Just as Kiel thought that he had reached his destination, he could leave this unlucky place after relaying to the girls how dangerous it was here…
Sounds of weapons clashing filled the once serene and quiet forest. Eight men were encircling Tia and the girls who were defending her against the fierce attacks of those from the ambushers.
Looking a little deeper, Kiel saw a tall, thin man in a grey gown, with a silver crescent embroidered on his shoulder standing near the little princess. His eyes were cold and ghastly under his pale mask and he looked like the leader of the eight men.
"Miss Tia, so here you were. And we thought that you would be in the belly of a beast. Looks like you are even more skilful than the rumours."
Hearing the loud voices coming just a little distance away, Kiel decided to hide first as the situation looked different from what was expected while preparing to eavesdrop before acting as usual.
He was not foolish to head charge into the battlefield which seemed to be even more precarious than the previous beast battle.
"We thought that the plan was full proof. But it is quite strange that you all are still alive and kicking! I am really amazed. The night is still long and I don't think you can escape from my Shadow Bind in your current state. So do you mind to explain before you die how you escaped the mutant beast, or we won't know how we'd report your situation." The tall, thin man in a grey gown, seemingly the leader, inquired with a cold expression as he commanded his people.
Disgusted, Tia shook her head and said firmly, "Hmph! So it was you Bastards! It was because of you that my sisters' life was at risk. Just wait if I come out of this idiotic shadow binding, I will tear you to pieces. And I would rather die than dirty my mouth while talking to you dogs! Just you wait. Once we depart from her, I will show you what a real nightmare is!"
This time even Kiel was surprised by the sudden change of mood of the little girl. She was not like the innocent beauty she was before. Instead this time she was like a cold injured predator looking at her prey. However, Kiel could see the tension on her and the cold sweat running down the girls as they stood close to each other totally alert.
However what was intriguing was after Kiel activated his elemental sight to get a better view of the surrounding, he could see a grey fog restricting around the legs of the girls binding them to the spot. It was not much around the others as much as it was around Tia. 'Is it a shadow elemental spell? Great, it is the second time seeing the shadow element today and people say it is a rare one! Not so rare now is it.'
"Hehe. You scared me there miss Tia… Even if I would be frightened to fight you lot at your full power. However, you are all injured now. That makes it a lot easier. And you can't even move now.
But I am disappointed. You have decided not to cooperate, Miss Tia. Oh well, guess we have to do it the hard way. We'll have to capture you first then and extract your memories. But it would never be a very pleasant experience for you." the man sneered.
"Maybe we can even make you a puppet. A summoning mage puppet sounds quite interesting right?" This time he licked his lips like a pervert. Even Kiel got goosebumps seeing how the man was behaving.
Clang clang. Just then two men burst forth to attack with their swords but Ruyu and Lea brushed them off with a water fire combo. Ya water and fire sound strange together but it was really in front of Kiel.
"Che! Looks like it was right. Your maids are very powerful. However, you should know how powerful our Blood Orchid is! If you go against us, you are heading towards your own destruction!"
"Huh! What did you say! Bl-blood Orchid!" This time it was Tia's turn to be shocked. She was quite proud of how her sisters attacked and she thought that they still had hope. However, after hearing the name Blood Orchid, her face suddenly seemed to be void of any colour.
Even Kiel heard about the ominous name. He could see Tia, Shina and even the carefree Ruyu was literally shocked just from their trembling mana fields. 'Wait does this name mean a death flag? I have to be careful if it is. Can't act like before. This man who looks like the leader must be a shadow user. And from the ominous things of shadows if I launch myself seamlessly I will also become a stone statue.'
Kiel wanted to contemplate some more but hearing the loud shouts of the two parties Kiel decided to learn more of what was happening. After all his position was still not compromised. So he could still have a breather.
"Do you take us as fools? Why would the infamous Blood Orchid come after us?" Tia snapped at the unknown assaulter. Her voice was resonant.
"Hehe… you should know better, the third in line to the Waveduke family." The thin man just shrugged off.
"You mean… " Something seemed to be dawned on Tia as her face became, even more, a shade paler.
