Chapter 373 Side Chapter: Tanya (1/2)

Back when there was no Lyner, no Rika, and Arthur Glory was simply a new SS rank merc, there was only one other besides him who was at that level, and she was Tanya Ritter. The SS rank merc that was born in a small country to the north of the Empire. She was considered the most beautiful merc of the time. Not only was she the most gorgeous looking she was also the most vicious.

Her fighting style tended to focus on the use of spears. Her weapon used to only be a stick, but as her fame and power grew so did her weapon. In the end, as she became even more powerful no normal weapon was able to withstand her strength, so she had her weapon forged by the best of the best. Her weapon was forged was not only made by the best but also with the best materials which made it nearly unbreakable but at the same time, it was heavier all other melee weapon created to date. Not many can even lift the spear, much less use it in a fight, but Tanya did and she was devastatingly powerful with it.

As her fame rose as a merc, so did the fame of her beauty. Many suitors have tried to woo her over the years, but none could crack her icy exterior, and those who were too forceful never saw the light of day again.

Yet most of them even after their initial rejection would come back to pester her. It was a neverending cycle, but Tanya just couldn't kill them for no reason, unlike those forceful b*stards which made the whole ordeal even more infuriating. That was when Tanya got an idea.

She told every one of her suitors that she would only wed the person who can beat her in battle. When they heard this, some of them couldn't help but quit on the spot knowing how strong Tanya the ice queen was. Yet most of them continued, believing that with their love they could overcome any obstacles, but in the end, they were proven wrong, they were shown the cruel reality that there was no such thing and got beaten up.

Tanya's idea was good and for some time the suitors seem to decrease, there was a large decrease from what it was initially. Every day was less than before, but even if a thousand turned into five hundred it was still too many that it was irritating. This cycle of being proposed to, rejecting then fighting the suitor, continued day in and day out. It even affected her job as a merc. Not that the current Tanya needed money, she didn't even need to do any merc jobs anymore, but she liked doing them. Yet now she wasn't even able to do that. Day by day the suitors continued to irritate her, until one day, a man came in front of her and same as the others told her he wanted to challenge her to a fight. Tanya thought that this was another new suitor and initiated the fight without warning.

At first, she thought that the other party would fall after her first strike like most of them, but he didn't. Not only that, the aura he was exuding was enormous that it actually made Tanya who had fought numerous battles feel a bit suffocated. Because of her battling with weaklings one after another, she wasn't able to quickly see that this person was a master until it was too late. She then changed her stance and took the fight seriously for once.

The mysterious man kept on dodging all of her attacks which surprised her. He then lifted his hand, Tanya thought that a big move was coming, but then he just signaled her to stop.

”Since you are using a weapon I can use one too, right?” The man asked while looking extremely disinterested and even seem like he was in a hurry. The moment Tanya nodded her head, the man jumped upward and broke a branch of a nearby tree. He then took a stance while still showing the same disinterested face. Tanya thought that the man was mocking her, as she was about to say something the man interrupted her.

”Seeing how strong you are, I need to get a bit serious. I thought I could win with just my bare fists but that doesn't seem to be the case. Be proud that you are one of the few that could get to see me get serious.” The moment he said this, the man disappeared from Tanya's line of sight. She then shifted her head to the left, as a branch passed by from behind her. She then did a backward kick, in which the mysterious man jumped onto her leg. After that, he countered by doing a downward slash using the branch in his right hand. The branch hit Tanya's forehead and she felt a bit dizzy, as she was about to take a defensive stance, she felt the man pointing his finger at her neck.

”Victory is mine, correct?” With a tone that seems to say he could care less, he spoke, but then he suddenly smiled at Tanya. Seeing him do that made Tanya's heart skip a beat.

”That was a good fight.”

”Name..”

”Huh?”

”Tell me your name!” Tanya who usually had an icy expression on her face was now actually blushing, the merc that was called the ice queen was blushing like a teenage brat in love.

”I guess you deserve to know, seeing how strong you are. Very well, be honored as you are about to hear my name. I am Richter Greyhound.”