If someone were to ask her what it felt like to hold the power of a nation and govern millions of people—wasn't it an exhilarating thing? Kiana would firmly reject the idea.
Whoever said that ruling the world was comfortable, come here, and watch me swing a baseball bat from the void right at your face.
Yes, the fantasy isekai assessment of student Kiana Kaslana has concluded. Honestly, based on her own experience, it was extremely unpleasant!
Just thinking about what certain noble parasites in the royal capital were doing in secret made Kiana clench her fists involuntarily, trembling slightly.
As Sister Selene said, she still needed to see more, think more.
It was merely a small kingdom of natives on the 5th Trial World (Goblin Slayer) under the Military Affairs Department, but the endless bickering, shirking of responsibility, and trivial nonsense completely exhausted Kiana.
It felt even more unbearable than her time wandering and fleeing in the sky.
In comparison, exterminating goblins and magical beasts seemed like a cushy job.
Previously, the disasters she had to face were supernatural Honkai catastrophes. Her ideals and response were simple: eliminate/seal the Honkai, protect more people, reduce the tragedies born from the Honkai, and make the world a better place.
She had not been deeply involved in the bloody power struggles of humanity. Escaping Destiny, confronting Anti-Entropy, dealing with Schicksal Pharmaceuticals and World Serpent—these were mostly chases and standoffs. "I want to protect you," "I won't go back"... that kind of thing.
Superficial.
Now, however, the main issue Kiana faced had become fighting against people and dealing with interpersonal relationships.
After the ranch battle in cooperation with the Adventurers' Guild ended and the rescued women were settled, Kiana and the others followed Goblin Slayer to the royal capital of the human kingdom.
Immediately, Kiana rolled up her sleeves. Having heard that the king had a decent reputation, she planned to appeal to him about the harsh lives of the people in the border regions, hoping to reason with him emotionally and spark a reform.
Unfortunately, Kiana's well-laid plans met obstacles from the very first step into the city.
The bigger the forest, the more kinds of birds you'll find.
Of course, among the kingdom's nobles were genuinely good and virtuous gentlemen, but naturally, there was no shortage of tyrannical landlords and corrupt officials.
(P.S. In the original Goblin Slayer novel, during the Royal Capital arc involving the princess's kidnapping, many of the nobles in the capital were utterly rotten. Some cultists even blatantly set up their base inside noble mansions.)
So, what do you think those arrogant playboys, used to acting with impunity, would do when they saw a group of delicate, shapely, and alluring young women following a shabby-looking armored adventurer?
Suddenly, the elf in their arms no longer seemed so enticing.
As for people like Fu Hua and Senti, who are on the flat side, let's set them aside for now. Bronya, Seele, Rozaliya, and Liliya might be slightly less striking. Kiana, Durandal, Li Sushang, and Pardofelis weren't quite seductive enough.
These beauties, while indeed beautiful, still lacked the immediate eye-catching allure to leave someone stunned at first glance.
But Raiden Mei, Rita—especially Rita—were different. Hiss...
Those alluring eyes filled with spring, that curvaceous and graceful figure, the snow-white, soft arms beneath her lace sleeves, the elegant and slender legs beneath hazy black stockings, paired with that seductive and charming aura... ah—!
This was a woman who exuded seduction from her very bones. Her aura was noble and elegant, yet she constantly radiated charm, tempting everyone around her and stirring the hormones buried deep within human genes.
What more needed to be said? A demonic woman like this—you're just a mere adventurer, you can't handle her. Let me suppress this disaster!
A few boastful words, a few bottles of liquor, and once the alcohol stirred their courage, they came over to offer their flattery.
Then... there was no then.
A classic thug routine: the arrogant young nobles introduce themselves and invite them out —> get rejected —> fly into a rage and start mocking Goblin Slayer, who was acting as their guide —> attempt to use force —> get killed.
Rita was the most 'hot' among Kiana's group, but as the former vice-captain of the Immortal Blades, she had helped Otto deal with countless dirty tasks—her hands were stained with more than a few lives!
She wasn't like Kiana, a novice.
And then, when the small fry were beaten, the bigger fish came. A full-on fight broke out. Even the city gates were torn down. The conflict escalated, and the remnants of the Demon King's forces along with the cultists took the opportunity to make their move.
The entire royal capital descended into chaos. Blood flowed like rivers, and many nobles were wiped out by Kiana and her formidable crew.
