"What!?"

Bojorn was stupefied. The bandit's pupils widened to the extreme, gazing at the incredulous scene right in front of him. His massive adamantite sword, which was swung with a berserkers' might, was completely blocked by the feeble hands of a maiden? What's more, the huntress was actually pushing back his entire strength with a single arm while she slowly got up to her feet. The entire situation appeared so dumb to the chieftain, that even if he had lost his rationality as a berserker, a foolish expression of disbelief would still have had donned upon his visage.

But what made him even more perplexed was the change in the huntress' very physical presence, that instilled a frigid chill, giving the bandit goosebumps of terror all over his body. The man's instincts of survival screamed, requesting to flee the site immediately, and his years of experience and knowledge could not put forth any explanation to this strange transformation in the aura of the woman.

Even so, Bojorn had his pride as a former apostle to the God of might. The humiliation caused by being overpowered by a woman only raised immense fury within his heart. Could he lose against such an individual? He, infamous throughout the lands as Bojorn the Berserker, stepping back in a battle of strength?

ROAAR!

With an angry howl, the deep scarlet aura surged like a tsunami, drowning the bandit's trunk-like arms that had swelled even further, as veins popped all around his crackling muscles. The ground below the man's giant foot cracked and withered as if the entirety of energy contained within had been sucked dry. With another drastic increase in strength, the hunk of a sword finally pushed back, closing in an attempt to crush the woman. But, that momentum, lasted only for an instant.

poof!

Another slender arm immediately halted the weapon's advance as an overbearing, pitch-black aura emerged from within Shreya that combated against the bandit's scarlet one. The ground beneath the two vibrated with tremendous intensity as both of them drilled into the rocky ground. The huntress, who had already squatted to one knee, slowly stood up with an uncanny blank face of no emotion.

"Haaah!" the chieftain's eyebrows deeply furrowed as he poured even more power into the sword handle, not willing to lose the battle.

Compared to the river like scarlet aura of Bojorn, the huntress' pitch-black mist was akin to the wisp of smoke from a hot cup of coffee. Even then, the latter easily dominated the overgrown brute and he could only helplessly watch the sword getting pushed back with each passing instant.

"Ughh!"

After Shreya finally got up to the steady ground, with a heavy thrust of her arms, the giant weapon flew away in its entirety as Bojorn stumbled back with heavy steps that cracked the soil. Complex emotions of shock, disbelief, and fury masked the man's face. He, a berserker, had just lost in a head-on battle of strength.

"Just what are you!"

There was another reason that had perplexed the bandit chief. The power of aura is something that originates from the physical existence of a being and it is unique for all individuals. It cannot be mimicked and is impossible to transform. The quality may increase as the user gets more experienced and skilled, but the very nature remains unchanged.

But the pitch-black aura emitted by the huntress was something entirely different in origin compared to her previous bluish energy. Bojorn noticed the faint, thread-like tattoos all over the woman's physique that seemed to be the cause of this strange transformation, but he had no explanation about the markings themselves. With that logic, it could be inferred that Shreya was not using her powers at this moment but rather drawing it from something else, and that part is what bounced above the brute's head.

swish!

While the chieftain had been trying hard to wrap his head around the anomaly, Shreya dashed forwards with a clenched fist, her already insane speed dramatically increasing by a few folds. With the huntress right below him in an instant, Bojorn knew he couldn't use the sword and launched a frightening punch himself as he stepped deep into the ground while twisting his waist. The giant scarlet fist and the dark slender fist approached each other with ferocious momentums.

BOOOM!

The collision created a tremendous shock wave that traveled far and wide from the point of contact. The topsoil eroded in an expanding circle like waves of an ocean and any trees and vegetation in the path were bent over from the sheer force.

Bojorn was pushed back a few meters as his feet dragged atop the ground, the bones in his arm creaking with vigorous pain. Shreya stumbled back a similar distance but appeared much more steady than the giant. The overwhelming difference in strength numbed the brute's heart for a second time as his fury reached unimaginable heights.

"I'll murder you to death!"

Bojorn clutched his giant sword with a vice-like grip before bolting like an angry bull as he swung a mighty slash at the expressionless Shreya. The huntress didn't even bother to evade the attack, rushing straight into the swing as the metal hunk connected square in her ribs.

swish!

But in the next moment to the bandit's horror, the sword just cut through open air, cleanly bisecting only the illusion of the huntress.

'An afterimage!'

Shreya had somehow disappeared right before his eyes and Bojorn felt a jolt of fear run through his body. But his years of combat experience didn't betray in the slightest and helped deduce the trick in that split second. Gritting his teeth, the bandit continued the swing without halting any momentum as he turned around to slash behind him in a full circle.

But, even though the chieftain knew from where the strike would arrive, it did not mean he could react to it. While twirling around, the only thing Bojorn saw was the back of a heel from the corner of the eye, before it struck fair and square, right onto his jaw.

