Blood Shadow Empress

Even as everyone rushed toward Ayla, none of them could have expected the shock train they placed themselves on!

"For someone who despised demons, you seem to be no different, having your own desires take control of you over rationality." Ayla muttered, taking a step forward. Her figure flickered, appearing before her as the closest adventurer as she swung a dull-bladed dagger.

Ayla's movements were so fast that the middle-aged adventurer failed to see even a glimpse of her figure. She was too fast for him to see her afterimage. The speed disparity between the two was immense, but he still took her lightly. In his eyes, having immense speed didn't mean she possessed immense strength!

He simply didn't consider her strong! She must have allocated all her points to agility to have this much speed. This meant she didn't have much strength or defense.

Unable to see anything, the adventure only moved on instinct, with him raising his sword to protect his chest.

He was convinced that after blocking his attack, she would become disoriented from the intense impact as her little strength would cause her arms to become numb, giving him the opportunity to attack where even her immense speed wouldn't protect her.

Clank~

A metallic sound resounded as his sword managed to block the blunt dagger! However, to his surprise, what happened next brought terror to his heart.

Shatter~

Despite having a sword with strong durability that could easily cut through an ordinary sword without resistance, his sword was broken in the face of Ayla's attack!

"What?!" The adventurer exclaimed, unable to believe that his sword had been broken so easily. His sword wasn't an ordinary sword that one could find everywhere; it was among the most prized and profound treasures he had, but it was broken in a single attack! How could this be? All the effort he had put in to receive that sword disappeared in an instant!

As there wasn't anything to block Ayla's attack, her blunt dagger struck the adventurer, ripping through his clothing and leaving a deep gash on his chest, which bled profusely, turning his clothes a vivid scarlet.

Unfortunately, he was in deep shock, unable to dodge, let alone escape. His life had fallen into the complete mercy of Ayla.

"Before trying to take something from someone else, you should first understand if you stand a chance against them; otherwise, you might end up in the same situation you are in now. Have a good rest!"

Before anyone realized, Ayla was already behind the adventurer, swinging her dagger and aiming for the back of his neck. He was left unable to move as the dagger reached his neck, causing him to fall unconscious.

There wasn't a need to kill them! They were so insignificant to her that killing them wouldn't do much besides add more hindrances to her goals. All that was needed was to give them a simple lesson not to mess with her again.

To Ayla's dismay, even after revealing that she wasn't weak, the other adventurers' greed still didn't disappear. Instead, it seemed to be growing!

"She may be strong, but she stands no chance against all of us!" All the adventures didn't back down. After starting this battle, they couldn't simply leave without making any gains. They needed to end this battle with a victory.

If they were to simply leave after all of this, their reputation would fall drastically, and they would be called cowards for running even though the battle was completely in their favor. It was hundreds of experienced adventurers against one woman who had recently started her life as an adventurer.

It was clear that even if they lost, their reputation wouldn't fall as drastically as it would if they escaped. Their reputation could possibly become greater if they were to survive.

Even though hundreds of adventures reached Ayla, none of them were given the opportunity to swing their weapons. Before they could even realize it, they had already fallen unconscious.

The battlefield was filled with blood and cries of pain. At the moment, even the adventurers who witnessed this battle from a distance couldn't help but close their eyes. They had seen a lot of bloodshed in their lives and killed dozens, if not hundreds, of monsters, but they found this to be too gruesome.

This was the strength… The strength to kill all who stood in their path!

This wasn't the power an ordinary human could possess, nor was it the power someone had after just starting their journey to the peak. They couldn't believe the strength of Ayla. Some even wondered if they were imagining things and that this was all a dream… A dream that brought horror to their hearts.

The adventurers weren't the only ones who were surprised. The mysterious man that constantly trailed behind Ayla was even more stunned. Ayla was a powerful assassin who could even kill demons. But even her physical strength was this strong.

"This can't be explained by a treasure or really by any common sense. Even the heroes weren't able to have this much strength when they first were summoned here. Just how could…? Could it be that she has an innate skill for tremendous growth?"

The man had a strange feeling about this. This strength shouldn't be possible for an ordinary person. He felt that she could've also been summoned by another world, bestowing her with such a profound innate skill. The heroes weren't the only ones summoned to this world; there had been thousands before them.

He believed she was summoned to this world by someone unknown and trained vigorously to reach this strength. This explained everything! Her immense strength, combat ability, and combat sense that she wouldn't normally have at her age.

'Since she's a hero summoned from a different world, I'm certain she will bring glory to the kingdom. Is she intentionally using a blunt dagger to not kill them?' He wondered, 'A mage and an assassin? I wonder how the king will react once he hears of this. He should be excited to see such a powerful ally who could serve under him. Maybe she'll even become an assassin of the kingdom, living in the shadows.'

Smiling, he disappeared, leaving to report his findings to the king. Someone with the potential to destroy the demons and obtain what the king has always desired!

****

The battle didn't last long; it only took Ayla five minutes to end this battle.

After finishing the battle, there was only one of the hundreds of adventures that still hadn't lost consciousness. It wasn't that his willpower was strong enough for him to remain awake, but that Ayla intentionally left him awake.

Currently, the man's neck was being held in her hand as her calm eyes stared into his, sending shivers down his spine.

"You're fortunate that I'm merciful today, and I'd rather not kill anyone. Next time, how about you don't let your greed blind you? You might lose your life after all. Go tell the adventure guild that there's a small mess that they need to clean up. Someone might die if you're not fast enough." She freed him from her grip, letting him fall to the ground.

The man didn't care about greed anymore. He had lost his will to fight. From the start, she had the complete advantage. He didn't ignore what she said either. He listened to her words and believed he would die if he ignored them.

After she freed him, he immediately fled in the direction of the guild as fast as he could move, not daring to slow down in the slightest.

"Let's return to the inn. I'm tired." After seeing the man disappear in the distance, she lazily muttered, as if she were getting sleepy.

She disappeared and shortly reappeared back inside her room at the inn. She simply took off her armor, tossing it inside her shadow before she walked to her bed, and fell onto it. She fell asleep almost instantly, exhausted from all that she did.

When the news of what had transpired spread, heavy waves were created not only in the city but also in the entire kingdom.

The person who was known as a strong rookie in the capital city of Ontrith was soon known throughout the kingdom as the Blood Shadow Empress!