On the training ground.
"Kiana, attack me with your strongest move." Durandal stood opposite Kiana.
"But, Durandal-sama, do you really not need to wear armor?" Kiana asked, looking at Durandal in her training clothes, a little worried.
"Don't worry about me. Your attacks aren't that easy to hurt me." Durandal said very seriously.
Outside the training ground, Sister Ellie and the others watched the interaction between the two in the arena.
"Is this really okay?" Mei was still a bit worried.
"Don't worry, Miss Mei. Even without her armor, Durandal-sama is the strongest." Rita kept her gaze on Durandal in the arena.
In Rita's view, even if Kiana had gained Herrscher-level power, she still couldn't hurt Durandal.
Although Durandal had never truly defeated a Herrscher, in Otto's opinion, neither Mei, the Herrscher of Thunder who had just awakened, nor Wendy, the Herrscher of Wind who awakened in the Oceania Branch, were a match for Durandal.
This was a result Otto had personally calculated and publicly released.
Even for the Second Herrscher who caused the Second Honkai Impact, Otto felt that if Durandal had been there, she might have been able to capture the Second Herrscher alive.
While they were chatting, Kiana had already charged towards Durandal in the training ground.
Flames blazed around her arms.
However, Kiana's attack was too straightforward. Durandal simply turned and dodged it.
"Kiana, the direction of your attack is too obvious. This will allow the enemy to evade in advance." Durandal said, grabbing Kiana's arm and flinging her back.
After adjusting her posture in mid-air, Kiana landed steadily on the ground.
As soon as she landed, Kiana charged forward again.
This time, as she approached, Kiana swung her arm, unleashing the flames wrapped around it.
"The attack range is good, but it's too weak." Durandal then cleaved through the flames, dodged Kiana's sweeping leg, and finally grabbed Kiana's calf, flinging her away again.
Outside the arena.
"Um, Sister Ellie, and Sister Rita, is the gap between us and an S-Rank Valkyrie really that big?" Mei said, a cold sweat dripping down her forehead.
Kiana's attack speed was already very fast, but Durandal always countered the moment the attack approached.
When she countered, she even left afterimages.
"Mei, Durandal is not recommended as a reference. At least, I can't do what she does." Sister Ellie said, her mouth twitching.
Because Durandal in the arena directly gathered the flames Kiana had unleashed and then slapped them directly onto Kiana's chest.
"Durandal-sama is special. If the number of S-Rank Valkyries wasn't so scarce, Bishop Otto would have planned to add a Durandal-level." Rita nodded.
The current situation in the arena showed Durandal completely overwhelming Kiana in all aspects.
Mei looked at Kiana, who was sent flying, with worry.
After all, Durandal's palm strike didn't look light.
"Mei, don't worry so much. Durandal didn't actually hit Kiana just now." Sister Ellie said, comforting Mei as she saw her worried expression.
"But Kiana was sent flying, so how could she not have been hit?"
"Sister Mei, Durandal-sama's hand stopped before it even touched Kiana. Kiana was pushed away by compressed flames and air." Bronya, through Project Bunny, watched the battle in the arena from another perspective.
Kiana, who was knocked back and lay on the ground, looked at Durandal, who remained spotless.
She felt like Durandal was an iron wall.
None of her attacks were effective.
"What's wrong? Aren't you going to attack?" Durandal asked, looking at Kiana who was still lying on the ground.
Upon hearing this, Kiana stood up, observed carefully, and then charged towards Durandal again.
This time, before she even got close, flames gathered in her hands.
The finally condensed ball of flame was then thrown by Kiana towards Durandal.
Kiana also quickly followed the fireball, attacking Durandal rapidly as she dodged.
"Good intention, but Kiana, do you really not have a better way to attack?" Durandal said while dodging the attacks.
Kiana didn't speak when she heard this, only increasing the speed of her attacks.
"Flames aren't just for scattering or wrapping." Durandal waved her hand, and some of the flames on Kiana's body were gathered into her hand.
"Flames can be compressed, and then, they can explode." As she spoke, the flames in Durandal's hand rapidly expanded.
"When the temperature of the flames cannot be increased, compression and explosion are the simplest attack methods." Durandal said to Kiana, who was once again repelled.
"That's really a simple and brutal way of teaching. Thankfully, the power of the Tranquility Gem is relatively simple. Otherwise, I guess I would also be trained like that by Durandal." Sister Ellie said with a wry smile.
It was too terrifying. Being completely overwhelmed, could Kiana really endure it?
"Hmph, you don't need to tell me! This young lady can learn it too!" Kiana in the arena showed no sense of loss; instead, she was like a child who had found a new toy.
Flames continuously compressed in her hand, then were thrown towards Durandal.
Subsequently, the compressed flames exploded at Kiana's feet, pushing Kiana rapidly towards Durandal.
After sighing, Durandal directly reached out and stopped Kiana by the waist. After dissipating the force, she gently placed Kiana on the ground.
"This kind of untrained movement should be used less. If not used well, it will only injure yourself." Durandal said sternly.
While Durandal was lecturing, Kiana quickly grabbed Durandal's arm, "Hmph hmph, now, this young lady has won."
"Kiana, when you don't understand your enemy, directly touching them is not a good method either." As she spoke, Durandal had already broken free from Kiana's hand.
"Eh?!" Kiana looked at her hand in surprise.
Her hand didn't move just now, so how did Durandal break free?
After gently throwing Kiana back, "Continue, Kiana. You haven't fully utilized the gem's power yet. Now, you can try anything freely to test your limits."
Looking at Durandal, who stood still, waiting for her attack, Kiana directly closed her eyes.
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