Layla's expression made the guard nervous. He felt he needed to run away from her but held his ground and did not flinch when Layla looked at him.

"I am sorry, but you still need to leave. Giving me that look would not change my decision about you."

The guard informed Layla, and that was the conclusion between them.

It was clear that the guard did not want Layla there. Since that was the case, Layla decided to retreat as well…for now.

"Mary, come with me. We will leave for now. I have something for you to do next."

Layla signaled for her maid that they were leaving.

Mary did not look surprised; instead, she had a delighted expression. The maid was excited about what would happen next.

"I told you these people won't listen to you, right, young miss? See! I was right about it. Would you give me the authority to do whatever I want?"

Mary asked in an excited voice. She knew what to do and just wanted her young Miss's consent.

"Do whatever is necessary to get things done. I will wait here for your signal, so let me know if you need help."

Layla assured Mary, but Mary's grin made it clear that she did not think she would need any help.

"Don't worry, young miss! I assure you that I won't need any help from your side. I will take care of these people all by myself."

As soon as Mary said that, she left to handle the temple and its elite guards. She knew what she was doing, so Layla left it all to her.

Meanwhile, she read some course books to determine what she needed to learn next. This trip would take up a lot of her time, and Layla needed to be prepared for what would happen once she returned.

Studying and being a diligent top student was hard, but Layla felt conditioned to do it.

It did not take long for the loud noises of the war to reach Layla's ears. They made it impossible for her to concentrate on her book, so she decided to get up and have a look.

The levitating spell was easy to cast and lifted Layla above the canopy of trees blocking her view.

From that height, Layla could see the enemy camp and how it had already been destroyed. People were rushing toward a small figure with an axe, but Mary was carefully defeating everyone.

She made sure to injure them just enough to cause them to bleed but not enough to kill them.

"Mary's got skill. I am sure she will be done soon."

Layla commented, and her intuition turned out to be true.

In a short while, Brother Gustav finally made his way out, and he looked pissed as he saw his people killed left and right.

He rushed at Mary, likely to avenge his people, but Mary blocked him and pushed him back. The temple knew a single person was overpowering them, but they could not do much.

This was Layla's cue to head toward the temple's camp and renegotiate. This would be their last chance to follow her instructions before she decided to 'deal' with them.

...

A lone figure headed toward the enemy camp, and the guards saw her first.

One of the guards whistled as he watched Mary walking toward them. She looked like a beautiful fairy who was here to reward them for all their hardships.

"Wow, miss! Are you lost by any chance? I don't think I've ever seen you before."

The guard asked Mary with a smile on his face and a flirty expression.

"Oh! That's because you have never seen me before. And after this day, you would hope you will never be seen again."

Mary's voice was melodious and soft. It made one forget about what they were thinking about. That was why it took time for her words to register in the guard's mind.

But once they did, he flinched. He was about to ask what Mary meant when something stuck with him and made him fall.

The guard looked down, only to see that he was bleeding and he had been slashed by something.

His eyes locked on to the aid, and he saw her bloody axe making quick work of his partner as well.

"Don't worry! None of you will die here. My young miss doesn't want this to become a problem. And as much as I don't care about your life, my young miss's disappointment is not something I want."

The guard could feel his life slipping out of his body. And yet, there was something that prevented him from dying.

He felt out of energy, and he was finally knocked out.

Mary let out an annoyed sigh as she watched the guards fall around her. She felt disappointed that she had to hold back from killing, but she was sure that the strong people in this camp would more than make up for it.

However, even after ten minutes of knocking people out and asserting her dominance, no single person could match Mary's expertise in combat skills.

Even those who called themselves 'leaders' could not take more than one of her strikes.

And then, finally, he came. The leader called himself Brother Gustav. He was the last person left in the camp, ad he looked pissed to see his people all injured as they lay on the ground.

"What the hell do you think you are doing, woman? How dare you do this to my people? Do you think I will let you live just because you managed to knock down some of my people-"

While Gustav was busy speaking, Mary decided to act. Her axe came down in a perfect arch to kill someone. It missed Gustav, but he held his ground, and his eyes looked determined.

He had blocked the first attack, but barely. His hand hurt, but he knew he could not back down. At least, not now.