If someone asked me what it feels like to wield the power of a nation and govern countless citizens, whether it feels amazing or not, Kiana would guarantee that she would firmly deny it.
Who the hell said ruling the world was comfortable? Come here and let me smash you with a Subspace Baseball Bat.
Yes, Kiana Kaslana's fantastical isekai journey assessment had officially ended. Honestly speaking, from her own experience, it had been utterly miserable!
Whenever she thought about the things certain noble parasites in the royal capital did behind closed doors, Kiana could not help clenching her fists tightly as they trembled faintly.
Just as Selene had said, she still needed to see more and think more.
It was merely a small native kingdom within the Imperial Ministry of War's Trial World No. 5 (Goblin Slayer), yet handling all kinds of disputes, shirking of responsibility, and endless trivial matters had already left Kiana mentally exhausted.
It felt even more unbearable than the days she spent wandering and fleeing across the skies.
Compared to that, Kiana felt that exterminating goblins and magical beasts had become a dream assignment instead.
Previously, the disasters she faced were supernatural Honkai catastrophes. The beliefs in her heart and the methods she used to deal with them were very simple: eliminate or seal the Honkai, protect more people, reduce the tragedies born beneath Honkai disasters, and make the world a better place.
She had never truly been exposed to humanity's internal bloody struggles. Escaping Schicksal, confronting Anti-Entropy, coming into contact with conflicts involving human factions like Schicksal Pharmaceuticals and World Serpent... most of those encounters had remained at the level of chasing and being chased, of 'I want to protect you' and 'I'm not going back'...
Only scratching the surface.
But now, the main issue Kiana faced had become—fighting against people and handling interpersonal relationships.
After the ranch battle conducted alongside the Adventurers Guild ended and the rescued women were settled properly, Kiana and the others followed Goblin Slayer to the royal capital of the human kingdom.
At the time, Kiana had rolled up her sleeves. She had heard that this king possessed a good reputation, so she planned to explain the suffering of the borderlands to him after meeting him, moving him with both reason and emotion in hopes of carrying out reform.
Unfortunately, although Kiana's calculations sounded perfect in her head, problems arose the moment they entered the city.
Once the forest grows large enough, all kinds of birds appear.
Naturally, among the kingdom's nobles there were truly virtuous and honorable people. But just as naturally, there was no shortage of corrupt tyrants and degenerate scum.
(PS: In the later Royal Capital Arc of the original Goblin Slayer story, during the princess kidnapping incident, many nobles in the royal capital were rotten to the core. Some cultists even openly established their bases inside noble mansions.)
Now then, what do you think those spoiled young masters who bullied men and preyed upon women would do after seeing a group of beautiful women—delicate, voluptuous, slender, charming in all different ways—following behind an adventurer dressed in shabby armor?
The elf in their arms instantly stopped smelling sweet.
Setting aside flat-chested types like Fu Hua and Senti for now, Bronya, Seele, Rozaliya, and Liliya were slightly lacking in figure, while Kiana, Durandal, Li Sushang, and Pardofelis simply were not erotic enough.
These beauties were certainly beautiful, but if they wanted men to instantly get hard from the very first glance, they still lacked a bit of firepower.
But Raiden Mei and Rita were different. Especially Rita. Hiss...
That seductive, soul-stealing gaze filled with springlike allure. That graceful figure overflowing with sensuality. Those snow-white arms beneath lace sleeves. Those beautiful, shapely legs hidden beneath hazy black stockings. Combined with that alluring and seductive temperament...
Ah—!
This was a woman whose very bones exuded charm. Noble and elegant in temperament, yet constantly radiating temptation every second, provoking the hormones buried deep within human instinct.
What more needed to be said? A temptress like this was far beyond the grasp of some mere adventurer. Let me suppress this calamity myself!
After bragging loudly and downing a few bottles of alcohol, drunken courage swelled within them. They immediately ran over to flirt and curry favor.
Then... there was no then.
The standard evil-young-master routine unfolded.
The young masters introduced themselves and extended invitations—>they were rejected—>they flew into humiliation and began mocking Goblin Slayer, who was guiding the group—>they attempted to use force—>they were killed.
Rita might have been the 'hottest' among Kiana's group, but as the former vice-captain of the Immortal Blades, she had handled plenty of dirty work for Otto before. There was no shortage of blood on her hands.
She was not some innocent rookie like Kiana.
After that, once the younger ones died, the older ones arrived. Both sides erupted into battle. Even the city gates were demolished as the conflict exploded completely. The commotion grew larger and larger, and the hidden remnants of the Demon King forces along with cultists seized the opportunity to act.
The entire royal capital descended into chaos. Blood flowed like rivers. Many nobles were wiped out by Kiana's group of fierce outsiders.
And finally came the classic heroic rescue of a beauty...
