City Hall, the Top Floor of the Main Building.
When Sigmund led the City Hall's knights to besiege Riezel, the defenses here inevitably weakened.
Most of the knights had already left their posts to resist Riezel, leaving the main building—where the City Lord usually resided—deserted and quiet.
At this moment, as the City Hall's multiple interference barriers were activated, disrupting all magic within the building, a figure suddenly appeared uncontrollably in one of its corridors.
"Thank goodness, I got in just in time."
A girl, who had appeared so abruptly, patted her chest in relief, the curves beneath her cloak trembling slightly.
She was none other than Lizbeth.
While Riezel stormed through the front gate of the City Hall, Lizbeth, following his instructions, had slipped inside in silence.
Riezel had cast several magic spells on Lizbeth's body to conceal her presence and avoid detection, so when he launched his grand assault through the main entrance and drew nearly everyone's attention, she was able to infiltrate unhindered.
Naturally, this was because of the purpose that had brought them to this city in the first place.
"Um... where's the library...?"
Lizbeth pulled out a freshly drawn map and examined it clumsily.
It was a map created by Riezel from Bordo's memories, showing the rough layout of the City Hall and the placement of its main buildings. Thanks to it, Lizbeth would not be wandering blindly the moment she stepped inside.
Scanning the map, Lizbeth carefully jogged down the corridor, trying her best to suppress the sound of her footsteps, but since she had never done an infiltration like this before, her movements were still a little awkward. Every now and then, she made accidental noises that startled her into small jumps, like a timid animal learning to walk.
Fortunately, the magic Riezel had placed on her had not yet worn off, allowing her to get very close to her target.
Before long, Lizbeth reached a room.
It was clearly an important place, proven by the two knights standing guard at its door.
Even with the City Hall under siege and most knights gone to face the enemy, this room still had guards posted, a testament to its significance.
Lizbeth crouched in the corner of the corridor, staring at the room at the far end and its two guards.
Once she confirmed this was indeed her destination, Lizbeth took a deep breath.
"It's fine... stay calm... stay calm..."
Lizbeth tried her best to steady her heartbeat.
Not only had she never taken on such a mission before or carried out such an action, but for someone naturally timid, this was unbearably nerve-wracking.
If she could, Lizbeth would rather stand at Riezel's side to fight the enemy. Even if all she managed was blocking a few knights, as long as she could fight alongside him and help him, she would gladly do it.
However, Riezel had not allowed that but had instead given her a mission—to infiltrate this place.
"Lizbeth, this is a rare chance. Since I'm storming the City Hall anyway, while I keep Sigmund Bayard occupied, you slip into the library and search for information on the ruins."
"If Bordo's memory is right, there should be a private library for the City Lord inside the main building. It contains many of Sinielle's hidden secrets, including matters everyone treats as taboo."
"If we can find that information, we won't have to waste effort asking around about the ancient ruins—things no one dares to speak of."
Needless to say, this had been the reason Riezel sent Lizbeth here alone.
For this purpose, Riezel had even permitted Lizbeth to use her true family swordsmanship if necessary.
"Alright..."
After calming her nerves, Lizbeth entered a battle-ready state and suddenly dashed out from the corner, rushing straight toward the room at the corridor's end.
"WHO'S THERE?!"
"WHO?!"
In an instant, the two knights guarding the room sensed the disturbance—their bodies tensed as they drew their weapons.
Unfortunately for them, they were not Oasis Knights, merely elites among ordinary knights. In the terms of Danmachi's world, they were about Level 4, so they stood no chance against Lizbeth, who was a Sword Master at the equivalent of Level 5.
*Whoosh!*
Lizbeth's figure moved like a gust of wind, sweeping toward the knights with a sharp whistle.
Before the two knights could react, Lizbeth's hands shot out, each pressing against one of their heads.
*Buzz!*
In the next instant, a mysterious power surged from Lizbeth's palms.
It was the inherited swordsmanship of the royal family of Jinas—the War King Sword Style—that awakened spiritual power in its practitioners.
