Soul of Searing Steel

“Master… Are you looking for a new weapon?”

The voice of the little girl was very soft. The warrior was not even sure if she said anything at all.

The warrior had a false of sense that the girl was not talking at all. However, Joshua could sense that he was being glared at so intensely, like eyes of a mother cat that was protecting its kittens. The cuff of the clothes he was wearing was tightly grabbed on by a pair of soft hands. She was tugging on the cuffs so tight that the clothes were about to be torn apart. All of his senses were reminding him that what he heard was not just his imagination.

Stop tugging already. If you keep this up, the clothes are going to get torn apart…

“Don’t you already have a greatsword before this…. Why do you need a new one?!”

This time, the voice of the girl was raised a little. Joshua could not help but sigh a little. Then he turned his head to the side and looked at the female Divine Armament. After that, he said, “Alright, alright I’ve not even said that I want it. Just let go first.”

Upon hearing what her master said, it was natural that Ying would let go of the cuff of the cloth that was made out of orc skin. At that moment, the fiber by the cuff of the cloth made of daemon skin and orc skin had already been torn a little.

No one would have thought that those soft-looking fair hands actually had the strength to tear the clothes made of daemon skin.

Joshua shook his head. He knew that any Divine Armament would at least have the power level of a Silver tier. Because Ying looked so small in her size whenever he saw her, he tend to forget that…

Turning his head back to look at Brandon and Vale Dani, the warrior said, “Thank you for your generosity. I shall accept the offer of getting a new set of armor gladly. However, I’m not short on great weapons. After all, a weapon must be easy and smooth to wield in order for anyone to kill their enemies without any problems.”

While Joshua was speaking, Ying was still standing right behind Joshua staring at the countess of the Scarlet family and golden-haired swordsman with non-threatening eyes that reflected slight disdain.

Violet-haired woman and golden-haired man, I’ll remember you both!

Meanwhile, standing at the side being stared at with that sort of eyes, Vale Dani did not feel the slightest bit uncomfortable—for a good reason.

Although she had no idea why she was hated so much, having a cute girl staring at her like that did not make her feel anything. Who would actually hate a small and cute cat who was trying to protect her own food? Instead of placing her attention on the little girl’s eyes wouldn’t it be much more interesting for her to guess the relationship between the servant and her master? After all, she was quite interested in knowing what relationship Joshua had with this little girl.

… Although she had observed them for over half a day, she only saw that these two were like father and daughter. Joshua seemed like a father who was trying to reassure his daughter that seemed unsettled.

Speaking of which, the violet-haired mage could not help to think about her two little daughters. Her two little daughters were adorable. The elder one was more mature. She would behave like an adult saying that she would become a Countess of the city in the future. She said she wanted to become like her mother, dignified and fearless. Meanwhile, the younger one was naive and romantic. Her natural gift was extraordinary as well… When the two little girls were fighting over a toy and Vale Dani had to separate the two of them apart from each other, the two of them would stare at her like how Ying was currently staring at her now. Their eyes looked exactly the same.

As for Brandon who was secretly marked by the young girl, he knew Ying’s true identity as a Divine Armament after all. Looking at the scene right before his eyes, he could not help but chuckle. After a brief moment he sighed, realizing why he was disliked by the girl in the first place.

He never thought that the Divine Armaments would look at the other weapons in such a way… what a wonder. However, how could he not have encountered such a situation before?

Pondering for a moment, the golden-haired swordsman suddenly realized that even though there were men and women as Divine Armaments in past history, old and young, but most of them appeared as young people in front of everyone. It was not that he had not seen a young female Divine Armament before. It was just because he had never seen a Divine Armament with the appearance of a teenage girl under the age of fifteen.

“So that’s it then…”

The violet-haired mage responded to Joshua, “To prevent you from getting a set of armor that doesn’t suit you or your taste, we shall provide you access to the armory later. When you find some time later, head over to the armory and pick one that suits you. You don’t have to hold back on that.”

“There’s no need for all the trouble, you can just provide the access to her.”

Shaking his head, the warrior waved his hand and patted the shoulder of the silver-haired girl. Then he turned towards her and said, “Alright, Ying. I’m giving you an assignment. Can you help picking out an armor for me?”

“Huh?”

Upon given with such an assignment, Ying could not help but be fazed. However, she then got herself fired up and said, “Yes Master! However, what’s your size?”

“Hmm. If you’re talking about fitting my body, it would probably require…”

While talking about that, Joshua hesitated for a brief moment—as a complete warrior who excels in all the arts and skills of a warrior, he even knew how to go into Berserk Mode. It had become normal to see his muscles swelling up bursting off the clothes off his body during battles. A set of armor that fits the wearer would require being custom made in order to maintain a perfect compatibility to the wearer when he was in normal mode or in Berserk Mode. Meanwhile, armor that could normally do that was enchanted armor. He was wondering if the armory would have any enchanted armor to begin with.

After all, this was a fortress. No matter how rich the territory of Moldova turned out to be, it would be impossible for them to keep all sorts of rare and powerful enchanted equipment in a place where basically no one could use them.

As a Gold-tier swordsman, although Brandon wore leather armor every day, he was still an aristocrat after all. His knowledge and experience on using armor were rich. So, of course, he would know what the warrior was worrying about. So he immediately explained, “You don’t have to worry about whether the armor will fit your body or not. There are fine enchanters and blacksmiths in our fortress. As long as you pick one that is about your size, they can modify and get it done within half a day.”

“Then I shall leave the rest to them.”

After nodded his head, the warrior gave the silver-haired girl a series of numbers and patted her shoulder to encourage her. “Go ahead. I look forward to the completion of the task I just gave you.”

“Yes, Master!”

The young girl bid everyone farewell and left the guest room. Vale Dani had granted her and Joshua the highest level of access to the fortress. So they could now just walk into most of the places in the fortress.

After they were done with the trivial matters, it was time to talk about the serious ones. The atmosphere of the entire guest room instantly became grim.

“Countess, what is the current situation of the fortress?”

The first one to start asking questions was Joshua. He was currently sitting on the left side of the table. Meanwhile, the others were sitting on the other side of the table facing him. “Do you have any strength left to face the next Dark Tide? Their final assault should just be upon us.”

“The situation is far worse than we can imagine. The main reason is that we’re short on ammunition. As for the other supplies such as rations, winter clothes, and coals are all enough. Meanwhile, there are a large number of mages in my territory. So fixing and restoring the wall should not be a problem for us.”

Vale Dani spoke in a troubled tone. Her face remained pale. Ever since she came into the guest room with the aid of her husband, it was quite obvious that the infliction of the spiritual concussion still remained. “Actually there are still a few remaining. However, we can’t afford to have another long battle. On the next Dark Tide, if there are no Gold-tier daemons among the horde, the fortress should still be able to hold on for a few more hours. If the three of us join forces and fend off against the Dark Tide on the battlefield, guarding the fortress should not be a difficult task.”

“The supplies are an issue too big to be ignored. If our supplies are sufficient, we could rely on the number of the alchemy cannons, enchanted equipment, and arrows to fend of the Dark Tide. Even if there are Gold-tier daemons among the monsters, we can still hold the fortress without losing the wall.”