Shirley's resolve

Certainly, their ally had been slain, but they did not seem concerned in the slightest. There was almost aloofness. In their field of work, death was a common sight. Only amateurs allowed themselves to be bothered! This made Shirley's expression twist. If they showed any weaknesses in their mental state, then she could leverage it into her advantage. But seeing their calm faces made her realize how frightening her opponents were! They were the Third Hand! They would never do something as foolish as jeopardize their mission. The two shifted into a stance on either side of Shirley. Not just their swords, but their bodies were swelling with unfiltered intent to kill! Whether she was a girl or not, they were prepared to destroy her! Be it a man, woman, child, or even an infant, their resolve was the same.

Shirley thought the same way as she eyed her opponents warily. From the beginning, they were forcing Freon by taking Gunther hostage. She might not have any feelings toward Gunther, but Freon was her friend. Anyone that used such hateful schemes deserved no mercy! Furthermore, it was not like she could hold back anyways. She was putting her own life on the line here. If she were the slightest bit hesitant, then she would die!

The three exchanged a silent gaze for a second before the two men charged at Shirley. One from the left, one from the right, their coordination and skill made her feel threatened. In an instant, they closed the gap and slashed down at the girl. Surprisingly, she did not panic. It was a strange feeling. Although she was no longer pushing her senses to their limit, there were aftereffects. There was the exhaustion and nausea obviously that made her feel like puking and sleeping. She felt sore and uncomfortable all over. But beyond that… Her senses seemed hypersensitive! It was subtle and she realized just now, but it was definitely present! She had no sword skills, so this was the few boons she had!

Her eyes were peeled open while she rapidly digested the enormous wealth of information. Her eyesight was nowhere near the Perception Realm standard, but it was already strong to begin with. She could notice details that others might miss! As long as her attackers had imperfect coordination, flaws would inevitably appear. It was exactly how Benedict survived facing against three opponents at once in the Lannisail Household. Furthermore, in terms of pure observational ability, she was better than Benedict. So, while her opponents were stronger than the three guards Benedict fought, Shirley could close the gap! But… it was not enough. Could the Third Hand be toppled so easily?

She gritted her teeth. She could spot one or two openings, but they were extremely hard to catch. To further capitalize on them was next to impossible. She was simply not fast or skillful enough to do so. That was the gap created by sheer experience! Everything happened too fast. Without a choice, her body spun to meet the first attacker. Her sword slashed out and clanged against her enemy's sword. Meanwhile, by turning around, the girl exposed her back to her second opponent. The man sneered and chopped down with fearsome power and speed. If it landed, then it would be fatal! Slash! He sliced through her clothes like paper and onto her body!

It's over, the man snorted.

That was to be expected though. Back then, Benedict fought against simple guards. The guards might be better trained to serve under the Lannisail Household, but compared to now, where the two were members of the Third Hand, the difference was night and day. They were overwhelmingly stronger in all aspects! No matter how Shirley acted, one of them would always be ready to attack from behind. Was it cowardly? Perhaps. However, was there honor in battle? There was not! The honorable lived, while the disgraceful died. History was written by the champions. It was as simple as that! With their training in the Third Hand, they could make it so Shirley had no chance to defend, retaliate, or dodge from their simultaneous attack. She might have caught one of them off-guard initially, but that was a miracle. And miracles never happened twice!

Or so he thought. When his sword was about to cut into Shirley's back, he heard a clanging sound like a hammer striking metal. Besides a light graze, he did not cut her at all! As her cloak was sliced apart and fell to the ground, the answer revealed itself. Shirley strapped several metal trays around her chest and back! They were the same type of trays that servants would hold to deliver food to nobility! Before she left the Arkfell estate, she went around stealing these items to create makeshift armor. Well, it could hardly be called armor. Thanks to it though, she could avoid being killed. It was so ridiculous that her enemy had a blank expression on his face. He had never seen something as stupid as this. For a second, he considered shouting that out. Were you here to play? This is a real fight!

Shirley was completely serious though. There was not a single hint of humor in her eyes. Even if it were stupid, so what? It saved her! Forget this, if she could win by acting like a clown, then she would do it without hesitation. As her opponents thought, this was a fight that gambled their lives! Things such as appearance would be discarded like trash! She never paused. Shirley ducked close to the ground, drew a half circle with her feet, and spun on the spot. Such a seemingly useless action could be explained by her halberd! Where was her halberd? It was strapped to her back with the blade above her head! By spinning around, she could attack with her halberd as well! Indeed, even without using it, she could come up with creative ways to use everything at her disposal. Because she was never formally trained, she was not bound by conventional ways of thinking!

Meanwhile, her two opponents were really dumbfounded again. Her wild and unpredictable nature was something unseen before. The halberd blade slashed toward the first opponent. The man was still dazed, but his body moved reflexively. With a slight heel push, he shifted out of the way, letting the blade graze his clothes. Shirley did not let up though. She continued to spin and added more momentum to her attack. In response, her halberd accelerated as it performed a half-circle dance straight toward the man behind her! Much like his partner, he could react, albeit much slower than before. Shirley's opponents were truly extraordinary. Despite catching them off-guard three consecutive times, she could not land a hit on them!