Chapter 434: 408 The Phantom in the Night
Compared to last night, the atmosphere around Reiger tonight, despite being equally lively, was utterly different.
Refugees huddled together, greedily devouring the roasted magic beast meat in a scene that might seem unseemly, yet there was at least a trace of homeliness.
Meanwhile, the knights gathered together to establish their encampment with an air akin to conducting official business, the entire process marked by extreme seriousness, making the atmosphere comparatively oppressive.
In such circumstances, Reiger didn’t stay long in the encampment, exchanging a few words with Nipede before returning to his own tent.
Yuri and Marilyn made many preparations for Reiger’s outing, and all the necessary tools were at the ready, so Reiger’s carriage also had a tent, set up by Liz’s hand.
Liz also pitched a tent for herself but, unlike Reiger who retired to his early, she found a corner to start practicing "Love Breathing."
If a knowledgeable person were here and saw Liz’s rhythmic breathing, they’d realize that this little princess had made initial inroads with Love Breathing, able to enhance her cardiopulmonary functions smoothly, speed up blood circulation, and thereby boost her stamina.
Continuing at this pace, Liz would soon master Love Breathing and begin training in the breathing technique forms.
At this rate and efficiency, Kanroji Mitsuri, the creator of Love Breathing, might have wanted to hide her face and flee if she had seen her.
Time passed swiftly.
As night deepened, Nipede, Antie, Fannie, Gel, and Ophelit returned to their tents one after the other, leaving behind a group of knights standing guard outside, taking shifts to watch over the encampment.
Clouds had drifted over the sky at some point, hiding the incomplete moon as well as the stars, allowing darkness to envelop the earth completely, with only the campfire inside the encampment burning slowly, providing a bright flame.
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"......
Suddenly, several figures appeared silently inside the encampment.
These were figures without a trace of presence, without a hint of life, ghost-like, landing without eliciting even the slightest sound of footsteps.
They swept through the encampment, their speed considerable but without stirring even a wisp of wind.
Their movements were as if they lacked substance, disappearing and reappearing abruptly every time they leap, without causing any disturbance, eerie and sinister to the extreme.
Even though Shadow Sword Saint Rhome was a figure with exceptional concealment abilities, at least he followed traces characteristic of human activity. These people were different; it was impossible to discern any semblance of humanity in them, creating the impression that they were ghosts.
The knights didn’t notice these ghost-like figures at all, allowing them to enter the encampment and head towards a direction with swift movements.
Before long, the figures stopped.
In front of them stood a young girl in a corner, eyes closed, exhaling slowly, at times taking in huge gulps of oxygen, at others exhaling only faint breaths.
It was Liz.
"...Target confirmed."
"...Subject matches the characteristics mentioned in the intelligence."
"...Commence capture."
The air around the figures vibrated subtly as they communicated in this manner, not speaking out loud.
As a result, Liz did not notice their approach. She continued to breathe softly, practicing Love Breathing.
Then, the figures suddenly burst into action, moving like ghosts without a sound and reached out with their hands, ghost-like, towards Liz.
Unbeknownst to them, in a tent not far away, a pair of tightly shut eyes suddenly opened, revealing a chill within.
"...!?"
At that moment, Liz, who had sensed nothing until then, suddenly opened her eyes as if receiving a signal, first crossing her gaze with a flash of astonishment and then a concentrated look.
"Hum!"
In Liz’s tent, the Moslo Sword lying quietly on the ground suddenly trembled, unsheathing itself, turning into a cold streak of sword light that shot toward Liz’s location.
"-------!"
The figures seemed to sense the anomaly and paused slightly.
However, after a pause, the figures reached toward Liz with even greater speed, ultimately managing to seize her before the nearby sword light could reach them.
"You...!?"
Feeling her shoulders, arms, and neck gripped by three hands, Liz exclaimed in shock. Just as she was about to struggle, a cold force poured out from the three hands and touched her.
Liz shivered all over, feeling the cold force strip away her warmth and consciousness, rendering her a motionless like a moving corpse, incapable of any response.
"Master..."
Liz only had time to utter this deeply ingrained title before becoming completely still.
The figures immediately took Liz, turned into specters, and fled silently.
They were incredibly fast, darting out of the encampment in the blink of an eye, about to merge into the darkness.
