The slim figure behind Lyn stepped out, and authority settled over the field without a word.

A Fifth Tier aura, almost at the Holy Domain, crushed everyone’s nerves.

The instant Lyn was taken hostage, Xing Luo was forced to halt.

Xing Luo stood still, staring from afar at the girl behind Lyn.

Her delicate face seemed to sink back into her hood, hiding her expression.

“Lady Divine Snow Sakura!!”

The knights, beaten to panic, shouted like they’d seen a savior.

The girl who’d cut in was clearly a Church celebrity.

She’d once been personally honored by the Pope with the title “Glory.”

She was also marked as a future Sanctuary Executor.

More importantly, she belonged to the Shinsnow Clan.

Their bloodline traced back to the distant East.

They left their homeland, rebuilt roots in the Divine Grace Empire, and rose there.

Like Lyn’s Belmond, they were one of the great houses with ancient blood.

Held by Divine Snow Sakura, Lyn caught a faint fragrance flowing into his nose.

He could also feel the soft body pressed to his back, heat almost scalding.

Lust +1!

Damn.

Is this damned effect not going to settle down?

A cold blade was at his neck, yet Lyn wasn’t tense at all.

He actually relaxed, even leaned back with a clear conscience.

Sloth +1!

The girl holding him was slender and tall, clad in silver dress-armor.

Her long, straight black hair draped proudly down.

Most striking were the long legs under her battle skirt.

They were wrapped in a thin layer of black stockings, with a hint of dewy skin showing.

Her black-silk-wrapped feet stepped into a pair of shiny little leather boots.

It was equal parts regal and sultry.

As Divine Snow Sakura’s childhood friend, Lyn would score the outfit a perfect ten.

Most of those points went to those legs.

Her chest and butt? Barely passable.

“Young Master Lyn, you’ve made a mess that’s hard for me to clean up.”

Her sharp blade rested against his neck as she spoke, cool and aloof.

Yet her voice carried a trace of sultriness into his ear.

Her beautiful emerald eyes held a foxlike slyness and charm.

She stared closely at the handsome face just inches away.

Divine Snow Sakura’s soft, fragrant breath blew warm on Lyn’s cheek.

It teased his nerves.

“Don’t blame me. Someone decided to show up fashionably late.” Lyn answered solemnly.

At the same time, he pressed down with his foot and shoved Norton’s face into the ground again.

He didn’t let the man lift his head at all.

That angle was way too dangerous.

He wasn’t giving this idiot a close-up of Divine Snow Sakura’s legs.

Their exchange was as quiet as a whisper.

Before Lyn could ask more, Divine Snow Sakura’s expression suddenly turned grave.

Her gaze shifted, surprised, to a certain spot.

Just a moment of distraction, and she’d lost Xing Luo’s trail.

Even the wind in the air felt heavy, turning into pressure that smothered breath.

All at once, Divine Snow Sakura shoved Lyn away.

Her sword blazed, snapping toward a point like a streak of light.

But the figure that had been streaking there was already an afterimage, gone.

Crack.

The ground where the petite figure vanished fractured cleanly.

A strange light flashed again in Divine Snow Sakura’s eyes.

She watched the small figure slip past a sure-kill strike with impossible agility.

It closed in even faster.

As she rushed Divine Snow Sakura, Xing Luo clenched her tiny fist.

With that clench came a shattering sound, almost like a sonic pop.

Her punch drove straight for Divine Snow Sakura’s lower abdomen.