When the concentrated cries traveled over, everyone in the cabin was shocked.
Link immediately walked out. He did not care about convincing Romilson anymore. When he passed the man, he suddenly shouted, "Romilson!"
"Huh?" Romilson was frightened. He didn't know why the usually calm Link would suddenly be like this.
Before he could react, Link hit the back of Romilson's neck. He acted decisively. No one could have guessed that a Magician would fight physically instead of with magic.
With this hit, Romilson's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground—he passed out.
"Uh…" Grenci and Ferdinand were dumbfounded. They didn't know what Link was planning.
Link hurriedly explained, "He would definitely go back to save the princess, but with the current situation, he'll certainly die. We need him alive. Otherwise, if anything happens to the princess, we won't be able to explain it."
Romilson was a witness to prove the innocence of the Ferde Wilderness and the Norton Kingdom. Afterwards, Romilson and the High Elf Kingdom would hate the humans for this, but they were forced to do so.
The two Master Magicians shuddered. They were old and wise; they instantly understood the meaning behind Link's actions and nodded.
"Sirs, I'll hand him over to you two while I go out to deal with the attackers." They were two Level-6 Master Magicians. Link believed that the attackers would be unable to break through their Advanced Defensive Barrier within a short period.
With that, Link shot a glance at Celine. The two walked towards the cabin's exit.
At the door, Link stopped. He pulled out the Burning Wrath of Heavens wand and murmured to Celine, "Follow closely."
Being with those two old guys should be safe, but after hearing Celine's dream, Link subconsciously wanted to keep Celine by his side. Only then would he be reassured.
After Celine nodded, Link activated the spell, Edelweiss and opened the door.
The moment he did so, a figure outside pounced on him. He was so fast. At the same time, he raised an arm, and a crossbow appeared.
Pop! Pop! Pop! The crossbow fired continuously at Link, each one glowing with an eerie blue. They were super anti-magic arrows!
Using the magic lantern inside the cabin, Link saw the attacker's features clearly. He had a black mask, only revealing his eyes and some bits of skin. The eyes were dark brown and contained signs of a familiar rune. His skin was grayish brown and looked scary.
Link flinched. He thought, A human with runes in his eyes…is it a human ghoul?
The attacker's inhuman speed proved that. Since it was a ghoul, Link knew what to do. Faced with the flying anti-magic arrows, his eyes focused, and he pointed at the attacker with the Burning Wrath of Heavens wand.
"Spatial Distortion!"
The structure of Spatial Distortion was not complex and didn't need time to gather elements. It was created in an instant.
The three people in the cabin saw Link raise his wand and twist the air before him. There were three pops, and three arrows changed direction, burying into a wall on the side. Immediately after, there was a sharp shriek—it was the spell, Whistle. Then, there was a soft thud. A Whistle had crashed into the charging figure, and he was stopped.
This was not all. Without ceasing, the air before Link blurred. This time, it was a Vector Throwing Force Field. Under this force field, the Whistle hit the figure and forced him back.
This retreat gave Link enough time to cast an advanced magic spell!
With a whoosh, fire elements gathered quickly in the air. After 0.3 seconds, Titan's Fist appeared, rushing down at the figure.
The figure was still retreating and had to maintain his balance. Hence, he had no time to dodge. Titan's Fist flung him in the air and then grasped him, clenching tightly. He was burnt to a crisp instantly!
The Assassin had overestimated himself by trying to fight Link alone. With his speed, Link might not be able to catch up if he focused on dodging. However, he chose to fight face-to-face. This was no different from looking for death.
After returning from the battlefield in the North, Link's battle techniques had improved. He could fight with ease and was practically invincible. The Assassin was no match for him.
Every move Link had just done only took one second. Those who reacted slowly couldn't even see what he did clearly. Coincidentally, the three in the cabin managed to keep up and had an idea of the order of Link's actions.
