Volume 5 Chapter 8
by Need_More_SleepVolume 5 + Chapter 8: Endless Onslaught
Atiya was in the courtyard of the Dragon Imperial Palace, using a watering can to water the plants.
“…Hm?”
All of a sudden, she sensed a gaze fixed upon her. Turning around, she discovered a white-haired loli staring straight at her.
“Good afternoon, Your Highness the Princess~”
Atiya set the watering can aside and displayed the elegant etiquette of the Royal Maid Corps.
“…Eh? She noticed me?”
Inner Demon Xia Yi felt a hint of confusion and couldn’t help muttering softly to herself.
She was clearly standing in an inconspicuous spot and had only been observing for a short while, yet the other party had already reacted?
How strange.
Could it be that…
Inner Demon Xia Yi narrowed her eyes and examined the gentle beauty before her.
“What is your name?”
“Mm, Your Highness, have you forgotten my name?” Atiya blinked in confusion.
“No, I was reminding you that when you greeted me, you forgot to report your name,” Inner Demon Xia Yi hurriedly made up an excuse.
“Understood, Your Highness. Official member of the Royal Maid Corps, Atiya, greets you. I wish Your Highness a pleasant afternoon~!”
After finishing her greeting, Atiya revealed a smile.
That smile shattered her refined demeanor, making her look like a large, cheerful dog.
“Your Highness, it’s been a long time since we played together. Do you want to play something today?!”
“Did I pick the wrong person?”
Inner Demon Xia Yi frowned. This blue dragon maid was starting to feel more and more off.
What gentle beauty? She was clearly just a complete airhead!
Bullying an idiot felt a bit…
No, wait!
I’m an inner demon. I’m the kind of villain that makes people tremble in fear!
Today, I’m going to be the bad guy!
“Atiya, you want to play a game, right?” Inner Demon Xia Yi asked.
“Mhm, mhm, mhm!”
“Then fine. Come on, I happen to feel itchy right now and want to find someone to spar with.”
“Your Highness, do you want to spar in swordsmanship with me again?” Atiya replied cheerfully. “That’s fine! As long as you’re not afraid of being beaten to tears by me~”
“Have I ever been beaten to tears by you?”
“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already?”
With a silly expression, Atiya delivered a remark dripping with mockery, so irritating it made one furious just looking at her.
“Xia Yi really is embarrassing, losing to a total idiot.”
Inner Demon Xia Yi muttered.
How useless, being beaten to tears by her own maid in swordsmanship.
“Fine. Since you’re so arrogant, I’ll crush that smug attitude of yours. Atiya, today I’ll beat you to tears and let you know that in front of me, you’re nothing but trash!”
“Your Highness’s way of speaking feels… kind of strange,” Atiya muttered.
“What, scared already? Trash-tier Atiya~”
“Nope, Your Highness. Then let’s find a place and play happily together!” Atiya replied.
……
Atiya and Xia Yi moved to the training grounds.
“Hehe~ hehe~”
Atiya took out a practice weapon and swung it around flamboyantly on the spot.
In Inner Demon Xia Yi’s eyes, those movements were pure amateur hour.
How did Xia Yi lose to such a novice?
What a disgrace for a Sword Saint.
“Your Highness, what weapon are you planning to use? This practice sword?” Atiya asked.
“No need. I’ve already found a suitable weapon.”
Inner Demon Xia Yi walked to the edge of the field and picked up a mop.
“Your Highness… you’re going to use that weapon to fight me?” Atiya asked in surprise.
“To deal with trash, of course I use a trash-tier weapon!” Inner Demon Xia Yi declared.
“So amazing, Your Highness can even fight with a mop. Is this what you usually call a Sword Saint?”
“Rather than Sword Saint… you could call me a demon. I am now a Sword Demon!”
Inner Demon Xia Yi pointed the mop at Atiya, brimming with arrogance.
“Come on, insignificant trash. I’ll allow you to make the first move!”
“Then I won’t hold back, Your Highness!”
Atiya smiled, then swung the sword in her hand, and in an instant, her figure seemed to vanish.
