I Just Inherited The Arcane Emperor's Legacy

Chapter 236 Bandits?

"Sir, they are indeed from the Eldridge Academy. The person in front of us is emitting the aura of a 4th Circle Aura Knight. If they aren't from the Academy, it won't take them much time to wipe all of us out," she said to Riaz.

His expression changed and he turned to the Head Master.

"I apologize, it seems you must be speaking the truth. Do you have any suggestions about what I should do now?" He asked Alfred.

"I do have a favor to ask. My students are in dire need of experience in the real world. I hope you will let them take care of the incoming intruders instead of having your guards fight."

His words confused the guard and Riaz.

"Are you sure, sir? If they are planning on attacking us, then they must have at least a single 3rd Circle Aura Knight," he said.

Alfred looked at Leo. "Is that right?" He asked with a smile.

Leo frowned when he was asked the question. It was solely to test how strong his perception was, which he didn't enjoy.

"5 3rd Circle Aura Knights," he said and looked at the person Alfred was talking to. "What are you carrying for there to be 30 Aura Knights, all at least being a 2nd Circle Aura Knight to attack you for?"

Alfred was surprised by the accuracy Leo showed. He thought that his perception would be a little cloudy at this distance but it was perfect. Meanwhile, the guard became a little shifty and took a step back.

Meanwhile, Riaz apologized.

"I cannot tell you this, but perhaps the leader of our group can. I will call him immediately."

Once he left, Asher organized the rest of the students.

"All of you are now going to fight the incoming bandits. As you heard, you will be facing 5 3rd Circle and 25 2nd Circle Aura Knights. Only one of them will be stronger than an Early-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight, so Nathaniel will be attacking him. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded at this statement and took out a weapon from their dimensional ring. The guards belonging to the Merchant Group looked at this with envy.

They saw a bunch of kids all have dimensional rings worth more than their entire life's savings. On top of that, all of their weapons seemed very expensive.

All the students seemed a little excited to start freeing their nerves a little before the fight. As they started to build up enthusiasm, the Head Master said something that destroyed all of that.

"Asher forgot to mention a very important factor. You cannot leave any one alive. Except for you, Nathaniel. Your opponent will need to be captured alive for information."

His words came out quite calmly, but they struck the students hard. Out of all the students there, only two people had ever killed a person - Leo and Marcus. And among them, Marcus only killed one because he needed to escape from the Slave Trader's stronghold.

Their enthusiasm all died down once they heard the requirement that they needed to fulfill. All of them started to become nervous at the thought of killing a person.

Meanwhile, Alfred turned to Leo.

"You, unfortunately, will not be participating in this exercise. However, you can observe and interfere if someone is in danger."

Leo shrugged. After the previous statement, he understood the true purpose of the Head Master's request. None of the students there had killed a person before and they needed to know how to do that before the Phoenix Trials.

This also meant that the Phoenix Trials would require him to kill a person inside. Just because Leo had killed a person before, it didn't mean he didn't have a conscious.

He didn't like that he would have to kill someone who didn't do anything wrong. However, the circumstances would require him to do it. If someone tried to kill him, then he would have to as well.

As the students prepared themselves, Riaz went inside the tents to get his leader. Inside, a man was sitting on a chair with a weakly illuminated lamp. He was looking at a few plans on the table in front of him.

"Sir, the person outside that I told you about is requesting to know about what we are transporting. Would you please make the decision? I do not think I have the authority to do that."

The person sitting on the chair got up and sighed.

"Are we surrounded?"

"According to the person from the Eldridge Academy, we are. His subordinate is a 4th Circle Aura Knight, so his identity seems to be real."

"I see. How many people do they have? The attackers? If it is someone from the academy, it must be a mage."

"5 3rd Circle and 25 2nd Circle Aura Knights, according to the group."

"Let us go to meet them then."

Both of them exited and walked to where Alfred was standing. Riaz stepped to the side as the other man walked forward and met the Head Master.

"Hello, Mr. Alfred. I am Damian, the leader of the Eastern Moguls. I am told that there is an encirclement of bandits surrounding us," he said to Alfred.

"I wouldn't call them bandits. Killers would be a better word for them, seeing how organized they seem. Is there something we need to be aware of regarding what you are transporting?"

"It isn't what, but who. In order to reduce any suspicion, we didn't hire any 4th Circle Aura Knights. If we did, everyone in the Mercenary Group would be aware of our presence. However, it seems that there was a leak beforehand that put us in this situation."

"And who is it that you are escorting?" The Head Master asked.

Damian's expression turned grave. His words murmured but no sound came from them. The sound in them directly traveled to the ears of the Head Master.

"The illegitimate daughter of the Grand Duke's second son."

Leo observed this from a close distance and was surprised. To transmit a voice like that, it would require at least a 3rd Circle as a mage or Aura Knight. He took a closer look at the person Alfred was talking to and noticed that his aura was concealed.

As a 4th Star Mage, the only time he wouldn't be able to see through the person's aura level would be if they were at least a 3rd Circle Aura Knight.

He had no idea who the person being transported was because of the careful nature of the leader, but he knew it was someone important based on the response of the Head Master.

"I see," Alfred said slowly, pondering about what this implied. The gears inside his head were turning.

"I understand that you volunteered to let your students deal with the attackers. Could I ask why?" He asked.

"It is just to give them a little experience before they compete in the Phoenix Trials," Alfred replied.

"That is admirable. I would never have expected to meet the young talents of the Eldridge Academy on my way to the capital. They seem exceptionally talented," Damian said.

"They are. Unfortunately, we do not have much longer to converse."

"Are the attackers near?"

"They are already surrounding us."