple of meters tall, allowing her to walk among the troops.

The soldiers felt her watchful presence but were mostly focused on their daily training. She moved back and forth through the camp, giving orders. "Keep up the training, and make the new squad do extra pushups! We will have Remenant training in the afternoon!"

The commanders of the legion stood up and shouted in response, "Yes, Captain!"

Julie smiled confidently and started surfing rapidly toward the mansion. Inside the mansion, Betanya was accompanied by one of the soldiers on duty, who watched her with a murderous gaze but kept his distance.

Chump's sister, Darinma, was studying diligently in the back garden. Her eyes were a bit dry from crying earlier, but now she had a doll with her and a cute frog to keep her company.

Behind the giant throne, which was perfectly seven meters tall, only a delicate woman's hand was visible. The hand had large, sharp nails, and the skin was a shade of blue celeste. In that hand, she held a glass of wine, a universal indulgence.

She spoke to Darinma in a well-mannered manner, albeit slowly, making an effort to be understood by her companion in the local language. "How is the study going?"

Darinma was startled at first, placing down her pencil before responding. Although her words were initially unintelligible, she began to speak slowly in their language, saying, "I am... starting... to get it..."

"Good," the giant woman replied, taking a sip of her drink and continuing to speak slowly to ensure Darinma could understand. "Why did you cry? If something bothers you, you can tell me."

Darinma responded softly, a faint smile appearing on her face. "M-My brother sent me a letter... It was delivered by the butler..."

"Interesting... Your brother survived the Harvest as well. You are lucky, dear," the woman commented. "Most prisoners lose the will to fight or live after the Harvest, that explains your case. Very well, is there any information that tells us where your brother is? If you work hard enough for me, I will make sure your brother is safely transported here."

Darinma hesitated nervously before responding, "My brother is... My brother is... I am sorry, I don't know how to say it..."

"Take your time," the woman said, taking another sip of wine while maintaining a patient demeanor.

But to Ladice's surprise, she was able to catch the words even as the woman drank. "My brother is free in my world, Ladice."

The giant woman spat out her wine in shock. Her thoughts raced, "The reports said that no non-human was sighted in Clyon's Democracy territory for days! And yet Ephiron brought a letter from his brother while being there?!...I will talk to him later..."

"Are you okay?" Darinma asked curiously.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry. I am surprised by it..." the woman replied.

In the front yard, Sharlindra impatiently waited for Julie to return, while she was scolded by Granny. Sharlindra was dressed in a maid's uniform, and her gloves were dirty from her chores. Granny's scolding voice and closed eyes conveyed her disappointment.

"I am disappointed in you, young lady," Granny scolded. "You seem to have talent, and you completed your tasks well, but you got your dress dirty and were careless in doing your chores. Is there something in my explanations you didn't understand?"

Sharlindra rolled her eyes, annoyed by the situation. "But we did the job correctly, right? It's done, and it was done quickly. So you should actually—"

But Granny cut her off. "Punish you! Look at your dress!" She slapped part of Sharlindra's dress in disapproval. "You just created more work for those who worked at night. That dress could have been easily washed, but now they had to work harder for hours to clean it."

"Relax, just put it in the washing machine with the other clothes. I can even teach you—"

Sharlindra was dismissive, but Granny interrupted her again. "I don't know how things were done where you came from, but here we wash clothes by hand. Tonight, you won't sleep; you will clean all the regular clothes!"

"But—"

"No! You will, or you won't get any food! That's final!" Granny declared firmly. She then looked toward the entrance, where Julie was approaching, standing proudly on the water. "Tch, saved by the torrent. Fine, I want to see how you handle thau weapons!"

Granny used the moisture that Julie brought to create a chair, even if it took several minutes. Her grandchild came over to look beside her.

Following Julie was a brigade of soldiers. Half of them appeared to be old veterans, their weapons half decorated or partially destroyed. T

he other half of the brigade consisted of younglings, barely adults, with brand-new weapons and armor, but it was evident that they barely knew how to move the water along with them.

