Chapter 277: The First Wave of Assassins
Just as Kurtz had predicted, outside the capital, the army was already prepared, and the massive, dark force was moving out in an orderly fashion like a steel torrent.
This is the most elite vanguard legion of the Southern Unified Empire, which also includes a court magic troop. They are positioned at key nodes in the army formation. Their clothes are different from those of ordinary soldiers and are more like a kind of specially made magic robe, from which one can sense the aura of magic.
Kurtz and Serie were assigned to the middle of the legion.
The empire provided them with a wide, luxurious carriage, ostensibly as a privilege for distinguished guests, but in reality, it was more like a disguised form of surveillance and isolation.
Elite cavalry guards surrounded the carriage, clearly more elite than the other soldiers, who prevented them from having any contact with ordinary soldiers.
Serie sat by the carriage window, her golden eyes coldly sweeping over the marching army outside.
She curled her lip and said, "The formation is nice, but the marching speed is sluggish. At this rate, by the time they reach the north, it will be too late."
Kurtz closed his eyes to rest, but the detection magic had already been quietly deployed, encompassing the entire vanguard legion.
"They were deliberately controlling the speed, and the supplies in the wagons were not fully loaded."
"You can't even afford to go all the way with a show?" Serie laughed.
"Perhaps they never intended actually to complete the entire journey." Kurtz opened his eyes. "Leggett's target was never the demons of the north."
His focus was on the mages in the army. There were quite a few of these mages, and judging from the magical power in each of them, they were all quite strong.
Moreover, this army includes many powerful magicians.
They deliberately concealed their presence, blended in with the ordinary soldiers, and constantly used concealment magic, probably to avoid being perceived by him and Serie.
Unfortunately, they were still too inexperienced to use concealment magic against Kurtz.
"Looks like our guard is pretty impressive," Kurtz joked.
Serie naturally sensed it too, and she revealed a hint of eagerness: "Perfect, saves me from being bored. I hope they can be a little stronger."
The army marched during the day and rested at night.
For several days in a row, the weather remained calm.
The imperial officers were outwardly polite to them, but beneath that perfunctory respect lay obvious alienation and wariness.
When camping at night, Kurtz and Serie's tent was deliberately placed at the very edge, obviously for easier access.
On a night when there was no moonlight and not even starlight, the mages hidden among the legion finally couldn't hold back any longer.
Kurtz was sitting inside the tent, while Serie was beside him, casually flipping through several magic books she had "borrowed" from the Empire.
Suddenly—
Kurtz and Serie looked up at each other almost simultaneously.
"They've arrived," Kurtz said calmly.
According to his detection magic, several figures were rapidly approaching.
Before the words were even finished, all sound outside the tent vanished, and an extremely hidden soundproof barrier silently enveloped the area.
Almost at the exact moment, several dark figures attacked the tent from different directions at a speed that was difficult to see with the naked eye!
Their goal was obvious: to deal with a legendary mage like Serie. Closing the distance and seizing the opportunity to kill her in one blow was the best option.
They even underwent specialized training to achieve the most effective attack.
Once the elven saint is killed, the human male will be no threat. Moreover, if they succeed, there will be no need for the wielder of the holy sword to intervene.
After all, the opponent has not yet fully mastered the Holy Sword and cannot unleash its true power.
"It's up to you now."
After carefully assessing the strength of the approaching assassin, Kurtz handed the task over to Serie without hesitation.
These assassins were quite skilled, but it was wishful thinking for them to kill him and Serie so easily.
Serie nodded, and as she faced the approaching assassins, her magic surged, and a soft, white-gold light instantly spread out from her.
Then a golden barrier perfectly enveloped the entire tent.
The assassins crashed into the suddenly appearing barrier and were instantly bounced back. Even their attacks, which had anti-magic effects, had no effect whatsoever.
Clearly, Serie's magical shield possesses resistance in this regard, and ordinary anti-magic attacks would have no chance of breaking through it.
The attackers froze for a moment as their attack was thwarted, their eyes filled with shock.
Their combined attack was so easily thwarted?
While they were still stunned, Serie made her move.
She didn't even stand up; she raised her left hand, and the magic circle unfolded.
Buzz!
Countless beams of light appeared outside the tent. They had no fancy trajectories; they simply and accurately shot at each attacker with speeds beyond any reaction, even blocking all their escape routes.
Puff!!!
The dull thuds of light arrows piercing flesh rang out one after another! Accompanied by several short screams.
The light arrows pierced the attackers' arms, shoulders, thighs, and other parts. This was only because they deployed their magical shields immediately; otherwise, they would have been blown to pieces by the power of the light arrows.
From beginning to end, they haven't even seen the face of that elven saint before being easily subdued by her.
She truly deserves to be called the strongest mage of the modern era.
The attackers exchanged glances, already considering retreating.
Faced with such a terrifying existence, a direct confrontation is no longer possible; they can only look for another opportunity to launch a sneak attack. But by then, the attackers will no longer be them.
But Kurtz wouldn't allow them to run away.
Using simple spatial teleportation magic, he silently appeared behind an attacker who was trying to retreat.
Then he picked up a stone he had found and smacked the other person on the back of the head.
Even the most powerful mage can have soft flesh.
Of course, some physical magic users are an exception.
The attacker didn't even utter a sound; his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground.
Kurtz's spatial magic unfolded again, and the next moment, he appeared in another direction, effortlessly subduing another person as well.
The whole process was breathtakingly fast; from the start of the attack to the counterattack against all the attackers, it took only a few seconds!
The imperial guards not far from the tent seemed only to react, staring in horror at the scene before them.
They didn't even see what happened; they only saw the attackers who suddenly appeared, screaming and falling to the ground, while the dark-haired Mr. Kurtz appeared behind them like a ghost, taking them down one by one.
Serie removed the barrier and slowly walked out of the tent. The moonlight shone on her long, golden hair and calm face, giving her a hazy beauty that was also chilling.
She stared coldly at the late-arriving imperial officers, ready to see how they would explain themselves.
"Damn it! An assassin! Protect Lady Serie!"
Sure enough, after seeing the attack fail, the legion commander's face turned ugly. However, he still chose to shirk responsibility at the first opportunity, summoning his soldiers to prepare to take down the attackers.
"Don't move! Otherwise, you'll face the consequences!" Kurtz stopped them.
He walked up to an attacker who hadn't fainted after being hit by his stone, squatted down, and touched his forehead with his finger.
A faint mental force probed in, attempting to search for memories.
However, the moment his mental power touched the core memory area of the other party, a violent magical power suddenly erupted from the attacker's body, like a bomb with a self-destruct program.
"Nah!"
The attacker on the ground let out a bloodcurdling scream, then blood flowed from his seven orifices, and his eyes instantly became deathly still.
Kurtz probed the minds of the other assassins, but they all died instantly in the same way!
Kurtz withdrew his hand and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "A kind of mental restriction that will be triggered directly once the core memory is touched. It's a very rare kind of magic."
"What do we do now?" Serie asked Kurtz.
In her view, these attackers were too weak, and it was wishful thinking for the emperor to think he could rely on them to solve his problems.
Now she's considering whether or not to break ties with these officers in front of her.
"No rush, let's take another look."
[End of Chapter]
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