Faced with their anger, Elizabeth sighed. "Benedict, Shirley, can I leave them to you?"
"I thought you wouldn't ask," Shirley smirked and cracked her knuckles menacingly. She despised people that abused their authority the most.
"Consider it done," Benedict added, as he assumed a stance. There was no need to use his sword. His Martial Perception and Martial Energy were enough, even if they had bladed weapons!
Elizabeth squinted. "Be careful."
"What about us?" Freon wondered, as he, Nassandra, and Lady Kalasena walked over.
"Stay on guard. The situation is peculiar."
Freon frowned and secretly took out his wand and the same went for Nassandra. Benedict and Shirley heard her and turned wary. They did not currently feel the need to use their weapons, but they would draw them at moment's notice, if necessary. Their instincts were sweeping out for any latent threats. Likewise, Lady Kalasena's hand drifted to her sword. The fourteen guards seemed amused by their actions. It was like watching children play pretend.
Benedict and Shirley shot them a cold glance and refused to give them a chance. Using Martial Energy, they instantly disappeared and reappeared in front of the guards. Benedict directly unleashed a punch towards a guard's chest. His fist streaked through the wind like a viper. Although the guard wore metal armor and should be impervious to fists, Benedict strengthened his strike with Martial Energy. Boom! Armor and bones crumpled together like paper, as his opponent spat a mouthful of blood. It was not enough to kill, but it was a severe wound. Benedict shifted and an axe narrowly missed his face. He stepped back as a mace slammed into the ground where he was. Ducking, a sword skimmed his back. Since he was not wearing his Royal Guard plate armor, every attack had the potential to seriously harm him. However, he was not worried. He was like a breeze, effortlessly twisting around every attack that came his way. While he was not formally trained in unarmed martial arts, he could channel the essence of the Hawken Style's first two stances: footwork and observation!
He kicked the mace guard in the thigh, shattering one leg, and elbowed their face as they fell. With his other hand, he grabbed the axe guard's wrists, channeled Martial Energy, and crushed them. The extreme force broke the bones and disarmed the guard. Then, Benedict yanked the guard back to block the incoming strike from the sword guard. Blood splashed, as the sword guard could not stop in time, slicing into the axe guard's flesh. It was a gruesome sight. Benedict dashed and punched the axe guard in the chest, this time using more Martial Energy. The force pierced through and into the sword guard, before blasting both into the air, unconscious. It was unbelievable that Benedict could send two armed guards, both larger and heavier than him, flying. His physical prowess made people pale. In four seconds, he dealt with four guards!
On the other side, after accelerating, Shirley's leg whipped into a wide arc. Her figure was elegant like a flower, but her actions carried explosive power. Adding Martial Energy into the mix, her speed and power rose to a terrifying level. Nobody could catch her shadow. Boom! Her leg slammed into her unfortunate opponent, breaking their spear, arms, and then their chest in one move, before the guard flew back like a meteor. Three guards wielding a whip, cleaver, and club surrounded her. Shirley pivoted and grabbed the whip with one hand. At the same time, she instinctively twirled and exploited one of the many gaps in their offense. The cleaver and club guard seemed to swerve around her intentionally! Even without Mock Perception, she had unusually strong battle instincts. Not to mention, her opponents were amateur Fundamental Realms. It was easy to remain unharmed!
The whip was cut in half, due to the cleaver, disarming one of the three guards. Shirley followed up by jumping up, spinning, and kicking the cleaver guard right in the face. Teeth and blood left their distorted mouth. Although this guard was a lady, Shirley did not hold back and the same went for Benedict. Whether it was a man or woman, all enemies were treated equally! Stomping down with Martial Energy, the ground fractured into a million spiderweb-like cracks and destroyed the club under her feet. The club guard was terrified by her monstrous strength. Shirley then uppercut the club guard, and while both the cleaver and club guards were dazed, she accelerated and left behind an afterimage, dodging a strike from the whip guard, who used a spare weapon. Bang! Bang! Two near-simultaneous strikes hit the cleaver and club guards. The former was kicked directly in the chest, the latter was uppercut in the chin. Both hits knocked them unconscious. An instant later, the whip guard was also dealt with.
