"Just hand over your valis and we'll leave you alone."
Zanis clasped his hands like a gentleman, but his crooked grin told a different story.
"Huh? Boss, I thought you said we would take turns having fun with her."
The perverted man from before spoke with frustration.
Hearing this, Belle's eyes shrank with fear and she took a step backward.
Zanis glared at the man, causing him to shrink back and shiver.
"Oh dear... don't mind him, we are harmless."
He took a step forward.
"Stand back! I am warning you!"
Belle got into a stance, which made Zanis frown.
'She looks like she was trained.'
Although he was a scumbag, Zanis had been an adventurer for many years.
With so much experience, he could tell at a glance that the woman in front of him was somewhat skilled.
'But it doesn't matter. There are so many of us—how could we fail?'
He turned to look at his men.
"Looks like negotiations failed... get her."
He said this with a sadistic smile.
Hollow laughter rang out as the Soma Familia members raised their weapons and surrounded Belle.
Their gazes were venomous, looking at her like prey to be devoured.
'Not good.'
She looked around and saw no escape.
There was only one way out of this situation.
'Break through the encirclement!'
Belle shouted in her mind with resolve.
The first man charged, wielding a giant axe as he swung down with ferocity.
Another came from behind, slashing his sword toward her without mercy.
Belle quickly turned around to parry the attack, sparks flying.
Her instincts flared—she tilted her head to the side, barely avoiding an incoming spear.
"Agh! That hurt, you son of a bitch!"
A scream rang from behind.
Belle glanced back and saw that the spear-wielder had accidentally stabbed the man with the axe.
Sensing an opportunity, Belle slashed with her dagger, splitting the wooden spear handle into pieces.
Her body spun, landing a devastating kick to the axe-user, hitting him square in the head.
His body dropped with a loud thud, knocked out cold.
'These guys...'
She looked around, noticing the faces of her attackers shifting from confidence to wariness.
It was then Belle realized—
'They are unskilled.'
Her situation was not as hopeless as she had thought.
"What are you idiots doing?"
Zanis shouted angrily.
He glared at his familia members like they were worthless trash.
"There are so many of you and only one of her!"
His eyes narrowed.
"Just because she landed a lucky hit, you got scared?"
Clearly, he was frustrated with their incompetence.
Hearing their captain's rebuke, the Soma Familia members regained their ferocity and charged at Belle.
"Take this bitch down!"
Faced with overwhelming numbers, Belle did not panic.
'Left.'
Her body moved, dodging a sword strike.
'Right.'
She parried an incoming slash with her daggers.
'Duck.'
An amazon tried to land a haymaker at her face.
Belle stabbed with her dagger.
"AGH!"
A scream echoed. Blood splattered.
Belle's eyes flashed—she sent a powerful uppercut straight into the amazon's jaw.
A couple of teeth went flying, and the woman collapsed, knocked out cold.
'These guys... they're so uncooperative.'
'They don't know how to work together.'
She bobbed and weaved, dodging a series of punches.
'Such amateurish movements.'
'Because this alley is so narrow, they can't even use their numbers advantage properly.'
With a sweep of her leg, one man lost balance, his face smashing against the concrete floor.
Her eyes darted left to right, analyzing the situation.
'These guys have never trained a single day in their lives.'
'Compared to what Aunt Alfia put me through, this is nothing.'
Her confidence grew with each passing second.
The sounds of metal clashing rang out.
Sparks flew, blood splattered, and cries of pain echoed.
"Just die, you rabbit bitch!"
The Soma Familia swung their weapons wildly, hoping for a hit.
Their movements were stiff, rough, and unpolished.
This was not surprising.
Because of Soma's alcoholic drinks, the entire familia had long since become a shell of its former self.
Its members were addicts and drunkards, reduced to tools for Zanis' ambitions.
They had given up on training, abandoned the pursuit of strength.
Instead, they focused on gathering money and exploiting weaker adventurers and familias.
Because of that, their skills regressed and their power stagnated.
"Aaaaah!"
"Nooo!"
"It hurts!"
"Aaaghh!"
"Haaah!"
"Guwaaah!"
"Gyahhh!"
One by one, the Soma Familia members were taken out by an adventurer who had only recently received her falna.
Zanis stood with his arms crossed, a vein bulging on his forehead.
"Those useless fools... they can't even take down a single adventurer."
He grew impatient, his finger tapping against his elbow.
Then his gaze shifted to the pallum with the oversized backpack.
Liliruca Arde—the Soma Familia's supporter. She had stayed quiet this entire time, her head bowed.
An idea formed.
A sinister smile crept across Zanis' face as he crouched down, staring directly into Lili's eyes.
"Trash supporter... I think it's about time you made yourself useful for once."
Under his gaze, Lili shivered, her face turning pale.
While this was happening, the fight continued without pause.
The sounds of metal colliding echoed in the alleyway.
With every hit, sparks flew, momentarily lighting up the area.
Bodies littered the ground, not dead but unconscious.
The number of attackers, which was originally almost a dozen, was now down to five.
The five members of the Soma Familia were breathing heavily, each grasping their weapons as if their lives depended on it.
"Why? Why can't we land a hit?"
A frustrated shout rang out.
A raccoon man turned his head to look at their comrades sprawled across the floor.
Small amounts of blood had pooled beneath them, but they were still breathing.
Then his gaze shifted to Belle, his face filled with trepidation.
"This is no ordinary lass we're dealing with. Whoever taught her must be someone exceptional."
A stout dwarf commented as he wiped the blood from his lips.
"Who cares about that? No matter how skilled she is, at some point, she'll run out of stamina before we do."
A pallum smirked, his eyes glinting with greed.
"Is that your excuse for staying behind and not providing any help!?"
A beastkin shouted, his face twisted with annoyance.
"It's called strategy, you stupid mutt. Keep whittling her down while I wait for the chance to land a decisive strike."
The pallum retorted and licked his knife.
"Don't tell me what to do. We were already doing that anyway."
The beastkin growled before charging with a spear.
The others followed.
Belle wiped the sweat off her forehead and fell back into her stance.
'These people fight using different types of weapons.'
Her body moved, dodging each strike while timing her counterattacks.
'I have to respond accordingly while conserving as much stamina as possible.'
Her eyes darted towards Zanis, who had not moved since the start.
'I can tell that he is stronger than these guys.'
That was what her instincts told her.
'Don't let your guard down... fight... win.'
In the shrouded alley, her red eyes flashed with intensity.
Her stance carried the lingering silhouette of her aunt.
Once a legendary adventurer of the Hera Familia, who stood among the strongest of a bygone era.
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