From the air behind Emilia, a short figure suddenly leaped out of the void, the black dagger in his hand stabbing straight at the back of Emilia's neck.
But after everything she had experienced, the elf had grown stronger. She fell before she even had time to speak, yet her "corpse" immediately merged into the ground and became a small tree, while Emilia herself vanished without a trace.
"Assassin!"
One of the young ladies protecting Emilia shouted. The next moment, at least five different thaumaturgies struck the short figure's position, but he vanished as well.
"Damn it, I already used one of the five Substitute Tree Seeds Granny gave me."
In the forest a kilometer from the battlefield, Emilia stepped out of a tree hollow that had split open in the trunk of a large tree, looking rather annoyed. The elves possessed ancient alchemical craftsmanship that allowed them to create certain precious Alchemy Items.
The Substitute Tree Seed was one of them. Once its holder encountered danger and was aware of it, it automatically replaced their body with a sapling, while the holder appeared in a safe area within one kilometer. Not only was this item troublesome to make, it also had strict terrain requirements for a "forest environment," making it perfectly suited for use in Vesta Woodland.
"That person who tried to kill me just now appeared directly through Space Jump. You really can't stop an assassin like that. Where am I?"
Because the transfer had been random, Emilia could not immediately identify her location. However, she soon found the direction of the battle and worked out her approximate position.
Just as she was hesitating over whether to head toward the city or remain where she was and wait for the battle to end, she suddenly heard the wind