"What?!" Such sounds could be heard from the group as they heard this. "Don't worry, I'll make it quick."
Lirien added on as a dangerous smile teetered on her lips. Sensing that something was off, the tier four experts quickly shot up however they were met with a barrier surrounding the garden.
"It's a trap! She is actually trying to kill us!!" A tier four expert commented as she realized this. To think that Lirien would actually be capable of making such a move.
"We have the numbers, it will be easy to take her down." Another pointed out to which the shock that was brewing I'm their hearts came to a stop.
She may be a tier four expert, but they were the ones with the numbers. The prowess of three tier four experts was nothing to be ignorant of.
Also given that they were backed up with four tier three experts, they could easily withstand the attacks of a tier four expert and hold their own with a tier five expert.
"That's right, we have to attack together." Another said to which they lined up as they looked prepared for battle. Lirien however was displeased by something else.
"You selfish fucks! Do you think containing the hunger that is eating me alive easy! Just let me kill you and let it subside!" She shouted as her calm demeanor was torn through.
Right now it was replaced by a psychotic woman who threatened on killing every single one of them. "Don't underestimate us Lirien!"
A tier four expert mused with a cocky smile plastered on his face. "Please! Underestimating you lot is something that shouldn't concern you!" Most of them were wary of this.
If she had planned on killing them to begin with, then it wouldn't be illogical for her to have a trump card that would deal with them. But something came as off to them.
'Her servant didn't specifically choose us but rather picked at random the strongest adventurers that were present. Therefore the concept that she can perfectly deal with our flaws isn't on the table.'
Even though the tier four experts mused of this, the other four tier three had something else in mind. "We should take her down while she has yet to launch her trump card!"
"Wait! We don't know what it is! If we get too close to her, then who knows what will happen!" A tier four expert pointed out. Most of them gritted their teeth as they heard this hindering them from taking the initiative of attacking.
Of course they knew that dealing with her on a personal level was stupid. She was on the fourth array thus they could only tram up and take her down together.
"I doubt that she can withstand the attacks of all of us!" A tier four expert spoke up to which Lirien actually spoke up. "It is true that if you all attacked me at once, then I would truly lose but seeing that you are too scared on taking the initiative, then I'll take it!"
She screamed in laughter as a strange multiple white halos enveloped her body. Despite this eye-catching scene, she was anything but holy considering the bloodlust that leaked from her body. The group could easily tell that she was readying herself for a battle.
"We have to take her out now!" Numerous shouts came to which five of them made the decision of attacking her. 'Got you!' Lirien mused as a dark smile was etched on her face.
The white halo above her head resembling a flower shot out in multiple directions with its targets ever so close for it to pick most of them were surprised and tried to fall back however the tendrils were relentless in their pursuit.
"Ahhh! Why can't I block it?" Baffled expressions rose from the five. "Ahhh! Someone save me!" Cries of distress could be heard from those that were captured.
As the tendrils stabbed through the three bodies that were unfortunate to be captured, multiple white opaque beings emerged the other side. It was their souls.
The flowery halo that hovered above Lirien's head grew brighter and brighter as it reeled in these catches. Lirien looked calmly at the storm of projectiles thrown her way.
The mana attacks were easily dispelled by the white barrier that covered her body. 'It seems that purchasing that light grade four light barrier was worth it.' Lirien mused in her head.
However she hadn't forgotten about those that had been able to escape. Like a fly in a web, the tendrils continued to stretch out till they covered the entire dome. More and more tendrils were shot out which would eventually found their targets.
The problem why they were taken down so easily was because after seeing the incident with the first three souls, the rest were baffled on how to deal with her. Not to mention they barely knew each other this their teamwork was lacking.
Lirien's attacks on the other hands were completely unavoidable making it all the more ideal situation to breed chaos and havoc that took them by surprise.
As her last victim finally gave out her cries before falling silent, Lirien looked at the view in front of her. Multiple people, four three and three tier four experts lay callously all over the garden.
There wasn't any signs of struggle or blood from their bodies, as if they were trapped in a deep sleep that they were unable to wake up from. Looking at their chests, one could note that they were still breathing however they couldn't move.
The body was like a husk for the soul, once the soul was removed, the body would lay similar to a car drained of its batteries, stationary till they were charged however in this circumstance, they wouldn't be receiving their souls back.
"Finally -Ahh!" Lirien exclaimed in joy before she spat a mouthful of blood. It was the backlash of utilizing the barrier and the dome for too long.
They both had a huge toll on her mana thus the drained expression on her face was nothing out of her expectations. 'It would seem that for future events, I need to be more prepared!'
