"Hey, doesn’t something seem off over there?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look over there."

A man lounging by the fountain pointed at a group of men surrounding Marifa and her companions.

"Huh... Look, something’s definitely going down."

"Is it a fight? Maybe we should go help?"

"Idiot, don’t even think about it!"

"Why not? Those guys are harassing women!"

"Look at the number of guys they’ve got! And they’re armed! Plus, those guys… they’re applicants for the Immortal Mercenary Corps!"

"...Yeah... never mind. I didn’t see anything."

Tourists and locals alike were beginning to notice the commotion, but none dared step in. Dozens of strong men, armed and ready for a fight, were no small threat. It wasn’t cruel to stay out of it—it was the smart thing to do. Some people were already looking for guards, though there weren’t any around yet.

"Hurry up, or the guards will get in the way again."

"That would be bad."

"Look at this face! Thanks to you, I got lectured, and now my prized face is all messed up."

"Looks like you girls are going to have to take responsibility."

A beastman grinned suggestively at Marifa and the others. His lustful gaze slid over them, but—

"Interference? That would be troublesome."

Despite the rude stares, Marifa’s expression remained calm until the word "interference" was mentioned.

"Pokori, Ariane."

"At your service," they both replied in unison.

Pokori, a tanuki beastman, and Ariane, a fox beastman, gracefully curtsied. Then, each extended a hand towards the other, joining them together.

"Hehe, what’s this? You two going to take us on yourselves?"

"Fine by me! But how about keeping us company in bed instead?"

"Haha! Leave that to me! I’ll go all night long!"

"But hey, can the two of them handle all of us? They’ll break, won’t they?"

"Who cares! They caused all this anyway. Let’s use them until they can’t take it anymore!"

As the men laughed crudely and worked themselves into a frenzy, they noticed something was off. A strange mist had begun to envelop the central plaza of Ryu Betfo, and it took them a moment to realize that the crowd of onlookers was caught inside it as well.

"Sister, I’ve set up a barrier over the entire plaza."

"This time, since there are outsiders present, I made it an impassable barrier instead of just a perception-blocking one. No one will be able to interfere now."

"Good. Begin."

At Marifa’s command, she stepped back, allowing Pokori and Ariane to take the lead.

"Oh, Sister, are you really going to let just us deal with this many guys?"

Despite her words of complaint, Tin grinned widely. Marifa couldn’t see the smile from her position behind her.

"Yes, handle them yourselves. From what I’ve observed, they should be good practice for you."

Marifa’s dismissive remark clearly struck a nerve with the men, as murderous intent began to seep from their bodies.

"Haha... Who are you calling 'good practice'?!"

"You’re underestimating us! Let’s kill them!"

Even though the men weren’t shouting directly at them, the crowd of onlookers shrank back in fear. But despite the threats, Tin and the others remained calm.

"Although this will be brief, I look forward to our time together," Vanamo said, curtsying to the men.

From within her skirt came the sound of buzzing wings, and moments later, the source revealed itself—a swarm of yellow-and-black patterned bees, the Yellow Hornets.

"Bees?!"

"Damn, she’s a bug user!"

"Don’t let your guard down!"

Hundreds of Yellow Hornets surged toward the men, but none of them fled. Instead, they readied their weapons.

"Go."

At Vanamo’s command, the hornets attacked in unison. The bees weren’t particularly fast, flying at only around 20 to 30 kilometers per hour. But when hundreds of them attacked all at once, it was hard for even seasoned warriors to defend themselves. And yet—

"Don’t underestimate us!"

With each swing of their swords and spears, the men swatted down the hornets at an astonishing speed.

"Is that it? Already done?"

"This isn’t even a warm-up."

In no time, Vanamo’s hornets had been decimated. Meanwhile, a short distance away, Melanie was struggling against several men.

"Stop dodging!"

Melanie’s fighting style relied on physical combat. She swung her sharp claws at the men, but they easily evaded her attacks with a carefree attitude.

"Come on, is that all you’ve got?"

"We’re over here, sweetheart."

"Heh, gotcha!" One of the men slapped Melanie on the rear as he dodged her attack.

"Don’t you dare touch me!"

Melanie, now furious, lunged at him, but the men only laughed and continued to toy with her.

"Those girls aren’t putting up much of a fight."

One of the onlookers muttered.

"Of course not. Those guys are trying to join the Immortal Mercenary Corps, after all. They’re all confident in their abilities."

"Then... what’s going to happen to those girls?"

"There’s nothing we can do. Even if the guards show up, what can a few guards do against a group that big?"

As the bystanders watched in pity, Melanie continued to attack, but all her efforts were in vain as the men dodged every strike, mocking her all the while. She was beginning to grow tired, panting heavily.

"Damn it, why can’t I hit them?!"

"Melanie."

"Huh? Tin? Can’t you see I’m busy?!"

Frustrated by her misses, Melanie snapped at Tin, but Tin continued calmly.

"Sister is watching you."

