“Celine, why would you let yourself fall so low?” This was said in incomprehension.

The always calm and composed expression on Celine’s face suddenly flushed with a hint of red. Just as she was about to open her mouth to defend herself, a sharp, shrill scream came from the first floor of the apprentice dormitory.

It was a sound that could only be made in the throes of death, extremely piercing, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.

“What happened?”

“Damn it, that sounded like Mrs. Fairfax!”

‘Bang’—a magic apprentice burst out of a room, shouting loudly, “Something’s wrong, look outside the window, someone is attacking the academy!”

In just a short moment, several academy buildings were already on fire. The sounds of magical explosions rang out from time to time, and in the not-so-distant magical garden, figures could be vaguely seen fighting, magical lights flashing continuously.

The scene was utter chaos.

“Oh, Lord of Radiance, can anyone tell me what’s happening?”

“My god, it’s the dark elves, minions of the Spider Queen Lolth—look, they’re coming!”

At the staircase to the second-floor hall, two figures appeared, both clad in pure black leather armor. Though their faces were masked, their distinctive dark red eyes and ashen skin made their race unmistakable.

Luke Carter was startled the moment he saw them, knowing that battle was now inevitable. He immediately pulled Celine into a room to hide.

He had his reasons for this. The hall was too large, with too many angles and escape routes, and there were two enemies—far too difficult to handle. If they entered a room, the doorway was narrow, and even if the enemies followed, he would only have to face one at a time, greatly conserving his magical energy.

Cries of alarm came from outside the door.

“He killed Mrs. Fairfax!” a magic apprentice shouted, pointing at a dark elf, whose dagger was dripping with blood.

The assassin responded with action.

One of them raised his dark elven horn bow, swiftly drew the string, and with a twang, the arrow shot out, piercing the apprentice’s throat.

The apprentice collapsed instantly, his body sprawled on the ground, blood rapidly spreading across the floor, the stench of blood quickly permeating in all directions.

“……”

“Ah!”

“Murderer!”

The magic apprentices in the hall were stunned by the scene. Most were panicked and at a loss, some ran back to their rooms and slammed the doors shut, some could only crouch on the ground and scream, while a few with more courage began to fight back!

But how powerful could the magic of apprentices be? Their counterattacks were a joke to the formidable dark elf assassins.

One apprentice hurled a level-0 fireball at an assassin with his wand.

The orange fireball, only slightly larger than a glass marble, hissed as it shot toward one of the assassins.

But the assassin didn’t move at all. Facing the fireball, a pitch-black dagger suddenly appeared in his hand, and he slashed at the fireball.

‘Puff’—the fireball was actually split in two, turning into a shower of sparks and vanishing.

“Anti-magic weapon!” the apprentice cried out in shock.

On the continent of Feloman, warriors possessed battle aura, but only those of at least level 3 could use it. Ordinary warriors, when dealing with mages, would use all sorts of anti-magic items.

Anti-magic weapons, elemental resistance armor, alchemical potions, and so on—all were standard means for warriors to deal with mages.

Of course, if you were quick enough and sharp-eyed, you could also dodge magical attacks, but doing so was extremely risky. If you encountered a mage with advanced casting skills, a single fireball could turn those self-styled agile types into charred meat.

Those four words became the apprentice’s last, as the assassin gave him no second chance to cast. The assassin on the right raised his bow and shot another arrow, once again striking the throat.

Then, the assassin began a massacre. ‘Twang, twang, twang, twang’—the bowstring sang, and the apprentices fell one after another, slaughtered like chickens.

The assassins were simply too powerful, and they were seasoned veterans. These apprentices, who had never seen real battle, were utterly defenseless. In the blink of an eye, only two or three were left, and one apprentice rushed into the room where Luke Carter was hiding.

‘Bang’—he slammed the door shut, then crouched on the ground with his head in his hands, his body shaking like a leaf. He was terrified.

Inside the room, Celine hid behind Luke Carter, her brows tightly furrowed. The sudden turn of events was too shocking—the peaceful magic academy had become a slaughterhouse in an instant, and she couldn’t accept it.

“Dark elves really are a bunch of brutes!” Celine had lived here for three months and had truly come to love this tranquil human academy, but the dark elves had destroyed it all.

The calmest of all was Luke Carter. He faced the door, gripping his crescent wand, patiently waiting.

At this moment, Luke Carter also felt fear in his heart. It was his first time experiencing real slaughter, but that trace of fear was suppressed by his strong mental fortitude and did not affect his judgment.