Facing the other assassin who lunged straight at him—
Yuuki merely glanced at the man and then ignored him entirely. Not only did he fail to dodge, he actually charged forward as well.
In the blink of an eye!
The assassin was already upon him. The dagger in his hand was only a few centimeters from Yuuki's heart. Yet even in such a situation, Yuuki continued to disregard him completely.
Shhk!
What followed was astonishing.
The dagger pierced straight through Yuuki's chest without encountering the slightest resistance. There was no spray of blood—indeed, not only the dagger, but the assassin's entire body passed straight through Yuuki as if he were nothing more than air.
"Refraction through Mist Magic… It's a bit like a mirage. An interesting spell."
Yuuki's gaze swept over the faint, lingering mist around him. His figure flickered, and he appeared five meters away in an empty spot, the Demon-Dweller Sword cleaving downward.
"AAAH!"
A scream rang out.
The assassin's body appeared out of thin air, collapsing onto the ground in a pool of blood.
Before Yuuki's magic perception, using mist to refract light and project a false image was nothing more than a child's trick.
Shhk!
Another slash flew from the Demon-Dweller Sword. The previously invisible assassin was also cut down, crying out as he fell heavily to the ground.
In the space of a single heartbeat, Yuuki had already eliminated two assassins.
Boom!
Lightning magic, earthen spikes, and fireballs slammed toward Yuuki at the same time—yet his figure had already vanished again.
Clang! Clang!
Sweat beaded on Mariella's forehead. She held an ice blade in each hand, entangled in fierce combat with three assassins, her agile movements barely managing to block their relentless attacks.
While sending the majority of his men after Yuuki, Galeo had clearly dispatched a smaller team to eliminate Mariella, the traitor.
As members of the same Assassination Division, both sides were well aware of each other's capabilities.
Under such circumstances, facing three assassins alone placed Mariella under extreme pressure. In just a few breaths, she had already been pushed into several life-threatening situations.
"Cotton Magic — Sleeping Sheep's Strike!"
A massive shadow instantly engulfed the three assassins surrounding Mariella. Before they could react, an enormous sheep's fist descended from above!
Boom!
With a single blow, all three assassins were smashed into the ground.
Yuuki's figure appeared beside Mariella at the same time.
"Thank you, my lord," Mariella said, finally letting out a breath of relief as she bowed respectfully.
"Wait outside for a bit," Yuuki said softly.
As his words fell—
Black spatial magic wrapped around Mariella, teleporting her outside the barrier.
In an instant, the entire barrier space was left with only Yuuki and the assassins of the Diamond Kingdom.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
One after another, the assassins retreated rapidly, regrouping around Galeo to protect him, their gazes heavy and wary as they stared at Yuuki.
What weighed most heavily on their hearts was the massive sheep behind him—seven to eight meters tall, radiating powerful magic and an overwhelming presence.
"Just who… is this guy?"
Galeo's expression turned grim.
He clearly held the advantage in numbers, yet that rapid exchange not only failed to injure the enemy, it had cost them five assassins in an instant.
Such strength—could he be a Magic Knight?
Galeo shook his head slightly. If the man were truly a Magic Knight, there would be no need to hide his identity, nor would he appear alone.
"So this is the strength of the Diamond Kingdom's Assassination Division?" Yuuki said, disappointment evident on his face as he spread his hands helplessly.
"What a letdown."
"You—!"
Provoked by Yuuki's blatant mockery, Galeo's face flushed red with rage. He roared as he issued new orders.
"All units, attack! Scatter and go all out!"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Magic erupted once more. All kinds of spells poured down from every direction.
This time, Yuuki did not dodge at all. He simply stood where he was.
The towering sheep positioned itself in front of him, swinging its massive fists and repeatedly smashing toward the assassins on all sides.
Those seemingly soft, wooly punches produced deafening impacts with every strike—each blow carrying terrifying power!
Anyone struck would be left severely injured.
