Chapter 274: Good Actors

When the dark assassin Petrov was killed by the Flame Strike, Ivanovszki and Carleena only noticed the waves from the divine spell. They knew something went wrong but they had no idea what happened in Lucien's room.

When the short but intense magic battle between Lucien and Matvienko happened, they finally learned the "truth" as they focused in the scene mid-air.

"He's a middle-rank mage?! Damn liar!" Ivanovszki's eyes were wide open, it almost felt like he was about to break his gold-wired glasses. After the surprise, the man started cursing furiously.

Ivanovszki could understand how reluctant Petrov was before he died and how desperate Matvienko was at the moment.

Carleena was so surprised and confused that she could not close her half-opened mouth, exposing her neat teeth to the air.

"Peter isn't a knight? He's a sorcerer?! Wait, he's probably not Peter Joseph Vladimir! Liar, what a liar! All he did was telling lies!" She started cursing in her mind.

Sadly, it was too late for them to save Matvienko. The battle ended quickly and they saw Matvienko's rotten body falling at full speed.

After that, they shouted at the same time, "Mr. Nikonov!"

They addressed the man in a respectful way. It was Semenov, who was flying out of Count Witte's room, and he was a senior-rank mage with a power that was deep like the abyss.

What they did not know was that Semenov was not the Nikonov they knew.

...

The housekeeper Semenov, who was called by the surname "Mr. Nikonov", was floating outside Lucien's room, staring at Lucien through the window and curtain that were damaged by the Flame Strike and Burning Radiance.

His sight was so cold that it felt like he was staring at a dead man.

Lucien was surprised by the fact that Semenov was a senior-rank mage, however, he had successfully fought and eliminated a senior-rank mage by luck before. He was not terrified by the difference in rank like a normal mage would. Lucien had fought many life-or-death battles, so he quickly calmed down and got ready to activate the transformation robe.

It was a large castle, so Lucien had the chance to survive if he transformed into a rat and moved around. Also, if the priests, knights, and grand knights noticed what was happening in the Dry Vine Castle, they would be able to send the signal to Cardinal Nevskiy, who resided in the Ural City.

If Lucien cast the Elemental Swirl, the spell could barely do any damage to a healthy senior-rank mage, and he would put himself in a bad position.

Lucien was about to activate the transformation robe using his mind, however, he suddenly noticed he had trouble thinking, and he could barely control his spiritual power. He could not even activate the robe.

"Am... I... impacted... by... a... spell....?" Lucien was trying his best to think but it felt like his brain was acting like a rusty gear that was barely spinning.

The power of a well-prepared senior-rank mage that had not experienced an intense battle was terrifying.

Lucien finally realized how hard it was for Felipe to escape the chase of a senior-rank necromancer, feign death, counterattack, and force necromancer to waste a lot of strong spells and magic items. That was probably the reason why Felipe was the best of all of the geniuses in this generation.

However, Felipe was already at fifth circle when he encountered the senior-rank necromancer, but Lucien was two circles below that. Also, Lucien did not have a spell like Life Hiding as a final resort.

Semenov casted the sixth circle spell, Distraction, to impact Lucien's soul and mind. Although he was calm as a spellcaster, the burning rage was striking his mind. His best student and the most loyal servant were killed in front him. Semenov underestimated the target and he failed to rescue him in time.

Semenov spoke in a cold tone due to the shame and anger, "I'll turn you into a frog and torture you. You'll learn that sometimes it's better to be dead than alive!"

It almost felt like those words were pushed out of the gaps between his teeth by some chilling wind.

Semenov did not care if this bastard was from the Congress of Magic or a strong inheritor of an ancient sorcerer. The man must pay for what he did and there was a strong organization backing Semenov up.

"As long as... he doesn't... kill me... right away... I still have... a chance..."

Lucien had not given up in such a desperate situation and he was trying his best to deal with the Distraction spell, he would not let any chance slip by.

One shall never give up even though it might be his destiny.

One shall keep trying until the last breath!

Lucien's ability to think started recovering slowly due to his strong willpower and a bright light that burst out of his soul.

However, it was too late. His opponent was a senior-rank mage, and although there was a gap between every spell Semenov cast, he could still deal more damage than Lucien could heal.

Semenov was much stronger than Lucien.

Semenov's deep blue eyes looked like a calm and depressing sea when the storm was about to come. Lucien noticed that his body was being decomposed and reformed following a certain pattern.

Baleful Polymorph!

A ball of black smoke appeared beside Lucien. Leo was in caught inside it, he wanted to push Lucien away, but he was too slow.

Suddenly, the dark sky that was illuminated by the silver moonlight turned yellow, and dried tree roots that looked like dark tentacles appeared everywhere. Those strange shadows gathered together and wrapped around Semenov like a ball.

In the castle, the land with the muddy fragrance was decaying quickly, the flowers which just survived the coldness withered, and the vibrant needle-like leaves of the trees started drying out...

