Building A Carnal Empire In The Fantasy World-Chapter 31: Hunters And Prey II

Velara’s eyes went wide. "Fight them? Vex, they’re Church soldiers. They’re trained killers."

"So are we." Madam Vex reached into her dress and pulled out a curved dagger that gleamed with a faint blue light. The blade was enchanted, sharp enough to cut through armor if she could find the right spot. "Or have you forgotten what we used to do before we became ’respectable’ businesswomen?"

Velara stared at the dagger, then at the advancing soldiers, then back at Madam Vex. Slowly, a relaxed smile spread across her face—not the practiced smile she wore while selling human flesh, but something wilder and more dangerous.

"It has been a while since I killed anyone," she admitted, raising her hands as energy began to gather around her fingers. The air itself seemed to thicken as her Level 2 Earth Rank cultivation manifested. "I was starting to think I’d gone soft."

The three soldiers spread out as they approached, forming a semicircle that blocked any escape route. Sergeant Cole kept his crossbow trained on Madam Vex while his companions moved to flank them.

"Earth magic," the sergeant noted, seeing the power gathering around Velara’s hands. "Soldier Hayes, watch for stone spears. Soldier Mills, take the one with the knife. They are Level 2 warriors just like you."

The soldiers moved with professional precision. These weren’t green recruits or city guards playing at being warriors. They were veterans of the Church’s acquisition forces, men who had spent years hunting down heretics and criminals.

But Madam Vex and Velara hadn’t survived in their particular line of work by being helpless victims.

Velara struck first.

She slammed her palms down onto the muddy shore of the lake, and power flowed out from her hands like a shockwave. The ground beneath Sergeant Cole’s feet suddenly turned muggy-like liquid, grabbing at his boots like quicksand.

The big man cursed and tried to pull free, but the mud held him fast. His crossbow shot went wide, the bolt spinning harmlessly into the lake.

Madam Vex was already moving. She sprinted toward Soldier Mills, her enchanted dagger held low and ready.

The young man was fast too, his sword came up to block her strike, but she had been killing people when he was still learning to survive this world in her teens.

She feinted left, then spun right, bringing the dagger up in a vicious arc aimed at the gap between his helmet and chest armor.

The blue-glowing blade sliced through the leather straps holding his gear together, and he stumbled backward with blood spreading across his throat.

That was not a killing blow, but it was enough to make him think twice about underestimating her.

Soldier Hayes tried to help his companion, but Velara wasn’t done with her magic. She gestured sharply, and the ground erupted in a line of stone spikes that forced the soldier to dance backward or be impaled.

"Clever," Sergeant Cole grunted, finally pulling one boot free of the mud trap. "But not clever enough."

His cultivation flared, Level 3 Earth Rank power flowing through his body like molten metal. The muddy shore around him suddenly hardened into solid stone, giving him firm footing again.

"My turn," he said, and charged.

The sergeant moved like a boulder rolling downhill, not graceful, but absolutely unstoppable. His sword came down in an overhead strike that would have split Madam Vex in half if it had connected.

She rolled aside at the last second, feeling the wind from the massive blade ruffle her hair. The sword struck the ground and left a crater five inches deep in the packed earth.

Velara tried to help by sending a spear of stone at the sergeant’s back, but Soldier Hayes was ready for her this time. He threw himself between the attack and his leader, taking the stone spear on his shield. The impact knocked him sideways, but the sergeant was unharmed.

Mills had recovered from Madam Vex’s throat cut and was pressing his attack. His sword work was textbook perfect—high guard, low guard, thrust, parry, riposte. Everything by the manual, executed with the precision of countless hours of drill.

But Madam Vex had never read the manual.

She fought like a street killer, which was exactly what she had been before Count Varnell recruited her. No honor, no rules, no mercy. Just whatever it took to put steel in the other person’s body before they did the same to her.

When Mills thrust at her chest, she grabbed his sword arm and pulled him forward, off balance. Her dagger came up to meet him, but he managed to twist aside. The blade scraped across his armor instead of finding flesh.

They grappled for a moment, strength against strength, before Mills managed to break free and stagger backward. Blood ran from a shallow cut on his sword arm where her dagger had found a gap in his armor.

"She’s faster than she looks," he warned his companions.

"They’re both dangerous," Sergeant Cole agreed, circling Madam Vex like a predator. "But they’re still just Level 2. Numbers, stamina, and training will tell in the end."

As if to prove his point, he attacked again. This time, his sword work was more measured, more careful. He used his reach advantage to keep her at a distance, forcing her to dodge and weave while unable to counterattack effectively.

Meanwhile, Hayes was keeping Velara busy with a steady assault that prevented her from using her more powerful magic. Every time she tried to gather energy for a major spell, his sword would dart in, forcing her to defend herself instead of attacking.

The pattern was clear. The soldiers were going to wear them down through superior conditioning and teamwork. It might take time, but the outcome was inevitable.

Unless something changed the equation.

Madam Vex caught Velara’s eye and nodded toward the lake. The other woman’s eyebrows rose in understanding, then she smiled that wild, dangerous smile again.

"Hope you boys can swim," Velara called out sweetly.

Then she slammed both hands down on the lakeshore and poured every ounce of her cultivation into one massive spell.

The lake exploded.