Chapter 39: Aura of Vengeance and Soul-Piercing Gaze

By the time Aria returned to her room, the large crowd in front of the Adventurer's Guild had mostly dispersed. The adventurers had accepted their quests and were already out searching for the Black Knight.

Stone Pine City was one of the Grand Duchy of Kandela's more prosperous cities, typically home to a sizable adventurer population of around one to two hundred. However, the sudden announcement of the Black Knight bounty, coupled with the recent surge in quests fueled by Saifei's financial incentives, meant that many adventurers were already committed to other missions.

Even so, at least sixty to seventy adventurers had now joined the hunt for the Black Knight, a formidable force in its own right. Combined with the city's hundreds of guards, the Black Knight appeared to have no hope of escape.

After easily deceiving Aria with a flimsy excuse, Cipher left the Adventurer's Guild and gracefully leaped onto the roof of a nearby building.

Finding someone deliberately hiding in a sprawling city would typically be a daunting task. But Cipher had no need for methodical searching. She pricked up her ears, listening intently to the cacophony of sounds echoing from all directions.

The air buzzed with the chatter of adventurers. Some discussed the Black Knight's strength, others the fifty Gold Dragon reward, and still others... "Who opened that Wolf Fish Can outside the Adventurer's Guild? What an awful stench!"

"Wolf Fish Can?" Cipher paused, then realized it was likely the equivalent of the Herring Can from her past life. The speaker had probably mistaken Feidric's foul odor for the pungent contents of the can.

Shaking her head to dismiss the trivial conversation, Cipher leaped across the rooftops, listening for any noteworthy sounds.

Within minutes, the clang of metal combat reached her ears. Her cat ears twitched. Turning to the left, she whispered, "This way?"

Following the sound, Cipher bounded across the rooftops until she spotted a girl in white linen clothes battling three guards in a narrow alley.

Without a doubt, this was Natalie, the Black Knight. Cipher hesitated at first, thrown off by the absence of her signature black full plate armor, until she noticed the scar on Natalie's neck and recognized her.

One of the guards seemed about to shout to alert others nearby, but Natalie reacted swiftly. She lunged forward and decapitated him in a single, decisive stroke!

However, her bold, sweeping motion left her vulnerable. Seizing the opportunity, another guard slashed a deep gash across Natalie's shoulder.

Natalie was undoubtedly a prodigy in swordsmanship, having taught herself to this level in just a few years. But the guards she faced were professionally trained warriors, most around thirty years old, their years of sword training likely exceeding Natalie's entire lifespan.

The skill gap between them wasn't as vast as it seemed. Natalie couldn't replicate the overwhelming dominance she had displayed in her earlier fight with Aria.

Coupled with the guards' numerical advantage and Natalie's lack of armor, her injury was hardly surprising.

Even with a gash on her shoulder, Natalie merely gritted her teeth, her movements unwavering. She swung her sword again, black Magic Power erupting forth as she finished off the enemy with a Divine Smite.

The last guard witnessed this and turned to flee, but his body suddenly betrayed him, freezing him in place. Utterly paralyzed and unable to even speak, he could only watch helplessly as Natalie slowly approached and ended his life with a single stroke.

Natalie wasn't a true "warrior"; her swordsmanship wasn't vastly superior to these guards. So, she relied on her paladin skills instead.

Her Aura of Vengeance was a wide-ranging debuff that radiated her hatred and bloodlust. It enveloped surrounding enemies in a suffocating sense of primal fear, as if they were being stalked by an apex predator.

Ordinary people would likely crumble in trembling paralysis, while even the slightly braver would hesitate, their movements constrained by apprehension.

However, Natalie hadn't used that skill just now. Instead, she'd employed another ability called Soul-Piercing Gaze, which could immobilize enemies with a single glance, rendering them utterly unable to move.

Of course, this technique wasn't a guaranteed form of control. Soul-Piercing Gaze essentially harnessed the power of fear, concentrating the broad buffing effect of the Aura of Vengeance onto a single target. If an enemy possessed sufficient willpower, they could resist its influence.

After dispatching her foe, Natalie placed her hand on her shoulder. A soft green light enveloped her, and her wounds began to heal at a visible rate. Yet she also began to breathe slightly heavier, clearly showing signs of fatigue.

All of a Paladin's abilities relied on their physical Strength, and Natalie's reserves were undoubtedly insufficient to sustain her in a prolonged battle against the city's entire guard.

As Natalie pondered her next move, a voice suddenly rang out from behind her: "Miss Black Knight, it seems you could use some assistance?"

"Who's there?!" Natalie whirled around, her longsword aimed at Cipher, who stood only two steps behind her. A bead of cold sweat trickled down her forehead; she hadn't sensed anyone approaching at all.

After a moment, she frowned slightly, as if remembering something. "You? The companion of that clumsy Paladin?"

Cipher slowly raised her hands in a gesture of peace, her tone relaxed. "No need to be so wary," she said casually. "I believe we share a common goal. Perhaps we could cooperate?"

Natalie remained silent, her sword unwavering, her gaze fixed on Cipher. Cipher continued, "I promised a girl I'd help her avenge her parents, who were murdered by Viscount Braun. I can help you infiltrate the Viscount's Manor. All I ask is that after you kill him, you let me take his body."

As she spoke, Cipher glanced at the three guards Natalie had just slain, and then froze.

Because... Ben, the guard named Ben, was among them!