274 Good Actors (2/2)
A ball of black smoke appeared beside Lucien. Leo was in caught inside it, he wanted to push Lucien away, but he was too slow.
Suddenly, the dark sky that was illuminated by the silver moonlight turned yellow, and dried tree roots that looked like dark tentacles appeared everywhere. Those strange shadows gathered together and wrapped around Semenov like a ball.
In the castle, the land with the muddy fragrance was decaying quickly, the flowers which just survived the coldness withered, and the vibrant needle-like leaves of the trees started drying out…
It was a power that was at a similar level as a senior-rank mage.
”Withered Shadow!”
”Uncle Witte!”
It was Ivanovszki and Carleena who were shouting in surprise. They thought Witte would not be a problem, but the thing that worried them the most still happened.
”A level seven radiant knight, a strong knight that survived countless intense battles, a knight that owns his unique honorable title, is he really under our control?!”
”He's getting old, his body was weakened by the serious illness, and we have Nikonov, who's a sixth circle senior mage. We placed a curse that is hard to notice and his body will be weakened even further, but his name still terrifies us.”
Today, when everything was finally about to end, the things that Ivanovszki and Carleena worried about actually happened, as if it was a nightmare.
In the withered ball, a strange glow flashed upon Semenov's body, and he disappeared into the air, teleporting to the shadows on the far side. Also, an energy armor was created on the surface of his body.
A sixth circle spell, Magic Trigger!
It was a signature spell that separated the senior-rank mages from the middle-rank mages. If the spell is created in the soul, it meant the sorcerer had another life, and a chance to fight back.
The spell would be triggered under different circumstances, based on how the sorcerers set it up. The spell might be triggered when the sorcerer was about to die or when there was a strike that was too hard for him to block. When the requirement was met, the Magic Trigger would instantly cast two spells that were stored in the model, which were at a level that could not exceed half of the sorcerer's level. Also, those two spells could not be interrupted and they were perfect for life-threatening situations.
The situation was under Semenov's control after he dealt with the Withered Shadow using two 3rd circle spells: Shadow Step and Greater Mage Armor.
The withered ball turned into a human being, revealing Count Witte. He looked old and weak but he stood there with pride.
He was holding a dark greatsword using both hands, the wrinkles and weakness were still displayed on his face, however, the fierce expression on his face made him energetic, and he did not look like a normal old man at all.
”I can still kill even if I'm about to die,” Count Witte raised his eyes slightly and spoke in a cold tone. He slashed forward with the greatsword. It turned into blurry shadows and went toward Semenov.
His patience finally granted him the chance!
The Baleful Polymorph was interrupted by Count Witte at the most important moment and the black smoke disappeared before it completely surrounded Lucien's body. Lucien noticed that his body returned to the normal form and the impact of the Distraction was no longer a problem.
”Move!” He glanced at Leo and jumped down the patio of the castle. A fight between the radiant knight and the senior-rank mage was about to begin, this was Lucien's best chance to escape.
No matter if the senior-rank mage who disguised himself as Semenov or Count Witte the Withered Shadow won the battle, Lucien was certain that they would kill him. He killed the sorcerer's student and the radiant knight had killed countless sorcerers in his life. Also, this was the Schachran Empire, a country that would hunt and burn sorcerers.
Lucien decided to escape the castle using the knight-level speed because the shadows in the air would catch him if he used the flying spell that was relatively slow.
Leo noticed that Ivanovszki was observing the situation in another window before he jumped. His body suddenly expanded and was quickly surrounded by a frost aura. He jumped to the window with his muscular body and a long sword in hand.
”Ivanovszki's middle-rank guards were eliminated and this is my best chance to kill him! Doing so will temporarily pause the intel web of the smuggling organization and Lucien will have an easier time escaping. Lucien saved my life and I want to repay him, also, I want to avenge my family. I shouldn't let this chance slip even if I need to risk my life for it!”
Ivanovszki was worried that he would be caught in the fight between two strong individuals and he wanted to jump to the patio just like Lucien. However, he did not expect the strike from Leo.
Although Ivanovszki was weaker than Leo, he still pursed his lips into a sneer, ”It's you.”
”Die!” Leo could feel that his blood was boiling as his sword was about to hit his enemy.
However, Leo saw Ivanovszki striking forward with his right fist, and the next moment his sight turned black. Leo could not handle the attack, and was sent flying in the air like a kite with a broken string.
”Grand Knight?! He's a grand knight!”
Ivanovszki's tight suit was changed into a silver full-body armor and there was a cold expression on his face. He jumped down with a greatsword in hand and started chasing after Lucien.
The infamous smuggler was a real grand knight and his bloodline was not granted by potions.
That was the reason why he survived the attacks of the assassins.
Carleena muttered after seeing the scene, ”A grand knight? He's a liar too!”
”Ivanovszki, a smuggler and a grand knight that disguised himself as a knight squire. Mr. Nikonov, a senior-rank mage that disguised himself as Semenov the housekeeper. Uncle Witte, who made it look like he did not notice anything and he was just waiting for the death to come. A middle-rank mage and knight that disguised himself as a member of the Vladimir Family. An enemy of Ivanovszki that disguised himself as the housekeeper of Peter. Also, I disguised myself as a weak woman who hasn't activated her bloodline power. What an incredible stage. It shows we're all good actors…”