Pushover Extra Trains the Villainesses

Chapter 128: Strange Experience II

Watching the man suddenly intervene, Tilda expressed a bit of bewilderment.

“Is that…you must be from the Imperial Guards?”

“Um, thanks for noticing. Anyway… that’s not what’s important right now. I can see that the two ladies are not some average fighters. How about this? Since the previous sparring is over, why not take this opportunity to have a sparring session with me. Watching the ladies compete is making my body itchy.”

“…I’ve heard a lot of stories, but it’s really just what the rumors say.”

Tilda frowned at the man’s request for sparring, unable to give a clear answer.

Meanwhile, as she observed this scene, Ophelia sneakily asked Echid, “…who is this person?”

“This is someone named Epicher, who belongs to the Imperial Guard. I’ve heard that he has a very combative temperament… but it seems he got a little excited after watching that woman spar with me.”

“I asked just to make sure, but you seem to know him quite well?”

“Well…he is a famous person among the Imperial Guards. Despite my current occupation, I am a former assassin, so it was my job to know about potential enemies and.. hmm.. hm.. I’ll just leave it at that.”

Ophelia nodded thoughtfully and observed the situation.

On the other hand, Tilda began to worry about Epicher’s request for sparring. Setting aside the other points, the opponent was a person belonging to the Imperial Guard.

It would not look good if Tilda, an escort belonging to a merchant guild, casually rejected his offer.

Above all, since they were not going to use a real weapon but sparring with a simple wooden sword, Tilda was also slightly interested

‘The problem is that I haven’t settled things with that woman yet… To be honest, I don’t think it’s going to be very good for either of us if we go any further than this.’

Although they couldn’t come to a decision in the previous confrontation, it was possible to confirm that their skills were almost equal in a head-to-head match, excluding other tricks.

If the sparring continued beyond this point, the results would have to come out somehow, but from here on out, it was more a matter of luck than skill.

In any case, there was a high possibility that a clean result wouldn’t emerge, and emotions could escalate, leading to a real sword fight rather than simple sparring.

‘No matter how much.. As Ophelia said, we are in a position where we can be considered as allies, so we have no choice but to stop at this point. It’s really a shame but…’

At this point, Tilda concluded it would be better to postpone the fight with that woman until later. She nodded while looking at the man in front of her.

“Haa.. well, then I’ll treat you lightly as a warm-up, so don’t talk nonsense later.”

“Huhu, that’s a matter I’m really thankful for.”

With those words, the two of them looked at Ophelia, who was holding a wooden sword.

Ophelia let out a small sigh as if she couldn’t help it, and threw a weapon at each of the two.

“You know the rules, right? Other than condensing and strengthening the body, the use of other means is prohibited.”

“Sure. Then go!”

Thak!

“…!”

As soon as the words were finished, Epicher rushed forward like an angry bull. Unlike others who usually tried to read their opponent’s moves before starting the duel, he closed the distance instantly with reckless yet explosive movement.

Vsrrrrr!

“Kuh..”

In the next moment, Epicher’s wooden sword collided with a sharp sound.

Tilda barely parried it, shedding a bit of cold sweat.

‘Damn it.. As expected, his strength is ridiculously high as well.’

Tilda also had a muscular and solid body, but Epicher had a rugged physique that truly fit the term “muscle head.” His thick arm muscles were reminiscent of an old tree, with veins wriggling like snakes. His immense physical power was further enhanced by mana, making his strength truly terrifying.

Epicher boldly wielded his wooden sword with superior power and explosive speed. He seemed to be using an axe or mace rather than a wooden sword, given his usual handling of heavy equipment.

‘But that doesn’t mean he’s just ignorant of his strength.. This man handles mana surprisingly delicately.’

Even though condensation was used on the wooden sword, it remained intact. This showed that he, like them, was quite skilled in using mana.

‘The fortunate thing is that, surprisingly, the output of mana is not that strong… And most of all, each attack has a great movement. With that in mind, I should focus on defense first and then aim for a counterattack.’

