Chapter 17: The Setup
Under the cold moonlight reflecting on the gently rippling lake, Felix sat cross-legged on a bluestone slab, clad in a pure white sacrificial robe.
The silver runes on the robe sparkled under the moon, creating a dazzling display. Mammon’s Redemption lay across his folded knees. This seemingly unremarkable magic staff, pulsing with magical power, emitted a faint bluish glow, with twinkling elemental forces materializing beside him, dancing in the wind like stars in the sky.
The star-like twinkling elemental forces began swirling around the Lake of Clarity. These intentionally materialized elemental energies interplayed with the moon's reflection in the water, transforming the entire lake into a fairy-tale realm!
If you asked Felix what he was doing, he would confidently tell you that he was showing off. Yes, showing off! He was extravagantly expending his not-so-abundant magical power, feeling the anger of being provoked by the eyes hidden in the darkness.
A week had passed, and his "fishing ploy" had lured the fish but hadn’t hooked the cunning one with immense patience. The high-ranking assassin from the Brotherhood was overly patient. No matter how Felix tempted him, he just wouldn’t bite.
Assassins, the shadow lurkers.
Felix didn’t believe that the assassin was not human, that his endurance could withstand continuous provocations without reacting! He didn't believe that the assassin from the Brotherhood would guard Felendia for years just to assassinate him!
Felix was forcing him to act, and indeed, he was!
The floating lights gradually dissipated, and the swirling elemental forces calmed down.
Felix's reckless display of magic finally drained all his reserves. Mammon’s Redemption, lacking magical support, settled back onto his knees, its bluish light fading until it disappeared.
Just as Felix exhausted all his magic, a strong sense of crisis suddenly emerged in his perception!
He was giving the assassin another chance to strike, forcing him to make a move!
The first magical trap that lit up was the stasis enchantment, about fifty meters from Felix. The assassin, stepping into the trap, finally revealed his form.
The elemental disturbance disrupted his stealth effect, and under the cold moonlight, a slender figure in a pure black cloak appeared before Felix!
His speed was incredibly fast, almost ghost-like!
Having observed Felix for an entire week, the high-ranking assassin from the Brotherhood finally acted under his provocation!
As the stasis enchantment hit him, a dark light flashed across the assassin's black cloak, then the elemental force of the enchantment was utterly dispersed. The assassin, emerging from the shadows, crouched and leaped, closing the distance with ground-skimming speed!
The second magical trap was the Binding Incantation. The assassin from the Brotherhood seemed to have already detected this hidden trap.
His body twisted mid-air, narrowly avoiding the area affected by the Binding Incantation. Upon landing, the mysterious figure didn't pause but leaped forward again.
A blue glint of cold light appeared under the chilly moonlight, with a dagger mysteriously appearing in his hand, thrusting towards the now very close Felix!
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In that moment, the assassin's eyes even showed a hint of mockery. Perhaps, in his view, the spellcaster, who had exhausted all his magical power to lure him out, was nothing but a foolish ignoramus!
At such a close distance, even if the target were at the peak of his magical power, the assassin was confident in plunging the dagger into his heart!
Without any surprise, the dagger struck Felix's heart!
Such a ghostly fast attack, Felix couldn’t even see it clearly, let alone dodge it. So, unsurprisingly, the dagger struck his heart!
However, when the dagger hit Felix, a look of surprise flashed in the assassin's eyes. There was no smooth sensation of a cold weapon piercing the body, nor the chilling friction sound of the dagger scraping against ribs. Strangely, when the dagger met Felix's chest, it encountered an unusually tough resistance!
The Doom Robe!
The excruciating pain in his chest made Felix shudder, but in that moment, he didn’t hesitate to swing Mammon’s Redemption in his hand. The noble wand, used as a club, whistled through the air and smashed hard onto the mysterious assassin’s head.
“Bang!”
A look of uncontrollable surprise appeared in the assassin's eyes. In his opinion, a spellcaster shouldn't possess such brute strength! How could a spellcaster have the raw physical power akin to a barbarian?
If the assassin hadn't used his shoulder to absorb the impact just in time, that terrible blow might have shattered his skull!
As the mysterious assassin was flung away by Felix’s all-out strike, Felix also retreated, reaching the territory of Felendia. The two, about twenty meters apart, faced each other after their first clash.
Felix never took risks without a backup plan. He had donned the Doom Robe in advance, trusting in its incredible toughness to prevent fatal injury from the assassin's attack, but also allowing him a chance to counterattack.
No magical power? How to retaliate?
For the first time, Felix truly utilized his death knight's physical strength. He believed the assassin from the Brotherhood would never expect a mage to possess terrifying physical strength akin to an ogre, and use a treasured magic staff as a weapon to strike him!
Wiping the blood from his lips, Felix gazed at the similarly injured mysterious assassin, a sinister smile tinged with mockery appearing on his handsome face.
Although the Doom Robe had successfully blocked the dagger, the immense impact still injured Felix's heart. Back within Felendia's territory, he was barely able to stand.
He was sure he had broken more than three ribs, as even breathing caused him immense pain.
With sheer willpower, Felix stood on the stone slabs of Felendia, facing the equally wounded assassin. The assassin from the Brotherhood!
The assassin’s left arm was weirdly bent – Felix's powerful strike had broken it. Using his still functioning right hand to wipe the blood from his lips, the high-ranking assassin from the Brotherhood raised his head, his cold, hateful eyes fixed on Felix.
To Felix's surprise, the high-ranking assassin from the Brotherhood was a woman! Even with several fierce scars on her face, Felix could tell from her slender figure and features that she was a woman.
In the three seconds of their confrontation, the two fell into a silent stare-off.
Now, Felix clearly gave the assassin a choice: continue to try to kill him or flee!
His pale face and the blood spilling from his mouth, his trembling, thin body, and the increasing spasms in his legs, all indicated to the assassin that Felix was at his limit, perhaps unable to even walk a few more steps.
Felix stood silently, using his last bit of strength to remain upright, quietly waiting for the assassin to make a choice – continue or give up.
It was a trap, waiting for the assassin to fall into it – a trap with a lamb, devoid of any strength to fight back. The assassin's pale right hand clenched the shimmering dagger, and she sprung forward again.
The dagger sliced through the air with a piercing sound, aiming for Felix's head with an unstoppable momentum. If this strike hit, the sheer physical force would split Felix's head in two!
Just as the assassin leaped, Felix slowly closed his eyes, letting out a sigh of regret...
At the moment the dagger was about to strike Felix's head, a blood-red whip, glinting with metallic light but extremely flexible, lashed out from the darkness! It coiled around the assassin's waist and violently threw her to the ground.
“Bang!”
The assassin, hitting the ground, spat out a mouthful of blood with a “whoosh” sound, but she instantly hurled her gleaming dagger towards Felix with her remaining strength!
She had anticipated Felix’s backup plan, but her intention was clear: she wanted to take Felix down with her!
Assassins never fear death!
The dagger was promptly blocked by the lightning-fast whip, which, as if fueled by rage, whirled in the sky and lashed toward the barely breathing assassin's head.
“Bang!”
The metallic, dark-red whip hit its target, and in that instant, the assassin’s head burst into a mess of blood and flesh.
The Brotherhood's second assassination attempt had failed.