Stella heaved a sigh of relief after finishing off the Phantom Wolf…

As expected of an adult Evil Beast, Stella almost emptied her Spiritual Energy and it will still take some time before she can recover her strength.

​​

"I'll go help the others now."

Misha informed Stella as she quickly left to help Hendrick and the others.

"Alright… Be careful." Stella replied but the Knights didn't hear it.

'Master… I don't think I can help the Knights. I don't have enough Spiritual Energy with me.'

'Mhmm… Look at their fight… You won't need to have abundant Energy to fight them.'

'Eh?'

'Sigh~ Let me show you… Let me Take Over for now.'

'Eh… Ah, Yes, Master!'

Stella replied as she excitedly relaxed.

Ever since she entered this cave, she always had to be wary of enemies and maintain her Ma'Ai.

It wasn't an easy thing to do and can be quite stressful.

Although the Take Over can only last for over 2 minutes, it's already a good break for her…

In the meantime, she took a glance at the tamers and knights battling near the water stream. The Tamers seems to be radiating a strength similar to an Evil Beast.

Stella remembers the berserk Evil Cultists with their current looks.

"Mhmm? Their movements were stiff."

They weren't as agile as she imagined them to be. With their current movements, it seems that her master is right. As long as she uses her Kendo Techniques appropriately, she may win against these people.

However, she knows that she still doesn't have the skills to accomplish this. As per her master's words, her skills had only reached the 2-Dan since she only knows the basics of Kendo and has some proficiency on it…

***

"Captain, the Chaotic Heart was ineffective… What now?" One of the Knights asked as he breathes heavily…

His full body armor was full of dents and it could barely block the tamer's blows…

What was even more annoying about these Tamers was that their proficiency with Krima has definitely reached the Master-Level…

They weren't just simple gang members and they were sure that these people were elite soldiers of the Dukedom…

The Chaotic Hearts that they've used only made the Tamers stagger a bit. It wasn't even enough to allow them to deal some critical blow…

Bang!

One of the tamers was suddenly thrown away as one of the strongest Knights in their unit joined the battle.

Shield Bash!

"Misha… You're here!"

"Mhmm… Luckily, I haven't exhausted my strength."

"How about Stella?"

"She barely has any Spiritual Energy, so don't put your hope on her."

"I see…"

"Lord Castillo, do you have enough Energy with you?"

"Mhmm… I can cast three more wide-scale Arcane Magic before I'm emptied."

The noble Arcanists answered as he tries to breathe steadily…

He is not a battle-type Arcanist but someone who mostly works on his research about the Arcane Magic.

The reason why he reached the 3rd-Class was simply because of his complicated Arcane Magic using his Magic Items.

However, those things require long preparation and not suitable in this type of battle.

"Very well… Let's give our all in this battle…"

Hendrick said as he immediately cast his common-rank Arcana's ability…

"Shockwave!"

It wasn't a powerful skill but enough to halt the Black Crocodile's movement…

"Now!"

Everyone lifted their small shield to ram to their opponents.

Bang!

After ramming, they used their swords to cut the tamers and the beasts in front…

"Earth Hold!"

It was Lord Castillo's skill but again… A "Shell Cover" was used by the enemies to stop the earth from binding their feet.

"Tsk! Dusty Mist!"

"Heat Wave!"

The last two wide-scale Arcane Magic that he can cast was simultaneously used to support the Knights…

The Arcanists noticed that a Tamers managed to slip through the Knight's defense as he charged towards him…

He immediately backed away as he can't fight this Tamer head-on.

He wasn't panicking at this but as a matter of fact, he seems to have plans and waiting for the Tamer to get closer… This made the latter hesitate since the Arcanists were people who were known for their unpredictable actions.

However, it was a big mistake to hesitate at this crucial moment…

He suddenly felt pain in his throat before he completely lost consciousness…

"Eh?"