BAANG! CRAACK!

Shreya, who had circled the giant with unbelievable agility, delivered a perfect jump spin hook kick to the face, that launched the brute into the air with a literal jaw-dropping sound.

thud!

Bojorn dug up a massive trail on the surface while sliding through the ground for a fair distance, and in the next moment, got right back up to the feet, fixing his dislocated jaw with a distorted frown. One of the reasons berserkers are feared on the battlefields is due to their inability to feel any form of pain and hence can fight on for an eternity until their power runs out. Then again, as a disadvantage, the more injuries they suffer, the backlash gets more severe and painful.

Boom!

The chieftain resolved himself with a decision, unhanding the heavy sword that crashed down with an explosive outburst of dust. He will never be able to react to the huntress' monster like agility if he moved around swinging such a thing. Cracking his bare knuckles that sounded like fireworks, the man dashed forwards with a ferocious shout and initiated an unarmed duel.

swish!

Bojorn swung his lift arm like a giant bear paw, aiming to swat away the tiny woman. He had somewhat expected her to dodge the strike and had been prepared to react in such a case, but Shreya defied his predictions as she welcomed the blow head-on with her right forearm.

pow! rumble!

The recoil left both trembling, along with the cracked ground, but Shreya remained rooted to her spot like a boulder. The brute immediately launched a right straight punch as a counter aimed at the huntress's face.

swish!

The giant fist closed in on Shreya, picking ferocious winds, but she simply swayed to her left before swatting away the bandit's arm. The huntress slid into the strike zone with an instant dash as the heavy fist went past her ear. Turning her foot, twisting her waist, she aimed a perfect counter at the brute's midsection,

BANG! CRACK!

A liver shot!

Shreya's punch was akin to a black streak of light that impacted the bandit's midsection, essentially lifting him off the ground for a good few inches. A small and devious fist print could be seen upon the chieftain's bare body that had cracked a few of his ribs.

His legs trembled under the body blow as the bandit felt his strength draining away. Even then, the man's expression hadn't faltered in the slightest, rather it got further warped in fury. With angry growls escaping his mouth, he charged ahead towards the huntress who had backed off right after the punch.

swish! swish! miss! miss!

BANG! Another punch to the guts! BANG! A low kick to the knee!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Shreya pummeled all over the giant, each blow emitting tremendous shock waves that ripped and cracked the bones and muscles of his body. Every time Bojorn got pushed back, his anger grew, making him rush in again and the cycle continued.

One strike! The bandit longed to deliver only one perfect blow to overturn this entire situation, but that one simple strike seemed too far out of his reach.

The bandit could feel the rationality gradually leaving his mind with the numerous fatal injuries that piled up like a stack of Jenga. A wave of gut-wrenching dread crept up in his heart when he imagined the battered condition of his physique once the berserker awakening was canceled.

He knew that the entire region was teeming with soldiers, which although were not his foes at present, they did not hold allied mentality either. The instigators of this conspiracy would not mind cutting off any loose ends if they ever learned of his wretched condition. Not only did he had to survive this fight, but he also had to safely escape from this encasement.

"grrr.....just what is.....this power!"

Bojorn roared, his body enveloping itself in a milky white glow before bolting forwards with a never before seen acceleration. It looked like he was gliding atop the ground as he appeared before the huntress in a split second, tackling her with his massive shoulder like a battering ram. It was a special skill, and Shreya could only put forth a minimal guard in response to it.

BOOM!

With another ferocious collision, the huntress flew away like a cannonball before holding her ground for a breath or half. Bojorn immediately gave chase with the same ram skill, bringing down his fist upon the woman sprawled in the distance.

boom!

A low crater adorned the ground as the fist impacted, missing its target. Shreya had back rolled away just in time, and the moment she got up to her feet, the huntress bolted like lightning with a flying knee to the giant's stomach.

BANG!

Bojorn bent forwards as he felt his guts being ripped apart to pieces and vomited out some of the boar meat he had ingested earlier. But Shreya didn't give him any further chance to breathe as she continued with a ferocious combo.

bang! bang!

A left hook punch to the jaw, followed by a right hook that rattled the brain inside the skull.

bang! bang!

She spun with the momentum of the punch for a left spin hook kick to the cheeks, again followed by a right roundhouse kick, that shattered the face bones.

bang! bang!

The rotation continued for another round as Shreya jumped, landing a jackknife right at the same spot that whirled the giant body into the air before the bandit crashed down on all fours while twirling like a top.

BANG! A marvelous sidekick straight at the chin that launched the groveling Bojorn far into the sky like a projectile, before he crashed back first onto the ground with a loud thud! The chieftain didn't outright stand up to his feet this time.

An overwhelming defeat!

Shreya gazed at the giant sprawled upon his back with eyes that held no emotion within. Her presence could make any gallant general step back in awe as if she was an undefeated war maiden.