Chimaera's Conquest: The Legend Of The Devourer
Chapter 48: Ambush (2)

Chapter 48: Ambush (2)

As Lark walked into the clearing, a dozen more Ravens jumped from their hiding places, concealed within the thick foliage of trees. Soon, Vesper and the rest were surrounded with no way out.

"Lark, you dare betray me?" Vesper yelled at him, pointing one of her blades at him.

"Betray you? Oh no, no, no, madame, I just found a more profitable customer, that’s all," Lark smiled slyly. "I did mention I’m all about the money, right? The Church made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, so I exposed your identity. Please don’t take it personally..."

Vesper gritted her teeth, frustrated with her own decision. Usually, she travelled with a contingent of guards with her. She did the same when she met Adrian, as the entire inn was filled with her men.

However, since she wanted to talk to Adrian personally and didn’t want to intimidate him, she didn’t bring her usual group of guards there.

She thought it would be a quick affair, but now her decision had bit her in the ass. Thanks to that bastard Lark, the Church found out about her and decided to complete the unfinished job by killing her.

’And here I thought they’d have forgotten about me... fucking bastards!’ Vesper thought as her eyes trailed off in Adrian’s direction.

To her surprise, Adrian was wielding a sword, something she hadn’t seen him do in a while. But she knew he was no match for the assailants.

Maybe Adrian had learned a thing or two over the years, but still, it didn’t mean anything. The enemies were too high-level, and even with reduced stats, it would be too much for him.

’I’m no better than him in this situation...’

Despite being a level 80 assassin, Vesper knew she couldn’t handle the entire Raven group alone, primarily because of the limitations of her assassin class. Dealing with them would have been possible if the guards were in perfect condition.

But the odds were against them, especially with one guard injured and losing blood rapidly. It didn’t look like they would make it out alive.

’No... I have to get Adrian to safety. That’s the least I can do after getting him involved in this mess,’ Vesper thought, clutching her blades tightly.

If only the Paladins had come after her instead of the Ravens, she would have gladly surrendered herself in exchange for Adrian’s safety. But she knew the word of the Ravens was worth less than dogshit. No matter what she did, they would kill them all.

Vesper shifted her gaze towards the crack in the Veil, the mysterious force that held all of Nexaria’s floating islands together. If she could buy enough time for Adrian to slip into the crack, she could die in peace.

With her mind made, she prepared to engage the Ravens, but they were a step ahead and attacked first. Vesper and the guards braced for impact, but before the Ravens got too close, something unexpected happened.

Out of nowhere, Adrian appeared amongst the group of assassins. Taken aback by his boldness, the Ravens stood there, stunned. Before they knew what was happening, Adrian activated [Minon Fury].

The more vigilant ones in the crowd managed to step back just in time to dodge Adrian’s powerful swing. However, some unfortunate ones found themselves slashed in multiple places.

Some even had their entire arms blown away, causing them to cry out in pain, desperately clutching their wounded limbs. Blood splattered everywhere, but it was just the beginning.

While Adrian was only level 13, thanks to all the sponsorships and quests he had received, his stats were akin to that of a level 30 warrior—that, coupled with his titles and skills, made him a tough foe to deal with for those in similar level range. But no one other than him knew about it.

Vesper, like the Ravens, was too stunned to speak. However, the surprises weren’t over yet. He yanked back his hoodie, revealing his face to the Ravens.

"What the hell...?" Red, hiding amongst the crowd, recognised Adrian immediately.

As for Adrian, since he was deadset on leaving Nexaria, he didn’t care about revealing his identity to the assailants anymore. Instead, he wanted to go all out and deal with the mess as soon as possible.

Adrian’s eyes glowed with a dark shade of red as he unleashed the power of his [Illusionary Eyes]. Confusion struck the Ravens, making them turn on each other. But since Adrian had cast it on everyone, those with high enough resilience broke through the illusion.

However, even if they had countered his magic, the Ravens would have difficulty dealing with those under Adrian’s influence.

Seeing the chaos unfold, Lark realised things were spiralling out of control. Besides, his mission was accomplished, so he tried to slip away. But before he could get far, a Raven under Adrian’s influence spotted him and shot him in the face, thinking he was an enemy.

"Come on, let’s go!" Adrian yelled as he grabbed Vesper’s hand and decided to take advantage of the chaos to slip away.

Vesper hesitated as she didn’t want to abandon the guards who had stood by her through thick and thin.

"Go, madame! We’ll hold them off!" one of the guards yelled while the other kept struggling against the Ravens.

"Thank you..." Vesper mumbled back and took the lead, rushing towards the cracked Veil.

However, just as they reached the spot, a shot rang out, and pain seared through Adrian’s shoulder. Red had shot him, seeking revenge for his father, Victor. The shot disrupted Adrian’s momentum, and he fell right before the crack.

"You’re not going anywhere!" Red yelled and took aim for another shot, but the guard with the injury jumped in between, taking the shot meant for Adrian and fell... dead.

Things took a turn for the worse as the Ravens slowly broke through Adrian’s illusion and jumped like hyenas on the remaining guard, tearing him to pieces.

"Godamnit!" Adrian cursed under his breath and tried to help, but Vesper stood in front of him. "What are you doing?"

"Get through the Veil, Adrian. I’ll hold them off." she calmly muttered as if they were discussing the weather.

"I can’t leave you here!"

Adrian protested, but his words didn’t mean anything to Vesper as she turned towards him with the calmest look ever. Their eyes met briefly, and Adrian saw a tearful yet cheery smile on Vesper’s face.

"Thank you, Adrian," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the chaos. "I’m glad I got to see you one last time."

Before Adrian could react, she shoved him through the cracked Veil. Adrian tried to get back, but the pressure of the Veil knocked him out as the Ravens rushed towards Vesper... her fate remained unknown to him.