Inner Demon Xia Yi froze for a moment.
That kind of footwork was far beyond what an amateur could achieve.
Had she been deliberately hiding her skill?
Was this seemingly foolish maid actually a master of swordsmanship?
“It’s over, Your Highness.”
Atiya’s voice sounded beside Inner Demon Xia Yi as she raised her sword and slashed down.
At such close range, no one could possibly react in time, anyone would take this strike head-on.
What’s more, her opponent had underestimated her from the start, giving her a free opening. If she had taken things seriously from the beginning, she might have been able to respond… but now, that was impossible.
Clang!
A crisp sound rang out between Inner Demon Xia Yi and Atiya, causing Atiya’s eyes to widen in shock.
Blocked?
What Atiya hadn’t expected was that after deflecting her attack, Inner Demon Xia Yi immediately counterattacked, a flash of light streaking toward her vital points.
Atiya dodged the strike, twisted her body in one smooth motion, and drove her sword into a spinning counterattack. Their weapons collided once more, the recoil of force blasting both of them backward, carving deep grooves into the ground.
“Your Highness, how did you do that just now?” Atiya asked.
“In the eyes of a demon, nothing is impossible. Do you think I’m holding a mop? Wrong, this is an extension of my will!” Inner Demon Xia Yi replied. “When danger appears, I don’t even need to think, the weapon will naturally protect me. This is… the unity of human and blade, the ultimate state of weapon mastery!”
“……”
Atiya fell silent.
She could clearly feel that the white-haired loli before her was completely different from Xia Yi.
A swordsman can converse through the blade. With just that brief exchange, Atiya could already sense it clearly, this person had devoted everything in her life, heart and soul, to swordsmanship, reaching this realm without distraction.
“Hard to believe… you’re the first person I’ve met who wasn’t instantly overwhelmed by my swordsmanship. In that case, you’re worth being crushed by me!!”
“Your Highness is truly fascinating. Then I… am coming!”
Atiya stomped on the ground, throwing all the swords stored in the weapon racks around the field, guiding over a hundred blades to fall across the training ground.
She charged toward Inner Demon Xia Yi, casually grabbing two weapons into her hands.
“Dual Blades, Supersonic Airflow Slash!”
Wielding both swords, Atiya unleashed sixteen consecutive slashes, razor-sharp sword light surging forward like a storm, pressing down on Inner Demon Xia Yi.
Inner Demon Xia Yi gripped the mop with both hands, predicting and countering every strike, smashing through the onslaught and shattering the swords in Atiya’s hands.
“It’s not over yet…!”
Atiya grabbed two more swords and clenched another between her teeth, launching another assault.
“Triple Blades, Great Thousand Worlds!”
Another fierce exchange followed. Inner Demon Xia Yi forced Atiya back, shattering the three swords she wielded.
Yet Atiya’s offensive rhythm never broke. She didn’t even give Inner Demon Xia Yi a moment to breathe. Flowing like clouds and water, she seized two more swords, bit down on one, and hooked another with her tail, seamlessly shifting into a four-blade style, as if it were all meticulously planned.
This left Inner Demon Xia Yi astonished. It was as though the limit on how many weapons one could wield simply did not exist for Atiya.
As the number of weapons increased, the area covered by Atiya’s attacks expanded as well, an endless, unrelenting offensive.
Inner Demon Xia Yi realized something: the mop was close to its limit and about to shatter.
If the fight dragged on, she would be completely pulled into her opponent’s rhythm. And once the mop broke, the outcome would likely be,
She had to end this quickly.
A sharp gleam flashed through Inner Demon Xia Yi’s eyes.
“…It’s time to end this!”
She adjusted her stance and assumed a posture, clearly preparing to unleash a brutal sword technique to finish the battle.
Atiya sensed it as well. She added yet another weapon, transforming into a five-blade style. Her momentum surged explosively, to the point that the ground beneath her feet caved in under the pressure.
Just as Inner Demon Xia Yi was about to strike, an insignificant movement on her part triggered an unexpected turn of events.
“Damn it!”
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