With a face twisted in raw fury, Celindria clicked her tongue in frustration as her attempt to plunder the magical talents from her two targets was foiled at the eleventh hour. "Damn it all! How the hell does a late-blooming hero show up in the goddamn afternoon!" she snarled, her eyes piercing daggers at the mysterious woman standing defiantly before her.
Without a moment's hesitation, Celindria deactivated her Incarnation. Her fingers clamped back around the rapier's hilt with vise-like grip, and in an instant, a destructive surge of amethyst-purple qi rippled along the blade, emanating a chilling aura of death. Her eyes narrowed into slits of pure venom as she swung the rapier in a swift clockwise arc, carving a lethal horizontal crescent through the air.
In the blink of an eye, the razor-sharp sword qi wave exploded outward, expanding in mere milliseconds and slicing through everything in its path. The grand pirate armada's ships were cleaved cleanly in two, their wood and iron splintering into oblivion before being devoured by the roiling sea. The pirates' panicked screams drowned amid the wreckage of their sinking vessels.
In a single devastating strike, Celindria obliterated the entire formidable pirate fleet. Yet a handful of lucky bastards clung to life, dangling from the floating debris. Their reprieve was short-lived. Celindria's warship combatants swarmed in with ruthless precision, slaughtering the survivors in a blur of merciless efficiency.
"Urghh... you really... are insanely strong," hissed the mysterious woman, shielding the two men cowering behind her. With labored effort, she had blocked Celindria's onslaught using a blazing red energy barrier, forged from astral forge—an advanced qi materialization technique wielded by only a rare few masters of the art.
But holding back that cataclysmic force demanded a sudden, massive outburst of power from her. Even then, the shield couldn't contain every ounce of the impact. The lingering shockwave that pierced through sent her staggering, a thin trickle of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth from a minor internal wound.
Celindria arched an eyebrow, her lips twisting into a sardonic smirk. "Oh? Astral forge, is it? Seems we've got ourselves a pretty damn capable qi user here," she drawled, her voice laced with equal parts mockery and genuine curiosity. Her eyes gleamed with predatory spark, daring the woman to unleash more of her hidden prowess.
Ignoring Celindria's subtle provocations and mocking jabs, the mysterious woman instantly activated a pinnacle-level physical qi augmentation known as Transcendental Physicality. With this peerless ability, every damaged cell within her body regenerated fully in mere seconds.
"Even Transcendental Physicality, huh?" Celindria couldn't conceal her shock upon sensing a surge of all-too-familiar qi from her opponent. She nodded slightly, grudgingly acknowledging the impressive power before her. "Looks like the three of you really do come from a massive, powerful organization. No wonder they've managed to forge monsters like you. Now I'm even more curious about your true allegiances," she added with a sly grin, her eyes sharp and calculating.
But a flicker of memory—her younger brother's sweet smile as he received her gift—tugged at her heart. Celindria quickly shook her head, brushing aside temptation and ambition. She refused to let her little brother wait any longer just to satisfy her own selfish drive.
"For now, we'll shelve that story for another time," Celindria whispered softly, drawing a deep breath before raising her rapier once more.
Immediately, the mysterious woman's pupils dilated, recognizing the murderous intent radiating from Celindria like a tidal wave. "You two, hurry! Drink your full-restoration potion, now! There's no way I can shield you from this woman's onslaught if she gets serious!" she barked, her voice steely and urgent, underscoring just how dire the situation had become.
With her rapier held high in a vertical stance, Celindria whipped the blade down at lightning speed, shouting, "Dragon Claw!"
In a split second, a destructive arc of sword qi shot from the blade, then split into three, each trailing across the ship's deck in savage lines—sharp, deep, and utterly merciless, like a dragon's talon raking through steel.
All three lethal waves targeted the trio before her. The attack was so swift that the two mysterious men didn't even have a chance to gulp down their potions.
Springing forward, the mysterious woman reacted on instinct, conjuring a pair of crimson qi shields left and right to guard her allies. As for herself, she quickly slipped on a pair of silver gauntlets and poured Annihilation Pulse qi into her right hand. Instantly, a thick red glow, seething with destructive force, engulfed the gauntlet.
