Minutes before the activation of the magic formation, the head of the guards was pleasantly drinking a bottle of liquor.
He is a burly man, but without looking like a beast. With long black hair and red eyes, he is not handsome, his face is difficult to look at for people with a weak character. Silver Forge, level 720, that's him.
He has been working for Thousand Leaves for more than 4 years and this is the first time they have stayed in one place for so long. His contractor is a businessman, among his contacts are pill refiners that he would dream of having a connection with, but he can only watch from a distance.
“Tsk, I thought I had earned his trust, but that man still says nothing.”
They have traveled to so many places that he knows something must have happened for them to lock themselves in this mediocre mansion. Otherwise, Thousand Leaves would not evade his questions.
Just when he was about to put the bottle on the table, a tremor shakes the mansion.
“What--?”
It lasts only a few seconds, but his instincts warn him that this was not an ordinary event. He pushes aside the blinds and his face wrinkles at the sight of the outside.
“Damn it, what the hell was that man planning by keeping silent?!”
He rushes out of the mansion and brings along every subordinate he found on his way. Setting foot outside, his bad feeling comes true. The external landscape has changed, it is not the same one he was used to, the enemy approached silently and made their move without any hindrance.
“That man knew this would happen!”
It's too late for regrets, now the only thing left is to find the enemy and get answers by force.
“Chief, there!”
Where his subordinate points, a dragon girl suddenly appears, followed by two other women. Each in different positions. Silver Forge cannot help but frown, unable to understand what is happening, because those women...
“The strongest of them is level 671? Is this a joke?”
He and his subordinates lower their guard. Looking at each other, they mock the enemy's stupid act. Do they think they can lure them with those hunters? Can they even withstand one of their attacks?
Silver Forge looks around and then sighs. “Bring them to me.”
If they thought the guards watching the mansion were all they had, they were wrong. They were just the tip of the iceberg.
“Yes, chief!”
Of the 26 subordinates who followed him, only 25 of them go towards the three women, the dragon girl being the lucky one to receive the attention of 9 of them. By sending level 699 hunters, it clearly shows his intention to capture them instead of killing them.
The three women retreat, and the pursuers' confidence grows, unable to see the darkened face of their chief and the man beside him.
“They disappeared…”
Silver Forge nods, “We are inside a magic formation. I knew they were plotting something, but I didn't know it would be on this scale.”
He thought this strange landscape was the result of an illusion, a dirty trick to cloud his perception, but after witnessing how his subordinates disappeared along with those three women, he knows nothing is as simple as it seems.
Some minutes pass and his subordinate becomes concerned, “What do we do, chief? Should I call the rest and alert the contractor?”
The only subordinate who remained with him is the one he considers his right-hand man. His strength may not be on par with his own, but there are times when his worldview exceeds his own.
“No, as long as one of them returns, it won't be too late to find out what's going on--”
Not only his words, but his breath also stops for a moment after seeing how three women appear in the distance. Yes, the same women his men chased now return, without even a scratch on their clothes.
Silver Forge clenches his fists. “It's impossible that it was them… There are more of them, there are more hidden hunters than I thought.”
“T- Then, are the others dead?!”
“Of course not, but they will be if you don't hurry. Go get the rest and alert the contractor, I should have listened to you before.”
“Yes! Right away, chief!”
He is confident he can buy time for his subordinate, regardless of whether the enemy appears before him or tries to attack him from behind. Silver Forge is not a level 720 ranker for nothing.
He never paid attention to those three women, but that was his worst mistake.
“Cough--!”
A pitiful cry is heard behind him and Silver Forge quickly turns around, witnessing an unprecedented event.
“What?!”
The man he sent to call for reinforcements is convulsing. A sword emerged from the void and stabbed his neck accurately. Without even putting up a fight, the body of the man he considered his right-hand man falls from the sky like a kite with a broken string.
‘The sword... Who is its owner?! Where is it?!’
Furious, Silver Forge searches for the owner of the sword, but he cannot control his emotions when he notices that among the three women, the one with the long black braid has more than half of her sword faded, as if it didn't exist.
With a single movement of her hand, her sword reappears, while the sword that killed his subordinate disappears.