That single sentence made Melanie’s blood run cold, and she quickly regained her composure.

"W-What do I do?"

"What do you mean? Just knock them out."

"But I can’t hit them! And I’m more exhausted than usual!"

"You’ve still got the weights on. No wonder you’re missing and tired."

"Weights? Oh crap! Why didn’t you say something earlier?!"

Tin puffed her cheeks indignantly at Melanie’s careless remark, but Melanie quickly turned to her, flustered.

"What was the deactivation spell again?"

"Release Ri-Ri-Go!"

"Right! Release Ri-Ri-Go!"

As Melanie chanted the spell, small objects began to fall from her body and hit the ground with a series of loud thuds, cracking the stone pavement beneath them. The men, who had been smirking moments earlier, now looked shocked.

The objects were beetles—Osmium Beetles controlled by Marifa. Each one weighed approximately 80 kilograms, and Melanie had been fighting with several of them attached to her body. No wonder Tin had been exasperated.

"Ahhh, I feel so much better!"

Rolling her shoulders, Melanie smiled, finally freed from the burden of the heavy beetles.

"Alright, let’s do this!"

"Haha! You think you can win just because you took some weights off? Come on, guys, there’s no way she can take us on."

The tiger beastman who had slapped Melanie earlier laughed as he turned to his comrades, casting a condescending glance at her.

"I’m going to teach you a lesson."

At that, Melanie lowered herself into a crouch, adopting the stance of a predator ready to strike.

"Heh, I’d like to see you try—Guh!"

In an instant—yes, in the blink of an eye—the tiger beastman had looked away for just a moment, and that was all it took. Melanie’s fist had sunk deep into his abdomen.

"You... b-bitch..." the man gasped.

"Can’t you tell by looking at me? I’m a woman," Melanie said coldly, as her right fist slammed into the man’s face. The other men stood frozen, unable to move.

"Hehe, this feels great!" Melanie exclaimed, clearly pleased with herself.

"Hey, this one’s still alive."

"It’s on purpose. They were talking trash about our master, right? Sister would probably tell us to leave them alive."

"Hmm, you might be right."

After thinking for a moment, Tin agreed with Melanie. She reached into her item pouch, which was sewn into her clothing, and pulled out a pair of oversized gloves, sliding them onto her hands.

"For now, let’s half-kill them and leave the final decision to Sister."

"Exactly."

"Ugh, what a hassle..."

Tin clapped her gloved hands together, turning her gaze toward the remaining men.

"What’s the matter? Done playing with your bugs?" one of the men taunted.

While Tin and Melanie were regaining the upper hand, Vanamo found herself surrounded. The hundreds of Yellow Hornets she had summoned were all swatted down, and the men, despite their jeers, remained cautious, making sure she had no way to escape.

"If you’re done, how about I finish you off?" one of the men sneered.

"Or maybe now’s the time to apologize? Come on, say something!" another mocked.

The men, confident in their strength, expected her to break down, perhaps even beg for her life. But Vanamo remained silent, standing calmly amidst the threats.

"You listening to me? Say someth—what?!"

The man who had been threatening her suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Despite being surrounded by fearsome men, Vanamo’s expression was unbothered—in fact, if you looked closely, you could see a faint smile playing on her lips. She was smiling, in this situation.

"What the hell are you laughing at, you—ouch!"

The man’s attention snapped to his ankle, where a Yellow Hornet had landed.

(Damn it! I missed one?!)

As he moved to swat it away, another voice rang out from his comrade.

"Ow!"

One of his allies had been stung on the cheek by another Yellow Hornet. More of them, it seemed, had survived.

"Crap, these bugs are still alive!"

"Ugh, there are more of them!"

"Dammit, I thought we killed all of them!"

Despite the men’s best efforts, they began to get stung one after another by the surviving hornets. They glanced at Vanamo, wondering if she had summoned new ones, but she hadn’t moved at all.

"What did you do?!"

Though one of the men shouted angrily, Vanamo’s smile only deepened, as if she were mocking their fear.

"Do you really think the insects my sister and I carefully raised would die so easily, just from being swatted away? Oh, and you mentioned something about new bugs..."

By now, half the men around Vanamo were either rolling on the ground or frantically waving their weapons, trying to fend off the Yellow Hornets.

"Don’t get cocky! We’ll kill you and these bugs won’t matter—ugh!"

As he spoke, the man heard a distinct buzzing noise.

(This sound... It’s different from the Yellow Hornets!)

Panicking, he reached for his neck, feeling something small attached there. He grabbed it, thinking it was another hornet, but when he looked, he realized it was a fly. A large, black fly. Its compound eyes were purple, and its small mouth revealed something sharp.

"Argh!"

The pain forced the man to drop the fly, and he saw blood dripping from his finger.

(A fly with fangs?!)

"That is a Putrid Horsefly—its proper name is the Corroding Horsefly, a labyrinth-bred insect," Vanamo said calmly.

(What did she just say? A labyrinth-bred bug... No, not a bug... a monster!)

