Forge and Steel

**SLASH**

**THUD**

The slash of a sword broke the silence of the dark night in the city of Orario. An instant later, the dry sound of something falling to the ground echoed throughout the area.

"Maintain formation!"

Standing in the midst of a chaotic battlefield, Tsubaki shouted loudly. Her cold gaze fixed on the body she had just cut, while her long katana still dripped blood under the faint light of the moon.

"Tsubaki-sama." Quickly reaching her side, Julan, the dwarf in full black armor, respectfully bowed.

"Julan, how is the situation?" Without taking her eyes off the intense battle, Tsubaki asked in a serious tone.

"Tsubaki-sama, so far all groups have managed to hold their position. Although we have suffered some losses, we remain strong."

Tsubaki's brow furrowed even more at the mention of losses, and her mood visibly darkened.

"How is the counterattack group? Are they ready to move out?" she asked as she walked with firm steps through the chaos of the battlefield.

Before Julan could respond, Tsubaki's eyes caught a movement from the corner of her vision. A hooded man, holding a dagger, was heading toward a heavily armored dwarf woman, aiming to catch her off guard.

Without wasting any time, Tsubaki raised her katana with lethal precision.

**SLASH**

The edge of her sword cut through the hooded man in a swift, fluid motion, his body falling lifeless to the ground before he could complete his attack.

"Stay alert!" Tsubaki ordered, directing her gaze toward the dwarf woman, who looked at her with a mixture of astonishment and relief.

"Y-Yes, Tsubaki-sama!" the dwarf woman quickly responded, returning to her position in the line with renewed determination.

Julan, who had witnessed the scene, continued his report while keeping his axe ready. "The counterattack group is almost ready. They're just waiting for more members of the dark faction to gather."

"Tell Finn I'll hold them off for another half hour," Tsubaki replied firmly, her eyes scanning the battlefield like a hawk. "If they haven't attacked by then, I'll retreat to join them."

Julan nodded quickly. "Understood, Tsubaki-sama! I'll relay the message."

"Good, fall back and keep me informed," Tsubaki ordered in a serious tone, turning her gaze to him.

"Yes, Tsubaki-sama!" he replied firmly. Immediately, the dwarf disappeared with surprising speed for someone of his small stature.

Watching Julan leave, Tsubaki nodded in satisfaction. As the third strongest in her familia, Julan, recently promoted to Level 4, was responsible for overseeing all the defense groups, a task she had personally entrusted him with.

Although Finn had assigned someone from his own familia to take on this role, Tsubaki knew that the defense of her home couldn't be left to strangers, no matter how competent they were. In times of uncertainty, she placed her full trust only in her own siblings.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden burst of magic that illuminated the dark sky, followed by a loud roar that echoed in the distance. Tsubaki turned her gaze toward the source of the sound, her expression hardening.

**BOOM**

With a loud explosion, one of the barricades placed by the Goibniu familia shattered into pieces. Some of her group, caught off guard, were thrown several meters away, crashing heavily to the ground.

"You, take them to the rear!" Tsubaki raised her voice, pointing to one of the members of another industrial familia as she indicated the wounded from the explosion.

"Yes, ma'am!" Without hesitation, a group of four quickly gathered the wounded and began running toward the rear.

Tsubaki watched the scene with a cold expression as she walked with firm steps toward the epicenter of the explosion. Dust still hung in the air, but she soon identified the source of the commotion.

Through the cloud of debris emerged five burly men. Each wore strange metallic devices that connected from their mouths to the backs of their necks, blocking their necks and faces in an unsettling way. The devices emitted a subtle glow, indicating their artificial nature.

"Tsk, spiritual soldiers..." Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Tsubaki murmured irritably, quickly sizing up the five men. She immediately recognized them. Those wide, unblinking eyes, along with their mouths hanging open, were easy to spot.

**ROAR**

With a bestial roar that made her question if they were even human, the five men turned toward her, their eyes filled with murderous intensity. The guttural sound they made only heightened the sense of impending danger.

"Fall back! Form a new front at the next barricade and tell Finn the counterattack can't wait!" With a loud shout, Tsubaki unsheathed her katana with skill, her gaze fixed on the men as she advanced without hesitation.

