Chapter 203 Ambush

Chapter 203 Ambush
"I see. So you're here to capture me. However, you should've brought more people." Leo said with a cold smile on his face. "Those that have to rely on poison to weaken their prey are usually quite weak, after all."
"Weak? Ahahaha!" One of the male assassins suddenly burst out laughing.
"The four of us are all A-Rank Adventurers! What can a mere C-Rank like you do to us?"
"Before you find out what I can do to you, I will give you a chance to keep your life." Leo spoke, and he continued, "Tell me who hired you and about your mission. If you do, I'll keep you alive."
The four assassins turned to look at each other. After a moment of silence, they all laughed together.
"Is this brat serious?"
"Who the hell does he think he is?"
"You must be very confident in your magic artifacts— the ones your sponsor, Camille Light, gave you."
"Magic artifacts? What are you talking about?" Leo raised an eyebrow.
"You don't have to hide it. How else are you killing B-Rank and A-Rank monsters at your level?" The female assassin said.
"…"
After another moment of silence, Leo spoke, "Forget it. I will just assume that none of you want to live."
"Get him!" The female assassin suddenly pointed at Leo and shouted.
One of the male assassins suddenly sprang into motion and rushed towards Leo.
However, before he could even get close, the sound of a magic rifle being fired resounded, and a bullet came flying out of Leo's tent.
Pew!
This magic bullet went straight through the assassin's head— the one who tried to attack Leo, killing him instantly.
"What?!" The other three assassins exclaimed in a shocked voice when their companion dropped dead on the floor.
Leo's eyes widened with surprise after witnessing this, as he wasn't expecting this outcome either.
They all turned to look behind Leo, where a young girl wielding a magic rifle suddenly appeared.
"S-She's not affected by the poison, either?!"
"L-Lena! What are you doing?" Leo asked her, who calmly responded with, "I will not allow anyone to attack you before my presence."
She spoke in a calm yet cold voice, sending chills down the assassins' back.
"Let me handle the rest." Leo then said.
"Okay."
Leo focused on the other three again and said in a joking tone, "Sorry about the surprise attack just now. Though, you guys tried to do the same, so I guess we're even now."
"Keep him busy! I'll deal with that little bitch!" The female assassin said.
"Yes!"
The remaining two male assassins approached Leo the next moment while the female assassin confronted Lia.
"You little bitch. How dare you kill my friend!"
"All of you have forfeited your life the moment you tried to harm my partner." Lia spoke in a calm voice.
"Die!"
The female assassin created a Tier 3 magic circle and quickly cast her magic.
""Poison Vines!"
Beneath the ground suddenly sprouted vines that wrapped around Lia's legs before restricting the rest of her body.
"Now you're mine!" A cold smile appeared on the female assassin's face.
"I'm going to let you slowly die from my poison. It's going to be very painful, so brace yourself."
Lia looked at the vines restricting her body and spoke, "Your poison is too weak. I don't even feel it."
"W-What? How is that possible?! You're bluffing!"
"Gravity Well." Lia suddenly mumbled.
"Ah!"
The female assassin suddenly felt an invisible pressure bore down on her body, feeling as though she was being forced to carry a mountain on her back.
"G-Gravity Magic?! Why are you using a magic rifle if you can use magic?! Who are you?!"
After getting rid of the vines around her body, Lia slowly approached the assassin and whispered in her ears, "Lia Scarlet. Do you recognize my name?"
'What?! Lia Scarlet?! Impossible! What's she doing here with our target?!' The female assassin cried inwardly after hearing Lia's words.
She was aware that Lia Scarlet had run away from home and disappeared somewhere, but she couldn't understand why she was with Leon.
'Could this be a setup? But why would the Scarlet Family want to get rid of us?! We've been loyal to them for years!'
"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you yet, since I still have some questions that I want to ask you."
"Yes…" The female assassin gave up any thoughts of resistance after learning Lia's true identity, as she was aware of how futile her efforts would be if she tried to escape.
Meanwhile, Leo was in the middle of dealing with the other two assassins.
When the assassins approached him, he immediately used Void Step to distance himself from the campsite, as he didn't want to hurt the others by accident.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?!"
"How dare you run away after saying those bold words!" The assassins chased after him.
Once he was far enough, Leo stopped moving and chuckled, "Who said I was running away?"
"Anyways, since I am a generous person, I will give you one more chance to keep your life if you tell me what I want to know."
"Fuck you!" The assassins started casting their magic.
"Too slow."
Before the assassins could finish casting, a cloud of black mist suddenly enveloped the field, obstructing their vision.
"W-What the heck is this?! I can't see anything!"
"My mana is being drained!"
"I'll blow this thing away with my wind magic!"
A moment later—
"What?! My magic failed!"
"Fuck! Let's just run out of here!"
"Aaaaah!"
One of the assassins suddenly screamed out loud in fear.
"H-Hey! What happened?! Are you okay?!" The other assassin called out.
"What is this thing?! Help me! It's consuming me! Aaaaaaah—"
The assassin's scream halted midway, and then there was absolute silence.
"Fuck this!" The remaining assassin could feel his heart trying to jump out of his throat, and he began running in one direction like his life depended on it.