Chapter 861: S-Class Monster Or Maggot?

Cassius had always possessed a particular weakness for powerful women.

Actually, not just powerful.

Women who were confident. Capable. Physically imposing. Women who could take matters into their own hands and bend the world to their will through sheer force of presence.

And Ragnora...

Ragnora was practically the embodiment of that preference!

Those broad, muscular shoulders.

Those powerful arms.

The perfectly defined abdomen beneath the scarred armor.

The imposing horns framing her composed face.

The confident rhythm of her stride.

And most of all—those utterly calm eyes that communicated one simple message:

This creature is not worth worrying about.

Cassius’s mouth fell open and he looked absolutely smitten with hearts in his eyes.

Isabelle noticed and she nudged him gently with her elbow.

"...Darling?"

Nothing.

"...Darling, what’s going on?"

Cassius didn’t respond. His attention was fixed entirely on the crimson-skinned woman approaching the worm with the casual confidence of someone walking to the market.

Isabelle stared at him for a long moment. Then she sighed.

He was gone.

Completely, hopelessly, and utterly captivated.

But Isabelle couldn’t find it in her heart to blame Cassius for staring. Not even a little bit.

When she turned her eyes back toward Ragnora, her own breath hitched, her throat going completely dry.

She was instantly trapped in the exact same spell, hopelessly transfixed by the towering figure.

—

All her life, Isabelle had heard the tales. She had stared at posters in tavern windows, memorized every etched curve of the Commander’s armor, and listened to bards sing of her exploits until the words were burned into her mind.

But seeing Ragnora in the flesh was an experience entirely beyond imagination.

Isabelle was utterly, hopelessly starstruck.

And she was far from alone.

All around her, hardened warriors who had just spent hours fighting for their lives were gazing at their commander with stars in their eyes.

Even groups stationed on distant hills had turned toward her, their postures shifting from battle-ready to reverent.

She commanded attention not through demand, but through sheer presence—the kind of magnetic authority that made people want to witness her.

"Our commander is here!" Someone shouted.

"Make way! Clear the field!"

The Wormriders, still clinging to the Aether Devourer’s back, began pulling their weapons free and leaping off with practiced efficiency.

"Commander, we’re pulling back! It’s all yours!"

"We’ll leave this ugly guy to you!"

"Try not to kill it too quickly, Commander! I’d like to pretend we actually weakened it!"

"Another day, another monster that apparently isn’t big enough for the Commander!"

The Aether Devourer itself was completely caught off guard by this sudden shift.

Just moments ago, it had been fighting a full-scale war—warriors attacking from all sides, spells raining down upon it, the earth itself rising up to cage it.

It had felt like a true force of nature, a terror worthy of fear and respect.

But now?

Now everyone was completely ignoring it. Some were even looking at it with something approaching disdain.

The absolute disrespect was infuriating!

But what truly enraged the monstrous worm was Ragnora herself.

She was walking toward it with that same unhurried stride, her expression utterly composed, her gaze fixed upon it like she was looking at nothing more threatening than a maggot squirming in the dirt.

There was no fear in her eyes. No excitement. No acknowledgment that it posed any threat whatsoever.

It couldn’t hold back its rage.

SKREEEEEECHHH!!!!!

With a thunderous roar that shook the very earth, the Devourer suddenly launched itself skyward and plunged back into the ground.

BOOM!

The soil erupted around it, spraying debris in all directions as its massive body disappeared beneath the surface.

Within moments, there was no sign of it at all—just a gaping hole and the lingering rumble of its passage through the deep earth.

Isabelle gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "It’s going to ambush her! Commander Ragnora needs support—reinforcements—something!"

She turned to Brenda desperately. "Shouldn’t we help?!"

Brenda let out a disdainful chuckle.

"Support for Commander Ragnora? Lady Isabelle, with all due respect—she doesn’t need support. She IS the support. For all of us."

Isabelle stared at her.

"Just watch." Brenda said, her voice carrying the quiet confidence of someone who had seen this exact scenario play out a hundred times before.

"This will be over in moments."

BOOM!

The earth exploded right beside Ragnora.

The massive worm burst from the ground in a shower of dirt and stone, its circular mouth gaping wide.

Isabelle could see its teeth from here—thousands of them, row upon row, spiraling inward like a living meat grinder.

That horrible maw was descending directly toward Ragnora, close enough to swallow her whole.

SKREEEEEEEECH!!!

’I got you.’ the worm seemed to gloat. ’I got you, you weak-looking creature!’

Isabelle’s hands flew to her mouth. A gasp escaped her lips.

Beside her, she felt Cassius tense—though whether from concern or anticipation, she couldn’t tell.

And then Ragnora let out a small sigh before she glanced at the approaching monster.

Just a glance. A single, dismissive look that carried the weight of absolute indifference.

And in that moment, the monster felt something it had never experienced before.

Dread.

Overwhelming, suffocating dread that flooded through its entire being. That single glance had communicated something unmistakable:

Your life ends now.

The Devourer tried to stop. Tried to change course.

But it was already in the air, committed to its attack.

It had served itself up on a platter, and there was nothing it could do to take it back.

Ragnora reached over her shoulder and drew her sword.

Sching!

The weapon was massive—a broadsword that would have been impossible for a normal human to lift, let alone wield.

Its blade was covered in intricate engravings, ancient patterns that seemed to shift and flow in the light.

But what struck Isabelle most was the condition of the edge. It was covered in dents. Notches. Places where the metal had been chipped away by countless impacts over countless years.