Once they arrived, they formed a neat formation at the entrance of the garden.

Julie commanded her aura over every soldier. "Attention! Today will be a battle simulator, one-on-one fights against your opponents. Your objective is to defeat your rival. No lethal blows or Remenant are allowed. When one of the targets is in a lethal position or incapacitates the other, I will end the fight, acknowledging the victorious one."

In unison, the soldiers responded, "Yes, ma'am!"

Julie then turned to Sharlindra with a cocky smile. "Hope you're ready, Slave. Let's see what you're made of."

Sharlindra laughed confidently, dusting off her dress and cracking her arms. "I'll make you eat those words back at ya, bitch. Tell me, which weapon do you want me to show off?" The banshee walked forward confidently, rolling up her sleeves and cracking her shoulders. It produced satisfying sounds of bones popping.

Julie stopped her with a raised hand and a laugh. "Wait, we're ready, but there's one more person we must wait for before we proceed."

The maidens gathered again at the front in anticipation. The soldiers exchanged curious glances, underestimating the capabilities of the new maiden. Slowly, the air grew colder, and little snowflakes began to form above the mansion.

The fish in the surroundings sensed a great disturbance in the air as the flow of Remenant shifted toward the water. Suddenly, a massive column of water rose into the sky from the back garden's side. Its trajectory indicated it would fall on top of the mansion.

However, before the water could split in the air and rain down on the mansion, it froze in different parts at different time frames over the next few seconds. After a moment, a great dome of ice shards formed in perfect equilibrium above the mansion.

If anyone looked up, they would see that the reflection of those shards created a clear image of the back garden, and not a single shard, piece of ice, or drop of water altered the mansion, its surroundings, or the garden itself. It was a perfect improvised dome on top of it.

The veterans and Julie nodded and smiled, impressed by the magnificent feat accomplished in mere seconds and with such precise finesse. The newcomers were in shock, not only by the sudden turn of events but also by how they could see every tiny detail reflected in the back garden.

Comments like "That's Ladice for you" or "The General is as sharp as ever, I see" could be heard among the onlookers. Even the commanders supervising the duels, who had initially seen fear in the newcomers, now felt more confident.

Darinma was astounded by the display of power, feeling like she was watching a circus from the front row but with real abilities on display.

Soon, she noticed the sudden drop in temperature and began to shiver. Before she could say anything, bubbles filled with hot water surrounded her, not touching her but providing enough warmth to keep her comfortable in the cold environment.

"Take a rest, Darinma, the human. You've been studying for hours now. If you wish to watch the battles unfold, you are free to watch through my shards," the woman on the throne spoke softly, her tone showing subtle intrigue regarding the new banshee maiden.

Darinma nodded, grateful for the consideration, and settled more comfortably into her seat to watch the duels unfold.

Sharlindra nodded in respect and, with a deft backkick, sent a sword flipping through the air. Catching it, she pointed at one of the newcomers who held a sword, signaling them to step into the ring. The battle was about to begin, and both duelists were ready.

In a display of agility, the soldier charged forward. The banshee had her left hand behind her back while firmly gripping the weapon with her right hand.

Seeing an opening, the soldier appeared to attack with a downward cut from the right, causing Sharlindra to start moving to the right in response.

But the soldier had other plans. He quickly stepped back, feinting his movements, half-kneeling to raise himself, and then proceeded with an upward cut. However, Sharlindra remained unfazed as she threw her weapon into the air.

Then Julie shouted, "STOP!"

The banshee had sidestepped his upward strike, and with the same right hand, she wielded her weapon, about to strike the newbie's neck. He froze completely in mid-movement, his sword still in his hands, half-crouching and defenseless. Sharlindra stood beside him, unbothered, with the edge of her weapon touching his skin, ready to deliver a finishing blow.

"Winner is Sharlindra, the Reincarnated."