Chapter 335 - 333: Attacked

Chapter 335: Chapter 333: Attacked

In mid-January, winter on the Silent Shore was only half over. The howling cold wind blew intermittently, its faint chill enough to make a person rub their hands together.

But that was about as cold as it got.

The Silent Shore never saw snow and rarely froze. So, while winters were difficult for common people to endure in many other places, here they were not nearly as dangerous or long.

The morning sun drove away the chill as a party of over forty people traveled the road to Golden Ears Territory.

The fluttering Sail Banner proclaimed the group’s identity: the Kennedy Clan’s convoy.

Natalia opened her carriage window, watching the receding trees and surrounding scenery to alleviate the boredom of the journey.

"My Lady, we should be there in another hour."

The speaker was Eleanor, who rode on horseback beside the carriage. She had familiarized herself with the journey’s details before they set out.

"Ah, alright... We’re finally almost there!"

Eleanor smiled and said, "It’s thanks to the Count for mobilizing a massive workforce to widen and repair this road. Otherwise, it would have taken us much longer."

Before being granted to Lloyd, Golden Ears Territory hadn’t been a desolate wasteland. It already had two small towns and, naturally, roads connecting it to the outside world.

However, this was to be the place where a princess would live, so an ordinary road simply wouldn’t do.

Thus, Sea Cliff Castle had mobilized a workforce of tens of thousands for a collective project, managing to widen and repair this "Golden Ears Avenue" in a very short time.

After watching the scenery for a while, Natalia looked away and closed the carriage window.

She liked to pass the time with Meditation, so much so that she sometimes found Meditation itself boring.

However, since becoming a Level 4 Mage, she could now cast many types of Magic she’d never attempted before by using Arcane Shaping. This gave her plenty of new things to work on.

Just then, for instance, she adjusted her breathing and centered her mind to practice the Level 3 Wind Magic she had been learning recently: Wind of Inquiry.

It was an essential ability for anyone traveling abroad.

’First, I build the Shaping Magic Model, then I build the Wind of Inquiry Spell Model...’

The gentle swaying of the carriage didn’t affect Natalia’s casting rhythm, and she soon finished constructing both Spell Models.

As Arcane Energy drew upon the Power of the Wind Element in the surrounding air, a gentle breeze rapidly spread out from the carriage as its center.

Natalia instantly tapped into the Wind Element’s perspective, perceiving everything within a three-hundred-meter radius.

Perhaps because it was winter, she didn’t perceive many animals aside from a few scattered birds in flight.

However, just as she was about to withdraw from her perceptive state, she discovered a group of people positioned in the woods on both sides of the road, right at the edge of the wind’s reach.

At first, she thought they were peasants still repairing the road, but their stances didn’t look like they were working. It seemed more like they were deliberately lying in ambush by the roadside.

’Bandits? Unlikely. Who would be so bold?’

This was the main route for the princess’s bridal procession. Even if bandits had the inclination, they wouldn’t have the nerve to act so brazenly here.

Still, just to be safe, Natalia opened the carriage window and told Eleanor to halt the convoy.

"My Lady, what’s wrong?"

The leading Knights quickly gathered around, asking in surprise.

As one of the Kennedy Clan’s most crucial figures, Natalia traveled with an exceptionally high level of protection.

The current convoy included not only Eleanor, a Human Tier Warrior, but also four Earth Tier Peak Warriors: Heinrich, Bertrand, and two others.

They were all formally invested Knights of the Kennedy Clan, elites selected through a bloody trial.

Although their strength was only at the Peak of the Earth Tier, they could match a Celestial Tier Warrior when fighting in pairs.

Furthermore, the group included several other Human Tier and Advanced Warriors, and was equipped with a Magic Energy Archery Squad, making their overall combat strength quite formidable.

Natalia said, "My perception picked up a group of people over two hundred meters ahead. There are twenty or thirty of them, positioned on both sides of the road. They don’t look like peasants doing roadwork."

The four Knights were instantly on alert.

None of them doubted Natalia’s abilities. After all, she was the genius Magical Girl known throughout the Silent Shore.

"This road is already complete, and there’s no farmland on either side of this stretch. It’s impossible for that many peasants to be here."

Guard Captain Heinrich raised a hand and shouted, "On alert!"

He looked to the two men at his side. "Martin, Trent, go and take a look up ahead."

"No problem."

The two Knights tugged their reins and rode forward, while everyone else focused their attention on the sides of the road.

In the mountain forest up ahead, Liam, who had been waiting for some time, furrowed his brow.

’Have we been discovered?’

But he thought it was impossible. They were still so far away.

And yet, Martin and Trent looked wary, and their gazes were fixed right on his group’s position.

’Don’t tell me they’re constantly using Perception Magic while on the move?’

’Or has the Kennedy Magic Research Institute produced some new results?’

’Still, two hundred meters is close enough!’

Liam abruptly stood and bellowed, "Loose!"

In the woods, the Archers who had long been lying in wait leaped to their feet, drew their bows, and loosed their arrows.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

A dense volley of Arrows whistled through the air as they arced toward Natalia’s convoy.

"They’re Magic Arrows! Be careful!"

Heinrich yelled, "Shields up! Archers, prepare to return fire!"

The well-trained Guards sprang into action. The Warriors raised their Shields, and the Archers began firing back from the rear.

However, the moment these Arrows landed, they exploded, releasing a cloud of purple smoke that instantly enveloped the entire area.

The soldiers who accidentally inhaled the smoke began to cough violently, their faces turning red.

"Dammit, it’s a poison mist! Hold your breath!"

The faces of the two Knights, Heinrich and Bertrand, fell. They hastily circulated their Fighting Qi, sweeping it into the air to block all incoming Arrows.

But as their Fighting Qi collided with the Arrows, the poison sacs attached to the shafts burst open, and a deluge of purple mist rained down.

Even while holding their breath, the Kennedy Clan’s Archers couldn’t fire back, their lines of sight completely obscured.

This sudden turn of events plunged them into a desperate predicament.

Some distance away from the convoy, Martin and Trent exchanged an anxious glance.

"Their target is Her Ladyship!"

It didn’t take a quick mind to see it; they both immediately recognized this as a carefully planned assassination.

And if Nobility was behind the assassination, the situation was far more severe.

They didn’t know the enemy’s identity, but they knew they couldn’t let the convoy remain enveloped in poison gas.

"We charge in and stop them from firing more arrows!"

The two of them charged forward.

When they were just a few dozen meters away, they simultaneously unleashed Combat Techniques, attacking the groups on both sides of the road!

Liam’s lip curled. ’Merely Earth Tier Warriors.’

He shot down from the hillside, hurtling toward the two Knights at incredible speed.

At the same moment, a figure rushed out from the opposite hillside.

With a thunderous crash, the two figures who had appeared met the Combat Techniques with ease.

’They’re strong!’

Martin and Trent’s expressions grew grim. From that single exchange, they could tell their opponents were extraordinarily powerful.

They stared at the two masked assassins, their expressions grave.

’Two Celestial Tier Warriors!’

’Who on earth wants Natalia dead?’