Spiritual soldiers, mindless beasts of the Apate familia. Each of them was Level 5, and according to gathered information, there were twelve in total.

Quickly recognizing the threat, Tsubaki didn't hesitate for a second. She had to prevent this group of lunatics from charging the rest of her team, especially at this critical point.

**SLASH**

With a swift vertical cut, Tsubaki delivered a deadly blow to the nearest spiritual soldier. The powerful katana, her personal weapon forged by herself, cut through the air with precision, leaving a silver flash in its wake.

The man, whose mind no longer belonged to him, barely had time to react before Tsubaki's blade was upon him. Twisting his body with inhuman flexibility, he barely managed to dodge the lethal strike.

**ROAR**

With another primal roar, the remaining four spiritual soldiers lunged at her.

The first soldier attacked head-on, pushing with all his strength. Tsubaki deflected the attack with a swift move, using the flat side of her katana to parry the blow. With a precise spin, her sword sliced horizontally, leaving a deep wound along the soldier's side.

The second attempted to flank her from the right, but Tsubaki was already prepared. She crouched, dodging the attack and sliding toward the soldier, leaving a clean cut in his leg. The man fell to his knees, unable to continue fighting with his injured leg.

Without wasting any time, Tsubaki turned to face the other two, who were quickly closing in. She knew she couldn't let them organize a joint attack. In the blink of an eye, she jumped toward one of them, delivering a diagonal slash that severed one of the soldier's hands.

The last soldier, now completely isolated, unleashed a final roar of rage. His attack was more erratic, more impulsive. Tsubaki simply moved her katana calmly, stopping the strike with the tip of her blade and pushing the soldier backward. With a simple motion, the man was knocked down, and Tsubaki wasted no time, launching a cut toward his head.

**CLANG**

The sound of a sword cutting through the air blocked Tsubaki's strike, preventing her from decapitating the man. Quickly shifting her gaze to the first spiritual soldier who had attacked, Tsubaki responded with a violent slash.

Blocking with a disjointed move, the spiritual soldier staggered, giving Tsubaki the chance to strike toward the soldier's head.

**CLANG**

Unfortunately, just like in her previous attack, another spiritual soldier blocked Tsubaki's blow.

**SLASH**

With no time to counterattack, Tsubaki swiftly spun, avoiding the slash of a sword. Retreating quickly, Tsubaki took a deep breath as she momentarily withdrew, her eyes rapidly assessing the situation.

"What's up with their wounds?" Noticing the lack of visible injuries on the spiritual soldiers, Tsubaki frowned in confusion. One of the fallen soldiers, who she had dealt a deep cut to the side, now stood in front of her without any visible wound.

"Regeneration?" She tilted her head thoughtfully. Tsubaki considered the possibility. While the information about the spiritual soldiers mentioned that their strength was lower than that of an average Level 5, and that they apparently lacked reason, nothing had been said about regenerative abilities.

In a quick analysis, Tsubaki realized that not only was the strength of the spiritual soldiers a problem, but now it seemed their physical endurance and recovery were much greater than she had anticipated. This made the situation even more complicated.

Despite her confusion, she showed no signs of hesitation. "It doesn't matter. This won't change the outcome." Her tone was firm, showing no fear of the spiritual soldiers' abilities.

However, soon, Tsubaki, observing carefully, noticed that the injuries of the spiritual soldiers hadn't fully healed, allowing her to conclude that their regeneration wasn't all-powerful.

"It seems they especially cover their heads..." Remembering how they had risked themselves twice, trying to protect the heads of their comrades, Tsubaki understood a possible weakness.

Quickly formulating an attack plan in her mind, Tsubaki prepared to finish these guys off quickly, so she could reorganize her group.

The spiritual soldiers, noticing that Tsubaki had stopped her attack and stepped back, began to reorganize, attempting to surround her. However, Tsubaki had no intention of retreating. She seized her opportunity.

"If you want me to see you as a real threat..." Tsubaki murmured to herself with a somewhat mocking expression. "You'll have to do more than attack with that pathetic formation."

