When had this girl gotten so close?!
Norton paled in shock. He abandoned his grab for Lyn, planting his feet hard. His other hand flew toward his sword hilt as surging magic flared within him. A rune on his armor blazed—he was about to unleash a devastating sword technique.
He’d held back against Lyn, but this unknown girl was different.
Just as Norton roared and yanked his sword free, searing pain lanced through his palm.
The whip Xing Luo had snatched cracked down on his hand. Norton screamed, his sword flying from his grip.
Before the pain even registered, he saw the girl stomp the ground and launch herself upward—a knee strike aimed straight at his chest. Norton gritted his teeth against the agony, a cruel smirk flashing across his face. White light flared over his armor, reinforcing it. He’d take the hit, then trap her against his body.
Such a tiny girl—once controlled, what could she possibly do? She’d delivered herself right to him.
*CRASH!*
Before the other knights could even draw their swords, a dark blur shot sideways like a cannonball.
Norton crashed into the shattered wall, face bloodless. Blood sprayed from his mouth. But the true horror was his shattered breastplate—the girl’s midair knee strike had left a deep crater in the hardened alloy. His magical barrier had crumpled like paper before that blow.
He stared in terror at the girl landing lightly before him. Xing Luo tilted her head, studying him with genuine confusion—as if wondering why this human had stood frozen against her attack.
The other knights froze too. *What monstrous strength was this?!* A single knee strike had crushed the Church-forged silversteel armor like it was trampled by some nightmare beast.
Only Lyn looked unsurprised. He’d personally experienced his little dragon girl’s dump-truck power. These knights dared to tank her hits? Fine. He’d open their eyes for them—*the hard way*.
“What are you waiting for?!” Norton spat blood, struggling up. He gulped a healing potion, veins bulging in his eyes as he glared at Lyn. He’d thought this weakling would be easy prey—never expecting *this* monster at his side. “Don’t engage her head-on! Use divine arts—!”
His shout died as the small shadow darted toward him again.
“RAAAH!” Norton bellowed. White light coalesced into a glowing tower shield before him, slamming forward to meet Xing Luo’s charge.
Then everyone watched him fly backward—again—smashing deeper into the ruined wall.
Xing Luo had simply sidestepped his reckless lunge. She flowed past him like smoke, closing in on the stunned knights before they could chant their spells.
Though her current form was small and childlike, Xing Luo’s combat instincts remained terrifyingly sharp. Stripped of her initial starlight radiance and overwhelming magic, this loli version of her still crushed Third and Fourth Rank knights with sheer physical might.
Lyn observed calmly. Xing Luo waded into the knights. They fumbled to block her strikes, then collapsed under a barrage of brutal kicks and punches. Whips cracked. Men tumbled from saddles, howling.
A few finally broke free of the chaos, charging toward Lyn—only to freeze. There stood Norton, freshly dragged from the rubble, face twisted in fury… until a boot slammed down on his head, grinding it into the dirt.
“Knight Norton.” Lyn’s foot pinned Norton’s skull. As the system pinged *+1 Arrogance*, he smiled. “How about a deal? Call off your men. All this fighting is terribly unfriendly, don’t you think?”
Norton trembled with rage, gathering magic to throw off this insolent fool—then his heart clenched in sudden agony.
Lyn’s voice turned icy. “You’re bleeding quite a lot. My Blood Manipulation Art isn’t as refined as my sister’s… but at this range? I could probably make your blood reverse course and burst your heart. *Barely*.”
Xing Luo’s earlier strike had shattered Norton’s defenses. His wasted counterattack left him no magic to spare. Lyn truly held his life in his hands. Feeling his own blood turn traitorous, Norton went rigid. This wasn’t a threat—it was a promise.
The knights who’d escaped Xing Luo’s whirlwind stared, dumbfounded. They’d planned to seize Lyn and force the girl to stand down. Instead, Lyn had flipped the trap—*they* were the ones now paralyzed.
With Norton as a hostage, none dared unleash their arts—not even ranged attacks.
Seeing Norton submit, Lyn smiled at the stranded knights. Of course he’d anticipated being Xing Luo’s weakness. So he’d seized *theirs* first.
Then—cold. A slender arm locked around Lyn’s throat from behind, yanking him against a soft body. Floral perfume filled his senses. A blade kissed his jawline as a whisper slithered into his ear:
“Make her stop.”
