"[Telekinetic Arrow Scattershot]!" Chanted Aster, taking aim and firing as the group of hooded figures came into sight, sending a barrage of rapid telekinetic arrows shooting towards them.
A couple of cries of pain rang out as a few of them got hit, while the rest swiftly dispersed and spread out, before launching a volley of Spells towards Aster, Tacitus and Nile.
"[Nullification Wall]," Tacitus chanted as the attacks closed in, before disappearing as they struck his wall of nullifying energy.
The trio then split up and shot towards the hooded figures, who continued firing their Spells. Tacitus nullified their attacks and Aster blocked them with his telekinesis, while Nile deflected the attacks shooting towards him with his dual axes, batting them away before leaping forward as he closed in on one of the hooded figures.
He swung his right axe down towards the top of the figure's head, who narrowly blocked it with a sword, before she opened her mouth and fired out a burst of flames at him.
He quickly tilted his head across, grimacing as the flames grazed his left cheek and ear, before whipping his other axe across, a choked gasp ringing out as he sliced through her throat before she could react.
An agonized cry of pain then rang out from a few meters away, as Aster fired off a telekinetic slash and severed the arm of one of the hooded figures, blood spraying out and splattering across the dirt as his arm hit the ground with a thud, right as Aster fired a piercing burst of telekinesis and blasted a hole through the middle of the figure's chest.
A deafening crash echoed out as Tacitus slammed his sword onto the ground, triggering a shockwave and knocking a few of the hooded figures off balance, before he shot towards one of them and unleashed a powerful forward thrust of his sword while running his Mana through it, the large blade expanding before a loud crunch rang out as the end of the blade slammed onto the middle of the figure's chest, shattering his ribcage.
He shakily stumbled back and collapsed onto his knees as he coughed out blood with an agonized wheeze, before falling over and slumping against the ground, his ribs having pierced into his lungs and heart.
The remaining hooded figures were quick to back away and put some distance between them and the three Knights, but they showed no indication that they were about to retreat.
"Hm? Something feels off about this...all three of us are Commoners, I would've expected them to blindly rush in and try to kill us. But they're hanging back, and their attacks aren't all that aggressive. And they keep steadily backing away more and more, like they're trying to buy time. Just what exactly are they upto here?" Frowned Aster suspiciously, as he telekinetically blocked an incoming barrage of lightning, fire and wind blasts.
The hooded figures continued to spread out while ceaselessly firing off their Spells, resulting in a stalemate as they prevented the Knights from getting too close.
"Okay, I've had just about enough of this," Remarked Tacitus with a grimace, before he swiftly shot forward and chanted, "Now, [Nullification Zone]."
He cast the Spell over its maximum range of a fifty meter radius around him, and all the hooded figures were within that range.
"What the...!?"
"Damn it, I can't use my Magic!"
"Let's follow his lead!" Aster swiftly called out to Nile, before drawing out his twin blades and racing forward.
Tacitus leapt forward as he closed in on one of the hooded figures, who stumbled back in alarm before Tacitus expanded his sword and swung it down with immense force, striking the top of the figure's head and splitting him in half before he could react.
As the two halves of the figure's body fell over to either side and hit the ground with thuds, Aster ducked under the swing of a spear as he closed in on another of the hooded figures, before swiftly slashing his black blade across, splitting the figure's stomach open before driving his white blade straight into the man's throat, giving it a sharp twist and eliciting an agonized wheeze.
Blood gushed out as Aster drew out his blade with a violent twist, before glancing off to his right as Nile took down another of the hooded figures with his axes, splitting the figure's head in two with a swift downward swing.
"It's time! Everyone, retreat!" Suddenly exclaimed one of the hooded figures as an alarm rang out from his pocket, before the remaining figures quickly raced away, in an effort to get out of the range of Tacitus's Nullification Zone.
"Don't let them escape!" Aster yelled at Tacitus, sprinting forward as the figures took out Spell Cards.
"Shit...," Muttered Tacitus as he shot forward as fast as he could, before putting his sword back into his Storage Ring as several of the figures activated the Spells and vanished from sight.
He managed to get three of them back within the range of his Nullification Zone, before bringing out a large axe from his Storage Ring as he swiftly turned the dial, and then flung it towards one of the figures with a rapid spin, the axe slicing through the air with immense speed.
The figure began to try and scramble out of the way in alarm, but she was too slow to react, a sharp cry of pain ringing out as the blade of the axe struck the left side of her chest, before it sliced through her skin and flesh and burst through her ribcage, getting lodged in her heart and killing her instantly.
Aster shot towards one of the other two remaining figures before launching his black blade forward like an arrow with a sharp telekinetic burst, hitting his eye and piercing through before he could react, the blade poking out the back of his head, as Nile chased after the last remaining one, who desperately began to race away.
Nile swiftly flicked his right wrist to throw one of his axes forward, the weapon spinning through the air rapidly before hitting the figure's right calf and slicing through, a sharp yell of agony ringing out as he collapsed onto the ground and slid forward, blood spurting out of the stump that was left of his right leg, before Nile leapt towards him and swung the flat of his other axe down towards the back of the figure's head, a loud, metallic thunk ringing out as he knocked the figure unconscious.
"Hm? Why didn't you-...?" Began Aster as he walked over, before trailing off and adding sheepishly, "Ohh, right, we were supposed to capure a few of them...that totally slipped my mind. Crap, I should've tried to knock one out too...oh, well, one's better than none, I suppose."
"Good work, Nile. I forgot about that too," Admitted Tacitus, as he averted his gaze.
"Come on, seriously..."
"Uh, anyway, more importantly...what were they trying to accomplish here? It certainly didn't feel like they were trying to kill us," Remarked Aster with a frown.
"Yeah, they were definitely being a lot more cautious and organized that I would have expected. Based on our previous encounters with such Nobles, I was under the impression that none of them are capable of thinking logically and just let their pride and arrogant dictate their moves," Added Tacitus in bemusement.
"We should hurry up and report this to the Capital, it's unlikely that this is the only place they attacked," Pointed out Nile.
"Right, yeah...we'll need to find our Teleporter, his shift ended a while ago, so he's probably at home right now. With the phone lines cut, that's our only option," Said Aster with a grimace.
"This whole thing is turning out to be a real pain...and unless we find and eliminate the entirety of Exalt, it won't end," Grumbled Tacitus wearily.
Meanwhile, at the same time, the hooded figures who had attacked the other locations in the nation had also withdrawn, leaving the Knights bewildered and confused over the purpose behind this latest assault...