Even Lord Castillo, who was preparing to use his life-saving skill was surprised by the sudden assistance from a small young girl…

Her movements were extremely swift as if she's a ghost living in this dark cave…

'I didn't even notice her approaching… This girl has been hiding her true abilities?'

He could barely feel any Spiritual Energy from her so he was sure that she has a Magic Item that can block his perception.

'Stella, huh… Interesting… This girl should have a chance to attend the Bestowal Ceremony.'

Seeing how skillful this girl was, there might be a chance that she'll be able to summon an Arcana.

Their Kingdom only has a few high-ranking Arcana wielders so they are always looking for talented individuals to give a chance to summon an Arcana.

Of course, most of these people would have to serve the Kingdom in exchange for the chance they've given. It would normally depend on the rank of Arcana that they summoned.

Viscount Castillo has several Arcanists that were now protecting his land and had similar contracts…

Nevertheless, he decided to take a bit of Stella's attention.

"Be careful… The Tamers can momentarily ignore an Arcane Magic."

He then saw the young girl nod in acknowledgment as she proceeds to where the Knights are.

There were still seven tamers left after the Knights exhausted all their strength and abilities.

Of course, the seven weren't unscathed as they have injuries everywhere.

At the very least, the beasts had all perished through their swords.

'Tsk… It's so annoying. They're too prepared on us.'

Hendrick grumbled as Caiden and his group knows their weakness and how to handle their Chaotic Hearts.

They were too ready. It was unlike them who only learned about their skills now.

Their Beast Arts, their items that can block their Chaotic Heart, their Arcane Magic that stops their skills from affecting them, their tough snakeskin armor, and their surprising proficiency in Krima, it was all too much for them to handle as they could barely deal some damage… If they know that their enemies know Krima, they would've approached this battle differently.

As the Knights collapsed one by one, Hendrick also noticed that the Tamer's Beast Arts were about to end.

Unfortunately, they no longer have the strength to continue their fight…

As the Tamers were approaching to finish them off, they suddenly looked behind…

Boom!

One of the Tamers collapsed…

The remaining conscious Knights were unsure how did it happen.

Is it due to over-exhaustion? After all, the Beast Art must be straining to their bodies as well.

However, the Tamers suddenly started attacking a black figure that was moving extremely fast in their midst…

The figure fought against the six tamers that had used their Beast Arts and wearing snakeskin armor.

"Aaacckk!"

One of them collapsed after holding his throat.

"Uumph! Blegh!"

Another one held his throat but this time, he managed to stay conscious and he only vomited some blood.

'What's going on?!'

The Knight then saw the figure clearly.

"Stella!"

Hendrick look at Misha who said that she was already exhausted.

Misha was also confused.

"She barely has Spiritual Energy… Look."

The Captain then focused on the young girl and noticed that Misha was telling the truth…

He immediately calms down as he gave an instruction.

"Try to regain your strength while she's handling the group."

Hendrick softly said as he concentrated on gathering his strength.

The battle between Stella continued for a little while as the Tamers collapsed one by one.

In truth, Stella, who was watching the whole battle was quite confused at Reiji sword style…

None of them exhibits the sword techniques that she's familiar with… No—The sword technique that she knows seems to have evolved to a higher level when her master uses it.

As the Take Over ended, Stella couldn't help but be fascinated by her Master's abilities…

'Master! Is that how Mu No Kamae is used?!'

'Well, I can do better if you have left me a bit more Spiritual Energy.'

Reiji answered as he looked at the leader, Caiden Lamkin, who was still kneeling on the ground.

He's looking at Stella and the anger in his eyes was evident. Who wouldn't be angry with that? He was about to kill the Knights and win this battle but this unknown girl defeated them while they are already exhausted.

Caiden then looked at the bag on Stella's waist as realization showed on his face.

"I see… So you're the one who stopped the Spiritual Pressure…"

"Mhmm?"

Stella was confused.

"Don't act innocent… I left that stone there to stop any pursuers… I'm planning to take it back after we finished here… Tsk…"

As Stella was still confused, Reiji, who heard his words quickly understood what was happening.