Morena's vision was still hazy, her body barely able to move from the various internal injuries and complete energy depletion she had put herself through. The ringing in her ears made it hard to tell if the battle was still raging or if the world itself had gone silent.

It wasn't until she felt hands on her shoulders that she realized a few soldiers had grabbed onto her and were helping her move further away from the fight after Adolf handed her off.

Two apprentices were holding her weak body up, standing beside her, their armor dented, faces streaked with dirt and blood.

"My lady, you're hurt."

"You would appear to be right..."

Her voice came out weaker than she expected. She tried to keep her words humorous so as to not worry the soldiers, but her tone seemed almost too dry to be funny.

She tried to stand on her own, but the pain in her ribs made her collapse back down, her hand gripping one of the apprentice's shoulders to steady herself.

"Help her to the backline."

Adolf's voice carried clearly through the noise. He and the captain had already stepped between her and the bandit leader, their presence clashing faintly even before their weapons moved.

The apprentices didn't argue. One slipped an arm under her shoulder, the other grabbed her by the arm, and together they began pulling her away from the front.

Every few steps, she glanced back to get a view of the fight behind her.

The battlefield was a complete mess. The lines had broken apart, soldiers and bandits scattering, some still fighting, others retreating to make space.

The sheer presence of three Rank 1 Warriors preparing to clash was enough to make even seasoned men hesitate. It wasn't a battle they could even wish to take part in; they would die from a mere aftershock.

When they reached the backlines, one of the field medics rushed to meet them, his hands already coated in blood from tending to the wounded. He motioned for them to set her down against a wagon and no one argued with him.

"Put pressure here."

He muttered to one of the apprentices as he pressed cloth to her side where she had been wounded.

Afterward, he did some basic inspections to try and figure out the degree of her injury, and with a sigh of relief, he spoke again.

"She's bleeding inside, but nothing fatal."

"Much more durable than I look, aren't I?"

Morena brushed the man's hand away, still keeping her eyes locked on the battlefield.

The air was thick, not just from the smoke and fire, but from something else, elemental energy leaking from their bodies and twisting the area around them.

It wasn't as profound as Morena's control over elemental energy, most Rank 1 warriors couldn't control energy as well as her, perhaps only a Rank 2 would compare.

But they didn't need to control it, the sheer amount that leaked out was enough to physically affect the area.

In the distance, the captain and Adolf stood before the bandit leader. The three of them stood still for a few seconds, none daring to make the first move.

And then they moved.

The first clash came like thunder, and the impact created a flash like lightning.

The sound alone was enough to shake the ground beneath her, the dirt scattering outward as if the air itself had exploded. Sparks burst into the sky when Adolf's sword met the bandit's greatsword, a shockwave blasting through the clearing and sending soldiers stumbling backward.

Morena could barely follow their movements with her eyes, they were simply moving so fast.

One second, Adolf stood in the front of the bandit, the next he was behind the bandit with his blade already moving to slice the man's head off. The captain came from the opposite side, his spear spinning in his hand before stabbing forward with so much force that the dirt itself caved around his spear's edge.

The bandit leader blocked them both, barely, his weapon moving in wide arcs that sent waves of air cutting through the battlefield.

Every strike he made carved through the ground, uprooting dirt and stone alike.

It was monstrous.

Morena felt her throat tighten, it was clear as day that the man wasn't using his full power when he was fighting her, he was merely toying with her.

Even the battle between the soldiers and bandits had come to a halt around them. Both sides had drawn back instinctively, forming a wide circle around the three fighters.

They couldn't get close.

The sheer destruction around them made it impossible.

She saw one soldier too slow to move in time, a stray burst of energy from the clash sent him flying several meters back, and his armor crumpled like tin when he hit the ground.

"Back! All of you, keep your distance!"

Morena said loud enough for her voice to carry across the battlefield and commanded the soldiers to move away. Her focus was still entirely on the fight, not wanting to miss a moment.

Each strike carried the power of hundreds of men; each attack they made cleaved through the surroundings without care, cutting down full trees, and shattering boulders like they were nothing.

Adolf was calm and methodical; his style was based more on speed. Morena could see the man constantly moving around and avoiding attacks, while only attacking when he spotted an opening.

The captain, on the other hand, was very different; he was fierce, he didn't wait for a blind spot to be found, he would instead make them himself. He swung his spear with such force that it felt more like a cannon.

Together, they moved like they'd fought beside each other for decades.

The bandit, however, was a monster in human skin. Every time he swung his greatsword, he unleashed waves of energy so violent that the ground split apart in its path. His movements were crude, but the raw strength behind them was impossible to ignore.

Morena watched as Adolf darted in, his blade coated in elemental energy that blazed like a flame. The bandit parried, but before he could swing back, the captain's spear slammed into his side, and a ripple of earth that coated the blade's edge slammed into his side.

She could see the earth pierce through his flesh in a jagged explosion.

The man roared, grabbing the spear by the shaft and yanking it free from his body. Blood poured down his ribs; he was enraged, but he didn't stop to treat the wound. Instead, he turned on the captain and swung his greatsword down.

The impact was like a small explosion.

The captain's spear shattered in half, the force sending him tumbling back into the dirt.

"Captain!"

Morena's heart skipped a beat, but before she could move, Adolf was already there, intercepting the follow-up strike. Sparks erupted again as the two blades clashed, and the resulting shockwave sent even Morena's hair whipping around her face.

She could hardly breathe.

This wasn't just a fight; it was devastation given form. The sheer energy released from their movements made her body tremble.

It was like watching gods fight among mortals. Every motion, every parry, every strike felt beyond mere human understanding. Even an apprentice like herself couldn't compare to them, it made her feel incomparably small.

And for the first time, Morena truly understood how far she still was from reaching their level.

Her eyes narrowed, her hand clutching at the blood-soaked fabric of her uniform.

'This is the difference between an apprentice and a warrior...'

Her breathing slowed as she watched them move again. Adolf ducked under a wild swing, his blade slicing across the bandit's chest, leaving another deep mark.

The man bellowed in fury, his greatsword cleaving down with enough force to split a boulder in two.

Neither side was backing down.

The air around them was flickering, bending from the sheer energy being thrown out in every direction. The heat of it seared the grass and left trails of blackened earth wherever they passed.

And amidst it all, Morena watched in complete silence, using the AI to record the entire fight, so that she could use it for reference later on and gain some experience from it.

Blood still dripped from her lips, but her eyes gleamed with something else, not fear, but hunger. The desire to reach that level, to break through her limitations, and fight on such a level.

She couldn't do it as a Warrior, not with her core, but perhaps she could as a Wizard.

To stand as an equal among those who could shake the world with every step.

The medic knelt beside her again, pressing a clean bandage to her arm, but she didn't even pay him any attention.

The captain had gotten back to his feet, his weapon half broken, but his will unshaken. He charged in again alongside Adolf, the two of them striking in perfect sync.

This time, their blades hit true. The sound was deafening, a single, final clash that echoed through the ridge like a boom.

When the dust cleared, the bandit leader was on one knee, blood gushing from his chest, the greatsword fallen from his hand.

Adolf stood before him, his sword buried deep into the man's shoulder, his armor cracked and steaming. The captain was beside him, panting, his arm bleeding, but his eyes weren't tired in the slightest.

The silence that followed was almost deafening. Then, one by one, the soldiers began to cheer.

Morena exhaled slowly, the tightness in her chest finally easing. She couldn't help but smile slightly as she looked at the two men standing there, her strongest pillars.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.