With just a single blow, the onlookers held their breath. Although only Nepora was physically thrown back by the shockwave from Merit’s punch, the impact was felt clearly by the entire crowd.

And yet, there were those who were astonished for different reasons.

“That woman... she withstood Sister’s punch.”

“Even seeing it with my own eyes, I can’t believe it...”

“Who in the world is she?”

The members of the Immortal Mercenary Corps were muttering in disbelief. Most of the veteran members had, at some point, been punched by Merit. Whether they were overconfident, arrogant, or underestimated her, anyone joining the Immortal Mercenary Corps had a sense of invincibility, thinking they were the strongest—until they met Merit.

Most of them had been the toughest in their villages, and even when they ventured into towns, they were undefeated. Whether against humans or monsters, they always dominated and were praised for their prowess.

But all that confidence was shattered by Merit. In fact, the ones present now had all been defeated by her at some point. Luvto, the captain of the First Unit, had been punched in the solar plexus and vomited. Vint, the captain of the Sixth Unit, had his stomach ruptured and experienced agonizing pain.

Seeing Marifa stand there calmly after taking such a blow, it was no wonder they doubted their own eyes.

However, Marifa was forcing herself to appear calm.

Fragility

An elderly man Marifa had encountered on the eighty-third floor of the A-rank dungeon Kingdom of Insects had told her that the greatest weakness of those who control others is their fragility.

Unlike front-line fighters, they couldn’t reinforce their bodies with combat techniques or skills. And unlike backline support, they had no barriers or magic to protect themselves.

If one tries to compensate for these weaknesses by selecting a front-line or backline job, they would become a jack of all trades and master of none, losing their unique strengths. Therefore, one in her position must either acquire great endurance or defensive means.

As she healed herself, Marifa recalled that conversation.

(A single punch... caused this much damage...)

Despite her composed appearance, Marifa’s chest bone had been completely shattered by Merit’s blow.

Though she looked unfazed, countless insects within her body were working frantically to repair the damage to their host. Naturally, Merit had felt the impact of her punch and knew that Marifa had suffered significant injuries.

Yet, Merit still smiled—not because she was underestimating Marifa, but because she admired her inner strength.

“Should I give you a moment to recover?” Merit asked.

“When did I ever ask you to wait?” Marifa replied, her voice cold.

Merit’s grin deepened at her response.

“Hah!”

In an instant, Merit’s upper body disappeared, her punch moving faster than sound and seemingly piercing through Marifa’s face—at least, that’s how it appeared. In reality, Marifa had narrowly dodged the blow using her Malice Eyes, which allowed her to see the trajectory of the attack, and her body’s enhanced reflexes thanks to the insects inside her.

(Her physical abilities exceed even those of Priari, and her combat techniques are immense. Neither my Spiral Tree nor the insects will be effective against her.)

Marifa thought that if only Koro and Ran were with her, they could help make up for her own lack of attack power.

“You dodged well! Next—”

This time, Merit’s lower body vanished as she launched a kick. Using her Malice Eyes again, Marifa crossed her arms to guard her left side just as Merit’s kick collided with her arms.

(Too fast! I can’t block it with the Black Mist Winged Ants in time!)

A fierce cracking sound echoed around them as Marifa’s arms were completely broken despite her successful guard. Luvto and the others, seeing this, shouted in celebration.

“Her arms broke!”

“Serves her right!”

“Hell yeah!”

“Why aren’t you attacking? Did something happen?” Marifa asked casually, her arms hanging limp by her sides. Inside her body, the insects were frantically mending her bones, but Marifa paid no mind to their struggles. Her words seemed more like a taunt than a plea for time.

“Heh heh...” Merit couldn’t hold back her laughter.

She lifted her right leg and unleashed a rapid front kick like a machine gun.

“Oh!”

The exclamation came from Luvto. Marifa had stepped onto Merit’s front kick with her left foot and used her remaining right leg to land an upward kick to Merit’s jaw.

In the brief exchange, only a few—including Luvto—fully grasped what had happened.

To the spectators, it seemed as though Marifa had suddenly somersaulted backward through the air.

(Not only did I fail to damage her...)

Though Marifa had landed a kick to Merit’s jaw, her own toes had broken from the impact.

