Leon looked at Aaron and said, "Your Highness Aaron, won't you introduce the two people behind you?"
Aaron laughed immediately upon hearing this. "I was so happy to see you, Leon, that I forgot to introduce them."
Aaron first gestured toward the female priest on his left. "This is Sylvia, my traveling priest. Leon, you should have met her during the priest examination—"
"Oh, back then she was beaten into the shape of a dead dog by your two hammers, so you probably don't remember her."
Sylvia, standing behind Aaron, saw her originally cold expression instantly flare with a look of annoyance.
However, hindered by the presence of so many attendants and Eldenborg residents, she suppressed the urge to bash Aaron with her scepter. She addressed Leon, saying, "Long time no see, Priest Leon."
Leon nodded to her and then turned his gaze toward the middle-aged man he was truly concerned about.
Aaron introduced him, "This is His Excellency Aleph-One Gandalf, my personal guard."
"Hello, Excellency Aleph-One," Leon said, greeting him.
Aleph-One did not reply verbally, merely offering a slight nod.
Leon didn't mind. He simply turned back and said:
"Your Highness Aaron, there is something I would like to ask your help with."
"What is it? Just say the word!" Aaron's eyes lit up, and he instantly became excited.
What he loved most was finding something to do when there was nothing, and making a scene when there was!
"That matter is—"
In the next instant, Leon raised his priest's scepter, and a Radiance Longbow rapidly materialized behind him.
Behind the longbow, the Hand of Thunder emerged. One hand gripped the bow, while the other grasped the handle of a hammer that seemed concealed by some force, making its exact shape impossible to see.
Swoosh!
The invisible Hammer of Sacred Light tore through the air, flying straight out from the crowd and striking toward the roof of a shop on the side of the street.
Boom!
The roof had appeared empty, but as the invisible giant hammer crashed into it, a flicker of shadow and light appeared. A figure with a look of utter bewilderment on his face manifested instantly!
The figure only reacted when the Hammer of Sacred Light was right in front of him, raising a hand to block and catching the invisible hammer.
"Ah!"
"An assassin!"
"Protect His Highness Aaron!"
From the moment Leon manifested the Radiance Longbow to the appearance of the figure, barely a second and a half had passed.
At this moment, both Aaron's guards and Leon's guards quickly converged, forming a tight perimeter around the two.
The surrounding Eldenborg citizens, who had been watching the spectacle, screamed and fled into the distance.
"Sigh."
Aaron's personal guard, Aleph-One, seemed to let out a sigh. His form vanished in an instant, reappearing behind the stalker in the next.
Aleph-One's wrist struck like a blade against the stalker's nape. Before the stalker could resist, he instantly fell unconscious.
"The assassin has been captured! Do not panic!"
Aleph-One's voice echoed through the street, carrying a strange power.
Influenced by this power, the panicked crowd quickly calmed down.
Aleph-One grabbed the stalker by the collar and returned to Aaron's side.
Seeing this, Aaron didn't panic; instead, he wore an expression as if he were watching a play.
"This assassin..."
"Your Highness, this is not the place for conversation. Why don't we enter the cathedral first?" Aleph-One said, glancing at Leon.
Epic rank!
Sensing the aura Aleph-One emitted when he struck, Leon's pupils contracted.
Aaron's personal guard was actually at the Epic rank?
This was unusual!
Even for the Imperial Royal Family, even if Aaron's surname was Cassius, this was not normal!
The Epic rank represented the pillars and the realm-defending stones of the empire. They were the strongest experts beneath the Legend rank individuals who stood at the peak of the continent.
Even if the Heron Empire was exceptionally powerful, the Sage King would not assign an Epic rank expert to a "wasteful" job like being a bodyguard!
Aaron's trip to Eldenborg might not have been a mere whim.
It was highly likely the Sage King had assigned him some special mission!
Countless thoughts flashed through Leon's mind, but facing Aleph-One's gaze, he nodded and said:
"Excellency Aleph-One is right; this isn't the place to talk. Your Highness Aaron, let's go into the cathedral to chat."
After instructing Ratahn to comfort the frightened citizens, Leon led Aaron and his party into the cathedral.
...
Inside the Rose Cathedral.
The stalker was tossed onto the floor like trash by Aleph-One.
Leon and Aaron sat in the main hall of the cathedral's backyard, staring at the stalker.
It was a human, dressed in a set of billowing black clothes, looking not very old.
"Is this the assassin who wanted to kill you, Leon?" Aaron asked, looking the stalker over.
Leon shook his head. "I wasn't sure before, but now... I think he's someone His Majesty sent to protect me."
"Protect? Oh... Leon, with the talent for Divine Arts you possess, it's indeed worth my old man... I mean, my Royal Father, specifically ordering someone to protect you."
Aaron wore a look of realization, but then he asked:
"But why did you suddenly attack him?"
Hearing this, Leon immediately looked at Aleph-One.
Sensing Leon's gaze, Aleph-One let out a soft sigh and said, "I can only blame this kid's skills for not being up to par! He was supposed to be protecting you in secret, yet he allowed the person he was protecting to notice him. That's why Master Leon mistook him for an assassin."
"What's even stupider is that until just now, he thought he was hiding perfectly. He had no idea he'd been discovered long ago..."
Hearing Aleph-One's tone, Leon asked, "Excellency, do you know him?"
"Know him? He specifically studied under me for a period of time!" Aleph-One's tone was full of dissatisfaction. He lightly stomped his foot, and arcane power flowed out, jolting the unconscious stalker awake.
The moment the stalker woke up, his body reacted instinctively as violent arcane power exploded from him.
However, before it could reach Leon or Aaron, it was suppressed by Aleph-One with a single downward palm strike.
"Fool! Look at where you are right now!" Aleph-One shouted sternly.
The stalker had wanted to continue resisting, but hearing Aleph-One's voice, his body froze, and his face filled with surprise. "Te... Teacher?!"
After recognizing Aleph-One, the stalker finally realized his current situation and noticed the gazes of Leon, Aaron, and Sylvia fixed upon him.
Following that, the stalker finally remembered what had happened before he lost consciousness—
"That's impossible!"
The stalker stared at Leon, his pupils trembling!
He remembered that before he blacked out, a longbow had materialized behind Leon, locking onto him and firing a hammer...
But... how could Leon have possibly discovered him?!
He was a Diamond-rank arcane thief who had received professional training from the Imperial Shadow Guard. His concealment techniques were mastered to a state of perfection!
Forget Leon, a Silver priest—even Bishop Miles, a Gold-rank expert, or Viscount Finn, a Gold-rank bloodline warrior, shouldn't have been able to find him.
"You... how on earth did you sense me?"
"Doncic, you truly disappoint me."
Before Doncic could finish, Aleph-One's cold voice rang out from the side. He stared at his student, his eyes filled with obvious disappointment:
"The fact that Master Leon could perceive you is as undeniable as red-hot iron."
"As a member of the Imperial Shadow Guard, what you should be doing right now is not doubting, but deeply reflecting!"
"Reflect on why you were completely unaware from start to finish, while Master Leon was able to see right through your movements!"
Rate on N.U.