At last came the classic tale of the hero rescuing the beauty—uh, cough cough, the beauty rescuing another beauty.
During the royal capital's great brawl, the king's sister—the princess who longed for a life of freedom—was captured by cultists amidst the chaos, and Kiana just happened to save her.
Thanks to the help of Kiana and her companions with their extraordinary power, the remnants of the Demon King's forces and cultists were annihilated.
As for how to distinguish friend from foe?
Well, these guys were standing there going jié jié with sinister laughter, dressed in black robes under broad daylight, with twisted appearances and all sorts of deformed features. They might as well have had "I am a villain" written on their foreheads.
The bottom line is always crossed step by step.
In this conflict, Kiana for the first time cut down a human head, wielding her flaming greatsword against fellow humans.
Later, the grateful king awarded Kiana with an honorary title and a governmental position within the kingdom.
After a coordinated discussion led by Rita, Raiden Mei, and Fu Hua, the king agreed to enact reforms. (P.S.: In Goblin Slayer, the king was a former gold-ranked adventurer and an old acquaintance of the Sword Maiden. Due to excellent governance, he was deeply trusted by the people. He was a good man—his subordinates, however, were trash.)
In the days that followed, Kiana began implementing her ideas: building roads, reducing border farmers' taxes, deploying troops to help exterminate goblins and other monsters... but she also found herself caught in endless bureaucratic squabbles and evasion with the kingdom's vassal nobles.
By the time Esdeath came to retrieve her, Kiana was nearly burned out.
Kiana truly wanted to know—if governing a small kingdom of ten million was already enough to kill her brain cells, how did Sister Selene manage to maintain control over such a vast empire?
Boom!
"No one should get distracted during battle."
The air exploded. Kiana snapped awake. Faced with a domineering hand chop, she had no choice but to grab the flaming greatsword behind her and slash upward. She aimed to deflect the incoming force!
The tip of the greatsword sliced through the air.
However, at the very moment of contact—
Boom!
An unstoppable force made Kiana's figure stagger!
Hand chop and greatsword collided, sending out fierce sparks and a piercing metallic screech.
After a brief stalemate, the hand chop pushed down toward Kiana.
"Kiana!"
Raiden Mei dashed in, raising the Key of Castigation high. Riding the thunder, she unleashed a heavy and terrifying crimson lightning slash.
Raiden Mei's speed was impressive, and her timing perfect. Yet even so, the enemy merely flicked a hand, casually shattered the slash in half, and sent Raiden Mei flying.
Looking at Kiana below, struggling to support herself with her greatsword, Sebas narrowed his eyes. "Miss Kaslana, even a lion uses full strength to hunt a rabbit. Let alone when facing someone stronger than yourself."
Boom!
Having gauged the limits of Kiana's physical strength, Sebas immediately increased his output, slamming her through the training ground floor and deeply into the ground.
"This training session is over."
Clapping his hands, Sebas adjusted his still-immaculate clothing, then raised his right hand with thumb and index finger slightly apart. "You're still a bit short of passing. Authorization for deployment denied."
"It's not over yet!"
Kiana glared stubbornly at Sebas and shouted, shattering the stones around her and charging straight at him.
"Oh? Want extra lessons, do you."
Whoosh!
A storm of blazing sword energy tore through the air, forming a perfect arc as it expanded outward, scorching and ravaging the ground in an instant with fiery gales.
The violent firestorm didn't harm Sebas in the slightest. He moved with light steps, shooting forward like a launched light spear.
With one punch, he shattered the fiery storm Kiana created. In the next moment, he was inside the eye of the storm, punching directly toward Kiana's abdomen.
Even though she raised her sword to block immediately, Kiana still let out a muffled grunt as she was blown away. Sebas pressed forward relentlessly, stepping onto the spot where Kiana landed.
A gust of air burst out, and a large crater appeared before everyone's eyes.
But the next moment, Sebas noticed the curve at the corner of Kiana's mouth. This girl had a follow-up move?
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!
The next second, several spears shrouded in terrifying purple light whistled through the air, spiraling toward Sebas!
"Are those Her Majesty's Subspace Spears?"
Can't take that head-on.
Given Selene's Subspace Spears could tear space, cleave planets, and pierce stars, even if Kiana's version wasn't on the same level, Sebas instinctively avoided testing it with his body.