It was a power that was at a similar level as a senior-rank mage.

"Withered Shadow!"

"Uncle Witte!"

It was Ivanovszki and Carleena who were shouting in surprise. They thought Witte would not be a problem, but the thing that worried them the most still happened.

"A level seven radiant knight, a strong knight that survived countless intense battles, a knight that owns his unique honorable title, is he really under our control?!"

"He's getting old, his body was weakened by the serious illness, and we have Nikonov, who's a sixth circle senior mage. We placed a curse that is hard to notice and his body will be weakened even further, but his name still terrifies us."

Today, when everything was finally about to end, the things that Ivanovszki and Carleena worried about actually happened, as if it was a nightmare.

In the withered ball, a strange glow flashed upon Semenov's body, and he disappeared into the air, teleporting to the shadows on the far side. Also, an energy armor was created on the surface of his body.

A sixth circle spell, Magic Trigger!

It was a signature spell that separated the senior-rank mages from the middle-rank mages. If the spell is created in the soul, it meant the sorcerer had another life, and a chance to fight back.

The spell would be triggered under different circumstances, based on how the sorcerers set it up. The spell might be triggered when the sorcerer was about to die or when there was a strike that was too hard for him to block. When the requirement was met, the Magic Trigger would instantly cast two spells that were stored in the model, which were at a level that could not exceed half of the sorcerer's level. Also, those two spells could not be interrupted and they were perfect for life-threatening situations.

The situation was under Semenov's control after he dealt with the Withered Shadow using two 3rd circle spells: Shadow Step and Greater Mage Armor.

The withered ball turned into a human being, revealing Count Witte. He looked old and weak but he stood there with pride.

He was holding a dark greatsword using both hands, the wrinkles and weakness were still displayed on his face, however, the fierce expression on his face made him energetic, and he did not look like a normal old man at all.

"I can still kill even if I'm about to die," Count Witte raised his eyes slightly and spoke in a cold tone. He slashed forward with the greatsword. It turned into blurry shadows and went toward Semenov.

His patience finally granted him the chance!

The Baleful Polymorph was interrupted by Count Witte at the most important moment and the black smoke disappeared before it completely surrounded Lucien's body. Lucien noticed that his body returned to the normal form and the impact of the Distraction was no longer a problem.

"Move!" He glanced at Leo and jumped down the patio of the castle. A fight between the radiant knight and the senior-rank mage was about to begin, this was Lucien's best chance to escape.

No matter if the senior-rank mage who disguised himself as Semenov or Count Witte the Withered Shadow won the battle, Lucien was certain that they would kill him. He killed the sorcerer's student and the radiant knight had killed countless sorcerers in his life. Also, this was the Schachran Empire, a country that would hunt and burn sorcerers.

Lucien decided to escape the castle using the knight-level speed because the shadows in the air would catch him if he used the flying spell that was relatively slow.

Leo noticed that Ivanovszki was observing the situation in another window before he jumped. His body suddenly expanded and was quickly surrounded by a frost aura. He jumped to the window with his muscular body and a long sword in hand.

"Ivanovszki's middle-rank guards were eliminated and this is my best chance to kill him! Doing so will temporarily pause the intel web of the smuggling organization and Lucien will have an easier time escaping. Lucien saved my life and I want to repay him, also, I want to avenge my family. I shouldn't let this chance slip even if I need to risk my life for it!"

Ivanovszki was worried that he would be caught in the fight between two strong individuals and he wanted to jump to the patio just like Lucien. However, he did not expect the strike from Leo.

Although Ivanovszki was weaker than Leo, he still pursed his lips into a sneer, "It's you."

"Die!" Leo could feel that his blood was boiling as his sword was about to hit his enemy.

However, Leo saw Ivanovszki striking forward with his right fist, and the next moment his sight turned black. Leo could not handle the attack, and was sent flying in the air like a kite with a broken string.

"Grand Knight?! He's a grand knight!"

Ivanovszki's tight suit was changed into a silver full-body armor and there was a cold expression on his face. He jumped down with a greatsword in hand and started chasing after Lucien.

The infamous smuggler was a real grand knight and his bloodline was not granted by potions.

That was the reason why he survived the attacks of the assassins.

Carleena muttered after seeing the scene, "A grand knight? He's a liar too!"

"Ivanovszki, a smuggler and a grand knight that disguised himself as a knight squire. Mr. Nikonov, a senior-rank mage that disguised himself as Semenov the housekeeper. Uncle Witte, who made it look like he did not notice anything and he was just waiting for the death to come. A middle-rank mage and knight that disguised himself as a member of the Vladimir Family. An enemy of Ivanovszki that disguised himself as the housekeeper of Peter. Also, I disguised myself as a weak woman who hasn't activated her bloodline power. What an incredible stage. It shows we're all good actors..."