At first, unfamiliar with the attack patterns of the enormous Sleeping Sheep, the assassins suffered seven or eight injuries in a very short span of time.
But as they gradually adapted, the number of injuries dropped sharply.
They spread out, widened their spacing, and increased their movement speed. While evading the sheep's massive fists, streams of magic bombarded its body from all directions, producing dull, continuous thuds!
Faced with this situation—
Yuuki did not dispel the spell. Instead, he maintained it. The calm on his face slowly gave way to a smile.
He was deliberately allowing the Sleeping Sheep to take hit after hit, in order to better sense another power hidden within the spell.
"Sleeping Sheep" appeared to be a Cotton Magic spell, but in truth, its essence was derived from another magic entirely—Food Magic.
Ever since replicating Food Magic, Yuuki had wanted to further develop it, but he had never quite grasped the right feeling. This battle against the Diamond Kingdom's assassins was the perfect opportunity to experience the power of Food Magic through their attacks.
He had already begun to perceive that other force within the Sleeping Sheep!
As Yuuki's awareness of it grew clearer, the sheep's once-violent attacks slowed more and more.
Seeing this, Galeo and the other assassins broke into smiles, believing Yuuki was finally reaching his limit.
None of them noticed that the sheep's bloated body was beginning to shrink, its head lowering as if it were truly about to fall asleep.
The next moment—
The Sleeping Sheep's swinging fists came to a complete stop.
Just as Galeo and the others prepared to press the advantage and finish off Yuuki, the spell's caster—
RIIIP!
A harsh, tearing sound—like cloth being violently ripped apart—rang out from the sheep's body.
Two sharp gray claws tore through the sheep's fluffy belly, and from within emerged a gigantic gray wolf, its appearance ferocious and menacing.
"ROAR!"
The wolf let out a beastly howl. A terrifying surge of magic erupted from its body, causing every assassin's muscles to stiffen instinctively.
At the same time, a calm voice sounded.
"Food Magic — Glutton King's Banquet."
Yuuki spoke with a faint smile.
"ROAR!"
The giant wolf snapped its jaws open, lunging toward the incoming spells from all directions with the agility of a true beast.
Before the stunned eyes of everyone present, every magical attack unleashed by the assassins was swallowed whole by the wolf!
At the same time, Yuuki clearly felt the magic the wolf devoured rapidly convert into mana and flow back into his body.
"It was a sheep just now—how did it turn into a wolf?!"
"It… it ate the magic!"
"How can such magic even exist?!"
Their attacks not only failed to harm the enemy, but were devoured by a wolf that burst out from within the sheep.
Such a horrifying, inconceivable scene shook even the hardened hearts of the Assassination Division, fear rising uncontrollably.
"Everyone, stay calm!"
Galeo was drenched in cold sweat, yet he forced himself to shout, trying to steady his men.
Boom!
The giant wolf leapt in a single bound, appearing right in front of Galeo. Its sharp claws swept down, sending him flying on the spot.
The next instant—
Like a wolf among sheep, accompanied by a chorus of screams, every remaining assassin was wiped out by the giant wolf in an extremely short span of time.
"Impressive," Yuuki murmured as he surveyed the defeated assassins. "Not only can it devour magic, its raw power and agility far surpass those of Sleeping Sheep."
He snapped his fingers, and the giant wolf dissolved into nothingness.
"Next comes the real harvest."
He had deliberately held back, ensuring none of their grimoires vanished.
This strike against the Diamond Kingdom's Assassination Division was not only revenge for Mariella—it was also to replenish spell pages.
Without drawing the attention of the Magic Knights or the Eye of the Midnight Sun, the only way to obtain a large number of pages was through these assassins lurking within the Clover Kingdom.
(End of Chapter)
⭐ Enjoying the story?
You can read ahead and support the translations by joining my Patreon! Your support helps me update faster and take on more projects. Thank you for reading!
Read up to 50 chapters ahead!
patreon.com/AminaSims
Next bonus chapter at 1000 powerstones.