Despite the pain, Marifa landed gracefully, but before her stood Merit, completely unharmed.

“You’re good!”

Merit was already prepared to unleash a devastating punch.

Marifa tried to move forward but—

“Huh?”

A fabric spear had pierced Merit’s side.

“You’re wide open,” Nepora said.

Using Cloth Arts, Nepora had transformed her waist belt into a spear and thrust it into Merit’s side.

“You call that an attack?” Merit scoffed, unfazed by the spear that hadn’t even scratched her skin.

“I knew it wouldn’t work.”

The spear dissolved back into its soft belt form, and Nepora wrapped both ends around Merit’s body, attempting to restrain her.

“Now!” Nepora shouted.

At her signal, Pokori and Arianne cast Spirit Magic, Third Rank: Flamebird Extension. A massive vortex of fiery birds collided with Merit, engulfing her in flames.

“And?” Merit asked as she easily tore through the burning cloth restraints and stepped out of the inferno, unharmed.

“Damn it!”

“Take this!”

Melanie and Graphira simultaneously attacked from both sides, aiming piercing strikes at Merit’s flanks—but they didn’t stand a chance.

“This is boring.”

Their fingers bent awkwardly as their strikes were repelled. With a casual flick of her fists, Merit sent both women flying parallel to the ground.

“This is getting annoying!”

Taking advantage of the opening, Tin closed in on Merit, unleashing Martial Art LV3: Twin Fist Grand Impact.

“Too slow,” Merit muttered, catching Tin’s fists with her own hands.

Sweating profusely, Tin smirked. “If you’re going to touch me, that’s fine.” She activated her Twin Fist Grand Impact, intending to send the vibrations of destruction into Merit’s body—but before she could do so—

“Let me show you how it’s done.”

In a fraction of a second, Tin heard and saw Merit’s arms move faster than the eye could follow, neutralizing and reversing the vibrations Tin had unleashed.

“Gahh!”

Blood poured from Tin’s eyes, nose, and mouth as she clung desperately to Merit’s waist.

“You’re persistent,” Merit grumbled, driving her elbow into the top of Tin’s head.

“Get out of my way—huh?”

A string made of reinforced spider silk, dusted with mithril powder, had wrapped around Merit’s neck.

(Tin... I won’t forgive this woman!) Vannamo thought, controlling the string. If it had been a normal opponent, the string would have easily sliced through their neck. But it couldn’t even cut Merit’s skin.

(Just one small wound... If I can make even a tiny cut...)

Vannamo manipulated the string’s tip, now equipped with a needle coated in a deadly poison unique to her clan.

“You’ll have to be more creative than that,” Merit sneered.

Between Merit’s fingers, every needle that Vannamo had launched was caught effortlessly.

With a flick of her thumb, Merit sent one of the needles flying as if she were playfully flicking a pebble. It shot out at bullet speed, piercing through Vannamo’s outstretched hand and embedding itself in her forehead.

“Damn you!”

Nepora, visibly shaken by their failed teamwork, shouted in frustration.

“If you have time to scream, at least try attacking,” Merit sneered as she casually closed the distance between them. She unleashed a swift front kick, piercing through the iron-hardened belt and driving her foot into Nepora’s solar plexus.

“Guhh...!”

Nepora coughed up blood as she crumpled to the ground, trying to clutch her stomach. Merit, however, casually flicked her leg, sending Nepora flying across the plaza.

“Things were just getting interesting, and you had to ruin it. Don’t you think so too—oh?”

Merit turned to face the oncoming force—an enormous projectile aimed directly at her. It was Marifa’s doing. She had fired a rare arrow tipped with one of the ten precious Wood Dragon Fangs. Even Marifa seemed surprised by the scale of the destruction her shot had caused, as she stood on the opposite side, her face showing shock.

“Sister!”

“You let your guard down again!” her comrades shouted.

Just as the massive spiral of destruction was about to engulf Merit—

“Kaaahhh!”

Merit released her Dragon Fist, a powerful technique originating from her clenched fist. The devastating impact clashed with Marifa’s attack, creating a shockwave that spread throughout the plaza. The two opposing forces struggled against each other, but gradually, the intensity of the collision began to fade.

“Hahaha!! You’re good! I actually had to use my Dragon Fist against you—what?!”