The man touched his neck again and felt a noticeable swelling.

"H-Hey! Check my neck! What’s happening?!"

"Now’s not the time, dammit! Fine, stop pulling at me!"

His companion glanced at his neck, and even through the beastman’s fur, it was clear the area was swollen, with a small hole at the center. Inside the hole, something wriggled.

"Agh!"

"What? What’s wrong with my neck?! Tell me!!"

"Stay away from me!! Gah!"

A new Corroding Horsefly attacked the man’s companion, while the remaining mercenaries found themselves overwhelmed by Vanamo’s deadly insects. In moments, half of the men had been rendered incapable of fighting.

"My, my, Vanamo’s going all out," Nepora commented with a chuckle, standing next to Graphira, the wolf beastman.

"I suppose I can’t afford to lose either," Graphira replied.

"What’s going on?!"

"They said it’d be an easy job, so we agreed to help!"

"Yeah! We were supposed to grab some girls and have some fun!"

"Shut up! Don’t you feel ashamed getting beaten by women?!"

"Damn it! We’ve got no choice—we need to kill them and get out of here!"

"Yeah, let’s end this!"

Despite the growing panic, the remaining men drew their weapons and slowly closed in. But Graphira and Nepora continued their conversation as if unbothered.

"Leaving them alive... That’s difficult," Graphira remarked.

"What’s difficult about it?" Nepora asked.

"Hmm... leaving them alive. You know, like we do in Cama."

"You mean when we deal with the informants?"

"Exactly. You understand quickly."

"So, should we tear off a limb or two?"

"If possible, it’s best to target the nose, mouth, or ears. If we take off their limbs, they might bleed out."

"A tricky request."

As Graphira and Nepora chatted casually, one of the men brought his sword down on Graphira’s head. The strike was quick and sharp, executed with perfect precision—but in an instant, Graphira vanished.

"What the—?!"

Before the man could react, sharp claws raked across his cheek.

"Aaaaaah!!"

He screamed in agony as he collapsed to the ground, clutching his face. His cheek had been torn open so deeply that his teeth were visible through the wound.

"She got him!" another mercenary shouted.

"Get her!"

The others rushed toward Graphira, but she was already moving faster than they could react. Unlike Melanie, who specialized in bursts of speed, Graphira excelled in endurance. She could maintain her speed for hours, easily outlasting her opponents.

"You idiot! We’ve got you surrounded!" a dwarf roared, thrusting his spear at her from behind.

But before the spear could reach Graphira, her summoned companion, the Shadow Wolf Ekaterina, clamped its jaws around the dwarf’s arm. The wolf twisted its body in a violent roll, like a crocodile, ripping the dwarf’s arm clean off with the sound of tearing flesh and shattering bone.

"Ahh!"

By the time Graphira realized what had happened, it was too late.

"My arm! My arm is gone!"

Meanwhile, Nepora was fending off five men at once.

"Got you!"

"Shut up and die!"

"Die, you damned demon!"

"Stay out of town!"

"Take this!"

Swords, axes, and spears rushed toward Nepora, but a loud metallic sound rang out, and the men were forced back.

"What the—?!"

They looked up and saw Nepora, still standing, her waist wrapped in a long cloth. The cloth, no mere fabric, had deflected their attacks. It wasn’t just cloth; it was as strong as metal.

"What is that... Did she block us with cloth?"

"She’s a cloth user!"

"I’ve never heard of that job before!"

"Apparently, if you’re good enough, you can make cloth as hard as iron."

"Who cares about iron—guh!"

One of the men gasped as Nepora’s cloth spear pierced his side, cutting deep into his ribs. He hadn’t let his guard down, yet still couldn’t react in time.

"This woman... she’s dangerous!"

"She’s way stronger than the others!"

"R-Run..."

But before the mercenaries could even finish the thought—

"You’re not getting away," Nepora said softly, brandishing her cloth in both hands.

"Sister," Pokori and Ariane called out to Marifa, who had been watching the battle from a distance.

"What is it?"

"There are intruders."

"Someone has broken through the barrier?"

"Yes."

"Formidable enemies, no doubt."

Rather than breaking the barrier, the intruders had somehow slipped through it. This alone raised Marifa’s concern.

"No need to wonder where they’re coming from."

"We’ve got high-level rear guards. Don’t let your guard down," warned Vint, a tall elven woman with long, golden hair and pointed ears.

The blue-eyed wolfman Luvto, captain of the first and sixth squads, walked alongside her. They approached Marifa’s group calmly, a sure sign that they were confident in their abilities.

But the real trouble had just arrived.

"This looks like fun," a voice said.

A woman with long, dark purple hair, like amethyst, strolled in. She had two dragon horns protruding from her head, stood nearly two meters tall, and had a thick tail as wide as a grown man’s thigh. Her amber eyes glinted dangerously as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Mind if I join in?"

It was none other than Merritt, the leader of the Immortal Mercenary Corps, herself.