Chapter 168: Provocation

At the same time, while Yun Mu was in a standoff with that dark-skinned man.

Inside the Winter Cathedral, Brenna did not need to explain herself; the priest in charge of the morning prayers recognized her identity the moment she walked into the cathedral.

After stating her request to meet with Bishop Muse, it was not long before Brenna was led by a young priest in a black robe to the room where Bishop Muse was located.

"Good morning, Bishop Muse."

Without observing the furnishings in the room that she was already familiar with, Brenna spoke after seeing the figure standing by the huge floor-to-ceiling window, observing the environment outside.

"Good morning, Princess."

Hearing her voice, Bishop Muse moved his gaze away from the window, turned, and looked at Brenna.

This was an old man who looked quite aged; he wore a luxurious purple ceremonial robe, with the hem dragging on the floor, a waistband with gold-edged patterns, and buttons hanging at the collar.

In fact, this old man was already 186 years old and was a Fifth Rank Champion level Transcendental.

Before Brenna was born, he had already been serving as a bishop in the Winter Cathedral.

And after Brenna was born, the two of them often had contact due to their statuses.

Therefore, Brenna was quite familiar with this bishop of the Winter Cathedral; one could even say that he was one of the people who watched her grow up.

"Tell me, Princess, what is the reason for you to come find me after having left Winter City for half a year?"

Without excessive pleasantries, Bishop Muse invited Brenna to sit on the sofa in the room and skillfully brewed a pot of hot tea.

"It is like this..."

Hearing Bishop Muse's words, Brenna had no intention of hiding anything and, with a serious expression, told him everything she knew in detail.

Whoosh! The sound of a blade cutting through the air rang out by her ear, and Yun Mu dodged the opponent's attack once again.

"This way of attacking by escaping into shadow, are you a Shadow Guard?" After dodging the opponent's attack, Yun Mu took the initiative to ask.

"Guess?"

The man clearly had no intention of answering her, only letting his figure escape into the shadows once more.

Shadow Guard should be a profession only available to the royal family of the Frost Kingdom.

Setting aside the possibility that the opponent obtained the profession information by accident, that is to say, is this man related to the people of the Saierliya family? Considering that the opponent likely followed them because of Brenna, Yun Mu believed it was more likely that the opponent was under a royal noble.

Could it be those two brothers of Brenna?

She analyzed in her heart.

Many novels involving the throne were written this way; vicious princes sending subordinates to assassinate other heirs to the throne, but Brenna had already withdrawn from the throne struggle, hadn't she? Could it be that her act of returning had stimulated one of those two?

But that didn't seem right either... Yun Mu thought to herself while dodging the dark-skinned man's attacks with ease.

If the goal was to assassinate Brenna, this man's strength was far too weak.

Although he was a Third-tier Expert Transcendental, at the end of the day, there was only one of him.

And by Brenna's side, not counting the deceased Elena, there were a full four Third-tier Expert Shadow Guards!

Could it be that the opponent knew the Shadow Guards were not by Brenna's side? Yun Mu thought about the Shadow Guards who seemed to be invisible the entire way as she and Brenna traveled to Winter City.

But even without the Shadow Guards, they shouldn't have dispatched only one assassin, unless... the opponent's goal was not to assassinate Brenna at all! Thinking of this, Yun Mu already had the answer in her heart.

"It's about time to end the act." Dodging the dark-skinned man's attack again, Yun Mu said. "Can you let me witness the true strength of a Shadow Guard?" She looked at the man in front of her and said.

She and the man in front of her had been entangled in the alley for about three minutes, and Yun Mu had relied solely on a Standard Short Dagger, without using any skills.

She had only relied on close-combat ability to circle with the opponent.

Although she considered herself capable of challenging opponents above her rank, it shouldn't have been this simple.

"Have you figured it out?" The dark-skinned man emerged from the shadows and said.

"Your acting is too terrible; even if you were going easy on me, you shouldn't have gone that easy." Yun Mu looked at the man and said with a look of disdain.

"... Can you have some self-awareness?" The dark-skinned man's mouth twitched when he heard her words, and he said: "Although I indeed did not use Third-tier Expert level abilities."

"But a normal Second-tier Elite Transcendental should have been taken down by me long ago!"

"In terms of close-combat techniques, I haven't held back at all!"

"Huh?" Yun Mu looked at the man's expression, which didn't seem fake, and said somewhat blankly: "Is, is that so?"

Was her close-combat ability that strong, to the point where it could leave a Third-tier Expert Shadow Guard specializing in close combat helpless?

Bu, but her main profession was a Painter!

"As expected of the Princess's personal guard, you really have some skills. I presume your profession is another branch of the 【Assassin】 series, the Dark Slayer, who specializes in assassination, dagger mastery, and close-quarters combat."

Although it was a question, the dark-skinned man said it with a look of certainty.

"Uh..." Yun Mu could roughly guess why the opponent thought she was Brenna's personal guard.

But a Dark Slayer? Sorry, she hadn't even heard of this profession!

"Should I tell the truth?" Yun Mu hesitated in her heart.

Her profession was the Painter of the 【Painter】 series, which itself had no weaknesses that would be specifically targeted.

If one had to say, it was the flaw that most spellcasting professions had, which was that their close-combat ability was very weak.

Besides that, the Painter also had issues like the uncertainty of spellcasting and the long pre-casting time.

But what did these shortcomings have to do with her?

Yun Mu, who already had four Supernatural Paintings bound to her and whose close-combat ability could suppress a Third-tier Expert Shadow Guard, thought to herself.

So even if she exposed her profession, it wouldn't have any impact, but looking at the confident expression on the man in front of her, she really couldn't bear to tell him this cruel fact.

"Ahem, as long as you beat me, I'll tell you what my profession is, how about that?" Thinking of this, Yun Mu coughed lightly, put on a very arrogant expression, and provoked him.

She really wanted to test this guy's true strength! "Hmph, little girl, confidence is a good thing, but arrogance is another matter." Hearing her words, the dark-skinned man snorted lightly.

The man, who was already feeling frustrated because he hadn't taken down Yun Mu, became somewhat angry when he saw Yun Mu's arrogant expression.

"If you don't try, how will you know if I'm confident or arrogant?" Seeing this, Yun Mu raised her eyebrows and extended her index and middle fingers, slightly curling them in a provocative gesture.

PS: The Supernatural professions of the 【Assassin】 series are as follows: First Rank: Assassin; Second Rank: Shadow Attendant, Dark Slayer.

Third Rank: Shadow Guard, Close Combat Expert; Fourth Rank: Shadow Walker, Dual Blade Dancer.

(End of this chapter)