One second, two seconds.
A long moment passed, but the anticipated pain of a blade slitting her throat never came.
Instead, in the silent night, a cold, icy, yet utterly domineering voice rang out.
“Surround them all. Don’t let a single fly escape.”
From the surrounding bushes, the Sky College disciples who had long since noticed the commotion filed out under Annabell’s command.
Dozens of staff tips lit up with dazzling magical light of various colors, directly enveloping the group of black-robed assassins who had breached the camp’s perimeter!
The scene suddenly became rather comical.
The black-robed assassins surrounded the severely wounded Charlotte on the ground; and on the outside, a group of eager Sky College mages surrounded the assassins. It was a solid, nested Russian doll.
The assassin leader sensed something was wrong. He scanned the outer circle.
He himself was roughly at the early third rank, and his subordinates were mostly second rank.
But the students in college uniforms across from him—though young—each radiated magic fluctuations no weaker than second rank. Even the leading male senior was a fourth-rank mage!
The assassin leader felt as if he had swallowed a fly.
He had just been wondering why Charlotte had fled so recklessly toward a populated area. Now he knew: she was aware a crack squad was stationed here!
What was this? A sheep walking into a wolf’s den?
He and Charlotte were the poor little fat sheep, and these college mages with green eyes were the real wolves!
The assassin leader was no reckless fool. He knew when to yield.
He immediately put away his dagger, bowed respectfully, and said, “Noble mages of Sky College, please forgive us. We were dealing with an escaped slave from our family, and in our haste, we mistakenly entered your territory and disturbed you.”
“We were out of line. Here are a few bags of mid-grade magic crystals as an apology. Please allow us to pass.”
Although the continent preached chivalry, here in the sparsely populated Demon Beast Forest, everyone knew that profit was the eternal truth.
However, none of the Sky College disciples paid the bags of crystals any mind. Instead, they all looked in unison toward the rear, their gazes fixed on the stunning figure who had given the order.
The assassins, and even Charlotte—gasping heavily from her wounds on the ground—instinctively followed their gaze.
The crowd parted to form a path, and a silver-haired, breathtakingly beautiful girl slowly walked forward.
The girl was expressionless. With each step she took, the surrounding air temperature dropped by a degree.
Her mismatched red-and-blue dual pupils gleamed in the night with a chilling light, as if harboring a sharp killing intent that could freeze the soul.
The assassin leader immediately felt his legs go weak, and he couldn’t help but scream in terror, “Th-the Truth Magic Eye! You’re Miss Annabell!!”
At those words, the black-robed assassins were terrified out of their wits, their formation collapsing into chaos.
And sharing that soul-shaking tremor was the heavily wounded “young man” lying in the mud.
Charlotte raised her head with difficulty, dazedly staring at that hauntingly beautiful face, her mind blank, lost and uncertain.
At that moment, the lofty Annabell’s attention was completely focused on the “young man in disguise” on the ground.
That familiar delicate face, those clear yet stubborn eyes, even covered in mud…
Annabell’s mind instantly conjured a classic CG image from the late game—
The scene where the heroine, after awakening her power, wields a magic sword in a final battle against herself, the villain!
Wasn’t this wretch on the ground her daydreaming “fiancée” and Heaven’s Chosen Daughter—Charlotte?!
But the script was wrong!
This was still the early stages. How could Charlotte end up so miserable, being hunted right in front of her?
Had her own transmutation caused a butterfly effect, altering the timeline and plot?
What was she supposed to do now?
But after only a second of hesitation, Annabell made a decision immediately.
She slowly lifted her chin, her red-blue dual pupils coldly sweeping over the trembling assassins, and said in the iciest tone, “I don’t care about that. But you’ve displeased me. I’ll give you three seconds to leave your final words.”
The assassin leader gritted his teeth, trembling all over.
Before him was the notoriously ruthless Villainess, Annabell!
You don’t mess with a big shot like that!
“M-Miss! We were acting on the orders of the Olin Family elders… Please, be magnanimous…” The Olin Family was Charlotte’s surname.
Annabell had no patience to listen to his nonsense. She slightly raised her hand, a terrifying magical storm brewing in her palm.
“Miss Annabell, you… doing this… is it worth it?”
The polar storm raged. The assassin and his men were all frozen into ice statues, then shattered with a crash.
Annabell’s rank was a terrifying seventh grade. These assassins, averaging only second to third rank, stood no chance.
It was an unquestionable instant kill.
Annabell ignored the ice shards on the ground. Her mismatched red-blue dual pupils looked down from on high, glancing at the “young man” sitting in the mud.
The fourth-year senior leading the squad swallowed his saliva and immediately stepped forward. He asked cautiously and curiously, “Little brother, who are you? A commoner with no magic at all—why are you in the Demon Beast Forest in the dead of night?”
After blanking out for a while, Charlotte snapped back to reality from the shock of Annabell’s display of power.
Biting back the pain from her wounds, she deliberately lowered her voice, using a clear androgynous tone: “I… I was chased here by my family’s enemies. I fled blindly into this forest…”
With that, Charlotte forced her shaky body to stand up and gave Annabell a deep, extremely standard noble bow. “Thank you, Miss, for saving my life. I will remember this kindness and gratitude forever!”
She didn’t reveal her identity, to avoid awkwardness.
Annabell remained expressionless. She didn’t even lift her eyelids. She turned and walked toward the camp, coldly tossing out a line: “Don’t add drama to yourself. I just casually cleaned up some garbage disturbing the peace.”
Yet, outwardly as steady and aloof as an old dog, Annabell’s inner thoughts were…
‘Ahhhh! My wife is amazing! How can my wife’s battle-worn look be this cute! That restrained gaze, that stubborn little face—it’s totally right up my alley!’
If not for maintaining the image of a cool senior, Annabell would have wanted to pounce on Charlotte and give her a full 360-degree body check, complete with some blush-inducing close contact.
The leading senior, sensing the awkward atmosphere, immediately stepped in to smooth things over. He smiled and comforted, “Ahem, young master, Miss Annabell has always been like this—cold on the outside, warm on the inside. Please don’t take it to heart.”
“Yeah, yeah! She helps the weak and decisively slays the wicked—that’s our Senior Annabell!”
“The way she cast that spell just now was so cool it made my legs weak!”
The junior mages immediately crowded around, chattering.
“Young master, you’re badly injured. Don’t be afraid. We’re students from the magic college…”
“Don’t worry. We’ll finish our training tomorrow morning and leave the outer area. Tonight, you can stay here with us!”
“Right, right! Night has fallen. Without any magic, even if there were no assassins, a few low-level Wind Wolves would be too much for you!”
Several female mages, easily swayed by good looks, enthusiastically urged Charlotte to stay.
“But…” Charlotte hesitated, glancing at the distant stunning figure. “Miss Annabell… would she agree?”