"You are even wiser Miss Tia. Unfortunately, you have to die today. So any penny for my thoughts?"
"Hehe! I'm used to acting on my own accord. To kill me, even you, the 'Blood Orchid' would have to pay a price. As a silver Emissary of the Blood Orchid, with only the power of peak Medius Rank, you should be prepared enough to die with me!"
"Well said Mylady, we will protect you till the last breath." Ruyu had flames burning in her eyes as she declared her stance too. Even the other two girls seemed to have stilled themselves to die here to protect Tia.
"You guys!" Tia was so touched to see the girls act like that. However, as she thought of how her sisters loved her, a blurry figure of a little guy too came to her mind who had saved her. She had never felt like that safe around anyone her age in her family competition where every day was hell. 'I wonder how Kiel is doing? Hope he had fled away.' Although she thought like this, somewhere deep within her implored that he would come to save her again in spite of how weak he was. But it was just a fleeting thought.
"Hehe. But you're all not capable enough to make me die with you. However, I will kill you, Miss Tia, at last. That will be truly enjoyable." That Emissary shook his head and vanished into thin air like a ghost.
"Physco… " Tia could not even compete for her sentence when the next moment, he was standing three meters in front of Shina. He stretched out his left hand, his five fingers shaped like a claw; between them glowed a ghost-like green light, which suddenly flew toward Shina, and started to twine about him like a ribbon.
"Ghost Claw!" Shina's facial expression changed. However, she was also a veteran. But unlike how she imposed on her Kiel, this time she had an incredibly serious expression on her. She uttered calmly, "Ruyu, Lea, you two! Protect Mylady! I will take care of this one!
'Looks like I really have to use that.'
[Hexagon of wind: Wind Gala]
"Boom, boom, boom!"
The thin man should have figured out that the wind mage was the biggest threat so decided to finish her off first. But Shina was no amateur. She quickly let go off her previous opponent and just as fast summoned a green hexagonal ball from her pocket.
The ball was considered Shina's trump card as it at once created a domain of small needles over a vast area. However, it would draw all her remaining mana and could not last for a long time. It could be only be considered delaying the inevitable in her current state. But if she could save Tia, that would be worth it.
Tia's heart started rapidly beating! Although she knew Shina was the strongest among them with half step into the Advanced Mage Rank from the peak Medius Rank, she still had not recovered from the injuries she suffered from the sudden attacks of the Mutant Wind Leopard.
And around her was a constricting shadow binding to her feet. Although she could move her hands but still could not move for now. She could only helplessly see Shina battle with the thin man. And she was even too weak to fight due to her injuries.
Ruyu and Lea could still move due to their higher realms nullifying some of the shadow constriction, however, they were tasked by Shina to protect Tia. They could not move at all as it would create a hole in their defence.
Suddenly, the eight men surrounding Tia's group felt like small needles drilling through every inch of their skin, like they were thrown into a pit of razor-sharp blades with nowhere to run. The pain and laceration almost made them kneel on the ground.
It even affected the Crescent Emissary. He was so surprised that he backed off as fast as he attacked. "What was that? Luckily I backed off quickly"
"Tch. The attack failed. Oh! You seem to be surprised. And you should be. This is a rune weapon Hexagon the Wind. It can produce a large spread rank 3, type-A spell Wind Needle which has a coverage of 20 metres. If you want to keep your puny life then just roll away." Although she bluffed, only she knew that it was only a matter of time.
Even Kiel was surprised. He had heard that only an advanced mage rank can cast a level 3 spell. But seeing a rune weapon, even he could not help but gulp. 'Luckily I didn't mess with her before. She is scary
However, it seemed that the man also figured it out, he grunted and said, "Miss Tia, what a surprise! Your maid even has a Rune weapon and it even is high ranked. Even we had no information about it!! No wonder you are so arrogant now."
"Hehehe! If I can't even do that, how could I claim that to make you die here?" Shina laughed with an indifferent smile still on his face, however to Kiel it somehow looked really spooky. Meanwhile, the small ball on hand gave out a dazzling green light, releasing numerous wind needles from its body.
***
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