After all, the pass requirement he set for Kiana and the others was to land a hit on his torso.
Sebas made a split-second decision.
Dodging with a sidestep and a deep bend, the old man in his seventies performed a move even professional gymnasts couldn't pull off, leaving the spectators in awe.
"Mei!"
"Got it!"
Clang!
From within the sidestepped Subspace Spear, Raiden Mei suddenly emerged, tightly gripping the Key of Castigation, and swung viciously at Sebas's neck from an extremely tricky angle.
Spatial teleportation, imaginary number transmission...
Seeing this, Sebas's sleepy eyes finally opened wide. With such abilities, no wonder Her Majesty gave her so much attention—she was practically a mini-Selene.
No wonder...
"Haaah!"
In an instant, Sebas's pupils turned into crimson vertical slits, and a surge of powerful Honkai energy burst forth.
A blazing flame surged up, then formed a dark red beam shooting into the sky. The training ground's protective barrier began to tremble violently.
Within the arena, the immense Honkai energy spread out along with the dark red light, forming a massive vortex. The terrifying energy immediately blew Kiana and Raiden Mei away.
"Sigh, Kiana and Mei failed again."
Seeing this, Li Sushang showed a trace of helplessness in her eyes. Resting her chin on the railing, her long brown twin-tails swaying, she pouted and said, "Ahh, when are we ever going to be allowed out? I want to visit the Imperial Capital's night market and shopping district."
"Diligence is the key!" Fu Hua, dressed in a traditional-style uniform, said as she gently patted Li Sushang's little head and clasped her hands behind her back.
Huff huff!
Li Sushang puffed up her cheeks and muttered angrily, "Master Fu Hua, you've got some nerve saying that. You're currently the chief instructor of Edge of taixuan at the new recruits' camp in the Imperial Capital, writing all kinds of training manuals, and you can come and go from the palace at will. Uncle Sebas even excluded you from the special training."
It would've been fine if she hadn't said it, but now Li Sushang was even more childishly indignant. "I've got plenty of experience too, okay? I can write manuals! Five hundred years of life experience isn't just for show... Why do I still have to attend all these courses?"
Age is a woman's worst enemy. Normally, Li Sushang would never admit to being five hundred years old, but under the allure of the dazzling world outside the Imperial Capital, she shamefully gave in.
Five hundred years? Fine, I'm five hundred! Just let me go out!
"Military command and combat training courses are one thing, but why do we have to take music, calligraphy, painting, flower arrangement, and etiquette classes too?!"
Li Sushang shouted internally. Did anyone know how she'd been living recently?
No songs to listen to, no taverns to hang out in... She just wanted to ask, Uncle Sebas, weren't you supposed to be training us to be Valkyrie unit commanders? Why does this feel like it's going off-track?
"Uh... Lord Sebas has his reasons. Also, those five hundred years don't count—you were asleep," Fu Hua said with an awkward smile, trying to phrase it delicately.
Of course, Sebas' training varied from person to person.
Take Fu Hua, for example. With her tens of thousands of years as a guardian of Shenzhou, fighting from the Previous Era into the Current Era, she was practically a living fossil. What could Sebas possibly teach her in terms of skills and experience? Plus, she already had tasks assigned by Selene.
Hmm, if you have time and want to sit in, go ahead. No pressure.
Stare...
Tilting her head back, Li Sushang stared at Fu Hua for a while. "Where's Master Shi?"
"Hmm... she either went looking for [Susanoo] or went to hang out with the merfolk..."
"Aaaaah! I want to play with the mermaids too! I'm not satisfied!"
"Meow~ I think you better give up," a certain lazy cat head suddenly popped out and chimed in.
"Pardo!"
Back in the training ground, the energy surge had subsided.
Sebas was still dressed in his ever-present black butler uniform, hands clasped behind his back, standing before Kiana with a composed and solemn air, like a javelin, posture straight and unyielding—as if no matter how the wind blew, he would remain unmoved.
Just as Kiana and Raiden Mei exchanged bitter smiles, preparing to go back and train more—
"Miss Kaslana, you have passed," Sebas' deep and powerful voice rang out.
"Really?!" ×2
"Of course..." Sebas' tone shifted, and his cold expression softened slightly, "Not really."
"The decision isn't mine to make. It lies with Her Majesty."
"Where's Sister Selene now?"
"At the front lines—but she'll be back soon."
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