Chapter 3: Acting Clumsy

Alisa couldn't believe it and felt that she had misheard things. He wanted to spar with her? That was like asking her to kill him now. What was he thinking? She remembered the time in her previous life that someone asked to spar with her, only to end up getting confined in the hospital for a week. The person was an agent of the government— or so he said. He was quite arrogant and frequently picked on her, but he ignored him. Once he issued a challenge, she accepted. The fight was quite one-sided. In the end, the guy ended up with several broken bones and rib fractures.

Meanwhile, Leon was getting impatient and creases started to form in his forehead as he frowned.

"What is it going to be? Don't read too much into it. I'm testing your skills if you are suited for this mission."

"What kind of mission is it?" She asked.

"Don't ask too many questions. Just say you're going accept or not."

She didn't reply immediately. She thought about it hard. While she could accept his request, that didn't seem to be proper either. What if she ended up wounding him or totally overpower him? His army's morale would definitely sink like a broken ship. Moreover, if she really hurt him and broke his bones, no doubt about it that all of the soldiers here wouldn't hesitate to cut her down. Then a thought entered in her mind and she secretly smiled.

"Alright, I accept."

"Good. Follow me." He gestured and left the tents.

As they went out, the soldiers standing outside saluted to him and eyed Alisa weirdly. She could tell what they were thinking. What was a woman doing in the battlefield? Surely that was what was swirling in their thoughts right now. She remembered that the Alisa of this world had entered the military while tying her hair and covering it with a hat. Her skin was already rough and full of calluses due to her struggles in life, so it wasn't that obvious that she was a woman. Everyone thought he was just another man who wanted to make a name for himself in the battlefield.

More stares were aimed at the two of them and some even whispered like she was seducing the infernal monarch. They really looked down on women. She sneered at them. It wasn't her who kept bugging who, but the marshal himself. She walked faster to catch up to him and they soon arrived in an empty battleground.

There several soldiers, both new and old, training there. They abruptly stopped upon seeing the marshal arrive and saluted with reverence in their expressions.

"Greetings, marshal!" They spoke in unison.

He only nodded without showing any expression. He went to the weapons rack and picked a wooden sword. The soldiers stared at him with anticipation.

"Is the infernal monarch going to show his skills today? Who will he be fighting?" Someone asked.

"Who is that woman following him? Why is there a woman here?" Another one whispered, his voice clearly showing displeasure at the sight of Alisa.

The two of them ignored their whispers and Alisa waited for him to finish choosing.

"We're going to fight with this.", said Leon. He then ordered her. "Pick whatever is comfortable with you."

"Are you sure about that?" She said with a condescending tone.

He nodded and frowned once more. He thought that this woman was really too arrogant. Does she really think he was a pushover? He had some doubts whether she was really good enough for the thing he had been planning. The fight had been dragged on for so long by the other side and he wanted to reclaim their lands immediately so he could retire in peace and away from the turmoil in both the military and politics. He wouldn't even have accepted this job if it wasn't for someone else back in the capital. If she would be able to leave a single scratch on him, then that would only prove she was capable enough to do the plan later.

"Save your arrogance for later. Go on and choose." He coldly said.

She sighed and went to the weapons racks. There were several types to choose such as a one-handed and two-handed sword, a spear, a shield and sword pair, bows, and many more. She wasn't interested in the available ones. Alisa couldn't see her favorite scythe among the choices, which was suited for reaping the lives of her targets. She eventually decided to use a single-handed sword instead.

"Your army's choices of weapons are poor in taste." She muttered softly, but her voice was loud enough to reach his ears.

His lips twitched in annoyance as he heard her. He gave her an intimidating glare but she was unbothered by it and lazily went to a spacious area. He followed suit and stood a few distances away from her.

"Let's get this over with." She said once more, taking up a stance.

"Are you mocking me?" His eyes darkened and gleamed a dangerous glint upon seeing an unfamiliar lowered sword stance that seemed to be full of holes. It was like she was practically inviting the enemy to just kill her directly.

She didn't answer. Instead, her eyes showed a sense of clarity and detachment from life, ready to severe her foe's life. That was the look of someone who had killed countless people. Leon was shocked. Who in the world was this woman? He thought that he should take it seriously, after all.

"Here I come!" He shouted.

Using the wooden sword, he drew a vertical arc as he raised it and brought down upon her. It was a decisive slash that aimed to defeat his enemy in one strike. To his surprise, Alisa's movements became blurry as she swiftly dodged it minimally. Her own one-handed wooden sword shot forward and aimed to skewer his side. He narrowed his eyes. He quickly jumped away and propelled himself forward once again to deliver another horizontal slash. She raised her weapon in response and blocked the incoming wooden sword.

They clashed several times, parrying and blocking each other's strikes while evading those that couldn't be stopped in time. The army was elated to see the intense battle between the two. They wondered who Alisa was and how a woman could be so powerful, while others believed that the infernal monarch was just taking it easy against her. The others also felt that it made sense. Their marshal wouldn't go all out just to bully a woman, whom they deemed useless and suited to manage the household only. Little did they know that this carefree woman had given Leon quite a hard time.

'Damn it. Although I am holding back, she looked like she wasn't breaking a sweat at all. I'm taking it easy against her? Fools! They didn't even realize that she hadn't moved from her spot since the beginning.' Leon thought and frowned heavily. This was the first time he had encountered someone powerful.

Noticing her slight movement in her muscles, he knew she was going to attack. He braced himself as Alisa launched herself forward. However, before she could even close the distance between them, she stumbled upon a rock and she crashed to the ground with her face falling first.

Silence brewed for a while and then followed by an erupting laughter from the crowd. They cursed and mocked her for being so clumsy.

"As expected of a woman, they're a disappointment in terms of battles!" Someone mocked while laughing in disdain.

"Hey, don't say that. Your wife would blow out on you if she heard it." Another one said as he tried so hard in containing the urge to burst out into a mocking laughter.

Alisa pretended to struggle in standing up and laughed nervously. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. It seems that I accidentally tripped."

She had achieved her goal already. Although she had planned initially to clash a few more times with him and intentionally let him hit her to conclude the match. She cursed the tiny rock inwardly as well as herself. Since when had she become this clumsy? It must be the persona of the Alisa in this world.

Leon looked at her in amusement. He wasn't sure if she did it intentionally or she just really happened to fall. Nevertheless, that faint murderous aura that screamed inside her when she was about to attack him shocked him greatly. Even though she hid it well, he could tell. Leonhardt was a little bit special. His senses were honed to the finest level together with his martial skill that he could even see through a person's true motives like harboring malice and secrets. That kind of bloodthirsty aura was only something assassins have. Moreover, hers was so extreme at it felt nauseating and deeply unsettling. Then she must be...

As he spaced out while being occupied by his thoughts, he was brought back to reality by Alisa's calm voice.

"Should we continue fighting? I really don't think this is appropriate..."

Leon put down his guard and threw the sword perfectly back to the weapons rack. "No need. You already pass the test. Follow me."

Alisa tilted her head in confusion, but let go of it eventually. She dropped the wooden sword on the ground and left the area, living the soldiers who watched them baffled. Little did she know that what happened today would spread among the infernal monarch army later on.

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