She mused as her garden was swarmed with servants who quickly took care of the bodies. She collapsed on her chair as she brought out a small vial and drunk it.
'Eh? What's this?!' She was shocked after something changed. Looking at the white crescent in her palm, it sprouted a flower but what she was really taken aback with was her mana disc core.
Her C grade mana disc had risen to B grade. It was now that she recalled that one of the adventurers had a B grade mana disc core.
'Wait! With this, I'll be able to expend more mana not to mention, if I get my hands on an A grade expert, then I'll be impossible to defeat me.'
A small laugh came about her face to which slowly descended into an eerily cackling laughter. However she came to a horrible realization.
'Even though having the ability to raise my aptitude like this is beneficial, there is a slight problem. There are two A grade experts, one of them being Sir Joseph and the other Nathaniel.'
'If I want to get my hands on Nathaniel, I'll first have to deal with Joseph. But the problem with him is that he is on the fifth tier. It will be much more difficult to deal with him.'
'Not to mention he didn't make his appearance despite the high bounty I put up.' She however was sated with her current predicament as a plan had already started to formulate in her mind.
'With the disappearance of such significant forces in the adventurers' guild, they will no doubt have it looked into. I have to make it look like it was a demonic attack and even though Joseph may be of a high tier, he will be forced to participate in hunting it down.'
'But the problem of taking him down is another thing to consider. I can't just take him down the same way I did with these excuses. He is a seasoned expert, able to clearly deduce the situation he is in and find a suitable way around it.'
'If he wasn't moving when I attack him then it will be ideal.' It was then that it hit her. 'Why didn't think of this before! However even though it may be costly, it is definitely my only option.'
She took another shower. She made her way back to her office and ordered for a meeting and luckily, she was able to find one by tomorrow.
It was already Tuesday and she was supposed to take down this kingdom by the end of the week. Quite a demanding task it was for her.
*The next day*
She made her way towards the shadow guild market. It was considered an underground rig where questionable products could be sold, it also had the backing of a powerful expert who was rumored to be on the fifth tier.
'If I could get my hands on him or her, it would certainly be better but I doubt that such a figure would be easy I find. I'm reading against the clock here.'
Launching an investigation to find the head would without a doubt take more than a week and by then, she would have already met her fate.
Not to mention she would pique the interest of many as why would she suddenly choose to do so? 'Playing it off as an order from Ashley could work however by then, the individual could flee to another kingdom.'
She mused as she made her way towards an office. Her face was masked maintaining an air of mystery around her.
"Miss Crimson, how may I help you?" A clerk spoke. The two were in a room which multiple arrays were installed to prevent the noises from spreading to other rooms.
"I need a tier four red skin Lothern tears." She stated as she got straight to her point. Her dealer was baffled beneath his mask however he quickly recovered.
"That is definitely a tall order and luckily it seems that we will be receiving a batch by the end of the month. Would you like to make a placement?" He said in a calm tone.
'By the end of the month? It'll be too late by then!' She thought in her head. She had to make this happen by the end of the week. "Is there any other poison lethal enough to sedate a tier four expert?"
She asked briskly. Her tone was laced with coldness and decisiveness which took her dealer by surprise. "A tier four expert, no sadly however we do have some that could take care of tier three experts."
"Very well, what about a tier four mana disc core?" If she wasn't going to bring Joseph down to her level, then she would rise to his level. "Unfortunately there are none at the moment."
Her face contorted in worry beneath her face however she recovered her demeanor. "In that case never mind." She said as she stood up and left.
The reason why she was so straightforward was because even though she knew that she would raise the brows of some, it didn't matter because by the end of the week, either she was dead or have killed her target.
'It seems that I have to increase my attacks to lure Joseph out. The adventurers' guild will take a hit with his death without a doubt and with the rise of demonic attacks, it doesn't make it any better.'
'With his death, it will be even harder to move around and satiate my hunger.' Her brows furrowed in frustration. 'Not to mention the king will be even more guarded because of it making it all the more difficult.'
Her thoughts ran as she was in her carriage making her way back to her manor. She had already bought a lot of defensive artifacts beforehand if what she was looking for wasn't available.
'However with the spike of my tier into the fifth array not to mention my B grade mana disc, it will be much more bearable to face Joseph.'
If she wanted to directly confront Joseph, then she would have to play defense the entire fight and use her tendrils to attack making the fight end much faster.
'I've already mobilized the words about the death of the group of adventures, citing that it was a demon attack not far from the kingdom. Now it's only a matter of amping the flames.'
She thought as she stepped out of her carriage.