It was difficult to block each attack, but it wasn’t impossible.

Tilda prepared to counter while maintaining her defense.

But…

“Kuk!”

“Khehehe!”

As if Epicher was aware of this, contrary to Tilda’s expectations, he didn’t show a significant gap, and despite the passage of time, the gap was getting smaller and smaller. He continuously maintained a powerful flow of attacks while laughing with excitement. His movements were as natural as flowing water despite dealing with such immense power.

As time went on, Tilda began to feel that fatigue accumulated just from defending. At the same time, admiration for his skill deepened within her.

‘As expected of the emperor’s bodyguards, they are on a different level. I don’t know that much beyond this fight, but it’s enough to admit that his basic skills are superior to mine.’

However, at the same time, Tilda could also vaguely feel what was lacking in Epicher. Thanks to polishing the basics to a high level, Epicher had made even Tilda unable to dare to counterattack.

But judging from his relatively weaker mana output, it would probably be impossible for him to use large-scale and complex mana attacks like Tilda or Echid.

In other words, his style of using mana was as simple as it appeared.

Tilda could feel more and more clearly each time their swords clashed that the man in front of her had virtually no knowledge of those things.

‘But because of that… because it’s that simple, it’s even stronger. To say this even with a wooden sword. If he were to wield a large, sturdy heavy weapon like an axe…’

Tilda felt herself being pushed back in strength every time their weapons clashed, despite using more mana than him.

Above all, since only basic mana could be used according to the sparring rules, this match was one-sidedly unfavorable to Tilda from the start.

Furthermore, Tilda had already consumed a significant amount of strength and mana while dealing with Echid earlier.

‘I can’t do it… I wish it had ended earlier. Even the aftermath of dealing with that woman earlier is gradually showing.’

If this took too much time, she might get injured.

In response, Tilda subtly released the condensation of the wooden sword she was holding.

And…

Pak!

“…!”

Her wooden sword exploded with a sharp sound.

At the same time, a deep sense of regret began to appear on Epicher’s face.

“What.. are you giving up already?”

“What. I wanted to play with you a little more, but unfortunately, the aftermath of the previous confrontation hasn’t subsided yet. It was a difficult situation to win anyway…”

“Cheh! But, if you think about it, it was the same for me. Anyway, thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to change my mood for a while.”

It was clear that he knew she had already had enough sparring. Nevertheless, for dealing with him to this extent, Epicher expressed his gratitude.

Ophelia handed Tilda a bottle of water as she returned, feeling tired.

“Thank you for your effort. To be honest, I thought about stopping it halfway through, but…”

“Well… it’s okay. Thanks to that, I had a lot of fun too. As a bonus, I was able to assess the skill level of the Imperial Guards. Of course… it’s a pity that I couldn’t settle it with that woman.”

“Cheh! After all, there is plenty of time. Next time it won’t be as rough as today, so be prepared.”

“Same to you.”

Ophelia slowly shook her head as if she couldn’t stop them from still growling at each other.

It was then that the three of them were about to go back, feeling that the situation had almost ended.

“Wait a minute, can you stay a little more since we already took your time?”

“Yes?”

“… ”

They stopped at the sound of a woman’s voice behind them.

As a result, not only Ophelia but even Epicher, who had shown a warlike personality until just now, began to show a little panic.

“Misa? Why? This is not like you…”

“You can’t just have fun and move on. Since it happened like this, I also want to go and play. With the dark-haired girl over there.”

The woman named Misa spoke with a smile of anticipation. Judging from her outfit, she was also a member of the Royal Guard like Epicher, and at the same time, she had a strong presence.

And… while watching such a Misa, Ophelia spoke in a quiet voice.

“You will regret it. Are you okay with that?”

“Heh. That’s nice. I haven’t had any regrets over the past few years for getting into a fight.”

Misa spoke with a pleasant laugh.

In response, Ophelia seemed to have no choice but to slowly hold the wooden sword in her hand.