"No!" the druid screamed, quickening his pace. However, he was too slow and could not stop Suzanna from murdering his friend. He watched as the other druid fell still. Suzanna waved her sword, sending droplets of blood splattering all over the forest floor.

Suzanna turned towards the druid, her eyes narrowing dangerously. The druid slowed his pace under her scrutiny. Normally, she would only fight to kill. This time, however, her sword only caught the man’s arm.

The druid tried to move aside, but he was not fast enough, and the chase earlier had drained him of his energy. The druid cried in pain and fell to the ground as Suzanna’s sword slashed his arm.

Suzanna returned her sword to its sheath and walked up to him. For her, the fight was already over. She did not worry about an injured druid doing anything to her. She kept him alive because she needed news from outside. Suzanna knew very well that she was not their target. Their target was Moramatch, and she needed to know what was happening there.

Suzanna coughed a few times as she approached the druid. The druid pushed himself to the ground and looked at her fearfully. "If you kill me," he said quietly, "Moramatch is done."

"Will they let Moramatch alone if I let you live?" Suzanna asked.

The druid froze. He frowned, searching for words. He had already lost all of his companions, and his mission had failed. He wanted revenge, but he needed to live in order to get revenge.

"No, but I can give you a chance to save them."

"I’m listening," Suzanna said.

"Here’s the thing…" the druid began. Before he could say anything else, he became distracted by something behind Suzanna. He stared at the forest behind her with wide eyes, shocked and scared at the same time.

An eagle dove through the trees. It was much larger than normal eagles, its wings spanning over ten feet. The eagle seemed to be made from not organic materials but from metal, its feathers gleaming even in the dimness of the forest. The eagle was traveling very fast, even faster than Suzanna.

The eagle extended his claws and grabbed the druid, then dropped the man back onto the forest floor. The druid jerked a few times and became still. The eagle’s wings sliced through the trunk of a nearby tree, sending the tree cras.h.i.+ng to the ground.

Suzanna drew her sword, watching the eagle. The unicorn whinnied loudly, warning Suzanna that the eagle was not someone she would be able to defeat.

The eagle burst into flame and a figure emerged. The figure lunged at Suzanna at an incredible speed. Suzanna reacted very quickly, raising her sword and slas.h.i.+ng at the figure’s neck.

Suzanna and the figure were originally traveling at a similar speed, but the figure’s speed suddenly increased. Clearly, he had not been using his full strength before. He raised his arm and deflected Suzanna’s attack. Suzanna widened her eyes in awe. She had only met a few people who could block her attack with just an arm. Before she could recover from the shock, the figure slammed his fist into her shoulder.

The punch almost shattered her combat power and threw her back. Suzanna slammed into a nearby tree and crashed to the ground.

She pushed herself up, panting in pain. She glanced at the unicorn, who was frozen in shock. It wanted to run away, but it did not want to abandon Suzanna. However, it also knew that whoever just threw Suzanna back with a single punch was not an enemy it could take on by itself.

The unicorn took a few steps back, then dashed forward. It wanted to protect Suzanna and it decided that it would rather die than abandon her.

The figure raised his hand and grabbed the unicorn as it approached. The unicorn was lifted off of the ground, and all of its struggling became meaningless.

Suzanna pushed herself off the ground. She picked up her sword, gripping the hilt tight. Like the unicorn, she was facing the choice of whether she should flee. However, she knew that an opponent this powerful would never let her get away. With the unicorn in the figure’s clutches, Suzanna knew she had nothing to lose.

She summoned her combat power again and raised her sword. She summoned as much combat power as she could. The combat power seemed to have turned into solid gold, as more and more power ama.s.sed around her. The brightness of her combat power lit up the dim forest floor. The unicorn stopped struggling and stared at her in awe.

Suzanna took a deep breath and began das.h.i.+ng towards the figure. She was even faster than she had been before, aided by the combat power.

The figure tossed the unicorn aside and jumped into the air, ready to face Suzanna. He raised his arms and transformed into an eagle again, then he flew towards Suzanna. Even though Suzanna was faster than she had been, the eagle clearly had no problem matching her speed. He flew around Suzanna and turned into a person again, striking her. Then he transformed back into an eagle and flew away from her. He changed forms fluidly. Clearly, he was very skilled and had been practicing for many years.

The eagle flew around Suzanna again, ready to strike once more. This time, however, Suzanna was able to turn in time. She slashed at him with her sword, aiming at his neck.

The figure raised his arms and clashed with her sword. Both the figure and Suzanna were thrown back by the clash and crashed into the forest floor.

A few minutes later, the dust dissipated and revealed a large trench in the ground, made by Suzanna’s sword. Suzanna and the figure both stood, staring at each other.

"You must be Mauso," Suzanna said under her breath. There were very few people that could take a hit like that with no armor and still stand with no problem. The man did not say anything. Instead, he simply stared at her.

Suzanna raised her sword again, ready for more attacks. Mauso was one of the most powerful druids, much more powerful than Suzanna. However, she knew that he was not good at close combat. If she could get close enough to him, she may have a chance.

She was backed into a corner. She knew the only way she might have a chance was if she abandoned all other thoughts. The only thing she could think about was the fight.

Mauso, sensing her enmity, narrowed his eyes. He raised his head and howled. A wave of wind sent all the rocks around him flying outwards.

Suzanna stood quietly, watching. She did not waver, as she was protected by her combat power. Mauso looked at her and sighed.

"I hope that I am not making a mistake," he said. "Do not disappoint me."

"I cannot afford to fail," Suzanna replied calmly.

"Good," Mauso said. He glanced at the sky again.

Suzanna lunged at Mauso, her sword held out in front of her. She was slower than before, however, because she knew that she would never beat Mauso with speed. She needed to conserve her energy.

The unicorn poked his head out from a nearby bush and fearfully watched Suzanna and Mauso’s clash.