Chương 113: Chapter : 113

Elma let out a harsh, totally mocking laugh.

"Are you actually out of your mind? That is a piece of cheap plastic from a street vendor! You are a complete, absolute idiot!" Zaima shook her head in disgust.

"Ignore his silly behavior, Elma! Just sweep the trash out of the way and get back in formation!" They completely dismissed him. They thought he was an absolute clown. They thought his goofy, ridiculous behavior meant he was totally harmless. But what they didn't know, and what Ken didn't bother to mention, was that looking at the ring was the only requirement.

The absolute second Elma, Zaima, and Hestia's team looked directly at the shiny blue stone, they were secretly, completely trapped in Ken's Perfect Hypnosis. Ken smiled a massive, goofy smile. He let his hand drop back to his side and slouched his shoulders again.

"Alright, blonde lady," Ken teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

"If you don't believe in the power of the lucky ring, come and get me! Let's see what you got!" Elma's eyes narrowed with fury.

"With pleasure." She gripped her silver swords tightly, totally ready to slice the annoying, lazy farm boy into a million pieces. The real chaos was just about to begin.

Elma lunged forward with terrifying speed. She wasn't just trying to scare Ken; she was fully intending to cut his head completely off his shoulders. She swung her right sword in a brutal, horizontal arc, aiming right for his neck. Ken didn't pull out a weapon. He didn't use a glowing magical shield. He didn't even look like he was trying to defend himself. Instead, right as the sharp silver blade was inches away from his throat, Ken suddenly let out a loud, highly dramatic sneeze.

"Achoo!" Ken yelled. He violently threw his upper body backward, bending completely in half at the waist in a massive, exaggerated sneeze motion. The deadly silver sword sliced right through the empty air directly above his nose, completely missing him by less than a millimeter. Elma stumbled forward, totally thrown off balance by missing such an easy target. Ken snapped back up, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand. He looked at Elma with wide, totally innocent eyes.

"Oh, excuse me! It must be all the dust in this cave! My allergies are acting up!" Elma gritted her teeth, her face turning pink with frustration.

"You just got lucky, you little rat! Hold still!" She spun around and launched a rapid flurry of highly technical, perfectly trained sword thrusts. She stabbed at his chest, his stomach, and his legs. It was a beautiful display of elite swordsmanship. The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. But Ken's dodging was an absolute masterclass of slapstick comedy. He didn't use traditional footwork.

When she stabbed at his chest, Ken casually bent over to scratch an itch on his knee, causing the sword to fly harmlessly over his back. When she slashed at his legs, he randomly decided to do a goofy little hop to stretch his calves, easily jumping right over the sweeping blade. He looked exactly like a clumsy, lazy cartoon character casually walking through a deadly minefield without a single care in the world.

He was just buying time, keeping her totally occupied while putting in the absolute bare minimum amount of physical effort. Elma swung both swords down in a heavy, cross-shaped strike.

"Whoa! Shoelaces are untied again!" Ken shouted, instantly dropping straight down to the floor to tie his boot. The two swords smashed against the solid stone wall behind where Ken had just been standing, sending sparks flying into the air. Ken popped back up, dusting off his hands. He proudly pointed his right index finger right at Elma's incredibly frustrated face.

"See?!" Ken yelled happily, flashing his goofy smile.

"I told you! All thanks to the blue fire core ring! My luck is totally invincible! You can't beat the plastic magic!"

"Stop saying that!" Elma shrieked, totally losing her cool, professional attitude. She was a highly trained Royal vanguard, and she was currently missing every single attack against a boy who wasn't even looking at her half the time.

"That ring is garbage! You are just slipping around like an idiot! I am going to end this right now!" Elma pulled both swords back, her aura flaring up with intense, angry energy. Ken put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest.

"Oh yeah? Well, two can play at that game! Prepare yourself for my ultimate, super-secret technique! You asked for it!" Ken pointed his finger like a tiny gun, squinted one eye, and stuck his tongue out.

"Super Mega Ultimate Fire Spark!" Pew! A tiny, incredibly weak little spark of blue magic floated lazily out of his finger. It drifted through the air like a sleepy firefly. Elma let out a furious scream and literally swatted the tiny spark out of the air with the flat side of her sword. The spark fizzled out completely harmlessly.

"Are you making fun of me?!" Elma screamed, her pristine white uniform starting to look a little messy from her angry, chaotic swinging.

"I am going to chop you into pieces!"

"Hey, it is a very valid combat strategy!" Ken argued, starting to jog backward in a slow, lazy circle around the edge of the cavern, making sure she followed him.

"You are just jealous of my awesome magic! All thanks to the blue fire core ring!" While Ken was busy driving Elma completely insane with his ridiculous, comical dodging routine, the real battle in the center of the room was getting incredibly desperate. Naomi, Sayma, and the rest of the 13th Unit were struggling badly. Zinia threw a massive boulder across the room, trying to crush Hestia's shield formation. But Zaima simply raised her hand.

"Vector deflect!" she commanded. A glowing white triangle appeared, angling the boulder perfectly so it bounced off the shield and crashed harmlessly into the ceiling.

"They have an answer for everything!" Zinia groaned, her arms shaking from the magical exertion. Sayma pushed her glasses up, sweat pouring down her face. She was constantly throwing up golden honeycomb barriers to block the relentless, highly coordinated spear thrusts coming from the 16th Unit.

"Their teamwork is absolutely flawless! They do not leave a single opening! We are getting pushed back!"

"Let me try!" Luna yawned, pointing her fingers at the spotless white army.

"Lightning Strike!" A massive bolt of yellow electricity shot across the cavern. But Princess Hestia just smiled her haughty, arrogant smile. She stepped forward and raised her hand.

"Thermal Equilibrium." The deadly lightning bolt instantly lost all of its chaotic, burning energy. It hit the 16th Unit's shields as nothing more than a harmless, room-temperature flash of light.

"It's no use!" Laxmi yelled, her orange fire completely useless against Hestia's temperature control.

"Our elemental attacks can't get past the Princess, and we can't break their shields with physical force! They are basically a walking fortress!"