Her Graceful War Song (Carissa Sinclair)

Before Viola could react, she saw the black-clad figures burst in, their swords dripping with blood. It was obvious they had killed people on their way here.

Viola screamed and rushed to the door, banging on it with urgency. "Aurora, open the door! Open the door!"

Yvonne and Julia shielded Viola, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. "Stay away..."

The black-clad figures swung their swords, slicing through the air with deadly precision. Yvonne and Julia felt a cold sensation across their throats, and then blood splattered and gushed out. Their throats were cut, and they couldn't even utter a sound before collapsing.

Viola was paralyzed with fear and sank to the ground. She covered her ears and cried, "Help! Help!"

One of the black-clad figures advanced towards Viola with his sword raised. Just then, Barrett delivered a powerful kick, sending the assailant flying. He immediately took up a defensive stance beside Viola.

"Get inside and hide!" Barrett was facing imminent danger, and he pushed Viola toward the room.

Viola sobbed and said, "Aurora has locked the door!"

Barrett kicked the door with all his might, but it wouldn't budge. He continued to fend off the attackers while shouting, "Aurora, open the door!"

Aurora stood inside, her face serious as she gripped her sword, her hands slightly trembling. She ignored Barrett's words and showed no sign of opening the door.

In a short span of time, Barrett had been struck by a sword. He barely managed to evade further attacks. His skills, honed during his time in the Capital Guard, were his only saving grace. Otherwise, he might have been dead by now.

He attempted to draw the assassins into a deserted courtyard, but it was clear that they were specifically targeting Aurora. So, three of them tried to knock down the door, and one was left to deal with Barrett.

Despite battling only one of the assassins, Barrett found it exceedingly difficult.

As Viola watched the chaos unfold, she nearly fainted from fear. She scrambled into a corner and hid.

The estate's guards arrived, but the Warren family couldn't afford many, and those present were no match for the assassins. Within a few minutes, they were all gravely injured.

Despite being stabbed twice, Barrett continued to resist fiercely. He was once a military general, and he was stubborn and resilient. Even as blood flowed from his wounds, he fought with all his strength.

The attackers might not have intended to kill him. They seemed to be showing restraint, only wounding him to drive him away. It took them more effort than they probably expected.

The commotion was so loud that it

reached the second branch's

residential area as well. Gregory

worked in the Royal Citadel as a civil servant, but he still came with his two sons. While his sons had only basic martial arts training, they

rushed over to help.

Soon, Jonathan also arrived with Benjamin and Bryan. They saw that there were a few people lying on the ground, covered in blood. Terrified, they ran outside and shouted for help. The entire household was in chaos, with servants screaming and running in all directions, desperately seeking a safe place to hide.

Hearing the cries of the servants, Rebecca and Serena understood that there were assassins in the estate. Fearing that the assassins might come their way, Rebecca grabbed her daughter's hand and urgently said, "We can't go outside! There are surely assassins out there too. We need to hide in Grace Mansion. Carissa had ordered the doors there to be made from

ironwood."

Ignoring her concerns about the ruby tiara for now, Serena and Jade helped Rebecca up and headed towards Grace Mansion.

When they reached Grace Mansion, they didn't expect to see Barrett fiercely fighting the assassins, his clothes stained with blood and clearly injured.

The second branch family members were of little help. They were only able to wield knives ineffectively and get injured in the process. They were truly useless. Rebecca was terrified. She scanned the room, but didn't see Aurora fighting alongside Barrett. Instead, she noticed Viola cowering in a corner.

"Where's Aurora? Find her!" Rebecca took a deep breath and pushed Jade urgently. "Go quickly!"

Jade was frightened and ran off in a panic. Seeing this, Serena hurried back to her own courtyard to hide.

In the end, the window had been shattered, and the three assassins leaped inside.

Aurora had been alert and had positioned herself near the door. As the assassins broke through the window, she swiftly opened the door and charged outside. The assassin fighting Barrett saw Aurora and immediately kicked Barrett aside, leaping at her with his sword raised.

Aurora tried to block the attack, but was forced back by the impact. Her chest heaved with exertion as she struggled to regain her footing. As she did, she felt the sharp sting of the sword cut through her flesh at her waist.

Despite his earlier frustration with Aurora for hiding, Barrett rushed to help her after seeing she had been injured. The two fought back to back.

The assassins had previously been cautious when fighting with Barrett. But now that Aurora was out here, they attacked with lethal intent.