"Eh…"
"Ah…"
In the next moment, the two knights felt their vision go black as the force from Lizbeth's hands pierced into their brains, sending a sharp pain that made them cry out briefly.
A second later, as their consciousness faded, they both collapsed, unable to rise again.
"I... I actually did it...?"
Lizbeth stared at the scene, stunned by how smoothly it had gone.
"Yes! I did it!"
Realizing her success, Lizbeth clenched her small fist in joy, her face lighting up with relief before she quickly reached out to open the room's door.
Even though the door had originally been protected with magic defenses, the City Hall's multiple interference barriers had a flaw—when fully activated, they not only disrupted enemy spells but also weakened many of the City Hall's own magic facilities.
If it had been the Light of Heaven from the royal palace of Jinas, there would have been no such weakness, but Sinielle was only an independent neutral city, so its foundation was naturally no match for a great country's royal family.
Constructing a tactical-class multi-layered interference barrier was already an impressive feat, let alone anything strategic-class.
Riezel had learned this from Bordo's memories as well, which was why he had sent Lizbeth in without worry.
As a result, Lizbeth smoothly entered the City Lord's private library.
Although called a library, the place was actually not large—in fact, it was rather small. It resembled an archive room, shelves packed tightly together, leaving only narrow paths for a single person to slip through.
Clearly, it was never meant for many people to browse freely.
According to Bordo's memories, only highly classified information was stored here, while less confidential files, documents, and materials were placed in another, larger library.
Normally, only the City Lord was allowed inside, and anyone else who entered without permission would be charged with stealing city secrets.
Still, while the amount of intelligence stored here was not vast, it was certainly not little either.
"How am I supposed to find it in here...?"
Lizbeth looked around at the shelves, momentarily at a loss for where to start.
Her time was short.
Outside, Riezel was still locked in battle against the City Hall's defenders, but no one knew when that fight might end.
Riezel had promised to stall as much as he could, but how long could he really hold out?
No one could say.
"Let's just start searching."
Lizbeth, shaking off her hesitation, picked the nearest shelf and began flipping through.
===
*Whoosh!* *Whoosh!* *Whoosh!* *Whoosh!*
A storm of arrows rained down from above, whistling as they tore through the air and covered everything within dozens of meters around Riezel, falling like a violent downpour.
*BOOM!*
One arrow struck the ground near Riezel—not hitting him directly, but landing close enough to explode with a deafening blast.
Clearly, the arrowheads carried terrifying force.
They not only pierced through the ground but shattered it, like landmines detonating upon impact, blasting debris and dust into the air.
*BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!*
Arrow after arrow exploded upon landing, turning the area around Riezel into a cratered battlefield.
"Moon Breathing - Fifth Form - Moon Spirit Calamitous Eddy!"
Riezel's eyes glowed faintly transparent as his hand rested on the sword's hilt at his waist, yet instead of drawing it, he spun in place.
Even without unsheathing his blade, even without swinging it, as Riezel spun, a vortex of bladed wind rose around him—it was as if a tornado had formed on his body, enveloping him completely.
*BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!*
Countless arrows struck the vortex of bladed wind.
At first, they were deflected, then they detonated—exploding violently and unleashing shockwaves that shook the air itself.
"What is that?"
Seeing Riezel block the storm of arrows in such a way, Sigmund was stunned.
Riezel Brynhart, though only a newly ascended Sword Saint, had fought thousands of battles in the royal capital of Jinas without defeat.
Additionally, his swordsmanship was famed for drawing upon lightning—swift as thunder, each strike like a bolt of lightning itself. Most enemies never even had time to react before being cut down in a single flash.
For that reason, the world called him the Lightning Sword Saint, and his name became tied to the saying—a flash of lightning means defeat.
Naturally, information this big had long been written into intelligence reports and delivered to the desks of rulers across the Akasha Continent.
As the City Lord of Sinielle, Sigmund was also well aware of it.
Yet now, Riezel actually displayed a swordsmanship unknown to him.
Sigmund's heart couldn't help but sink.
'Could it be… he has mastered a second Special Swordsmanship?'
As the thought crossed his mind, Sigmund's expression grew grim.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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