This time, Merit’s face betrayed her surprise.

A second arrow had been fired, deliberately timed to follow the first.

No matter how skilled one was, there were always moments of vulnerability after launching such a powerful attack. The second arrow had been concealed by illusion magic, waiting for the perfect moment. Even the residual force from the first attack would be enough to reduce anyone nearby to ash, thought Pokori and Arianne, who had been watching and waiting for their opportunity.

“We did it... Sister, we killed her!”

“Quick, heal her now!”

Pokora and Arianne rushed to Marifa, who had fired the arrows with arms that had barely just healed, causing her arms to break again in the process.

“Forget me—take care of Tin and the others,” Marifa instructed.

“Yes, ma’am—”

But before they could finish their sentence, both Pokora and Arianne collapsed forward. Upon inspecting the backs of their heads, one would see small pebbles embedded in their skulls.

“Well done.”

Merit stood in the distance, seemingly unscathed, her usual grin still plastered on her face.

“You’re growing on me. This has been fun, but—”

Merit flicked another stone fragment toward the fallen Tin and the others, intending to finish them off.

However, Marifa’s Wood Spirit Magic, Fourth Rank: Mangrove activated just in time. Trees erupted from the ground, forming a small forest that shielded Tin and the others from harm.

“Huh? Well, I don’t care about small fry like them anyway.”

It was clear that Merit had no further interest in Tin and the others. All of her attention was now focused on Marifa.

“Got anything left to show me?”

Merit taunted as she launched another kick.

Marifa, her arms broken and unable to block effectively, found herself overwhelmed. Even with her Malice Eyes, she could no longer keep up with the increasingly fast and powerful attacks from the excited Merit.

“Aww, poor thing.”

“She’s just Sister’s toy now.”

“She shouldn’t have entertained her so much.”

“And yet... even in that state, she’s not giving up. What’s with this woman?”

“Must be an idiot. Look at her, crawling on the ground like that. What can she possibly do from there?”

The scene was all too familiar to the members of the Immortal Mercenary Corps. They often saw those who dared to oppose them reduced to broken, pitiful wrecks, just like Marifa. Luvto and the others reveled in the sight, their amusement evident.

“Move aside.”

Suddenly, a voice called out from behind them.

The first to react was Vaarland, the captain of the Tenth Unit. Unconsciously, he stepped aside, making way for the speaker.

The figure who approached was small in comparison—a human boy. And yet, despite his small stature, Vaarland, a towering giant, felt a sense of dread. It didn’t make sense; this boy looked nothing like the person he reminded him of, but the resemblance was there, nonetheless.

“What was that, you little punk? Say it again, louder this time—”

Luvto, captain of the First Unit, didn’t get to finish. A stream of blood shot from his nose as he staggered back, barely able to comprehend what had just happened. His men stared, wide-eyed in disbelief. Somehow, this kid had landed a blow on Luvto, the master of beastman fist techniques, so quickly that no one had even seen it.

“Don’t make me repeat myself. Are those big ears of yours just for show?”

“You... you brat!!”

Luvto roared as he launched a palm strike aimed at Yuu’s face.

Luvto’s beastman fist techniques were powerful enough to pierce through armor and flesh alike. His palm strike tore through the air, but Yuu calmly deflected it with his right palm, directing the blow toward Luvto’s elbow.

With a sharp crack, Luvto’s arm bent backward, broken. Before he could react, Yuu’s next strike—a powerful elbow—sank into Luvto’s solar plexus.

“Guaghhhh...!!”

Luvto doubled over, vomiting, only for Yuu’s kick to send his body flying through the air.

“Move aside.”

Luvto’s subordinates—members of the First Unit—quickly stepped out of Yuu’s way, their faces pale with fear. These seasoned mercenaries, hardened by countless battles, had been utterly terrified.

“I’ll kill even a woman if I have to.”

Vint, the Sixth Unit’s captain, had been preparing to cast wind magic, but froze in place, his intentions laid bare before Yuu’s gaze. Even this battle-hardened woman, who had killed countless opponents without hesitation, found herself paralyzed by fear.

Unable to do anything, Vint and the others could only watch Yuu walk away.

At last, Yuu and Merit stood face to face—just as Warren from The Eight Coins had planned.