This was not a ceremonial weapon. This was a tool that had been used, again and again, until it had become an extension of its wielder’s will.

And Ragnora didn’t do anything fancy.

She didn’t shout a battle cry. Didn’t invoke any magical spells like the others.

She simply raised the sword above her head and brought it down in a single, slow slash.

Isabelle watched the blade descend. She could see it moving—could track its arc through the air with perfect clarity.

It wasn’t fast. It wasn’t flashy. It was simply...inevitable.

The moment the sword completed its downward path, a sound filled the air.

SHLICK!

A terrible, wet tearing noise, as if reality itself was being ripped apart from the inside.

The worm froze.

A vertical line appeared along its body—starting at the top of its head and running all the way down to the tip of its tail. Blue blood began to seep from the seam, trickling at first, then flowing more freely.

’No.’ The worm seemed to realize. ’No, no, no. That’s mine. NO—’

SPLAT!

The creature split in half.

Cleanly. Perfectly. Its massive body fell apart in two pieces, each one crashing to the ground on either side of Ragnora.

Blood and organs and viscera erupted outward in a fountain of blue, splattering across the battlefield like some grotesque work of art.

Ragnora stood at the center of it all, untouched.

Not a single drop of blood had touched her crimson skin. She had used her sword as a shield at the last moment, and now she flicked the blade once before calmly returning it to the sheath on her back.

The silence was absolute.

Then—

"COMMANDER RAGNORA!"

"LET’S GOOOO!"

"SHE DID IT!"

"ONE SLASH!"

"ONE DAMN SLASH!"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

The explosion of cheers was deafening. Soldiers who had been fighting for their lives moments ago were now jumping up and down, screaming with joy, celebrating like they had just won a war.

One exhausted warrior dropped to the ground, staring at the enormous corpse with an expression of complete disbelief.

"We spent half our strength just keeping that thing contained..."

Another soldier looked toward Ragnora, shaking his head slowly.

"And she just walks up and cuts it in half like she’s slicing bread."

"That’s ridiculous."

"That’s not ridiculous. That’s incredible!"

"She’s a monster!"

"Careful saying that about our Commander!"

"I meant it as a compliment!"

Laughter rippled through the gathered soldiers.

Even though every one of them had seen Ragnora’s combat abilities countless times before, the sheer power she wielded never failed to amaze them.

The ability to cut a monstrous entity like that in a single slash—it was beyond comprehension.

They could watch this sight a thousand more times and never grow tired of it.

—

Isabelle couldn’t contain herself any longer. She grabbed Brenda’s arm and started bouncing with excitement.

"Did you see that?! DID YOU SEE THAT?! Brenda, did you see how she slashed it?! One slash! ONE SLASH!"

She raised her hand and pulled it down in a mimicry of Ragnora’s strike, her eyes shining with fangirl enthusiasm.

"I’ve heard the stories! The bards sing about her in the taverns all the time! I thought I had a rough idea of how powerful she actually was! But to see it right before my eyes—"

Her voice rose with excitement, her eyes twinkling with unbridled enthusiasm.

"Who could even compare to her?! She’s the absolute BEST!"

Brenda laughed out loud, clearly delighted by Isabelle’s reaction.

"It seems you’re quite a fan of our Commander, Lady Isabelle."

"Of course I am! Who ISN’T a fan of Commander Ragnora?!"

Brenda scratched her horned head thoughtfully.

"I suppose that’s true. Whether you’re a commoner who can’t even wield a blade or an archmage about to reach the Supreme level...everyone is a fan of hers."

—

Back on the battlefield, the soldiers had rushed over to the enormous corpse.

Some were already pulling out tools and starting the cleanup process, while others were complaining playfully to their Commander.

"Commander, why do you always make such a mess?" One dwarf whined, gesturing at the split worm with both hands. "We’re the ones who have to clean this up!"

"Every single time!" A beastkin added. "You either explode them into pieces or slice them into minced meat! The entire battlefield becomes a disaster zone!"

"Do you know how long it takes to scrape monster guts off these rocks?" Another soldier grumbled. "Hours! HOURS!"

One particularly bold young fox-kin stepped forward, her tail swishing playfully.

"You should help us clean this up, Commander! It’s not fair that you create the mess and we have to deal with it!"

The others laughed, expecting Ragnora to brush off the joke with her usual calm indifference.

Instead, Ragnora turned her head slowly. "Sure. I’ll help you clean up."

The laughter died instantly.

"What?!"

Ragnora’s expression remained perfectly composed.

"You’re right. I made this mess. I should help clean it." She began nudging a severed organ with her boot, pushing it into a pile. "Bring the brooms or mops or whatever you use. I’ll assist."

The soldiers panicked.

"No, no, no! Commander, I was joking! I was completely joking!" The young beastkin waved her hands frantically. "There’s absolutely no need for you to do such a thing!"

Ragnora shook her head. "It’s fine. It’s my responsibility. Bring the cleaning supplies."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

The soldiers rushed forward, forming a protective barrier between Ragnora and the mess. Their expressions were genuinely horrified.

"Commander, please! We were only teasing!"

"You saved all of our lives! We should be cleaning up after you, not asking you to clean!"

"Please, just sit down! Rest! Let us handle this!"

"Someone get the Commander some water!"

"I’ll shine her boots if she wants! Just don’t let her touch the cleaning supplies!"

When the cleaning supplies were finally brought over, the soldiers actually formed a protective barrier around them, glaring at Ragnora as if daring her to try to take a broom.

They were willing to defend those tools with their lives!