He would be a fool not to understand what is happening, but understanding and believing what his eyes are seeing are two very different things. Because a level 671 hunter cannot kill a level 699 hunter in one blow!
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Coldness Divine sees the disbelief in the man's eyes in the sky and smiles.
“You are not allowed to turn your back on me. If you decide to fight me head-on, you will have a chance to survive…” Her laughter echoes in the man's ears, “Even though the probability is small!”
“Bitches!”
Silver Forge ignores her warning and attacks the mansion while defending against Serene Will's strange sword ability.
Boom.
The mansion collapses like a house of cards, while he takes three steps back, unable to believe that the sword of that hunter was powerful enough to make him, a level 720 ranker, retreat!
‘Who are they? Why have I never heard of them before?!’
From the remains of the mansion, screams can be heard, it wouldn't be long before explosions occur and all the people trapped under the rubble come out. One of them in particular looks angrier than the rest.
“What are you doing? Your only job is to protect me, and what do I see?!”
His contractor, Mr. Thousand Leaves, appears among the rubble, his fine clothes dirty with dust and splinters. He looks about 40 years old, with green eyes and quite handsome. Normally he is a gentle person, but now it is clear from his face that if Silver Forge does not give him an adequate answer, today their services will end, and he will never be able to work in this field again for the rest of his life!
“Sir, please calm down. We are under attack.”
Because Thousand Leaves is only level 450, his perception did not give him a clear picture of everything happening around him, but after Silver Forge's words, he directs his attention to the strange landscape and then to the three women in the distance, frowning at the sight of one of them.
“We are inside a magic formation and surrounded by an indeterminate number of enemies. While I and my men buy time, request reinforcements.”
Thousand Leaves regains his composure and all his fury disappears, “If that's your assessment of the situation, I will do that.”
He is not an irrational person, it's just that the situation caught him off guard. After understanding the general situation, he injects his mana into two of his rings, one on each hand, and then the ground around his mansion begins to glow. Teleportation magic is not something any hunter can perform, as the territory within each kingdom is restricted under special rules.
Only those who have paid an exorbitant sum have authorization to use it, and after doing so, they must provide the respective explanations for its use. It is not easy to obtain authorization for this magic.
That is one of the reasons why Serene Will has not been able to replicate it despite having enough information to recreate the magic formation embedded in every wall, in every inch of ground of each of the big shots they have hunted.
Coldness Divine sees the futile effort of her prey and smiles.
Since they obtained the magic formation Denial Domain, no one can enter unless they wish it! And they do not plan to make such a foolish mistake!
The subordinates stand behind Silver Forge and threaten them.
“Hey! Call the rest! Or do you think you have a chance?”
“Those bastards are hiding in the shadows, they are afraid to fight face to face!”
Silver Forge frowns but does not stop his men from shouting. After witnessing the strength of that woman with the long braid, he is beginning to doubt what his eyes see. Are there really hidden hunters or... from the beginning, have it only been them?
If he hasn't said anything about it, it's because he fears his contractor wouldn't request reinforcements if he knew his concerns.
After not getting answers, he snorts and gestures to the others with his head. “If they are not willing to talk, we will force them! Let's go!”
They all head towards them, planning a quick and precise attack. Among their ranks, there are 4 rankers who have recently made the big jump to level 700, and then there is him, Silver Forge, who has consolidated his level a long time ago. Any other hunter below level 700 should fear his might, but he grits his teeth seeing that more than fear in their eyes, there is anticipation on those women's faces.
When only seconds remain before reaching them, they all feel a strong wave of mana coming from the ground.
Sky Petal raises her hand, pointing at them, "This was my choice, so I will fight with you."
In the next second, hundreds of vines emerge from the ground and separate them into three different groups.
"Destroy those vines now--!"
"Stop!"
Silver Forge halts them, forbidding them from leaving the group. Then he strikes the air, the force behind his punch creating a deafening roar and all the vines disappear without a trace, but what they were looking for behind them is not found. The others have vanished.
"Everyone, pay attention, we are inside a magic formation that separates space. If you move away from the group, you won't be able to return!"
Once everyone understands the situation they are in, he directs his gaze to the woman with long emerald hair. "Who are you?"
She smiles without any fear, "I am Sky Petal.”