Ferdinand and Grenci exchanged glances, impressed. They knew that Link was a Battle Mage and had powerful abilities. However, they never had a concept of just how powerful he was.
Now, they saw Link kill someone with their own eyes. The two old men were speechless. Before this, they knew Link was powerful. Now, they realized he was ten times more powerful than rumored!
As for Celine, she had already seen Link's magic before. Rather than being surprised, she was a bit annoyed. This guy improved again. What a jerk. He must've gone through a lot of hardships going to the North alone!
After killing the Assassin, Link had an accurate estimate of his power. He turned back and called, "Sirs, the Assassins are similar to the northern ghouls. He was at the pinnacle of Level-6. Be careful!"
Then he walked out of the cabin with Celine following closely.
Inside, the two old men exchanged glances and started establishing the defensive force field.
Outside, Link scanned the area. The streets of the camp were filled with Assassins in black clothing. At a glance, there were about 50 men. They didn't have a target; they killed whoever they saw with frightening efficiency.
Some soldiers tried to stop them but were killed immediately. The difference was too big; they couldn't even put up a fight.
Link saw Lucy. She had a few soldiers beside her and was preparing to block an Assassin. However, another Assassin already noticed them and was charging towards them.
Lucy was a Level-4 Assassin but was nothing compared to a ghoul at the pinnacle of Level-6. If they really fought, the ending would undoubtedly be Lucy's death.
Link focused on the Assassin and prepared to stop him. But then there was a whiz in the air. A Whistle had appeared out of thin air. It accurately dodged the Assassin's block and slammed into his face.
The Assassin stopped.
Link turned to see Eliard walk out of the cabin behind Lucy. With a stern expression, Eliard waved his wand. Whistles flew out one after another, endlessly attacking the aggressors.
He was very fast. He could release four Whistles per second, and they were all accurate. The Assassins could dodge or block as much as they wanted but on average, three out of every four Whistles would hit them square in the face.
The Assassins were masked so the Whistles couldn't injure them gravely. However, they successfully countered the Assassins' movements, greatly reducing their killing rate.
Link cheered inwardly, As expected of the number one magical genius of the continent. So awesome!
Link didn't waste any time either. He cast a Macro Sound Spell and roared, "My soldiers, your lord is here!"
The camp was in chaos, like a pack of dragons without a leader. They needed a core, and this was Link's responsibility as the lord.
He wore the robe of a Flame Controller, firelight flowing through him. He also held the wand of the Burning Wrath of Heaven that radiated with a blinding light. It was abnormally eye-catching in the dim camp.
Reassured, the soldiers immediately gathered towards him. Lucy, Gildern, Jacker, Eliard, and the others all came.
Link did not stop casting spells. He used all the old tricks against these attackers who were similar to the ghouls in the North. He used the force field to destroy the others' balance and then burned them with Titan's Fist.
He was unbelievably fast, and the Assassins had no chance. They went down at a rate of one per second.
Suddenly, one Assassin yelled, "There's only one of him. Charge and kill him!"
At this moment, there were only 40 Assassins. They immediately scattered, preparing to attack Link from all directions.
Link immediately ordered, "Retreat to the city walls. Don't get surrounded!"
If they were surrounded, Link knew he could protect the group around him by himself but only temporarily. His attacks would be greatly affected as well. If they had the sturdy stone walls behind them, they would only have the face the Assassins before them. It was much easier.
Hearing the command, everyone began retreating to the wall with Link at the center.
The Assassins attacked as if they'd gone crazy. They were constantly killed by Link, but they also killed many common soldiers. Link could not help it. Scorched Ridge lacked strong soldiers, and it was hard to fight off the Assassins' direct attacks. Even if Jacker charged forward, he would be using his life to win Link enough time to cast spells and attack.
If not for Eliard on the side, Jacker would have died many times already.
The battle intensified. The Assassins decreased by one per second, but the soldiers were decreasing by twenty per second! Without Link, the soldiers would have been defeated long ago.
