Chapter 82: The Ambush on the Rooftop

“Heh heh, who we are isn’t important. It’s also rather pointless to harm innocents. Just hand Lucia over to us, and we might still spare both your lives.”

The leading Mage in black robes gazed down imperiously at Lucia and her two companions below. Attestor’s eyes narrowed, and only then did she realize that the black-robed figures’ true target was Lucia.

“How dare you! To think you’d lay hands on the Church Saintess!”

Imeline, standing behind Attestor, snarled angrily at the black-robed men.

“Who sent you!?”

These black-robed figures were clearly well-prepared. They undoubtedly knew the identities of Lucia’s trio—Lucia being the Church Saintess and Imeline a royal of the Arcadia Kingdom. Yet, they still dared to make a move against them. Their mastermind was audacious beyond belief.

“Heh heh heh, little girl, I told you, none of that matters. I’ll count to three. If you don’t hand Lucia over to us by then, don’t blame us for showing no mercy.”

The black-robed Mage let out a sinister chuckle, then extended three fingers, giving Lucia and her companions no time to think as he began to count down.

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One…”

“Whoosh—!”

Before the black-robed Mage could finish speaking, Lucia took a swift step forward. Like an arrow released from a bowstring, she flashed out from the side, lunging directly at the leader on the rooftop.

From the Mage’s actions and words, it was clear these people harbored murderous intent towards her.

Since their intent to kill was absolute, she naturally had no need for mercy.

Simultaneously, a faint glow of fire ignited behind Attestor. It turned out that the moment the black-robed men began their countdown, Imeline had already started chanting.

She skillfully used Attestor’s body to conceal her mana fluctuations.

Furthermore, to better mask her actions, Imeline didn’t condense fire elemental energy with the wand in her hand. Instead, she deliberately placed her wand, devoid of mana fluctuations, in plain sight.

Her left hand remained hidden below, gathering fire elemental energy.

At this moment, the fireball in Imeline’s hand was restless, poised to strike.

The instant Lucia charged forward, Imeline raised her hand in unison, hurling the fireball upwards at an angle.

It whistled towards the black-robed figures on the rooftop.

The moment Lucia and her companions heard the black-robed Mage’s demand, they needed no overt communication. A tacit understanding had already been reached in their hearts: they would utterly crush their adversaries.

How could they ever betray their lifelong friend?

“What?”

Evidently, the black-robed Mage had not anticipated Lucia and her companions organizing a counterattack so swiftly without any verbal exchange. Though he was indeed startled, his black-robed companions were not mere decorations.

Before Imeline’s fireball could arrive, several burly black-robed Knights, clad in black light armor, swiftly positioned themselves in front of the Mage, raising pitch-black shields.

“Boom—!”

The fireball exploded, sending dust and smoke billowing. Yet, the black-robed Knights remained utterly unmoved. Though they wore light armor designed for movement and stealth, and their shields were small round ones with limited defensive range, Imeline’s attack was merely a second-tier Fireball spell, launched for a surprise attack.

Naturally, it couldn’t shake these black-robed figures.

However, Imeline’s attack was merely a feint. The true killing blow was Lucia, who had charged forward the instant the explosion kicked up dust.

Lucia flashed like a phantom behind the black-robed Mage. Her grip on her sharp sword was firm, and her eyes, sharp as blades, aimed directly for the Mage’s heart, intending to kill him with a single strike.

Yet, just as Lucia’s sword tip was about to touch the hem of the black-robed Mage’s robes, a dagger parried her sword tip.

Clang clang—

Lucia’s sharp sword was deflected by a suddenly appearing black-robed figure. Not only that, but other black-robed figures emerged around her. Cloaked, they concealed several deadly daggers beneath their hoods, lunging at Lucia like countless venomous snakes flicking their tongues.

Clang clang clang—

Lucia’s pupils contracted sharply. She quickly used the momentum of the deflection to spin her sword and parry, desperately defending against the sudden ambush.

However, their numbers were overwhelming. Despite her strenuous defense, she could only protect her vital spots, and several fresh gashes appeared on her body.

After a round of fierce assaults, Lucia immediately vaulted down from the rooftop. The black-robed Assassins attempted to press their advantage. One of them had already caught up behind Lucia, preparing to plunge a dagger into her head, when he suddenly felt an incredibly powerful impact.

Thump—!

It turned out that upon seeing Lucia ambushed, Attestor immediately charged forward. Raising her Holy Shield, she slammed violently into the black-robed Assassin.

The Assassin felt his internal organs shift, as if struck head-on by a colossal dragon.

His body was sent flying backward, crashing into the wall of an abandoned house. The entire wall collapsed, and the falling bricks and tiles buried the Assassin in the rubble, silencing him completely, his fate unknown.

“Lucia! Are you alright?!”

“I’m fine… They nearly had me.”

Attestor stopped in front of Lucia, shielding her behind her. Without turning, she raised her Holy Shield, remaining wary of the black-robed group.

Lucia’s veil and nun’s habit were slashed in several places. Though the nun’s habit offered some defensive properties, its efficacy was negligible. Blood continually oozed from Lucia’s wounds, and a long gash on her thigh was particularly gruesome; the gushing blood stained most of the white stockings on her leg crimson.

Fortunately, Lucia possessed a self-healing ability, and her wounds were already slowly mending.

“Assassins too, then? Who exactly are you people?”

Imeline questioned as she swiftly moved closer to Attestor. As a Mage, being away from Attestor was a perilous situation; she had to stay close.

The ‘Assassin’ she referred to was a specific class, just like Nun, Knight, and Mage—a class that humans could achieve.

In actuality, there were originally more than just these three classes available to humans. It was simply that these three had become mainstream and possessed their own organizations.

Other non-mainstream classes mostly joined the Night Watch Association.

However, these black-robed figures certainly didn’t resemble Night Watch operatives. Normal Night Watch operatives would never attack participants of the Monster Hunt Exercise in the Lost City.

Facing the black-robed figures’ recent attack, Imeline felt a hint of surprise. Their group consisted not only of Mages and Knights but also the rare class of Assassins. What power lay behind them that could field such a diverse array of combatants?