Chapter 139: Her Master’s Gift — When a ring becomes a fortress
BOOM!
Another explosion came from inside the fortress, as those golden knights kept attacking and killing everyone in the vicinity.
Even though Osric was commanding archers to shoot at them, but with their bronze knight realm power, they couldn’t able to damage their body at all.
’Why is he not coming out??’ Soren looked toward the ongoing destruction and thought worriedly.
Then at this moment, the golden knights, the ashenford armies, the blackstone legions felt the tremor coming from the other golden knight battlefield, at which even they paused and turned to look.
’What the hell!’ All four early golden knights, got freaked out after seeing the massive beam and even more, when Aurora cut it down that easily.
Because they could clearly sense that if the beam had struck them, none of them would have survived.
And now, the very person who had effortlessly suppressed that devastating attack was charging toward them.
Soren also saw the situation and shook his head, because the hero didn’t come out, instead came the other monster from his legion.
And seeing the expressions on his four member faces, he realized that he had no choice but to enter the battlefield himself now.
Otherwise, they would lose their nerve and flee.
’I hope that seeing her on the verge of death, the Hero will finally come out.’ With that thought, Sorin released the full aura of a Mid-Golden Knight.
Aurora, who had been charging straight toward them, abruptly came to a halt. Her expression changed the instant she felt the overwhelming pressure, and the same reaction spread across everyone present on the battlefield.
The reason was simple. Early Golden Knights were still considered acceptable combatants in large-scale wars. However, those above that level rarely entered battles involving lower realms, as the difference in strength between a Mid-Golden Knight and a newly advanced Golden Knight was simply too vast.
Even Ocatvia got surprised by the sudden appearance of mid-golden, because all the time even she didn’t feel his presence at all, which now worried her.
’Who is this third party? which has even sent a mid-golden knight?’ While Ocatvia was thinking this, Nyra gave her a worried look, but Octavia didn’t respond to this, because if that knight attacked them, then she had to protect Nyra first.
After the earlier abrupt halt, Aurora resumed her charge.
But the moment she approached the fortress, all four Early Golden Knights moved simultaneously.
Seeing that Soren was on his way to rejoin them, they immediately launched a coordinated assault.
"Phantom Barrage!"
The four shouted in unison.
The next instant, they surrounded Aurora from all directions, unleashing a relentless storm of rapid dagger strikes.
SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING!
Their daggers flashed like streaks of silver, each movement leaving behind ghostly afterimages that made it nearly impossible to distinguish the real attack from the fake one.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Aurora swung her silver sword again and again, barely managing to keep up with the overwhelming barrage.
Despite the tremendous boost to her physical abilities, she could only deflect roughly half of the incoming strikes.
The remaining attacks slipped past her defense.
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
One cut after another appeared across her body.
Blood gradually stained her silver armor as the wounds continued to increase with every passing second.
She attempted to counterattack several times, her sword carrying enough power to seriously wound any one of them.
However, the four assassins specialized in speed.
The instant Aurora’s blade descended, they had already vanished, leaving behind only fading afterimages.
Most of her attacks struck nothing but illusions.
Meanwhile, the real attackers continued circling around her like hungry wolves, waiting for the smallest opening before launching another relentless wave of dagger strikes.
’I have to defeat them quickly.’
Aurora thought as she noticed Soren rapidly closing the distance.
The Mid-Golden Knight had finally arrived.
The next instant, he attacked.
"Ghost Blade Strike."
Black Aether enveloped Soren’s dagger, making the blade nearly invisible against the surroundings.
With that, his figure disappeared.
Then...
He appeared directly behind Aurora. Along with comes the strike, which was swift.
And silent.
Almost impossible to evade.
Because by the time an opponent noticed the dagger...
It had already pierced their body.
The invisible blade shot toward Aurora’s back with terrifying precision.
Or at least...
That was what was supposed to happen.
Whoom!
When a brilliant golden spherical barrier suddenly materialized around Aurora.
CLANG!!
The invisible dagger slammed into the barrier instead, producing a deafening metallic clang that echoed across the battlefield.
"What?!"
Everyone’s expressions changed in an instant.
"A high-level protective artifact!"
Many exclaimed in disbelief.
A defensive barrier capable of stopping a Mid-Golden Knight’s technique was something they had rarely, if ever, witnessed.
Unlike the stunned onlookers, Soren’s expression immediately darkened.
The same was true for the other four Early Golden Knights.
However, none of them hesitated.
"Keep attacking!"
They launched another relentless barrage.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
Five Golden Knights continuously struck the golden barrier from every direction.
Daggers flashed.
Black Aether erupted.
Shockwaves rippled across the battlefield.
Their only objective was simple—
Destroy the barrier before Aurora could make her next move.
Aurora finally gained a brief moment to breathe, protected by the "Queen’s Ward Ring" her Master had given her.
The golden barrier isolated her from the relentless barrage, buying her a few precious seconds.
But instead of feeling relieved, her expression grew increasingly solemn.
’This barrier won’t hold much longer.’
She could clearly feel the enormous strain on the artifact as five Golden Knights continuously assaulted it from every direction.
Without wasting the opportunity, Aurora immediately launched her own counterattacks.
The Queen’s Ward protected its user from outside attacks but didn’t hinder attacks launched from within.
SHIIING!
Her silver sword flashed toward the nearest golden knight.
’Damn it!’
Seeing the incoming strike, the four Early Golden Knights immediately retreated using their Ghost Step, while Sorin intercepted the slash himself.
CLANG!
His black dagger collided with Aurora’s silver sword.
The tremendous force transmitted through the blade made Sorin’s entire arm tremble, and a sharp pain shot through his hand.
His expression changed slightly.
’Her strength...’
’It’s almost at the Mid-Golden Knight level.’
Even with his superior realm, receiving her attacks head-on was far from comfortable.
CRACK!
A crisp sound suddenly echoed.
Tiny cracks began spreading across the surface of the golden barrier.
Seeing this, Soren and the four assassins revealed excited smiles.
"It won’t last much longer!"