The styles exhibited by Benedict and Shirley were near complete opposites. Benedict was sharp and grounded, akin to a sheathed sword. He could display the art of swordsmanship, even unarmed. That was due to his excellent Attainment Level of Major Sword Form. Shirley was more unpredictable and fluid, akin to a reflection. She could freely change her style, depending on the situation. That was due to her extraordinary combat instincts and awareness. Four seconds was all they needed to incapacitate eight armed guards. As for the remaining six guards… Benedict and Shirley released dreadful auras that stunned everyone. Benedict was a full-fledged Perception Realm, whereas Shirley was a Half-Perception Realm after all. Their auras had adopted a frightening quality after so many battles. Next, they blurred into afterimages. Moon Flash! Energy Acceleration! Bang! The sound of six strikes echoed. The six guards were hit before they knew it. In the end, everyone was lying on the ground, either disarmed, unconscious, or heavily wounded!
Although Elizabeth and Freon stayed casual, the surrounding crowds were shocked to the core. If anyone else said that two unarmed people could triumph over fourteen armed guards, then they would be laughed at or spat on. It was a ridiculous tale, no matter how one considered it! Even Nassandra and Lady Kalasena, who knew how strong Grand Knights and Royal Guards were, had some difficulty accepting this. Of course, the Grand Knights and Royal Guards could probably do the same, but not this fast, and certainly not this easily. Benedict and Shirley's powers were evidently monstrous, even amongst Perception Realms! The light in Lady Kalasena's eyes was especially bright. She pursued strength the most, so the fight was very enlightening to her. She wished to learn more from them.
Elizabeth wanted to see what the nobleman would do next, but when she looked for him, she was taken aback, because the nobleman had actually disappeared! He must have slipped away into the crowds when nobody was watching. How cowardly! She had never seen anyone so contemptable. Having a belly full of anger, but nowhere to vent it, Elizabeth strolled to one of the conscious guards and yelled, "Who is your lord?"
The woman groaned, "We… We don't know."
"What nonsense are you saying?" Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "Spit out his name, and I won't make it difficult for you. Like I said before, I am Princess Elizabeth, the Royal Ambassador! You should realize that I'm telling the truth, after fighting my guards."
This female guard, the other guards that were conscious, and everyone else that was spectating sucked in cold breaths, their faces turning white from fear quickly. The might of Benedict and Shirley was unmistakable. She was really the famous princess of the Alzar Kingdom! The guard felt the urge to cry. She pleaded, "Please have mercy, Your Highness! We were deceived!"
"Explain."
"It's like this. My friends and I belong to a mercenary group in the city. A few hours ago, that man approached us, saying that he came from a big family and needed guards for his protection. We doubted him until he directly paid us for one month of our services. Your Highness should know that the services of our mercenary group, the Golden Whisk, is the fourth most expensive in the capital. Not everyone can afford us, especially for an entire month. So, we accepted his request and came here. Little did we know he would pick a fight with you!"
"He didn't bring anyone else, or a proof of identity?" Elizabeth asked with a grave tone. She was becoming more suspicious that this was a plot against her.
"Please believe me! I wouldn't dare trick you!" the guard nodded furiously.
"Benedict, Shirley, can you find him?"
The two paused and released their senses. Benedict used his Martial Perception, and Shirley her Mock Perception. Their vast perceptions swept through the marketplace in search of this nobleman. After ten seconds though, they wore bitter expressions. It was clear that they failed. The marketplace was too vast with too many people and too many details. Their minds were assaulted with a tsunami of information, making it impossible to filter through. Even their heads were hurting from the strain. That was their inexperience showing.
Elizabeth was disappointed. "Forget about it for now. I'll ask someone to investigate him later."