Unfortunately, that was the last thing they could do to withdraw.
"Boom!"
With the sound of thunder, a bolt of lightning suddenly tore through the darkness, cutting through the light from the campfire, and shot toward them with astonishing speed.
"Thunder Breathing·First Form·Thunderbolt Flash."
The lightning turned into a slash, catching up to the figures in an instant and cutting down furiously.
"Bang!"
The thunderously powerful slash didn’t scatter their flesh but, as if striking iron, sent all of them flying.
A motionless Liz was then released from midair, plummeting towards the ground.
"Crack!"
At the critical moment, a flash of lightning allowed a figure to appear next to Liz.
"Are you okay?"
Reiger, holding a black blade, embraced Liz and spoke to her.
"Ma-master..."
Liz tried to respond but found it surprisingly difficult; her lips could only tremble slightly, unable to do anything else.
Reiger immediately noticed Liz’s condition.
"Is this... paralysis?"
After confirming Liz’s state, Reiger let out a sigh of relief.
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Whoosh"...
At that moment, the several figures unexpectedly returned to attack.
"...Someone has appeared, interfering with the mission."
"...Identity confirmed, the obstruction is the newly-risen Sword Saint, Reiger Brillhaut."
"...Cannot overpower, alter strategy, prioritize capturing the target."
A series of faint vibrations filled the air, allowing the figures to communicate instantly.
Then, the silent assailants swiftly dispersed, taking a wide arc around Reiger, with all but one spreading out in different directions, avoiding a direct confrontation.
"Who are you?"
Reiger, cradling Liz in one arm and holding the sword in the other, coldly addressed the eerie attackers.
Upon closer inspection, these attackers were shrouded in cloaks, their faces indiscernible, with only their silhouettes faintly visible.
Reiger immediately initiated Transparent World, and his eyes shimmered with a transparent sheen.
The next second, Reiger was taken aback.
"You..."
Before he could finish, the sole attacker who had charged towards him from the front was already upon him, thrusting a short sword at him.
The short sword was also quite strange, resembling the claw of a fierce beast, with not only four additional blades extending from the main blade but also a slightly curved edge, leaving one to wonder if it could even serve as a weapon.
Only Reiger, who had activated Transparent World, might detect the chilling energy pulsating along those beast-like weapons, making his skin crawl, as if touching something extremely repulsive.
Consequently, Reiger’s eyes flared with cold light.
"[High-level Teleport]."
His figure vanished in an instant, reappearing behind the attacker.
"Boom!"
With a heavy slash of the black blade, the attacker was flung away like a piece of stubborn iron, rather than being cleaved in two.
"Tsk..."
Reiger rarely clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
The figures of two other attackers suddenly appeared behind Reiger.
As if to retaliate against Reiger’s recent action, they wielded their claw-like weapons and ferociously chopped at him, mimicking his own move.
"[Radiant Golden Red Body]."
Feeling the cold onslaught from behind, Reiger did not choose to teleport away this time but composedly chanted a defense spell from the same system as [Radiant Green Body] and [Radiant Sea Blue Body].
[Radiant Golden Red Body], a spell that could reduce slash damage for a certain time and completely nullify one instance of slash damage, enveloped Reiger’s entire body in a golden-red glow.
"Puchi!"
"Puchi!"
In the next instant, the two claw-like weapons simultaneously pierced Reiger’s back, hacking into his body.
However, at the same moment, Reiger’s [Radiant Golden Red Body] activated, reversing time, as it were, moving his body out of harm’s way and repelling the two sharpened blades.
"[Maximum Enhance·Fireball]."
Having shifted aside, Reiger, now beside the two attackers, extended a finger in their direction.
The next moment, surging flames burst forth, and an immense fireball of astonishing flames emerged from Reiger’s fingertip, blasting outwards.
"Roar—!"
The massive fireball struck the two attackers, setting off a massive explosion in the sky.
In an instant, waves of fire raged, and the blast swept through the area, enveloping the camp in flames and scattering countless insects and beasts.
As expected, the people in the camp were also startled awake.
"What, what’s going on?"
"What happened?"
"Attack!"
"To arms!"
The knights buzzed with activity, drawing their weapons and rushing towards the direction of the blaze.