Uh, cough cough. A beauty rescuing another beauty.
During the chaotic battle in the royal capital, the king's younger sister—the princess of the kingdom, who longed for a life of freedom—was captured by cultists amidst the confusion. Kiana conveniently rescued her.
Thanks to the assistance of Kiana and the others, those extraordinary combat forces, the remnants of the Demon King Army and the cultists attempting to cause chaos were also annihilated.
As for how they distinguished friend from foe?
Please. These people were literally cackling 'ke-ke-ke' in broad daylight while dressed in black robes. They looked crooked and grotesque, with twisted, mutated bodies. They were practically carrying signs that said 'I am evil.'
A person's bottom line is always broken through little by little.
In this conflict, Kiana also decapitated another human being for the first time and swung her blazing greatsword against humanity.
Afterward, amid the king's gratitude, Kiana was granted an honorary noble title within the kingdom and assigned an official position.
Following coordinated discussions conducted by Rita, Raiden Mei, and Fu Hua, the king agreed to enact reforms. (PS: The king in Goblin Slayer was once a Gold-ranked adventurer and an old acquaintance of Sword Maiden. Because of his excellent governance, he was deeply trusted by the people. He himself was a good man. It was just that his subordinates were terrible.)
During the following period, Kiana implemented policies according to her own ideas, such as repairing roads, lowering tax rates for border farmers, dispatching troops to participate in extermination campaigns against goblins and other monsters... while simultaneously becoming trapped in endless disputes and buck-passing with the kingdom's feudal nobles.
By the time Esdeath arrived to take her away, Kiana had nearly burned herself out completely.
Kiana truly wanted to know how Selene managed to maintain stable rule over such an enormous empire when merely governing a small kingdom of around ten million people already made her feel as though all her brain cells were dying...
Boom!
"No warrior should ever lose focus during battle."
The atmosphere exploded.
Kiana instantly snapped awake. Facing that domineering knife-hand strike, she immediately gripped the blazing greatsword behind her with a reverse grip and violently slashed upward. She intended to redirect the opponent's force!
The massive blade tore through the air.
Boom—!
Yet at the moment of contact...
An unstoppable and overwhelming force caused Kiana's body to stagger violently!
Knife-hand and greatsword collided, producing intense sparks and a sharp metallic screech.
After a brief deadlock, the knife-hand began pressing down toward Kiana.
"Kiana!"
Raiden Mei rushed forward at lightning speed. Raising the Domain of Sanction high overhead while stepping through thunder itself, she unleashed a heavy and terrifying crimson lightning slash.
Raiden Mei's speed was fast, and her timing was excellent. Even so, the man merely waved his hand lightly, shattering the slash at the waist and blasting Raiden Mei away.
Looking down at Kiana below him, who was desperately supporting herself with both hands gripping her greatsword, Sebas glared sharply.
"Miss Kaslana, even a lion uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit. Let alone when facing someone stronger than yourself."
Boom!
After roughly determining the upper limit of Kiana's physical strength, Sebas immediately increased his output, smashing her straight through the training ground floor and deeply into the earth.
"This training session ends here."
Patting his hands together, Sebas straightened clothes that had not even wrinkled. Raising his right hand, he spread his thumb and index finger apart slightly.
"You are still lacking a little before reaching the passing standard. Deployment denied."
"It's not over yet!"
Kiana stared at Sebas with stubborn unwillingness to admit defeat. With a sharp shout, she shattered the rubble surrounding her body and charged directly toward him.
"Oh? You want remedial lessons?"
Whoosh!
A storm of burning sword light burst through the air, forming a perfect expanding arc. Everywhere it passed, the ground was ravaged into a cratered wasteland by the fiery hurricane in the blink of an eye.
The violent inferno hurricane caused no real harm to Sebas. He merely shifted his steps lightly before shooting forward like a spear of light launched from a cannon.
With a single punch, he shattered the blazing hurricane created by Kiana. In the next instant, he rushed straight into the eye of the storm and slammed his fist toward Kiana's abdomen.
Even though she immediately raised her sword to defend, Kiana still let out a muffled groan as she was blasted backward. Then Sebas relentlessly stepped forward and directly stomped Kiana into the ground.
A violent shockwave erupted across the surface, and an enormous crater appeared before everyone's eyes.
But in the next moment, Sebas noticed the curve of Kiana's lips.
That girl still had another trick?
Whoooooosh—!
The next second, several long spears wrapped in terrifying violet light sliced through the air with deafening howls as they spiraled toward Sebas!
Those are Her Majesty's Subspace Spears?
He could not block them head-on.
Using Selene's own Subspace Spears as reference—the power to sever space-time, split apart planets, and pierce stars—although Kiana's version had nowhere near Selene's level, Sebas instinctively had no desire to test their power using his own body.
