The group of refugees showed a variety of expressions; some were paralyzed with fear, while others feigned composure, though their eyes darted about fitfully.
Atop a twenty-meter-high watchtower of the castle, Tempest stood looking down, waiting for Leylo's command. Leylo, cradling Moonlight, walked slowly before the group, his gaze sweeping over each of them. Beside him stood Bishop Augustus, hands behind his back, his brow furrowed.
The Bishop clearly intended to find the assassin who dared challenge the authority of the Church. However, after a careful sensory sweep, he found their auras to be a muddled mess—mostly the exhaustion and weakness typical of commoners after a long journey. He detected none of the sharp, disciplined qi characteristic of a high-tier knight.
"Bishop, what do you see?" Leylo asked softly.
Augustus shook his head slowly, a hint of displeasure in his voice. "This Night Owl has some methods of concealment. It is difficult to distinguish him by aura alone." As a Tier 5 powerhouse, failing to immediately identify the target made him feel slighted.
Leylo understood. Night Owl had come prepared. Time for the blunt approach. He turned to Ed, the Captain of the Guard. "Ed, tie them all up for now. Question them separately."
"Yes, My Lord!" Ed signaled, and several knights stepped forward with ropes.
The dozen isolated refugees fell into a commotion. Some cried out in panic, "Mercy, Lord! We are truly just refugees!"
"It is merely a routine inquiry, do not be nervous," Leylo reassured them, his eyes fixed on their reactions.
Just as a guard approached a plain-looking man of medium build to bind his wrists, the air changed! The man's previously downcast eyes snapped open, flashing with a chilling, murderous intent.
It was Night Owl. He knew that once bound, he would be a fish on a chopping block. Rather than wait for death, he would gamble everything on a strike!
His body blurred like a ghost, kicking the guard before him away with a knee strike. With a flick of his wrist, a short dagger coated in a ghostly green venom appeared in his hand. He lunged straight for Leylo, just a few meters away!
Leylo was ready. With a snap of his wrist, the Magic Rope flickered with glowing runes and shot out like a striking viper. It reached the man first, instantly coiling around his wrists and torso.
"Bind!"
The magic rope tightened abruptly, halting the man's forward momentum. He clearly hadn't expected Leylo's reaction speed or the sheer durability of the enchanted cord.
"Hmph, a petty trick!" Night Owl grunted. His arm muscles bulged, and with a grotesque twist of his wrist, a second dagger appeared in his other hand. A cold flash of steel followed as he slashed savagely at the magic rope!
CRACK!
The runes on the rope flickered frantically. He actually managed to carve several deep gashes into it; it looked ready to snap. From Leylo's move to Night Owl's counter-slash, only two heartbeats had passed. The reflexes and explosive power of a Tier 4 Sky Knight were on full display.
However, two heartbeats were enough.
"Vermin! You dare act with such insolence before this Bishop?!" A thunderous roar exploded.
Bishop Augustus was incensed. He was already annoyed by his failure to pick out the assassin; seeing this "small fry" attempt a murder right in front of him set his temper ablaze. He took a violent step forward, his sword clearing its scabbard with a sharp CLANG.
The blade flashed as if tearing the very air. Augustus didn't use a complex technique—it was a simple, horizontal cleave. But as the strike landed, a vast, boundless power of Holy Light erupted. The blade seemed to burn with an invisible sacred flame, warping the air around it. This was a full-power strike driven by the Holy See's secret "Breath of Light" technique!
Night Owl, just about to break free from the fraying rope, felt an invincible, terrifying weight crash down upon him. He didn't even have time to dodge or parry. His vision was filled with a streak of light that was as fast as it was domineering.
Tier 5? Night Owl's eyes widened in disbelief. What kind of petty Baron has a Tier 5 protector?!
SPLAT!
Blood sprayed. Night Owl's body was swept through by the massive, invisible edge as if by a giant scythe. He was cleanly severed in two at the waist! His upper body flew back several meters, a mask of horrified shock frozen on his face, while his lower half slumped to the ground, blood instantly soaking the stone.
The square fell into a deathly silence. The refugees were pale and trembling with terror. Even Leylo's knights were awestruck by the sheer power of Augustus's strike. To kill a Tier 4 Sky Knight in one blow—this rigid Bishop was truly a monster.
Augustus stood with his sword pointed at the ground, a single drop of blood sliding down the edge. His white robes fluttered in the breeze, radiating an aura of majesty that made it difficult to look at him directly. "Hmph. A mere Shadow Blade, yet he dared to act the clown before me!"
Beautiful, Leylo thought. He stepped forward and bowed to Augustus. "My deepest thanks for your assistance, Bishop."
Augustus sheathed his sword, his anger receding slightly, though his pride remained. "Such heresy must be purged by all. There is no need for thanks, Baron Leylo."
Ed directed the guards to dispose of the remains. A sharp-eyed guard searched the upper torso and quickly found something. "My Lord, look at this!"
He presented a mask as thin as a cicada's wing. It was made of a material that was neither metal nor jade, cold to the touch and covered in strange patterns. The inner side still held a faint trace of mana.
Augustus snorted. "A Mask of a Thousand Illusions. No wonder he could change his appearance and shroud his cultivation. This Shadow Blade organization is certainly willing to spend their capital."
With the assassination resolved, Leylo felt much lighter. However, Bishop Augustus showed no signs of leaving. He lingered in Blackstone, repeatedly bringing up the construction of the Temple of Light.
Unable to endure the pestering, Leylo decided to head out to "avoid the wind." The Bishop was too powerful to fight and too stubborn to argue with. Leylo figured he would hide out until the Vice Commander of the Thunder Dragon Knights arrived to take the Bishop off his hands.
Two days later, Augustus came calling again, only to find the Baron gone. A servant respectfully informed him that Lord Leylo had departed at dawn on the Storm Griffin King, Tempest, to drive away a Two-Headed Wyvern that had been harassing the border.
Augustus frowned but said nothing. Territorial security was a priority, after all.
In reality, Leylo was currently soaring through the peaks of the Blackstone Mountains with his griffin flock. Moonlight lay lazily on Tempest's broad back, squinting in the high-altitude sun. Leylo remembered old intelligence mentioning sightings of wild griffins near the mountain ridges. Back then, he lacked the strength and aerial units to investigate. Now, with the castle settled and the Bishop breathing down his neck, it was the perfect time for a "quiet getaway" to track down these wild beasts.