Chapter 7: Falling into the Trap

Leclerc slightly turned aside to avoid the sharp strike from Chaticma. His gleaming knight’s spear was swiftly raised and struck the shaft of her dragon spear from the side. The condensed combat energy erupted violently, colliding with the icy combat energy pouring from her.
The intense recoil shook Leclerc’s heart, and his palms went numb. He never expected this woman to possess such astonishing strength and also combat energy. Her icy combat energy had reached a level nearly on par with his own. Yet he couldn’t understand how her icy combat energy could exert such a powerful chilling force, forcing him to continuously draw on his inner energy to counteract the deep-seated frost.
In Leclerc’s understanding, combat energy generally relied on the warrior’s skill level to attack and defeat opponents, so most warriors used neutral combat energy. While this unconventional type of combat energy could harm opponents through its additional attributes, it posed little threat to skilled fighters. In fact, those attributes could even hinder the practitioner’s progress. Unless one was naturally gifted, focusing excessively on the lethality of additional attributes was a distraction from the fundamentals of martial arts.
But this woman’s strength far exceeded his expectations, and her unique icy attribute left him utterly astonished. She was truly nothing ordinary—not only did she have an independent personality, but her combat prowess was equally surprising.
Chaticma, on the other hand, was filled with joy. She had already known the level of this opponent from Vladkov, and this strike confirmed that she could act freely without worrying about consequences. The dragon energy swirling within her instantly elevated her Ice Dragon Combat Energy to its peak. Unlike ordinary warriors’ combat energy, Ice Dragon Combat Energy was not only as powerful in terms of attack but also possessed direct offensive capabilities, capable of rendering an opponent unable to fight mid-attack.
A white icy mist spread throughout the courtyard. Leclerc was shocked to find himself completely covered in ice, even his eyebrows and beard turned into icy strands. Every joint and muscle in his body seemed locked in stiffness. The sudden shock triggered an explosion of energy in him—as if divine combat energy had illuminated his entire being. Like a fierce eagle spreading its wings, he swung his knight’s spear backward in a vicious diagonal strike from behind his enemy.

Shatima had never expected to be able to subdue this top-tier Homer Knight with a single strike. In fact, when dealing with those knights who caused trouble after drinking, Shatima had already realized that the combat strength of the Homer Knights was by no means comparable to that of ordinary barbarians or half-orc warriors. Even when drunk, they could still tenaciously resist her patrol for a long time. Although they ultimately ended up defeated under her overwhelming force, Shatima recognized the sheer strength of this collective force. No wonder Fran had assigned her the task of successfully subduing this force and making it willingly serve that guy, Komer.

With a powerful and swift back throw, the knight’s spear carried a fierce gust of wind as it swung diagonally toward her. Shatima’s dragon spear also moved swiftly, colliding head-on with it. The resonant sound of metal on metal produced an exceptionally pleasant tremor in the cold air. The two forces merged together, creating waves that surged upward before rolling out in all directions.

LeClair glided a few steps to the side before finally stabilizing his footing. This straightforward attack made him fully aware of Shatima’s strength. At that moment, Shatima no longer harbored any illusions either. LeClair’s strike made her realize that it was unrealistic to defeat him using her human strength alone, unless she came up with some extraordinary tactic.

Without hesitation, Shatima dropped to her knees and spun rapidly, her dragon spear unleashing wave after wave of combat energy toward where LeClair stood. At the same time, she leaped into the air, moving swiftly through the air, her graceful yet wild curves appearing strangely distorted at that moment.

LeClair turned sharply, his expression grim. He thrust his knight’s spear into the ground, then moved lightly through the air to avoid the sweeping combat energy. The bone-chilling cold almost made it impossible for him to hold onto his spear. As he twisted in the air, the spear embedded in the ground shot upward, sending countless stones and dirt flying at Shatima.

