Chapter 297: Ch-297: Phantom Assassin’s Power

The captain of the opposing troops was about to act arrogant again, but his words got caught in his throat when he saw Edward.

The captain froze when he saw Edward, the butler radiating immense killing intent, but what unsettled him more was that his body started to morph, and he then, under their shocked eyes, turned into some kind of wolf that had thick scales all around his body.

Even the couple and the soldiers of the Silvernum Territory froze. They had never seen Edward like this. Well, he had never gotten any chance to use his Phantom Assassin Bloodline, which Victor gave him, other than training alone, so this was the first time he was using it.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The soldiers of the opposing side, in terror, started firing bullets and all kinds of skills, but not a single scratch appeared on Edward’s body. He ran out of his patience and glared at them.

The scarred captain, being a veteran, immediately sensed danger and, without hesitation, switched places with him by throwing him toward Edward.

Swoosh!

Edward appeared before a soldier, and with a wave of his hand, a soldier’s head was sent flying through the air. Hot blood splattered across Edward’s face, giving him a ferocious appearance.

Just as Edward was about to continue, he saw an object fly toward him and tumble a foot away. When he saw that it was some kind of skill that would explode like a grenade, he sneered.

"Hmph." Seeing this, just as the skill was about to go off, he kicked it toward the opposing side, and it landed near a soldier.

"Fuc—"

Boom!

The grenade exploded before the man could finish uttering a word, and his body was blown apart. Hundreds of pieces of flesh flew everywhere while an arm flew through the air.

"Quickly, use all your life-saving treasures, or we won’t survive!" the scared captain roared at the top of his voice. He had completely abandoned the plan to catch the family and just wanted to get as far away from this place as possible.

A man from the scarred captain’s side brought a spherical object and summoned a giant lion. While using it as cover, he took the opportunity to use his spear, which shot a blue projectile every chance he got.

Just as the summoner poked his head out to shoot again, a loud bang sounded from a distance, and his head exploded in a bloody mess, with pieces of skull flying everywhere.

"With this strength, you dare to insult Lord Victor?" Edward’s voice was completely bestial.

Gulp.

"Damn, I did not expect Butler Edward to be this strong and ruthless," one of the Silvernum soldiers said while swallowing his saliva as he killed another one with ease, while the others nodded.

While taking cover behind a wall, the expression on the scarred captain’s face was extremely ugly.

"Damn it! What the hell is this!" he cursed as he clutched his bleeding arm. In the midst of so much gunfire, he was hit by a shot while he was retreating.

"All of you, attack!" Edward’s voice snapped the Silvernum soldiers out of their daze as they also wore their mechs and started shooting mana bullets.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

"AHHHHH!"

"Noooo, please spare me! I was only following orders!"

"Leave me, please! I will be your dog!"

The soldiers of the opposing side begged for mercy, but the Silvernum soldiers did not show an ounce of hesitation or emotion as they carried out their command.

"Damn, what are these bullets made of? How can they injure me?" The scarred captain complained, as normal bullets could hurt him, but not injure a Tier 2 to make him bleed so badly.

Bullets thundered noisily as the scarred captain flashed for cover, and some managed to pierce his cover, hitting him only in his non-vital parts, which he quietly dodged. He did not dare make a sound, worried about attracting Edward’s attention. He was relieved he had abandoned his troops early, or else...

He was the only survivor of his group, and it was all thanks to his superior Agility, which was due to an item he bought. Unfortunately, even for him, it was impossible to defy a hail of mana bullets, so he currently had several wounds all over his body, and although he had avoided being hit in critical areas, the blood loss was beginning to take its toll as the world before his eyes began to cloud over.

The scarred captain could not help but deeply regret his earlier decision. Maybe, just maybe, if he hadn’t let his arrogance go to his head and cloud his thoughts, things could have been very different. He thought that what had enraged Edward was the insult to Victor, which was true.

Then the bullets stopped, and there was an eerie silence. Just before the scared captain could sigh in relief, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Bang!

The wall he was taking cover behind was shattered as Edward, in his beast form, pierced through it, and before he could react, Edward cleaved his arms and legs off with his large and sharp claws.

"Argh!!!"

The pain of losing both legs in such a raw manner made his senses become clear for a moment as he let out a pitiful and terrifying scream capable of scaring ghosts.

"Wait—" Before he could finish, his body started twitching suddenly, and black blood started to pour out of his mouth as his body turned purple. Within seconds, he died.

The soldiers, holding their Mechs, now had their swords directed toward the family.

"Don’t shoot! We are not your enemies!" The wife shouted with a pale face hurriedly.

"Who are you, and why are you here?" Edward, who had returned to his human appearance, cleaned himself up and said in a professional butler’s voice.

The woman and children looked at him with fearful eyes. They remembered how he had transformed into a ferocious beast.

"We escaped a nearby noble territory. We came here for refuge. We heard that the Silvernum Barony has now become stronger than most duchies and is taking in refugees, so we came to seek shelter," the woman hurriedly said.

"Who are you? I mean your true identity. If you were ordinary, the Duchy would not have sent so many men to pursue you. What are you hiding?" Edward said with narrowed eyes, and the surrounding atmosphere became tense again.

The woman was silent for a moment and then looked at Edward. "I will only say it in front of the Lord of the Barony."

Hearing this, the temperature dropped further, and every soldier kept their aim toward the group of four until Edward spoke.

"Don’t shoot! Take them and heal the man. If they try anything funny and move even a hair, just kill them all. I will go inform Lord Victor," Edward ordered.

The captain nodded and quickly gestured as he took them in his vehicle and left.

---

Present Timeline

After the husband of the woman had been treated, they left their kids in a playground with other kids under adult supervision and followed the soldiers to the conference room.

"I can’t believe it. I thought I would die for sure," the man said as he patted the place where the fatal wound had been.

"Honey, don’t say such things. I was terrified. If not for our luck..." the wife held her husband’s hand and said fearfully.

"Don’t worry. I am fine now. Maybe we could join this territory if the leader is good and can help us without a problem," the husband said in a whisper while the wife nodded in worry.

"Please sit down, both of you." The soldier smiled slightly and pointed to the seat in front of her. "A person with high authority will be arriving soon. You’ll have to wait until then to see what to do next."

The duo nodded and calmly sat down. After seeing her husband wake up, the woman relaxed and was soon handed a cup of tea along with a saucer of snacks, which they both ate with great relish after having eaten almost nothing for two days.

Ten minutes after the arrival of the duo, the door to the conference room was opened. A soldier held the door that way and stood to the side with a respectful and slightly reverent expression as he allowed the person behind him to enter the room.

The man and woman couldn’t help but gasp slightly at the sight of the woman who entered the room. The wife knew that she was a beauty; that was why she was harassed by the noble who wanted to bed her and even tried to force himself on her. However, even someone as proud of her physical appearance as her had to admit defeat to the young woman.

After Rina, Amber, Amanda, and the others entered the room, Victor soon stepped forward and looked at the couple and said, "So, you are the ones who seek refuge?"