At this rate, even if Link could kill all the Assassins, the camp would suffer greatly as well. The soldiers would probably all be dead. If they were not careful, Link might not survive either.
But then, a sudden roar came from outside the walls.
"You bastards dare to fool me! Dorias is angry!"
Dorias had returned at this critical moment!
He had spent his recent days in Scorched Ridge comfortably. He had good food every day, and there was someone just for brushing his hair, picking his teeth, and cleaning his claws. When he had time, he could go have fun in the Girvent Forest. It was like living in paradise.
In his mind, Scorched Ridge was his territory. Now, people were wreaking havoc in his territory, and they'd lied to him too. This…this was unforgivable!
With an aggressive growl, a giant tiger covered in blue-green light pounced onto the wall and down to the ground. An Assassin charged at it.
With another roar, Dorias opened his claws. Dagger-like claws shot out from the pads and slapped at the Assassin.
As a Wind Magical Beast, he was shockingly fast—even faster than the Assassins. As an old monster who had lived for centuries, he had rich experience, and these Assassins were no match.
Rip! There was a tearing sound. The Assassin had been torn to shreds by Dorias' claws!
Another Assassin rushed over, trying to make a sneak attack.
As if he had eyes on the back of his head, Dorias slapped his tail down on the man's neck. The neck snapped with a crack, and his head hung limply. He fell to the ground, convulsing, but didn't die.
Link's eyes were sharp. Seeing this, he was even more confident. This type of vitality had destroyed the equilibrium. It was definitely related to the Dark Divine Gear of the North.
Rather than retreating to the wall, he yelled, "Dorias, come here! Cover me!"
"Coming!" Dorias sprang up and landed behind Link. With this violent big cat, Link didn't have to worry anymore. He started to go all out.
Titan's Fist, Titan's Hand, Vector Force Field, Spatial Distortion were cast one after another. The Assassins in Scorched Ridge decreased rapidly.
"Retreat!" There were only ten Assassins left. They realized they had no chance and were ready to run.
"In your dreams!" Dorias rushed over like the wind. His huge body had a burst of speed faster than the enemies. Gnashing and blocking left and right, he blocked all their escape routes by himself.
With his cooperation and Titan's Fist, Link burned all the Assassins to dust in half a minute. There were only five living, left on purpose by Link.
After killing them all, the camp residences looked at Link with pure reverence. Even the Magicians from the East Cove Magic Academy had a look of awe on their faces.
They couldn't deal with a single one of these extremely powerful Assassins, but Link killed them all as if they were chickens. This gap in ability was unsurpassable.
Eliard sighed involuntarily. His friend was getting stronger and stronger. Eliard had worked hard, but he was still a Level-3 Magician. Link was getting further and further from him.
Dorias received a considerable amount of reverent gazes as well. He raised his head, puffed out his chest, and rubbed his claws. Over the clattering, he huffed, "These cowards want to cause trouble on my watch? Humph!"
Link didn't have time to be proud. He found Lucy and said, "Calculate the casualties and arrange for pension."
"Yes, Lord."
"Jacker, lock up the Assassins still living. Feed them this and then nail their hands and feet." Link pulled out Sacred Silver.
"I understand."
Then Link said to Dorias, "I'm going out now. The safety of the camp is on you."
Fifty ghouls was a big force. Even in the Skeletal Fort, Link had never seen a group of more than 100 ghouls. He believed that this amount was the maximum number of attackers, so the camp should be safe now. It was time to save Princess Milda.
Dorias was still busy being proud. Hearing Link, he immediately patted his chest.
"Link, don't worry. Give this to me. There won't be any problems!"
He had shown that he was truly powerful. Link could rest easy with Dorias there. He said a few more words to comfort the camp residents and returned to the cabin.
"Master, is he almost awake?" Link asked Grenci. He needed Romulsin's help to find Milda.
"Should be soon. Should I wake him?" Grenci asked.
Link nodded. "Sure."