Chapter 1734 - 240 - The Battle at the Black Pole (9)

The person who appeared before us was a red-haired woman.

She looked like she was probably somewhere in her mid-40s, although her appearance made it surprisingly difficult to guess her actual age with any real confidence. She had a rather impressive figure, with large breasts and a surprisingly sexy outfit that left her midriff completely exposed. Despite my assumption that she was already in her mid-40s, she didn't exactly look that old at first glance. If anything, she looked closer to her mid-30s, and it was only when I paid closer attention to the wrinkles around her face that I started to realize she was probably older than she appeared.

Honestly, she didn't look particularly old at all.

Maybe she was simply one of those people who had managed to stay young-looking despite her age.

Then again, considering the number of scars covering her body, I probably shouldn't have been surprised that she had lived through enough things to leave some marks behind.

She wore an eyepatch over one of her eyes, which already gave her a rather intimidating appearance. The numerous scars scattered across her arms, torso, and other visible parts of her body only made that impression stronger. Those scars told me enough about her without needing an introduction, because someone who had that many battle scars clearly wasn't the sort of person who spent most of her life sitting comfortably behind a desk.

She had fought.

Probably a lot.

There was also something rough about her presence that I couldn't quite put into words. It was something I could immediately feel just by looking into her remaining eye. Her gaze carried the kind of sharpness that came from years of experience, and there was a confidence behind it that made it clear she wasn't someone who would hesitate when things became violent.

If I were just some ordinary guy who happened to run into her somewhere, I probably wouldn't even have the courage to look her directly in the eye for very long.

"I felt that wave of aura earlier, so I figured I should come here and check it out for myself," she said, casually looking around before turning her attention toward me. "Turns out, it was someone I definitely wasn't expecting to find in a place like this."

Her expression changed into a faint grin.

"Aren't you the famous Christopher Faust? The madman who's currently leading three countries into a war against both the Empire and the Republic?"

"You know me?"

"A surprisingly large number of people in the underworld know who you are," she replied. "I happen to know the woman standing right beside you as well, and she's actually pretty famous down there too."

I glanced toward Shredica.

Well, I suppose that made sense.

I wouldn't have been particularly surprised if Shredica had a reputation in the underworld. In fact, considering the things I already knew about her, I would have been more surprised if she didn't have one.

Whether that reputation was a good one was another question entirely.

Still, I decided there was little reason to dwell on it.

"Well then, I suppose knowing who I am should at least give us something to talk about," I said. "I'd like to have a proper conversation with you."

"Absolutely not," she replied with an evil-looking smirk.

Her answer came so quickly that I almost laughed.

"More than anything, why would I possibly have a civil conversation with someone who just killed one of my henchmen?" she continued. "Do you honestly think I would simply forget about that and sit down for a friendly little chat with you?"

"I suppose that's a fair point," I replied.

I couldn't exactly argue with her there.

"Then what would it take for me to have that civil conversation with you?"

"Defeat me in battle," she said without hesitation. "If you manage to beat me, then I'll consider having that conversation with you."

I guess it really had come to this.

Honestly, I had already expected something like this to happen eventually. After killing one of her henchmen, expecting her to simply shrug it off and invite me over for tea would have been a little too optimistic, even by my standards.

A fight was practically inevitable.

At least she was being straightforward about it.

She suddenly jumped toward my ship.

Her leap was much more powerful than I expected, and she crossed the distance between us in a single movement before landing perfectly on the deck. She didn't even stumble when her feet touched the ship, which immediately told me that she had excellent control over her body and wasn't relying entirely on raw strength.

The moment she landed, she drew her sword.

It was a large, curved blade that looked like it had been designed for someone who preferred fighting aggressively rather than standing around defensively.

At the same time, she pulled out a pistol with her other hand and aimed it directly at me.

She then did something that made me question whether she was trying to intimidate me or simply enjoying herself.

She licked the barrel of the pistol.

Afterward, she looked directly at me with a grin that was far too cheerful for someone who had just announced that she intended to kill me.

"I don't suppose you're going to be an easy kill," she said. "Let's take this one at a time, shall we?"

I couldn't help but laugh a little.

She was actually kind of funny.

I wasn't going to lie about that.

Her attitude reminded me of Gabrielle when I first met her. Gabrielle had carried herself with a similar kind of confidence, although our first meeting hadn't ended with us immediately trying to kill each other. She had also spoken in that same casual way, as though she could joke around in the middle of a dangerous situation without a care in the world.

Thinking about it now, I wondered why so many dangerous women seemed to have that particular personality.

Maybe confidence came with the territory.

Or maybe people simply became weird after spending too much time around death.

Either explanation seemed reasonable enough.

"Alright," I said while keeping my eyes fixed on her. "Hopefully, you'll give me a good fight."

I pulled out Ayuru and then brought Samui into my other hand. I spun both weapons through my hands before settling into a proper stance, keeping my body relaxed while making sure I was ready to react to whatever she decided to throw at me.

"Kekekeke!" she laughed, her grin becoming noticeably wider. "This is going to be fun!"

She suddenly dashed toward me.

I immediately moved to meet her halfway.

The distance between us disappeared almost instantly, and our weapons collided with tremendous force the moment we met.

The impact created a massive shockwave that exploded outward from the point of our clash.

The force was strong enough to make several nearby ships violently rock backward, with a few of them nearly tipping over from the sudden impact.

Fortunately, they managed to stay upright.

Well, mostly.

The woman across from me grinned.

I stared back at her for a moment as our weapons remained locked together, studying her expression and trying to figure out exactly what kind of opponent I had just gotten myself involved with.

She wasn't simply strong.

She was enjoying this.

That was the part that bothered me the most.

Most people became cautious when they encountered someone capable of matching them, but this woman looked like she had just found the most entertaining thing she had seen all day.

Her grin widened as she stared straight at me.

This woman...

She looked like she was going to be a serious problem.