If she could master this bow and the mysterious power that came with it, with power that annihilated everything in existence, could the Second Hand pose a match? Her aunt, Lorenzo, and the other guards… Everyone would be unharmed. She grimaced and snarled. The key was in her hand, but she failed to open the door. Her goal was right in front of her yet so unbelievably far away. It was an incredibly vexing sensation! She threw her bow to the ground in a fit of fury and stomped her feet. She really wanted to go on a rampage.
However, the next moment, Elizabeth's eyes narrowed into slits. A chill travelled down her spine. Without thinking, she reflexively dove forward as a wind grabbed her hair. An instant later, it would have coiled around her throat! Before she could say a thing, she felt like she rolled into a brick wall except there was nothing! Her body was then immobilized with fast and experienced motions, preventing her from moving a single hair. Throughout the entire time, she saw no one nor heard anything. It was like the work of ghosts!
As that firm grip locked her in place, two vague figures emerged from the air. Elizabeth was shaken so hard that her eyes nearly fell out. One second, they were invisible. The next, they were standing before her! She wondered if she was dreaming. It was completely absurd to her! She was so shocked that she began drooling absentmindedly. Elizabeth repeated the scene in her head… There were no tricks nor illusions! These two really did appear out of thin air! More importantly, they were the leaders of the Second Hand, Captain Julian and Vice-captain Julie! Unfortunately, she could ponder it no longer. The captain knocked her out with a single clean blow.
To be honest, these two assassins were equally as surprised as Elizabeth. Originally, they had some reservations against sneaking into Castle Reinhard by themselves. It was already a nearly impossible task, but now… After seeing the hundreds to thousands of guards patrolling the grounds along with an enormous selection of Grand Knights and Royal Guards, it was not just impossible, it was plain suicide! They might be blindly believing Lord Wenmord, but even they felt their confidence dwindle slightly. No matter what, in times of life or death, faith seemed a little too flimsy! They could not help but hesitate. Nevertheless, they gritted their teeth and tried!
And to their delight, it was exactly as Lord Wenmord described! No one could see them at all! As long as they were smart about their movements and avoided bumping into people, none of the guards would react to them whatsoever. This could truly be called magic, a divine power! What Arcanists could accomplish was nothing in comparison. They had seen many Arcanists and killed just as many. Their magic was over-the-top, slow, and fragile. A single slice was enough to kill any of them. They even looked down upon the Ten Dawns, thinking them as nothing more than clowns. Yet Wenmord's magic was… subtle, sublime, and mystical.
Remember, these two assassins were not Arcanists! There was not a single bit of Magic Energy coursing through their bodies! Worse yet, their knowledge of Arcania was zero. However, they could use this spell still. What did that mean? The implications alone were enough to completely revolutionize the Arcanist world! It would upheave everything the past centuries of research and throw it out the window! Wenmord's magic was capable of directly affecting the properties of their clothes to permanently introduce an invisibility spell. Even without actively suppling the formation with Magic Energy, it could sustain its use for prolonged periods! The closest thing to it was the Fixed Magic Arrays in the Sky Towers or the experimental Zino fleet that rescued Elizabeth, but they were a far cry from Wenmord's magic…
Moreover, they watched as the mysterious runes on their clothes squirm and skittle towards Elizabeth. Once they wrapped themselves fully around her, the two assassins felt she was invisible as well! Praise filled their hearts. They were thinking how to smuggle her out under everyone's watchful eyes, but the problem resolved itself.
Without sparing a second thought, they immediately leapt out the window. Originally, it should have been an extremely difficult task to carry a girl out while clambering down to safety. Castle Reinhard was a tall structure and Elizabeth's quarters were near the top. However, thanks to Wenmord, their physical condition was far above normal! They felt they could exert nearly two times their power. Escaping Castle Reinhard with Elizabeth was no longer hard! In a flash, the three departed the castle without anyone the wiser…
At a similar time, Benedict was watching over his brother. Since Lorenzo and Christina were heavily incapacitated following the Second Hand's attack, they were recovering where they were attacked. Moving them too hastily would cause more damage than help so the Hundred Lives Doctor was healing them here. There were a few other survivors, but they were all in equally dire straits. For example, the five Grand Knights that accompanied Sir Winstin, only two of them survived. The other three were done in by Julie and Julian with the Twin Flicker assassination technique. Despite that, the two were injured so heavily that if they lived through this, they would have to retire. Such a dramatic decrease in Grand Knights would definitely hurt the kingdom!
The Hundred Lives Doctor was working so hard that sweat laced his forehead even in the brisk spring weather. Benedict dared not interrupt him and stood by the side. Every second was utterly nerve-wracking to the extreme. Who knew if Lorenzo's next breath would be his last? Benedict shook the morbid thoughts from his head and sighed. Even Commander Christina, his former superior in Fortress Fallinard, was alongside the fallen. The world was truly too small sometimes! He smiled wryly and decided to take a small walk. Staying there any longer would break his nerves. Although he was wounded as well, his injuries were far lighter by comparison. He could move without issue.
The brisk night air bathed his pores, but he felt hot instead. He was just as irritated as Elizabeth. His gains during the fight were great. His skills made a qualitative leap forward in many aspects. Much like the fight with the emperor, he felt he was on the precipice of grasping the Hawken Style fully! Yet, it was not enough. Not nearly enough! Julie was one step away from killing him and capturing Elizabeth. He could do nothing except accept his fate. How pathetic was that? His fate hung in the balance of someone else. That extreme sense of powerlessness invaded and depressed him. He gritted his teeth and unsheathed his sword, swinging it wildly. He wanted to shout and scream! However, he simply sighed.
A short distance away, Julie and Julian were carrying an unconscious Elizabeth while moving at full speed toward the Lannisail estate. Their movements could honestly be hailed as frighteningly elusive. Even without Wenmord's powerful invisibility spell, they were moving so fast that the commoner might not see anything at all. That was how strong their physique was strengthened! If they decided to perform the Twin Flicker technique again, even Sir Winstin might fall… That was their honest belief! In a flash, they saw Benedict by himself in the middle of an empty field. Julie recalled the boy from earlier and grinned mischievously.
She passed by Benedict close enough to brush the boy. She thought, After everything you did, we still captured Elizabeth! Look at her now! I wonder what kind of expression you would show if you knew? Her captain glanced at her disapprovingly. She chuckled and continued with Julian toward the Lannisail estate.
Benedict felt a slight breeze passed him and frowned. Wenmord's magic was truly supreme. Even after Julie brushed him, he sensed nothing strange. After all, even those Royal Guards who achieved a thorough comprehension of Perception Realm noticed nothing. If Benedict could really sense something, then that would be far stranger. However, a foreboding feeling crept into his mind as if something bad was about to happen! Someone was about to die! The feeling was so vivid that his breathing stopped in panic. He could tell it was not directed toward him. Rather, it was… He glanced toward Castle Reinhard and his heart dropped.
But that's… that's impossible! He froze. Elizabeth?