Chapter 231 a.s.sa.s.sination (Part 2)
A chill spread over Faceless’ body. This… how was this possible?
She swallowed the saliva, then lowered her voice, “What kind of joke is this? I’m Vorte.”
It shouldn’t be possible that they are lucky enough to know each other, there are so many mercenaries within the camp. Don’t tell me, that she can remember every one of their names, how can that be??
She never expected to receive the sarcastic answer she got in response, “Is that so? I never knew men could also gather magic in their bodies. So, either you are a witch that had planned to infiltrate the camp, or you are an extremely unlikely wizard. No matter what the truth is, it is impossible that your name is “Vorte” as you have claimed. Within the soldiers of the First Army, there is definitely no one with such a different body type.”
Can this person… see the Devil’s power? Aphra’s heart finally sank to the depths; she now knew how she had been found out. There were more than four witches in the camp, and the woman behind her must be a witch as well. Moreover, she had an ability that was similar to the Eye of Truth. The Church’s scriptures about magic had records of such an ability which had several hundred of derivations and all of them were not in conflict with the witch’s ability.
Since I haven’t seen someone within my surroundings or getting close… does it mean that the other side’s prime ability is hide her body?
“Now, kneel down, and put your hands behind your back, maybe I can spare your life then,” the woman shouted with a clear voice, “Do as I say!”
The mercenaries in the surrounding were still occupied with fighting, so they didn’t notice the scene playing out at the central area, but that wasn’t the case for the four witches near the fire though. They became aware of the abnormal situation as they cast their eyes over and asked, “What’s the matter, Nightingale? Did something happen?”
This was her last chance, Aphra knew that her own strength was a.s.sa.s.sination and not related to an open battle, especially in the case where she wasn’t wearing a G.o.d’s Punishment Stones which would have suppressed most witches’ fantastic abilities.
In case the witch who can fly is able to run away it won’t do any harm. However, the witch who can cure the demonic plague definitely has to die here. Otherwise, she will pose a serious threat to the Church’s future plans.
Of course, there was also the possibility, that after killing the other side, she herself wouldn’t be able to escape. Thinking of this possibility, she couldn’t help herself from getting a tight feeling in her chest, but she soon calmed down again. Recalling that in order for the Church’s goal to unify the Four Kingdoms, no effort should be spared to resist the Devils from h.e.l.l. And there were already many good soldiers who had sacrificed themselves for the greater good, and it would be a proud moment for her to join them.
Furthermore, she believed that Heather would not forget her, Heather would make sure that her name would also be recorded in the sacred scriptures.
“You mustn’t come over,” shouted the witch called Nightingale. “There is—”
At this split second, she suddenly raised her elbow to beat against her enemy’s arm, simultaneously bowing her head to avoid being stabbed with her weapon. “When you are talking, it is impossible to always pay attention. Thus there is the saying of ‘holding one’s breath in concentration’,” was what her drillmaster repeatedly taught her. “Instead, regardless whether you are attacking or are trying to escape, the optimum moment to act is when the other side starts talking.”
Within her sleeve she had concealed a mechanism that activated at the first moment of contact. Spraying a white alchemic powder to the rear, which on contact with water would release a lot of heat. In case the enemy got any of it inside their mouth or eyes, they would immediately lose their fighting strength. Even if they were lucky enough not to breathe any of the fine powder in, they would at least be fl.u.s.tered for a while.
Afterward, Aphra immediately pounced towards the four witches at the fire, the witch with golden hair quickly flew up, while the one witch who seemed to be the oldest disregarded her own safety and stepped in front of the other two. Drawing out her sharp dagger, Aphra immediately stabbed directly toward the first witch. Since they couldn’t escape anyway, and all three of them would die under her hand, it wasn’t necessary to differentiate them according to priority.
Just at the moment when her dagger pierced the other side’s body, Aphra saw an incredible scene.
A white shadow appeared in front of her at a place which was definitely still empty a second ago, with two blazing eyes glaring at her from under its hood.
Is… this Nightingale who stood behind me?
At the eruption of the fine powder she was at close range, so why doesn’t she seem to have been affected? Almost disbelieving her eyes, Faceless saw the other side lift her arm and a flame burst out from the silver weapon. And then her body was firmly pushed backward, resulting in her losing her balance, sending her backward to the ground, looking upwards. That’s not good; there are… still two important people I need to dispose of. Aphra wanted to stand up, wanted to draw her dagger and stab at the next witch, but right now, even raising her hand had already become tough, and her consciousness had already began to blur.
What a pity… was the last thought flas.h.i.+ng through her mind.
…
After letting off the shot, Nightingale remained at the same place, watching the soldier who had been hit in the chest fall down. Then the body began to twist and shrink, slowly turning back into the appearance of an unknown woman.
This had been her first time killing another witch.
It was not until Lily anxiously called out to her that Nightingale came back to herself.
Suppressing the surging emotion within her heart, she put away the gun, ran back to Wendy’s side.
“Where is the injury?”
“It’s nothing, I just feel a little pain,” Wendy waved his hand, indicating that they should not panic, “She shouldn’t have been able to pierce through.”
“Does that mean the protective suit worked?”
“I suppose it has,” Undoing the bottoms on her chest, she saw the slender dagger hanging on the side of her clothes, the moment the jacket was opened, the knife fell out of the hole and landed on the ground, with no blood held on its tip. Of the protective clothing, only the outer layer had a small hole in it, while the soft inner layer still remained intact.
“Y-you really scared me,” Lily said, releasing a long breath, and then fell with b.u.t.tocks on the ground. “Next time don’t rush to me to help me resist the sword! I don’t need you to do this for m-m-me…”
“Well,” Wendy gently stroked her head, “Am I not alright?”
Lily pulled her head free and buried it in Wendy’s bosom, releasing a m.u.f.fled cry.
“I was also scared, merely attending to obstruct her by stepping ahead, totally forgetting to use my power” Wendy shook her head. “If I had sent a strong gust of wind against her, she wouldn’t have been able to thrust towards me.”
“It’s because you are rarely fighting with others, so a reaction like that is quite normal,” Nightingale comforted.
“Fortunately you were wearing the protective clothing,” Echo said, still showing a scared look, “Otherwise, this time would have been much more dangerous than it was.”
Before their departure, His Royal Highness had given each of them a special vest, furthermore, he had demanded that they must never take this piece of clothing off at any time. Even though it seemed a little thick, it was still very light to wear. Seemingly made out of many layers, His Highness had explained that each layer had been coated by Soraya, giving it a high degree of flexibility, but also making it hard to pierce through with sharp objects. It offered excellent protection against swords, bows, and crossbows. If it hadn’t helped her to resist the thrust, Wendy would most probably never have survived long enough to reach Nana.
Lightning slowly landed next to the dead witch and asked, “Why did she attack us? Aren’t we… the same?”
Nightingale stared at the lifeless woman, unable to speak for a long time. With the witch’s eyes closed, the long blue hair scattered on the ground and her peaceful expression, the other doesn’t seem to have experienced much pain. But she still couldn’t forget, that when she had stabbed at Wendy, she hadn’t shown any trace of hesitation in her eyes, only the determination that what she was doing was inevitable and righteous. As if she was not killing a person, but rather fulfilling her life’s philosophy. Perhaps in her heart, this had been the right behavior.
“No,” Nightingale softly sighed. “She’s wasn’t one of us… she was just, a lamentable person.”