A badgeless officer hastily arrived in front of the makeshift tent where Lira and company were currently at.
"U-Update from the battlefield!" The officer announced, and without waiting for an answer inside, he entered the tent and knelt on one knee.
Fiona, Lira, Musa, and Tate turned their attention to the officer. Before they could say anything, the officer had already delivered his update, "We failed to infiltrate the left wing. The intruder killed l-Lieutenant General B-Bo and L-Lieutenant General Esme—!"
Musa and Tate's expressions turned grim while Fiona and Lira looked at the officer incredulously.
When Bo and Esme left, they confirmed the intruder had already entered the core of the enemy's formation. Knowing how formidable the intruder was, they decided it was high time to attack Mannick's people and reduce their number.
If they attacked the left wing, they calculated that Mannick would need at least an hour to gather reinforcements to recover the left wing. The intruder would also need time to join the fray. Besides, the whole formation was besieged on all sides, and the right wing was also close to falling. In any case, Bo and Esme would have gone deep into the enemy formation before Mannick could dispatch reinforcements.
The main objective of Bo and Esme was to enter the formation's core and eliminate Mannick. To do that, they planned on forcing Mannick's focus their forces on the left and right wings. Then after reducing the left wing's line of defense, they would spread their forces and assist their people in breaking through the rest of the enemy formation. Bo, Esme, and the scout members of their team would proceed in the core formation. Then, the scouts would covertly plant anti-cast stones around the left wing while Bo and Esme acted as bait. They would draw Mannick away from the core formation and use anti-cast stones to keep him from using any magic. As for the intruder, they were confident that Mannick would have him help defend the other sides.
Alas, they underestimated the intruder's movement speed, not to mention his strength.
Bo and Esme, together with an army battalion, had only left less than an hour ago, and now, all of them were dead.
"I-Is that person a Magus?" Musa could not help but voice his disbelief.
"No."
Everyone inside the makeshift tent suddenly froze in fear. Their eyes widened, and blood seemed to drain out of their body because they did not recognize the voice that had answered Musa's query.
Though they were consumed by fear, Musa and Tate were veterans. No matter the situation, they would not fall without a fight. The two immediately drew their weapons. The former unsheathed the sword tied on the side of his waist while the latter took out a halberd from his space storage ring.
Lira and Fiona were not idle either. Lira unsheathed her sword, and Fiona took out a teleportation token.
The badgeless officer also made his way out of the tent. He was not escaping. On the contrary, he planned to alert the others.
Lira, Musa, and Tate roused their magic and faced the 'intruder.' However, they had yet to fully turn their bodies when an invisible force passed through them instantly.
Fiona, a regular human, also sensed it and her heart skipped a beat.
The badgeless officer also sensed the invisible force and fell to his knees in fright.
As soon as the invisible force passed through their bodies, Lira, Musa, and Tate, even the badgeless officer, felt their magic energy stop circulating in their bodies. Even the teleportation token in Fiona's hand seemed to have lost its power.
But most importantly, the five of them could not move their bodies.
Fiona, Lira, Musa, and Tate looked at the person that suddenly appeared in the tent.
It was a young man wearing all black, with a shoulder guard and left bracer. Half of his face was covered, but from the top half they could see, they found the person's familiar, yet unfamiliar. On his forearms, several purple rings circled and emitted a very ominous glow. freewebnovel. com
The person's reddish-purple eyes swept through the room before tilting his head to one side.
"This is disappointing."
Before they could react, the young man raised his left hand and pointed at Musa, Tate, and the badgeless officer. In an instant, the three disintegrated, making Fiona and Lira break out in cold sweats. Their knees had already turned to jelly, but they could only look at the young man helplessly since they could not move.
Lira, in particular, already guessed the man's identity. Who else in the empire, or even the whole world, could appear out of thin air? Who else could 'kill' without living any trace? Not even a bit of their body behind?
"Kyran Regis."
Fiona trembled as soon as Lira spoke that name. She, too, already guessed the young man's identity. Not because of what he had done so far but because she was the one who sent the bounty request to the Mercenary Hall and saw his photo. Although there were slight differences, given how he looked skinny and younger in that photo, she would not mistake the shape of his eyes or nose.
"Lira, right?" Kyran said while looking at Lira.
Lira did not reply. No. To be accurate, she could not answer. She was too frightened to speak.
It was a surprise and a big humiliation. Lira was a Royal Knight. Not just any knight, but the Crown Princess's knight. She was trained to be one since she was four years old. Though she had few life-and-death experiences, she was not afraid to face adversity. She was willing to offer her life to protect the Crown Princess.
But now, all she could do was look at the young man before her in despair.
Fiona felt the same way. As a regular human, who was at odds against mages, she trained hard in covert arts. She was one of the best. That was how her family chose her to be the one to make contact with the Crown Princess. Nevertheless, she would not dare say she was fearless. As a matter of fact, she was always afraid. But after going through many near-death experiences, especially when she went on missions to gather information, she learned to discard emotions like fears. Such feelings would only jeopardize her mission.
Yet now, the emotion she thought she had discarded came crashing down on her. And as the young man's attention turned to her, she felt a cold, sharp knife pierce her heart.
Kyran furrowed his brows slightly as he said, "I don't know you."
When Fiona saw him move his hand, the fear in her heart seemed to fuel her courage as she exclaimed, "Kill me, and you will wake our family's ancestor."
Kyran's eyes narrowed. He did not speak, but Fiona seemed to understand his unspoken question just from looking at his gaze.
"I-I am from the Boyd Family, a branch family of the Winfrey Family. And I have our ancestor's protection. I-If you kill me, h-he will sense it, and he will wake up."
Lira looked at Fiona from the corner of her eyes. She was shocked to learn about her possessing the Boyd ancestor's protection.
There was an old legend in the Royal Family. In that legend, it was said that a loyal branch family of the Winfrey had sworn to protect the Royal Family for eternity. Because of the absurdity of the legend, no one took it seriously. Since it was a legend, no one paid much attention to it.
But the Royal Knights were different. Their records stated that a powerful mage from the Boyd Family had entered a statis. The reason was simple, that powerful mage wanted to live and see the day a Winfrey ruled the empire again.
A mage's lifespan was limited. Even if one advanced to a Magus, he would only gain an additional hundred years of life, at most. But when he entered a statis, that powerful mage was already three hundred years old. This information showed that he was at the pinnacle of a Magus.
In any case, because that mage entered a statis mode, the record said, he would only wake when the Royal Family was threatened. Accurately speaking, if a Royal Family member with the Winfrey bloodline got threatened, he would wake up. The only one who could wake him was another member of the Boyd Family who possessed the protection seal.
"Ancestor will wake, huh? The slumbering Legendary."
Fiona's eyes widened, "Y-You knew...?"
Lira was also shocked.
What did he mean by a Legendary? Was that a level higher than a Magus? More importantly, was there such a thing? How come they did not know it? Yet, Kyran knew? Even Fiona knew.
This...
Kyran did not respond. Instead, he took a step toward Fiona and said, "What makes you think I care?"
"Wha—?"
Before Fiona could finish what she was saying, her arms disintegrated.
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