NABC Chapter 296: Chapter 295: Not Yet the Time (1)
Chapter 296: Chapter 295: Not Yet the Time (1)
Chapter 296: Chapter 295: Not Yet the Time (1)
Amelia smiled coldly. She now had the chance to deal a proper blow to that annoying man.
She had created a situation where Ghislain did all the hard work, and she would reap the rewards.
"Now, I'll strike the final blow, Ghislain."
She could easily create any justification she needed. After all, her alliance with Desmond had always been nominal.
The faction supporting the royal family wouldn't want to fight her directly, so if she negotiated well, she could take half of Desmond's territory without much resistance.
Of course, she wasn't planning on giving even an inch of it, but that was another matter. "The Duchy will have no choice but to help me.'
The plan in her mind was already set.
The Duchy, having lost Harold, would have no choice but to choose her as a bridgehead for advancing into the North. If territorial disputes arose, they would step in to mediate.
"Just to be safe, move out at full speed. We must capture the key castles and fortresses before anyone else does."
She had already dealt with those who might challenge her. Ghislain and Harold had just finished their fight.
There was nothing left to hinder her march, so Amelia quickly increased her speed.
Both the Fenris army and Rayfold's forces were tired from battle. No matter how elite they were, accumulated fatigue couldn't be ignored.
As night deepened, Bernaph cautiously spoke.
"It seems we should rest for a bit. It's difficult to move at night. The soldiers are also quite exhausted."
"Tch."
Amelia clicked her tongue and nodded in resignation.
With nearly 5,000 troops moving together, there were inevitably limitations to their speed. "This is the last rest. No more breaks until we've captured Desmond. As soon as dawn breaks, send the cavalry and knights ahead. The infantry will follow."
"Understood."
Torches were quickly set up, and camp preparations were completed in no time. Since they were not in a wartime situation and there were no enemies to target, the soldiers maintained an alertness akin to peacetime.
Even as everyone hurriedly fell asleep, preparing for the march ahead, Amelia remained awake.
Inside the largest and most luxurious tent, she spread out maps, busy reassessing her next
moves.
"Bernaph, with our current forces, we won't be able to quickly capture all of Desmond's territories. So for now, let's block the main routes..."
Amelia stopped mid-sentence, noticing the eerie silence.
Bernaph was slumped in a chair, dozing off. She had placed him next to her as both an escort knight and an adviser, but he had fallen asleep quicker than anyone else.
Amelia glared at him with annoyance but chose not to wake him. After all, Bernaph had
suffered greatly during the rebellion and civil war.
Bastet, too, had curled up on her lap, sound asleep.
"Hah..."
Amelia sighed and turned her attention back to the map. She had a lot on her mind-how to take more from the Duchy and secure the North.
"Ghislain is becoming a problem. But if the Duchy starts a war soon..."
As she focused on the map, a strange movement occurred behind her.
Tsssss.
Darkness began to gather stealthily behind her, warping the air, as if forming into a shape. But Amelia, absorbed in her thoughts, didn't notice.
Suddenly, Bastet's ears perked up.
Bernaph remained slumped, still fast asleep. But his left thumb twitched, nudging the guard of the sword at his waist.
Click.
The sound of the sword being drawn echoed as-
Meow!
Bastet let out a sharp cry.
In that instant, Bernaph's right hand shot out like lightning, drawing the sword and blocking an assassination attempt from behind Amelia.
Ka-aang!
The sound of metal clashing rang loudly. Only then did Amelia turn to see an assassin standing behind her.
Bernaph wiped the drool from his mouth with his left hand and fixed a sharp gaze on the
assassin.
"Tch, who are you?"
The assassin was dressed in a black robe and mask, armed with a dagger. After the dagger strike was blocked, the assassin took several steps back and muttered.
"Hmm, maybe I was pushing it."
Amelia frowned. The voice sounded strangely familiar-it was a woman's voice she thought she had heard before.
In that moment, the assassin's robe fluttered, and dozens of daggers spilled out from inside.
Clank clank clank ka-ching!
