Chương 136: Catalyst for improvement?
Although their attack failed, the two figures said nothing as their auras receded again. If Sir Winstin had not seen it firsthand, he would have found it hard to believe that someone could conceal their aura so well. They erased their presence entirely and with a flash, the two disappeared into the fog. The same happened across the battlefield with the other assassins. After killing the guards, they quickly retreated. In a mere second, half the guards and two Grand Knights were assassinated! The assassins had such frightening killing power that the guards were shaken to the core. They could only look towards the stronger powers, such as Sir Winstin or the Grand Knights, to survive.
Elizabeth stepped out of her carriage with shock and horror written across her face. The battlefield was decorated with many rolling heads and bloodied bodies. Immediately, those emotions were replaced by anger. Despite Christina's protests for her to stay in the carriage, she could not. These guards died protecting her! They were innocent bystanders as far as she was concerned. Quivering in fear and watching the bodies to pile up left a sour taste in her mouth. Was it not the same with New Havens as she let her family die? How could anyone expect her to stand by and do nothing? She could not bear to do so again!
She held her Whiteangel Bow in her hands, her fist clenched tightly with a flash of fury in her eyes. Her hand reached for an arrow before she nocked it. Her actions were smooth and without error. Everything was done quickly and without hesitation. Beside her, Christina watched with surprise. Prior to New Havens's destruction, Elizabeth's archery skills were next to zero. She might use it to ease her boredom or hunt little animals, but never did she earnestly devote energy or time into it. That changed after her battle with the emperor. She refused to play the role of a bug waiting to be squashed on. She wanted to grab destiny with her own hands and forge her own future!
To that end, in addition to her daily education, she pushed for martial training! That intensified her physical and mental burden by several times, but she was determined to become stronger! She trained her body and archery every morning with the best instructors the Royal Family could afford. Her skills were rapidly pushed from a fledging novice to a capable archer. Of course, that was from a purely theoretical standpoint. She was far from being combat-capable, much less stand on a battlefield. Compared to Cardinal Hui, whose archery skill was one of the greatest in the world, she was practically nothing. However, she had officially started on her journey to the top!
Lights flashed across the battlefield as assassins darted out of the fog. Elizabeth and the guards were ready this time. With her bowstring drawn, as soon as she saw movement, she took her shot. Her arrow whizzed through the air and missed its mark. However, the assassin was shocked. Not for her ability, but the fact that the princess was personally entering the battle. It was unheard of! The assassins quickly engaged the guards after a short scuffle and retreated. The casualties this time was much lower. After all, these guards were not the standard fodder. Although they were not Perception Realm, to serve as part of the princess's guard naturally meant they were capable soldiers!
The third and fourth wave of attacks happened with deaths on both sides. Everyone was injured to some extent. Sir Winstin was bearing the brunt of the strongest enemies at once using famous assassination techniques. He could not remain untouched. His three fellow Grand Knights looked pitiful as they were covered in gory cuts. One had even died, and another was heavily incapacitated. Christina was the same way as the only non-combatant on the battlefield. She was lucky to have survived this long. Elizabeth was the sole exception as no one wanted to hurt her. From this, anyone could tell that the assassins' goal was to capture her, not kill her!
Despite everything, less than one minute elapsed. That was how fast-paced a real battle was! Remarkably, Elizabeth's archery was undergoing a metamorphosis. Sir Winstin had the sharpest eye present and he noticed how her arrows were becoming more and more accurate! It was far from landing a hit, but she was gradually training her aim in. And remember, this was against opponents that moved as fast as lightning! With real combat experience, she could finally display her true potential! That said, she was nowhere close to tipping the scales of the battle. They were still in a dire situation!
A short distance away, two galloping horses were closing in. They were Benedict and Lorenzo! Lorenzo was wondering how to explain things to his father and the Royal Family when his face turned stiff. The foggy air descended and cut them off from the rest of the world. Benedict felt something was amiss. He grew up in Algard and never had he seen such a phenomenon. That was reinforced as Lorenzo pulled his reins and stopped his horse. His face was extraordinarily serious. Benedict was confused, but when he saw Lorenzo draw his sword, his face turned serious.
Before Benedict could say anything, he instinctively pulled out his sword. The glimmering sheen of the blade revealed beautiful inscriptions. This was the sword personally gifted to him by his father, Sir Roland! Although Sir Roland loathed his son, he would not skimp out on gifting an exquisite sword. Otherwise, it would insult his honor as the patriarch of the Hawken Household and a renown swordsman! Therefore, this sword could be considered a top-tier work of art, a few steps away from being a true masterpiece. This was its debut in the world!
The next heartbeat, there was a flash of light from behind. Even without seeing it, Benedict could feel impending death breathing down his neck. He twisted his heel in the dirt and rotated his body. Without thinking, he executed one of the five stances of the Hawken Style! His guard was instantly raised, then broken through! He saw nothing, but felt a gale shoot past him. His back was drenched in sweat. The only times he experienced an attack so fast was from Great Knights of the Realm!
As he thought this, a thin red mark emerged on his shoulder. Although the assassin was not the same as the ones who targeted Sir Winstin, their attack was no pushover either. Otherwise, the assassins would not have annihilated half of Elizabeth's guards! And yet, in the face of death, Benedict managed to avoid the killing blow! It was deep and painful, but non-lethal. His opponent stared in surprise before they disappeared into the fog again. At the same time, Lorenzo had fended off two assassins.
"These aren't your everyday assassins," Lorenzo murmured. "Their skill is first-rate. I would wager that they must belong to a powerful organization. If they decided to attack Her Highness inside the capital, then they must be very confident. Princess Elizabeth must be in trouble!"
Benedict nodded with some fear lingering. Realizing the severity of the situation, they did not retreat. Instead, they advanced! After all, they were training to become future Protectors of the Royal Family. Retreating at a time like this never appeared on their minds at all. They abandoned their horses and began walking steadily. Their backs constantly rotated around as every blind spot was constantly monitored! Initially, Benedict was dragging down their battle strength. He could not defend or counter as well as his brother. The gap was obvious, and the assassins homed in on it. If Lorenzo had not stepped in at the last moment, Benedict would have died several times over.
But his skill was slowly improving! Although his time training was fruitless, his body had genuinely improved in all aspects whether it be stamina, flexibility, or power. It was merely his sword skills that remained stagnant. He could not grasp the profound inspiration that he gained after the fight with the emperor. He could not transform that inspiration into strength and that turned into frustration and despair over his inadequacies. However, now that his body experienced the threat of death multiple times, his sword skills were being polished! Even Lorenzo next to him could notice the extremely minor subtleties in Benedict's technique were being corrected.
For example, in executing one of the Hawken Style's techniques, Benedict's movements were too rough and forced. Lorenzo saw it often with Benedict in the training hall. It was like Benedict was re-enacting a role from a play. He could read the words in the script and see the scene in his head. But at the end of the day, he was acting. It could not compare to real life! That was not to say that he lacked combat experience. Perhaps he did, but Lorenzo did not think that was the root cause. Rather, Benedict lacked the true drive to push his skills to the next level! Such a dangerous situation was a catalyst for his skills to shine!
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