After all, the passing condition he had set for Kiana and the others was simply to land a hit on his torso.
Sebas instantly made his judgment.
Twisting his body sideways and bending backward to dodge, the elderly gentleman immediately performed movements that even professional gymnasts could not replicate, drawing astonished gasps from the spectators watching in the distance.
"Mei!"
"Understood!"
Clang!
Raiden Mei, tightly gripping the Domain of Sanction in her palm, suddenly emerged from among the dodged Subspace Spears and slashed viciously toward Sebas' neck from an unbelievably tricky angle.
Spatial Teleportation. Imaginary Transfer...
At the sight of this, Sebas' sleepy eyes finally widened.
Such authority.
No wonder Her Majesty paid so much attention to her. She was practically a miniature Selene.
No wonder...
"Hah!"
In an instant, Sebas' eyes transformed into crimson vertical pupils as an extremely powerful wave of Honkai energy erupted outward.
Scorching flames surged violently before condensing into a dark crimson beam that shot directly into the sky. The protective barrier surrounding the training ground immediately fluctuated violently.
Inside the arena, the powerful Honkai energy spread outward alongside the dark crimson light, forming a gigantic vortex. The terrifying Honkai energy generated by it instantly overturned both Kiana and Raiden Mei.
"Sigh... Kiana and Mei failed again, huh."
Seeing this, a trace of helplessness flashed through Li Sushang's eyes. Resting her chin on the railing while her brown twin ponytails swayed back and forth, she puffed out her cheeks.
"Seriously, at this rate, when are we ever going to get out of here? I want to wander the Imperial Capital's night markets and shopping districts."
"Diligence is sufficient," Fu Hua said as she patted Li Sushang's little head. She stood there with her hands behind her back, dressed in a classical-style uniform.
"Hmph!"
Li Sushang puffed up angrily.
"Master Hua, you have the nerve to say that? You're currently serving as the chief instructor of Edge of Taixuan at the Imperial Recruit Training Camp in the Imperial Capital. You're also responsible for compiling all sorts of secret manuals and teaching materials. You can enter and leave the Imperial Palace whenever you want, yet Old Man Sebas excluded you from the special training entirely."
It would have been better if she had not brought it up. The more she spoke, the more childishly indignant Li Sushang became.
"I clearly have plenty of experience too, okay? I could write teaching materials as well. Five hundred years of experience isn't just for show... so why do I still have to attend all these classes here?"
Age was a woman's greatest enemy.
Normally, Li Sushang absolutely hated mentioning that she was five hundred years old. But under the temptation of the colorful world outside the Palace City of the Imperial Capital, she had shamefully surrendered.
Five hundred years old? Fine, five hundred it is. Can you let me out now?
"Military command and combat training classes are one thing, but why are there also unnecessary classes like musical instruments, calligraphy, painting, flower arrangement, and etiquette?!"
Li Sushang cried out in despair. Did anyone know what kind of miserable life she had been living recently?
No music to listen to. No taverns to hang around in...
She just wanted to ask: wasn't Lord Sebas supposed to be teaching them courses for serving as commanders of Valkyrie units? How had things drifted so far off track?
"Uh... Lord Sebas naturally has his own considerations. Also, you slept for five hundred years. That doesn't count," Fu Hua replied awkwardly and tactfully.
Sebas' training was naturally tailored to the individual.
Take Fu Hua, for example.
After tens of thousands of years as the guardian of Shenzhou, fighting from the Previous Era into the Current Era, she was practically a living fossil. There was no need for Sebas to redundantly teach her combat techniques or experience. Besides, Selene had already assigned work to her.
Mm. As long as she had time and was willing to sit in and observe, that was enough. Nothing was forced.
Staaare...
Leaning her head backward, Li Sushang stared at Fu Hua for a while.
"Where's Grandmaster Senti?"
"Mm... either looking for Susanoo or going off to play with the merfolk."
"Aaaaahhh! I want to play with mermaids too! I refuse to accept this!"
"Meow, I think you should just give up," a certain lazy cat suddenly poked her head out and interrupted.
"Pardofelis!"
Inside the training arena, the energy eruption had already subsided.
Sebas still wore his eternally unchanged black butler suit. With both hands folded behind his back, he stood before Kiana with a deep and imposing aura, straight as a spear. No matter how the winds blew from east, west, south, or north, he remained utterly unmoved.
Just as Kiana and Raiden Mei let out bitter smiles and prepared to return and train again...
"Miss Kaslana, you have passed," Sebas' deep and powerful voice sounded out.
"Really?!" ×2
"Of course..."
Sebas abruptly changed his tone. His cold face softened slightly.
"Not."
"The final decision is not in this old man's hands. Her Majesty must decide personally."
"Where is Selene-sister right now?"
"The front lines. Though she will be returning soon."