### Chapter 357
The Armed Princess
Shua Delphia
From a young age, she believed that weapons were synonymous with justice.
Her world had crumbled due to wars that never seemed to end.
A relentless thousand-year war, to be precise.
From childhood through adulthood, the only things that kept her alive amidst the chaos were weapons.
Her first weapon was a dagger.
The very dagger she drove into the neck of a man trying to violate her as a child.
That dagger had saved her life.
Her second weapon was a longsword.
In the midst of a battlefield crowded with all ages mobilized for the war.
The only thing she could trust was not her allies or enemies, but her weapons.
She believed in weapons, and that belief allowed her to survive the battlefield time and again.
Although her weapons changed over time, her faith in them remained steadfast.
She became simpler and more direct to survive the wars.
Her speech was laced with curses.
Soldiers were often those who had curses on their lips.
Perhaps for them, swearing was the cry of their pained lives.
Thus, the Armed Princess grew obsessed with weapons.
To her, weapons were tools for survival.
And that remained true even after stepping into another world from the one that had perished.
In Cloria City.
When the Armed Princess arrived there, her appearance was different from usual.
Using one of her weapons, she had erased her ears, hidden her tail, and even changed her hair color to brown.
If anyone who knew her before saw her now, they might not recognize her.
“Hehe, hmmm.”
She hummed a cheerful tune, excited at the thought of acquiring a new child.
None of the residents of Cloria paid her any mind.
They just thought she was a tourist enjoying the hot springs.
“Hey, where’s the Cloria family’s mansion?”
The Armed Princess asked a shopkeeper busy unpacking the goods.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, the shopkeeper pointed to a hill in the distance.
“Right over there.”
“Oh, thanks for your hard work.”
She strode confidently towards the hill.
Soon after, she arrived in front of the Cloria mansion.
The Cloria mansion was peaceful.
Given the desolate terrain, there was no real reason for outside cities or nations to invade.
It was just a hot spring tourist spot, and the crime rate was low.
Although the knights were prepared for any incidents of World Erosion, they were only experienced in fighting that specific threat and lacked skills in dealing with people.
Perhaps that’s why the guard standing at the entrance was yawning deeply, looking quite bored.
He usually just stood there, staring up at the peaceful sky, counting clouds.
In front of him, a woman appeared.
The guard blinked at the brown-haired woman.
Having noticed her approaching, he asked, “Are you a newly hired maid?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
The Armed Princess, disguised as a local woman, casually responded while tucking away the gauntlet she had quietly held behind her back.
“Perfect timing; they said they’re short-handed inside. Please, go right in.”
The guard easily opened the door for her.
Seeing that, the Armed Princess shrugged and walked inside.
With an invitation like that, why would she refuse?
What the guard didn’t realize was that, thanks to his oversight, while the Cloria family might not be in danger, his own life was saved.
With surprising ease, the Armed Princess passed through the door and walked down the hall, encountering people who didn’t stop her at all.
They all just naturally assumed she was staff.
“Hmm, this is easier than I thought.”
Having gained entry so simply made her feel slightly uncomfortable.
Her hands started to itch.
“Hey, you.”
At that moment, the Armed Princess turned her head at the call.
There, she saw a man with black hair and red eyes.
Ever since the Glaisys bloodline mixed into Cloria, their descendants had all ended up with the same hair and eye colors.
One notable difference was that their red eye color was a shade lighter than that of Glaisys.
Anyway, this meant he was direct lineage of Cloria.
“The office is dirty. Come and clean it up.”
After saying that, he turned to walk away.
As the Armed Princess watched his back for a moment, a slow smile crept across her face.
What she was after was none other than Zodiac Cloria, the direct descendant of Cloria.
She didn’t know what Zodiac looked like.
She just knew his features—black hair and red eyes.
And at this very moment, the direct lineage of Cloria had appeared before her.
Moreover, he had provided her with an opportunity to be alone together.
There was no reason not to seize this chance.
‘He walked right into my mouth.’
It was like prey wandering into a tiger’s den.
Why on earth would she not want to devour him?
She decided to open her mouth and swallow him whole.
The office he led her to was indeed a mess, just as he’d said.
Something clearly stressed him out.
He had knocked things over and left them strewn everywhere.
Ignoring the scattered items, he trudged over to a sofa and plopped down to cool his head.
He had a raging headache thanks to the constant chatter of Zodiac’s name ringing in his ears.
While he was busy trying to zone out, he noticed the maid he brought was lingering in the doorway.