With astounding speed, she took a step forward and delivered a diagonal slash towards the first soldier in front of her. He tried to block the strike with an improvised axe, but Tsubaki had already anticipated his move. With a swift flick of her wrist, Tsubaki's katana slid along the side of her opponent, leaving a deep wound. The soldier fell to his knees, but instantly, as if the wound had faded, he tried to rise again.

Tsubaki observed closely, noticing that although the wound did not heal completely, it seemed that regeneration helped him stay on his feet.

"He's stronger than he looks, but not invincible," she thought, preparing for her next move.

At that moment, one of the soldiers attempted a surprise attack from her left. Tsubaki wasted no time and jumped to the side, dodging the blow and delivering a clean cut towards his neck, aiming to finish him off quickly. But the man, in a desperate move, raised his arm to block the attack, taking the blow to his forearm.

The soldier didn't fall, but he retreated, giving Tsubaki a brief moment to catch her breath. The fight was taking an interesting turn. Although she couldn't fully rely on her cuts to immediately eliminate the spiritual soldiers, each strike weakened them a little more.

"Let's see how much they can take," Tsubaki murmured with a fierce smile as she prepared for her next move.

...

"Finn-sama!"

The urgent shout of an adventurer echoed in the tent where the counterattack team was gathered, led by Finn.

The shout quickly drew Finn's attention, who had been focused on the map on his desk. Hedin frowned, slightly irritated by the noise, and shot an annoyed look at the adventurer who had barged into the tent.

"H-huff, Finn-sama!" Gasping for breath, the adventurer murmured between heavy breaths, trying to regain his composure.

Noticing the urgency in the adventurer's expression, Finn asked seriously, "Has something happened?"

The adventurer, now catching his breath, answered quickly, "Finn-sama, five individuals with the strength of first-class adventurers attacked the front controlled by Tsubaki-sama. Seeing the critical situation, Tsubaki ordered a retreat. Now she's fighting those individuals..."

"Five of first-class?" Finn frowned, his gaze hardening upon hearing the news.

Hedin also lifted his gaze from the map, clearly interested. "Is Tsubaki facing them alone?"

"Yes, Finn-sama. She is delaying their progress while ordering the retreat of the others, but... I don't know how much longer she can hold out."

Frowning, Finn asked again. "Tell me, what did they look like?"

Though somewhat confused by the seemingly unnecessary question, the adventurer answered honestly. "Five burly men, all wearing strange metallic artifacts covering their mouths and necks."

Upon hearing the detailed description, a look of disdain appeared on Hedin's face. "Eh? Is it just those filthy defects? Then there's nothing to worry about. Tsubaki should be able to handle them on her own."

Finn, however, quickly recognized who they were, but unlike Hedin, his expression didn't ease. "It seems we need to leave now. Hedin, please issue the orders."

"Uh? What the hell, Finn? If we rush, things will go wrong. Plus, don't you think those guys are just trash who couldn't beat Tsubaki, right?" Hedin spoke with confusion, in a ridiculous tone.

To him, the spiritual soldiers, barely reaching level 5, weren't a threat to a veteran level 5 like Tsubaki.

"That's not it..." Finn frowned, deep in thought. "I'm not concerned about those spiritual soldiers. What worries me is that the other side's main fighting force might have been deployed all of a sudden."

Feeling a slight tingle in his thumb, Finn's face grew serious as he continued, "There's a possibility that the dark faction, seeing the minimal damage they've caused, has decided to accelerate their attack."

Hedin, who quickly grasped the implications of Finn's words, asked in a more serious tone, "Do you think they're about to attack with everything they've got?"

Finn, who had already moved toward his lance in one corner of the tent, nodded firmly. "Yes. These spiritual soldiers were probably sent as a vanguard. That means soon, more pillars from the dark faction will attack... and by then, Tsubaki will be cornered."

"Everything will be ready in five minutes." Understanding the gravity of the situation, Hedin didn't hesitate, quickly stepping out of the tent and toward the camp.

"You have to hold on, Tsubaki-san." Finn murmured with concern, praying they would arrive in time. If not, perhaps the ones who would suffer wouldn't just be the dark faction—maybe they'd also have to experience the fury of that blacksmith.