「 The wind howled, the heavens and earth were solemn and murderous.
Here, ruins were everywhere, desolate and dilapidated, with only a white-haired woman holding a long sword, standing alone atop the broken walls.
She was purer than the moon, and also colder than the moon.
Under the cold light reflected by the solid ice was a very young face, and a face beautiful enough to topple nations, but the light in her eyes was no longer young; instead, it reflected a dead silence.
Perhaps her eyes had already died, merely staring blankly and without spirit at the not-so-distant, countless Cloud Knight soldiers frozen in ice... as a man carrying a formation blade slowly walked towards her. 」
「 .....」
~Frieren: Beyond Journey's End World~
"Oh! Isn't this the general from the Luofu?"
Stark recognized him at a glance.
"It seems that this time the light screen wants to show how strong General Jing Yuan is,"
Stark revealed an expression of anticipation.
"Hmph hmph... He's a high-LV Emanator! If he starts fighting, who can stop him?"
"Stark, don't just watch, learn from their close-combat techniques too."
Frieren didn't forget to remind him.
At first, she wanted to remind Stark to learn Seele's close-combat moves, as it might be useful when fighting powerful monsters in the future. But every time Seele appeared, this kid couldn't help but glance at her fair thighs... which often angered Fern, and eventually, she just stopped letting him watch when Seele appeared.
There shouldn't be any more mishaps this time, right?
—
「 Under the red aurora, the woman stood expressionlessly on high, looking down at Jing Yuan.
Jing Yuan looked up slightly, gazing at that face that hadn't changed in thousands of years, and a moment of memory surged into his heart.
Once...
Her eyes still held light, those vibrant and bright eyes, both serious and as if smiling.
"Heed this oath: As clouds that cover the heavens, will the Knights protect... The Xianzhou. Draw!"
The woman stood inside the great hall, before many Cloud Knights, drawing the sword at her waist.
And the child before her was none other than... Jing Yuan in his childhood.
"Yes, Master!"
Young Jing Yuan's momentum did not diminish as he drew his treasured sword, but as the sword light flowed, the light dissipated...
The scenes of his childhood seemed to merge with his present self, and he slowly raised the formation blade in his hand.
"As clouds that cover the heavens, will the Knights protect... The Xianzhou."
Once, he drew his sword to follow his master. Now, he wields his blade to kill his master.
As he raised his blade, the woman lightly tapped the ground, and in an instant, he heard a sharp whistling sound piercing the air, a clear and piercing sound, like a crane's cry in a clear sky, like a feather dart, attacking through the air.
Faster than the sound was her sword! 」
「 .....」
~Overlord World~
"So fast!"
As the woman's figure moved slightly, Cocytus couldn't help but want to shout. But the thought only flashed in his mind before he saw the woman had already made her way to Jing Yuan's side.
Her flying figure was like lightning, impossibly folding in, and behind her was brilliance... like the skirt of the moon goddess, so vast and widespread, as bright as shooting stars!
"Could she be the Emanator?"
Gently adjusting the frame of his glasses, a rare expression of surprise and confusion appeared on Demiurge's face.
"This speed..."
"Shalltear, haven't you sparred with swordsmen from the Re-Estize Kingdom?"
Demiurge asked.
"How do you think they compare?"
After his reminder, Shalltear could barely recall that there was such a person in the Re-Estize Kingdom. Back then, she had attacked a bandit mercenary group, and a swordsman named Brian had rushed out.
She had even praised his nail grooming back then, but compared to this woman...
It was like comparing heaven and earth... No, it was probably even more extreme, but Shalltear couldn't think of a more fitting description for a moment.
"Heh heh."
Shalltear forced a bitter smile.
"I think she could kill me with one sword."
"Even in full blood Valkyrie form?"
Demiurge couldn't imagine Shalltear being instantly killed, after all, it took the Supreme Lord quite some effort to defeat Shalltear.
Now that she admitted she would be instantly killed, didn't that indirectly acknowledge that she was stronger than Ainz-Sama?
Thinking of this, a trace of dissatisfaction arose in Demiurge's heart, and he raised his voice a bit:
"Don't you have the Spuit Lance? As long as you can injure her, you can recover your stamina endlessly, right?"
"That's true, but the premise is... I can injure her."
After saying this, Shalltear's skin, which was already like white wax, seemed to become even paler.
—
~Demon Slayer World~
At this moment, on the other side.
Several Pillars were stunned and frozen in place, their mouths agape, yet their eyes were fixed on the battle between the woman and Jing Yuan.
...It was a complete unilateral suppression.
In their eyes, Jing Yuan, holding the formation blade, was already quite formidable. Although he couldn't organize any offense, being able to survive without being instantly killed at this speed was itself a symbol of strength!
"Gyomei... can you see their moves?"
Genya asked the Stone Pillar, which was recognized as the strongest.
"No, I can't... I can't see, nor can I remember."
Although his eyes were blind, the images on the light screen were directly projected into the Stone Pillar's mind. He didn't ask for much, only trying to vaguely remember one or two moves of the woman... but it was still too fast!
Among all breathing styles, Thunder Breathing is known for its "Divine Speed." The first form's movement technique is as swift as lightning, and its principle is to compress muscles through breathing techniques to form a brief burst of power.
But the Thunder Pillars of all generations knew that the first form could not be used at high frequency for a long time, the reason being the human limit – muscles get tired, this is an iron rule that no one can overcome.
But this woman...
Every sword swing was faster than the first form of Thunder Breathing, and her speed was even increasing, her killing intent growing stronger, as if she would never tire.
—
「 Under that assault, which was like a stormy downpour, Jing Yuan found it increasingly difficult to parry, appearing quite disheveled.
With Jing Yuan's roar, his time seemed to return to the past twilight.
"Hold Firm!"
Facing young Jing Yuan, who was sweating profusely after a day of sword practice, the woman sternly urged,
"A Cloud Knight must never let slip their weapon, nor let slacken their form !"
"'Yes, Master!'"
But returning to the present... Jing Yuan's formation blade was like the wind, but what met him was the sword tip that the woman pounced with after lightly tapping the ground with her toes.
The cold air was like the snow of January, rushing towards his face.
And this sword, in an instant, was like light, pointing directly at Jing Yuan's face. 」
「 .....」
~Frieren: Beyond Journey's End World~
Stark trembled as he watched.
"Aren't they master and disciple? Do they have to make every move lethal like this?"
Stark had a tearful expression.
"And... how can I learn if they fight like this?!"
—