Chapter 279: One vs Five Thousand
After she had killed her brother, Samir. The only one she cared about most in this life. She had unlocked a total of one-sixth of her pre-accumulated powers. She looked at her brother’s lifeless body for a few seconds more, but the cold resolve within her won again, effortlessly as always.
Now, it was time for the last step before the final confrontation of this reincarnation. The key individuals from all major forces came together and discussed a solution, although considering the intensity of the meeting itself, it could hardly be called a discussion. But there was no other choice; all the kingdoms realized that someone was orchestrating the whole thing from the shadows, as all of them were continuing to suffer collective losses by starting a war on multiple fronts.
After all, war was primarily about profit; if there was nothing to be gained from war, or nothing to protect through war, it loses its meaning. So, they had no choice but to come together and put an end to this mindless barking on all sides and find the real culprit behind it. Well, they mostly knew who the culprit was, at least there was one they knew of as the likely culprit. The Bloody Ballerina was perceived as a figure of imagination by the general public, a creation born from their fear.
But the clues stated otherwise, and the various new authorities of the kingdoms had no choice but to accept her monstrous existence. That there was actually a supernatural being walking amongst them. Someone capable of cutting a human body or even a concrete wall in half with a simple swing of her sword. Despite being so extremely meticulous, some factual information about Sophia did reach the ears of the authorities, that she used a white like energy—a supernatural power, something that was perhaps the source of her unreal strength and beauty.
So, they put on a united front and laid a trap for the monster to come. Sophia, despite knowing that it was a trap, stepped into it without hesitation. Because even though it was indeed a trap. The leaders and kings of the various forces were still present; otherwise, they would not have been able to lure her out. It was a calculated risk they had to take.
A large colosseum, and in the middle stood all the current leaders of the various kingdoms, which were all in war with each other just a month ago, the month in which Sophia was traveling back from her village after killing everyone there. Surrounding the five leaders were 5,000 of the most decisive and ruthless soldiers, all hailing from the five kingdoms, but they had been trained to work together. Disregarding their differences.
Sophia walked in from the front door of the colosseum, her face entirely hidden behind the mask, wearing a red dress, her long black hair fluttering beautifully in the wind, a mighty sword on her hand, since she had been first reincarnated on the later parts of the stone ages, she learned to forge swords on her own, and throughout the many lives, she only got better and better in this craft. Her red eyes scanned everything in the colosseum with an intense predatory gaze.
There were hundreds of assassins and archers positioned right inside the main entrance of the Colosseum, utilizing the white energy, which she had now named qi, as continuing to refer to it as "white energy" was becoming tedious. This energy was not mana, which she was sure of, since she had read a lot about mana, the primary energy of the Eldarion continent, which was a much more potent and versatile energy in its inherent characteristics. Compared to that, Qi was relatively lackluster, but it was more than enough to do the job, especially in a world where mana did not exist.
She walked forward, not a trace of fear in her red eyes, no hesitation in her posture. An unshakable confidence radiated from her entire being. A gesture that did not escape the eyes of the new leaders of the various kingdoms, even the experienced war generals could not help but frown. Was it an intimidation tactic? Or did the women not fear death?
While they prepared 5,000 experienced soldiers, not a single one of them believed that the so-called Bloody Ballerina would survive the assault of more than a few hundred soldiers working together. Even that feat of combat prowess and strength seemed impossible from a normal human’s perspective, but the very fact that she had annihilated multiple royal families was very much real. So, most of the 5000 were actually a safety measure, since all the leaders were present there as the bait.
This was the most optimal strategy they had implemented after a year of continuous suffering in war and one month of discussion. Sophia had gone through this kind of situation hundreds of times by now; humans were always like that. They refuse to believe the words whispered by others, as long as they have not verified it with their very own eyes. But by the time they see it, they don’t understand it. It becomes their greatest fear, the fear of the unknown.
Five generals came forward, representing each of the kingdoms. Just as they were about to speak, all five of their heads fell to the ground, a remarkably symmetrical and clean cut on their neck. Their headless bodies also fell to the ground with a resounding thud. She did not wait for the entire army of soldiers to register what had just happened. She continued to kill indefinitely, without a single shred of mercy. If she had wanted, she could have simply slipped through most of them and killed the leaders, but she was not aiming for that alone; that would be too boring. She needed to instill genuine, primordial fear within every single one of them.
Her ruthless slaughter continued; she only stopped for a moment when she had already killed one third of the gathered army, and the strongest ones were already dead. Every single soldier, king, noble, or leader all shook in boundless fear. Not understanding in the slightest about the kind of creature that was standing right in front of them.