The combat auras roared as Leclerc’s sacred combat aura and the Ice Dragon combat aura from Shatima collided and entangled continuously. Even the spatial interface seemed to exhibit subtle changes. In the blink of an eye, the two had already exchanged twenty rounds of combat in this rather cramped courtyard. Both seemed to be going all out, pushing their combat auras to higher levels. The spatial illusions generated by friction in the cold air twisted and blurred from time to time, indicating that their patience was gradually being worn down.

Leclerc was shocked to find that the woman in front of him suddenly disappeared, replaced by a blurred spatial illusion—a dragon-shaped illusion. Before he could fully react, the dragon illusion lunged at him, forcing him to use all his strength to block it with his massive dragon spear.

When a sudden attack from behind shattered Leclerc’s protective combat aura, he didn’t even understand what had happened. The fierce blow sent him flying several meters away. Even with his combat aura for protection, he could feel the immense force of that whip-like strike from behind. The surge of blood in his chest nearly caused him to fall from the air. As he struggled to suppress his shock and landed, that infuriating woman was already standing in front of him, smiling triumphantly while holding the dragon spear.

What was going on? Was this woman a magician who could cast illusion magic? Leclerc’s shock far exceeded his concern for his own injuries. He knew that if she had truly used illusion magic to attack, he would likely have died on the spot. Clearly, she had held back. But since his knight’s spear had blocked her dragon spear, even illusion magic shouldn’t have been able to turn into a tangible attack. So where did this attack from behind come from?

Seeing Leclerc standing there in stunned silence, Shatima’s sense of triumph was beyond description. She had also acted in desperation by suddenly manifesting her true form to attack. Especially using the sweep of her true form’s dragon tail was a brilliant move—so quick that even if Leclerc noticed it, he would think she had used some illusion to trick him, never guessing that her true form could attack using other parts of her body.

“Leclerc, I think this battle seems unnecessary now, doesn’t it?” Shatima tried to maintain a ladylike demeanor, though her concept of ladyliness might have seemed quite unconventional to Leclerc. “Isn’t it time to keep your promise, Sir Knight?”
It was only then that Leclerc seemed to wake up as if suddenly realizing what was happening. Shame and humiliation made it nearly impossible for him to control his emotions. To be defeated by a woman, even if she used magic, was a disgrace he would carry for life. Fortunately, no one else was watching; otherwise, Leclerc couldn’t imagine how he could continue living in Cyprus after such an incident. Should he just leave and live in seclusion because of this? Overwhelmed with mixed feelings, Leclerc didn’t know how to face such an unacceptable reality.
“Sir Knight, what’s wrong?” Perhaps realizing she still needed Leclerc’s help to complete her task, Shatima’s tone softened slightly. Having lived among humans for so long, she had gradually adapted to the appropriate manner of speaking in various situations. “I don’t think you’d break your promise, do you? I have no excessive demands—just asking you to fulfill the duties of an ordinary resident of Cyprus, to help those knights who spend their days idling, drinking, and causing trouble regain their sense, to find a way for them to channel their excess energy. Is that really too much to ask?”
Leclerc’s expression shifted constantly. Submitting to this woman in such a situation was humiliating, but breaking his promise would violate the moral code of a knight, something he despised even more.
“Miss Shatima, I will keep my promise. I’ll help you persuade those knights to stop drinking and causing trouble. But I doubt they’ll accept your idea of having them fight against those barbarians and half-orcs,” Leclerc said helplessly.
“Leclerc, you promised to help me stop those knights from causing trouble. If we can’t find something for them to do, they’ll revert to their old habits sooner or later. I don’t want to have to ask you for help again. So I suggest you take charge of them and get them to do something useful,” Shatima said dismissively, shaking her head. “Why are you knights so stubborn? Philip is finished now; it’s Komer now. As knights, you should obey the new lord.”

“Miss Shatima, the Order of Homer has been disbanded; I have no authority to command them,” LeClair shook his head firmly.
“Hmph, you’re shirking your responsibility. Are a knight’s promises that trivial? If you really need a title, I think Comer can give you one as well!” Shatima said carelessly.