Feng Qing’er arrived before her targets immediately, flames dancing at the soles of her feet and on the wings that sprouted from her back.

“Listen here. I’m not in a very good mood since those assholes want to treat me like I don’t exist, so don’t blame me if you get a little hurt, okay?”

With a brilliant smile that looked especially dangerous in the current situation, she shot forward.

A longsword had entered her hand at some point, making a smooth arc in the air as it chased the neck of one of the generals. As for the other, a similar sword made entirely of flames was flying at him as if it had a mind of its own.

Swish!

With the sound of air getting cut, the sword made impact. But Feng Qing’er wasn’t able to feel the satisfying feeling of flesh being torn. Instead, a clash of metal was heard.

A black rapier blocked her sword easily, sliding down its blade and parrying it before thrusting towards her throat. With a flap of her wings, she shifted her body to the side and narrowly dodged.

“Ha!”

A spirited shout left her mouth as she swung her sword once more. Every time she struck, her blows were infused with unbridled power that seemed to want to crush a mountain.

But without suspense, her blows were parried. The rapier in the Demon General’s hand moved with elegance and speed, eventually forcing Feng Qing’er to go on the defensive.

The cold and stoic face of the Demon General flashed imperceptibly before his speed increased..

By the time Feng Qing’er adapted to the change of pace, a sense of danger enveloped her.

“Shit!”

Her wings flapped and a burst of flames came from her soles. Her body shot up into the air, causing the massive axe that was trying to sever her from behind to impact nothing but air.

The two demon generals shot up in pursuit. The rapier and axe in their hands followed her movements precisely, making sure not to leave her any room to breathe.

Feng Qing’er swung her sword diligently. Her powerful strikes made it seem more like she was using a hammer than a sword.

She moved in spontaneous bursts, not allowing the two enemies to encircle her. With her flames supporting her on the side, she kept both targets in front of her, allowing her to maneuver the 2v1 situation with more ease.

But as time went on, Feng Qing’er realized her disadvantage. While her skill may have been slightly above theirs, they had more raw physical power than her.

But it couldn’t be helped. Even if she followed the path of brute strength, her Phoenix clan wasn’t known for its powerful body, but its mana instead. For this reason, the Primordial Undying Fruits that could grant her the physics body she desired were all the more valuable.

‘If we continue like this, the battle will stay stalemated for too long.’

Spreading her awareness, she glanced at the other two battles and frowned. ‘It’d be too embarrassing to finish after they do.’

Flames sprouted once again and propelled her backwards.

“Aiya, how could the two of you team up against a poor lady like me? Simply too shameless!”

Despite her words, there was a mocking expression on her face.

The stoic faces of the demon generals contorted for the first time as they sensed a foreboding feeling from below.

The earth cracked open and two pillars of blistering flames rushed into the air.

But her opponents weren’t idiots either. In the split second it took for the flames to reach them, they had already erected inky black barriers around their bodies.

Skree!

The cry of a Phoenix resounded through the atmosphere. A phantom incomparable to the ones she had thrown at the abomination horde materialized in the air.

Its wings flapped gently as if painting a picture of elegance, but every time they completed the motion, a hail of feathers fell from the sky.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The barriers of the Demon Generals were barraged incessantly by the flaming feathers. Each one seemed to carry the force of a cannon ball.

Explosions continuously rang out, causing the barriers to quake. Light cracks began to form on their surfaces as the attack continued.

It was at that time when a murky aura covered the area the barriers had surrounded. Out of nowhere; the attacking force of the feathers seemed to have drastically dwindled.

‘No, they’re being corroded.’ Feng Qing’er realized. Even her awareness was corroded when she tried to send it into the area.

The corrosion force spread through the air, becoming inky black tendrils that shot forward and wrapped around the Phoenix phantom.

Skree!

A pained cry left its beak as it fiercely resisted, but in the end, it wasn’t a living entity. It had no intelligence, and could only be helplessly corroded by the chains surrounding it.

As Feng Qing’er’s attacks were being dissolved, the barriers also retraced, revealing the unharmed forms of the Demon Generals.

Feng Qing’er frowned. This wasn’t how she expected things to go. Truthfully, she had thought they would’ve been defeated with the Phoenix phantom’s barrage.

‘They are similar to me.’

She realized that it was naive to think they would be simple mid-level 3rd class beings if they were given the power to act as generals over such an army. Even if Damien had called them insignificant, she knew that their power couldn’t be considered as such.

But still, she wasn’t the 3rd ranked on the 3000 Beast Record for nothing. If she couldn’t take care of two people at her same level, how could she have earned her reputation?

Thinking this far, she decided to take the battle a bit more seriously.

Her hands came together and formed a mysterious seal. In response to her motion, the air around her began to vibrate.

“Ahh, I hate using this skill. Why did it have to take the form of those damn lizards!”

With an incomprehensible shout, her hand seal changed. The vibrating air burst into flames, dying the atmosphere red.

Space seemed to distort at that moment as a massive head reared itself from within.

The Demon Generals’ faces hardened. Raging mana erupted from their bodies and the tendrils of corrosion force joined together

Behind their figures, a phantom shaped like a massive Kraken with an infinite amount of tentacles formed.

Not waiting for Feng Qing’er to finish what she was doing, the tentacles descended on her body like an ocean. They flailed wildly and dripped with an aura emanating wrath.

BOOM!

A horrifying collision resounded. From an outside perspective, it seemed like Feng Qing’er had been directly crushed by the fierce attack.

But contrary to that belief, an indomitable wall seemed to have formed in front of her. It was made of pure darkness, almost indistinguishable from the color of the Kraken.

Feng Qing’er cracked a grin. “Damn! Although it’s annoying, I guess I’ll have to accept the help for now.”

Hundreds of tentacles shot towards her from all directions, but that wall of darkness seemed impenetrable. With the time it bought her, she was able to properly form the image that was coalescing behind her.

It was like a second sun lit up the cool night that had enveloped the trial world. The residents of Astoria could only describe it as such.

The light it was giving off was so blinding that they couldn’t make out its figure, and the heatwaves it was radiating raised the temperature to almost unbearable degrees even within the barrier around the city.

Suddenly, the eyes of the image opened. Two reptilian slits gazed down upon the world. It opened its gaping maw wide and…

It roared.