Bernaph's sword moved like lightning, deflecting all the daggers. Immediately after, he advanced and swung his sword downward.
shhk!
Although Bernaph's sword didn't land on the assassin, the intense aura carried by his blade
sliced through the assassin's mask.
Half of the mask fell off, revealing a face with a seductive smile.
The assassin looked at Bernaph and spoke.
"Oh... you're a lot more intact than I thought." Bernaph's anger flared, but Amelia spoke first.
"You are!"
"Miss, it's been a while."
The assassin, smiling widely and waving her hand, revealed herself to be Belinda.
Amelia recognized Belinda instantly. It was simple-she had a personal grudge against her. Amelia still hadn't forgotten when Belinda had arrogantly held a dagger to her throat in the
past.
But now that she knew who the assassin was, she couldn't understand the situation at all. Why was Ghislain's closest ally here?
direction.
But not a single strike landed. All he managed to cut was the hem of her robe a few times.
The more he swung, the more Bernaph's expression grew grim.
'What kind of movements are these...?'
It was as though he was fighting a ghost. Every time Belinda moved, the space around her
seemed to distort, making it difficult to sense her presence.
That wasn't the only challenge.
Papapapat!
Each time the distorted space shifted and her robe fluttered, dozens of daggers shot out.
'Damn it!'
Kaang! Kaang! Kaang!
Bernaph quickly stepped back, deflecting the daggers. The daggers, seemingly connected to
Belinda, moved like living creatures, relentlessly targeting Amelia.
Fighting to protect someone while dealing with an elite assassin was no easy task. Bernaph
glanced at the tent's entrance.
Given the commotion, the soldiers outside should have entered by now, yet there was no sign
of them.
"They're already dead.'
Normally, knights would form a tight protective ring around Amelia, but now they had been replaced with regular soldiers.
For someone of Belinda's skill, killing a few soldiers without a sound was entirely possible. It
was bad luck that an assassin struck when the knights had been given a rare moment of rest.
Though the schedule had been grueling, necessitating a break, the fact that Amelia was now
in danger was an undeniable failure on Bernaph's part as head of escort knights.
'I just need to hold out for a moment.'
Bernaph focused entirely on protecting Amelia, his expression uncharacteristically serious.
The knights' tent wasn't far-surely, they would sense the disturbance and arrive soon.
Kaang!
Belinda also realized that killing Amelia wouldn't be easy.
"Who would've thought this idiot had such skill? I thought it'd be easy if I caught him off guard
outdoors.'
Bernaph was rumored to be nothing more than a fool who trailed after Amelia like a puppy.
She hadn't imagined he'd possess this level of ability.
Even while focusing on defending Amelia, he found opportunities to counterattack, swinging
his sword with precision. More than once, Belinda had narrowly avoided danger.
What impressed her even more was Amelia's reaction.
Even when daggers came inches from her face, she didn't flinch. She only glared at Belinda
with an intent to kill.
Belinda couldn't help but be impressed.
'Wow, she's really something else.'
Amelia didn't know how to use mana or wield a sword, yet her composure and determination
were remarkable.
She was terrifying in a completely different way from Ghislain.
Kaang! Kaang! Kaang!
The clash between Belinda and Bernaph became a blur, their movements too fast to follow.
Dozens of daggers danced in the air, while sparks flew from Bernaph's blade as he parried
them.
Countless exchanges occurred in what felt like an instant.
Shhhaaaak!
Suddenly, the tent was slashed apart, and a dozen knights stormed in.
"My lady!"
"Are you unharmed?"
"Kill the assassin!"
The knights drew their swords and charged at Belinda.
"Tch."
Fixating on an unkillable target was not the hallmark of a good assassin. Belinda sighed and
retreated, smirking.
"It seems I've failed. But... I didn't come alone."
Fwoosh!
Before she even finished speaking, fires erupted throughout the camp.
At the same time, shouts of alarm echoed from all directions.
"Enemies!"
"Assassins have infiltrated!"
"Wake up, now!"
It was the secret force Ghislain had nurtured alongside Belinda.
Perdium's assassination squad was attacking Rayfold's camp.