Lancer looked at the girl in his arms and once again bowed to the surroundings. He then carried her with both hands and took her to the coliseum's doctor. It was only then that he returned to the emperor's side, but before he could even speak, the emperor smiled and nodded at him.
"You did well before."
There was no doubt that Lancer had not only shown his individual strength in the abnormal battle just now, which undoubtedly proved the strength of the Empire's soldiers, but he had also sent the girl for treatment afterward. This action could be said to be the 'finishing touch'.
"Your Excellency Lancer strength is truly remarkable~"
And at this moment, Honest's 'praise' rang out from his ears, and Lancer immediately became highly vigilant.
"You're too kind, Lord Honest."
Lancer was very confused. Although he had performed well in the past year, it was just 'well'. The other party had no reason to be so cordial to him, right? After all, he was just a 'bodyguard', and the other party's position among the Empire's civilian officials was definitely in the top five. After all, he was the man who controlled the Empire's finances!
Before he had left, he had specifically used the hand gestures of the Imperial Guards to tell the others to 'be on high alert, it's very likely that someone wants to harm the emperor'.
But what he didn't expect was that nothing happened until the end of the competition.
Even after the competition in the coliseum ended, the other party just smiled and said goodbye to them...
Esdeath suddenly opened her eyes. Although her whole body was sore, she still instinctively reached for her waist. A finger-long short knife was hidden there; it was her last weapon for self-defense.
"Don't bother looking~ I've already disarmed all your weapons~"
The voice that suddenly came from behind her made Esdeath frown, but she still didn't turn her head immediately. Instead, she slowly moved her body, which was the safest choice. She then saw a black-haired girl sitting on a chair, mockingly tossing a finger-long short knife.
"Who are you?"
Esdeath didn't relax just because the other party was a woman. Ever since that night several years ago when her family was all killed, she had been wandering alone. During this time, she had a deeper appreciation for the words her father had once told her: to survive, you must become strong!
And she was still 'weak', so to survive, she had to be careful and vigilant! At least, she absolutely could not die before she became strong!
"Oh my~ oh my~ Have you already forgotten me? That really makes me sad~ Then... does this make you remember?"
While saying these seemingly nonsensical words, the other party pulled open her collar, revealing her neck, which was wrapped in bandages.
The other party's actions made Esdeath slightly narrow her eyes. If she had only had a vague impression before, then seeing the reddish bandages on the other party, she completely remembered the other party's identity.
"Are you planning to kill me?"
Esdeath's emotionless voice not only didn't make the black-haired girl sitting on the other side angry, but she instead showed a strange smile.
"No~ no~ I won't kill you here, at least~ After all, I don't want to cause any trouble~"
"Here?"
Although she was a bit dizzy, Esdeath still picked out the 'key point' from the other party's words.
But the other party also didn't seem to want to continue talking to Esdeath and stood up.
"Although I lost to you, I'm not giving up~ The next time we meet, let's have another match. If I win, then promise me one thing."
"The strong have the right to dominate the weak!"
Although Esdeath didn't directly answer the other party's question, in a way, her answer could be said to be exactly what the other party wanted. The black-haired girl, whose face was flushed, showed a satisfied smile.
"My name is 'Meyard Auberg'. Don't forget. Also, let me take this little knife as a 'token of our love', shall I?"
As the door was pulled open, the black-haired girl who had been speaking had already disappeared without a trace...
Meyard Auberg?
Esdeath silently repeated the other party's name twice. Although she didn't explicitly say it, she had remembered the other party's name. But was she planning to 'repay her kindness' or 'silence her'? That was up to personal interpretation.
After leaving the room, Esdeath saw a desolate coliseum and staff who were constantly cleaning up. She prepared to leave without a word, but at this moment, she was called out to.
"Miss Esdeath!"
At this time, Esdeath's face was full of unhappiness, very unhappy!
Especially looking at the bag of gold coins in her hand, it made her even more furious!
This was actually the prize money for her winning the martial arts tournament!
Prize money for winning?! What a joke! She had lost in the end! She had lost completely!
Although she didn't know why that man had taken off his shield and cloak, her fighting intuition told her that her opponent hadn't given it his all!
But it was precisely because of her anger that she decided to accept these gold coins. Seeing them would remind her of this 'humiliating defeat' today.
But at this moment...
"Pat pat~!"
A dense sound of footsteps came from far away and got closer. A few minutes later, a group of men holding swords surrounded Esdeath.
"Is there something you need from me?"
Esdeath's voice was as cold as ever, and it had even become a few degrees colder than usual because of her inner anger.
"Why are we looking for you? Do you think that just because you killed our big brother, the matter will be settled so easily?"
Killed their big brother?
Esdeath had killed too many people. She had no idea who the other party was talking about, but it didn't matter. She was in a bad mood right now, so if these guys were looking for death, then she would let these dregs use their leftover heat to let her vent her anger!
There was no doubt that these people had chosen a good place to attack Esdeath.
It was in a commercial area, but it was close to the slums. It was completely empty at night, making it the best place for murder and robbery. But unfortunately, they had found the right place but chosen the wrong person. They had originally thought that Esdeath, who was seriously injured, would be easy to deal with, but the fact was that even an injured tiger was not something that a wild dog could challenge.
"Snap~"
She swung the longsword she had disarmed with her bare hands, and she couldn't help but frown.
"Tsk~! My good weapon was destroyed, so I can only make do with this shoddy product. I can't even shake the blood off properly."
But at this moment, another sound of footsteps came.
The guardhouse?
"Hey! Here..."
"Beep beep~!"
Esdeath had just opened her mouth when a sharp whistle rang out, and then a group of guardhouse members holding weapons surrounded Esdeath.
They had been fighting for several minutes with no reaction from anyone around, but these guys popped out as soon as she dealt with her opponents. Esdeath felt like she had fallen into some kind of trap...
But just when things were about to take another turn...
"Stop!"
A man's low shout stopped the battle that was about to break out...