With an explosive overhand punch, she launched a colossal red fist of qi that soared straight for the center "claw" of Celindria's attack. The clash between the conjured fist and the splitting sword qi triggered a titanic impact—her gauntlet's power completely overwhelming and grinding down Celindria's onslaught.
The collision of these two advanced destructive forces sent shockwaves in every direction, wild qi shards slicing and atomizing anything unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast zone.
For several drawn-out seconds, the powers warred against one another before the dragon's claw finally shattered. The woman's immense crimson fist thundered forward, barreling toward its next target.
"Oh—how utterly terrifying." Celindria's laugh was mockingly light, not retreating a single step even as death's shadow loomed overhead. Instead, her lips curled into a ferocious grin.
Her amethyst qi erupted in a wild inferno around her body, blazing fiercely like untamed purple fire. Lowering her stance, Celindria swung her rapier forward in a smooth horizontal arc.
"Dragon Buster!!"
With that cry, her rapier released a hulking torrent of amethyst qi—focused and destructive, a giant laser with the silhouette of an eastern dragon lunging hungrily at its prey. The sheer force of the energy rattled the entire ship—a finishing strike that struck fear into any who knew the legend of Celindria.
The mysterious woman didn't even have a moment to flinch as Celindria's attack slammed into her. With lethal grace, Celindria shattered the massive fist manifestation forged from the woman's crimson qi, as if it were nothing but a fragile illusion. The strike pulverized everything in its path without resistance, panic flashing across her opponent's face.
Unable to move, the mysterious woman could only cross her arms over her chest, desperately trying to shield her vital points with a thick, pulsating layer of qi—a fortress of energy. But it was futile. In an instant, Celindria's Dragon Buster—an overwhelming assault that materialized into a gargantuan dragon carved from pure, concentrated qi, a laser-like beam of immense diameter—struck her body with a force that shook the very air. The woman was flung off the ship, dragged far by the raging qi dragon's momentum, leaving a trail of devastation in the sky.
"Urggh—damn it! That impact was brutal! I didn't even have time to activate Transcendental Physicality!" The mysterious woman spat fresh blood, droplets scattering through the air like crimson rain. In her mind, an echo of agony resounded, mirroring her body shattered by the ferocious strike.
"Senior!"
Two men watching froze in place, their bodies stiff as statues, unable to react as the Dragon Buster surged forward. Only after the woman was hurled away did they snap back to reality, faces pale with terror.
"What the hell is with that massive amount of qi?!" One of them screamed, his voice trembling with fear. His wide, horrified eyes flicked to Celindria, who stood radiating a terrifying aura. "How is it possible for a mere human to control that much qi so effortlessly and so fast? This... this makes no sense!"
Before they could say another word, two gleaming swords of amethyst qi suddenly pierced their hearts. The swords—like deadly violet lightning—were conjured by Celindria's legendary incarnation, Valeria Domina Bellorum—better known as The Empress of War and Destiny.
This time, Valeria appeared in full form, although not her original colossal size. Towering over seven feet tall, she radiated an oppressive presence like a goddess of war descending from the heavens. Her magnificent Valkyrie queen helmet bore intricate carvings of grandeur. Her armor, adorned with unique ornaments, fit her robust yet alluring figure perfectly, balancing power and elegance. From the helmet's eye slits, a pair of glowing eyes burned with disdain, staring down the two men as if they were nothing more than repulsive cockroach insects. Her entire body shimmered with dazzling amethyst qi, glowing in deadly majesty.
Thanks to her special ability allowing Valeria to act autonomously, Celindria commanded her incarnation to strike mercilessly. Valeria twisted the amethyst swords embedded in the men's chests, using them as conduits to drain their magical talents. A surge of potent energy coursed through the blades, ruthlessly siphoning their powers.
As a result, the two men withered instantly. Their skin shriveled, their faces turning into horrifying, dried-out skulls, as if their souls had been completely drained. Only empty shells remained, collapsing on the ship's deck with a pitiful sound.
Celindria stood amid the ruin, her gaze cold and unwavering. Around her, the lingering glow of amethyst qi pulsed, leaving behind an aura of death that chilled the air.