Seeing her standing there, he frowned in annoyance.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and clean.”
“Is your name Zodiac Cloria?”
The moment he heard the next words, his expression began to sour.
What in the world was this maid babbling about?
Feeling utterly baffled, he stood up from his seat.
“Who do you dare call Zodiac?”
Anger flooded his face as he passed by the sofa and loomed over the maid.
“Do I look like that trash to you?”
“What? No?”
The maid’s face suddenly turned to one of disappointment.
Realizing she wanted to meet Zodiac, he finally connected the dots.
“Hah.”
The man let out a disbelieving breath.
Who would’ve thought he’d be treated like this, even by a maid?
Since Zodiac received the Heavenly Sword from the Golden King, the name Zodiac hadn’t left his ears.
Nor had the comparisons between him and Zodiac.
“You better remember well if you plan to work in our mansion.”
He looked down at the maid, lifting his hand.
“I am Jorval Cloria.”
With that declaration, he brought his raised hand down toward her cheek.
“Not that it matters, since we won’t be seeing each other again after today.”
Whack!
But his hand was effortlessly severed in mid-air.
Thud!
The hand that fell to the floor quickly began to grow cold as it rolled away.
Jorval’s mind went blank for a moment.
It took him some time to grasp what had just happened.
The maid in front of him stood brandishing a halberd with a single edge.
At the same time, annoyance filled her eyes.
“Annoying, aren’t you?”
“Gah, ah!”
As Jorval screamed in pain from his severed arm, the Armed Princess swiftly covered his mouth with her hand.
“Don’t whine about losing just an arm.”
Pressed to the ground by the Armed Princess, he struggled fruitlessly.
She sighed, “Do you know where Zodiac is? Or not?”
This woman—why was she searching for Zodiac?
Jorval couldn’t wrap his head around the situation.
It felt like the whole world was searching for Zodiac while he was left out.
“Focus on what I just asked. Come on.”
Then, the Armed Princess pressed him down even harder.
The pain felt as if his jaw might shatter.
“Zodiac, where is my pretty boy?”
At least he needed to open his mouth to answer her.
But with Jorval unable to respond, the Armed Princess suddenly remembered she was still covering his mouth.
Now faced with the true identity of Jorval, she pulled her hand away hesitantly.
Jorval’s eyes widened.
“Intruder!”
His voice boomed.
The Armed Princess’s eyes narrowed at that.
Could he actually dare shout about intruders?
“Son of a… you must be family, huh?”
Annoyed that he raised an alarm to protect his family, she tightened her grip around his neck.
Jorval’s eyes rolled as he chuckled despite being choked.
“F-family? Don’t talk nonsense.”
Jorval’s gaze burned with rage.
“Do you really think I’d let you get to him?”
Even if this woman called out for Zodiac, he had no intention of letting her near him.
This wasn’t about protecting family.
It was purely an annoyance from witnessing everyone’s search for Zodiac.
“Fine, then die.”
With a disinterested look, the Armed Princess decided to choke him out.
Smack!
That is, until a sudden kick came aimed right at her face.
With a twist of her head, she felt herself being launched into the air.
In an instant, her body tumbled, and she landed on the floor.
“Who—”
She glared, exposing her fury at the one who dared to hit her.
Before her stood a small boy with black hair and red eyes.
He was also a direct line of Cloria.
But for some reason, the Armed Princess instinctively felt hostility toward him.
Despite being clearly at the novice level of mastery, a strange unsettling feeling washed over her.
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t bother my big brother.”
The moment her eyes met his crimson ones, glowing with an icy intensity.
The Armed Princess stood up, shaking off her surprise.
“You must be Zodiac?”
“Yeah, seriously, did you have to cause such a scene just to show up?”
Seeing the disdain in Zodiac’s expression, the Armed Princess blinked in surprise.
She didn’t quite comprehend what he meant, but it became a solid piece of good news for her.
Shaking off her unease, she lifted her weapon.
“Zodiac, you fool! Run away now!”
At that moment, Jorval called out to Zodiac.
Zodiac, glancing at Jorval, turned to his waist, pulling out…
The legendary Ten Heavenly Sword, Machrin!
The Armed Princess’s eyes went wide.
“Why would such a beauty be in the hands of a scrappy wannabe like you?”
She gripped her two-handed axe tightly.
“Big bro, you better escape,” Zodiac warned.
“Zodiac!”
And just like that, the two powerful beings clashed.
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