Deon, the boy in red, was now pushing through the forest angrily. His arm was still stinging after Dahlia locked it.
"She can’t just walk away."
He angrily said as he turned to his three friends, Joren, Halsey, and Marek.
"We showed up together, found her, and made her pay."
"You lost because you got sloppy. Don’t worry, when we find her, we’ll make sure you don’t miss this time." New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novel✶fire.net
Halsey cracked his knuckles and grinned.
"I like the sound of that. I’ve been itching for a real fight all day."
Marek was just quiet as usual, but he still talked.
"We need a plan. From what I heard from you, she’s fast. She’s not like the others."
He also looked at Deon’s arm.
"And you still can’t swing your sword properly."
"You think I can’t swing? Watch me. I’ll show you."
He tightened his fingers into a fist, but the pain held him back from swinging his fist.
Joren waved his hand.
"Enough. Bragging won’t help. We split up and flushed her out. Two go left and two go right. Drive her into a clearing."
He pointed at Halsey.
"You come with me, Halsey. Marek, you and Deon take the other trail. Move quickly and quietly."
Halsey grinned and bounced back on his toes.
"Quiet? Fine. I’ll be quiet until I rip something apart."
Deon swallowed. The plan sounded good in theory, but his chest was tighter than before.
"And if she breaks her jade token to escape?"
Joren’s jaw tightened.
"Then we make sure to trap her before she can do it. One bad move from her and we’ll end this in an instant."
Dahlia was still resting on one of the tree branches. But soon a sound of snapped twig woke her up.
She sat up and quickly looked at the source of that sound.
Four figures stepped into the clearing, moving in two pairs. They wore the same red robes.
Dahlia quickly recognized one of them as the boy who had tried to grab her earlier, Deon.
All four of them also quickly found her as Dahlia showed herself from the tree, tightening her robe.
Deon quickly smirked and spat.
"Nice. We found you. Thought you’d run away."
Dahlia only looked at her and smirked.
"You think you can defeat me with just the help of your friends? Let me see if you can truly do it."
"She’s quite stubborn. Good. Halsey. Marek. You two come from the sides. Deon and I will push forward."
Halsey cracked his knuckles and grinned. He moved like he wanted to break something.
Marek walked with small, quick steps, watching the ground.
Deon kept his distance, eyes fixed on Dahlia, hand on his sword.
Joren stepped forward first, hands open like a grappler.
"I’ll take the lead. Let’s see how fast and strong you are. The one who managed to humiliate Deon."
He lunged in with a wide palm strike, trying to catch her off guard.
Dahlia didn’t move her feet much.
She shifted her weight, felt the pull from her hips, and pushed back with a palm of her own.
Their hands met, and Joren’s face quickly went red as he stumbled back a step.
Dahlia only smiled as she quickly mocked him.
"You’re too slow and too wide. Try to take smaller steps, and maybe you will have the chance to beat me."
He snarled and tried again, faster.
This time, he feinted left and came from the right.
Dahlia quickly read the line of his strike, stepped into his space, and hooked his arm.
With a twist she’d practiced a hundred times, she sent him to the ground in a neat throw.
He hit hard and rolled, groaning.
Halsey charged like a bull. He swung with both fists, reckless and loud.
Dahlia waited, and when he overexerted, she ducked inside his reach and drove her elbow into his ribs.
He quickly doubled over.
She followed up with a low kick that swept his legs out, making him crash to the dirt.
Marek was quicker, a martial artist with short and fast strikes.
He launched at Dahlia with two quick palm jabs aimed at her chest.
She blocked, stepped around him, grabbed his arm, and twisted him using his own momentum.
Marek shrieked and toppled down.
Deon’s face twisted. He tightened his grip on his sword and advanced faster this time.
"Now, it’s just you and me."
Dahlia glanced at the others. None of them reached for their tokens. They were angry and slow.
"If you keep coming at me, it will tire you down faster."
Deon lunged and tried a fast mana slash. It was still the same full-power sloppy strike.
Dahlia side-stepped, struck her palm at him, and forced him to drop his sword to the ground.
Deon quickly tried to take his sword back with his free hand.
But Dahlia stepped in and grabbed the token on his belt, quickly scaring Deon.
Marek tried to rise and stop her, but his wrist lock failed, and he stumbled.
His eyes soon widened as she realized he couldn’t stop her.
Dahlia’s lips curled into a cold smirk. With one clean motion, she crushed the jade token in her palm.
Deon’s face went white. A light flared around his body, trying to force him to teleport out.
Before he could continue, the teleportation dragged him away, leaving only empty air.
The clearing fell silent for a moment, and the only sound was the heavy breathing of the three remaining.
Dahlia straightened, brushing dust from her hands. Her eyes flicked to Joren, then to Halsey, then to Marek.
She tilted her head, voice steady but sharp. "Now... your turn."
Joren clenched his fists, glaring.
"You think we’ll go down as easily as him?"
Halsey cracked his knuckles again.
"Tch. That coward got himself kicked out. We’re not like him."
Marek grimaced, still rubbing his wrist.
"We’ll see if you can handle all three of us at once."
Dahlia smirked as she raised her fists.
"Good. Then come. Let’s see if your martial arts are worth anything without mana to hide your mistakes."