Elesbog forest.

It was a relative large woodland that was shared by three nations- two of them being Aurgoth and Darkshore. There was nothing noteworthy about this forest except the Tistan River that flowed past it.

Tistan was one of the largest rivers in the continent- flowing through all of the four major nations of the Confederation.

An emerald green carriage embroidered with wreaths and waving the insignia of the Royal family of Nemphis was wheeling through the bumpy roads of the forest.

The old coachman had his brows furrowed. He had been ordered by the Royal Advisor to drive through the rutted and hazardous forest roads when there was a grand highway that connected Aurgoth to its next destination- Darkshore.

Moreover, the young sir of his also advised to main utmost caution. Though, as the ‘bodyguard’ assigned by the High King- he was always cautious of his surroundings, he decided to take the warning of Adrian seriously.

He peaked his senses, his eyes darted all around. He was already circulating his magical energy, ready to react at the slightest movement or energy fluctuations.

But nothing out of the ordinary happened throughout the day.

Nighttime.

Clouds covered the sky again- preventing the moonlight from lighting up the dark world below.

*Howl* *Howl*

The sound of wolves’ and foxes’ howling echoed throughout the forest. But what was omnipresent unlike the occasional sound of the animals were the whistling of breeze and the rustling of leaves.

But the carriage was still running, not showing any signs of a stoppage.

Adrian was relaxing in the coach with his eyes closed, gently caressing the sword he had on his lap.

The old man, on the other hand, did not let his guard down; if anything, he became even more cautious. He had experienced countless battles before- against men and beast alike. His instinct was telling him that something was not right. A foreboding dawned on his heart.

*Rustle! Rustle!*

Soon, he heard a rustling noise, different from the dancing of the leaves he had been listening for the past few hours. Here it came.

“Hyah!”

The carriage sped up. So did the rapidity of the rustling leaves.

“Tsk.” The old man clicked his tongue as he brought out a battle hammer from under his seat. It would come to a fight sooner or later.

“Young sir.” The old man turned back and looked through the small window.

Adrian’s eyes were still closed while one of his hands gently stroked the cold steel he had on his lap.

“There will be a battle soon.” The old man’s voice was devoid of any nervousness. “Please stick with me and follow my instructions.”

“Two.” Adrian’s lips parted.

“Pardon?” The old man knitted his brows.

“There are two level 8 circlers among them; one of them is an archer while the other is an assassin?”

“Archer?!” His face grimaced. “Shit!”

It was not that he was weak against archers- definitely not. He had killed dozens of Imperial archers before.

The reason he was so exasperated was because of the fact that archers were the worst types of enemies when it came to protecting someone. And he had only one mission during the entire trip- to protect the young man who was the valuable Royal Advisor of the country.

He began to think of viable plans- effective procedures to protect the youth. But his senses were still locked on the two ‘lurkers’ keeping up with the speeding coach.

“Old man.” An elegant but confident voice came from behind, prompting him to turn back.

“Yes?” The old man asked.

Adrian finally opened his eyes and looked straight into the old and brown eyes of his bodyguard. His lips arched to a smile.

“I have a plan.”

******

For ten whole minutes, the newcomers only chased the charging carriage without making any other moves.

Soon the carriage slowed down as it entered into a muddy road. Neither the horses could use their full strength, nor the wheels could turn freely in the quagmire.

*Whistle*

An arrow darted at extreme speed towards the old man. The whirling winds could barely do anything to change its trajectory.

The old man did not bat an eye, he was still sitting on the coachman’s seat like the good ‘coachman’ he was. His muscular right arm which was wielding the battle hammer moved fast- so fast that it looked as it were just a blur.

*Ting.*

The arrow- was deflected. The old man was sitting at the same place with that same indifferent expression. Even his right arm ‘apparently’ did not move an inch from its original spot. He opened his mouth.

“WHO HAS THE AUDACITY TO LAY THEIR HANDS UPON AN ENVOY OF THE ROYAL FAMILY OF NEMPHIS?!” His thunderous voice echoed through the entire forest. “COME OUT!”

The old man jumped up high from the carriage and brandished his eloquent war hammer at the peak and a moment later, he began to fall back to the earth.

*BOOM!*

He slammed the hammer on the ground with full force.

*Rumble!*

The ground began to shake. Walls of earth akin to mountain raised up from the ground, surrounding himself with the others in a 60 meters radius. Dust covered the atmosphere.

*Whistle!*

Another arrow shot towards him. But alas, it shared the same fate as that of it’s predecessor. It was ricocheted off the metal hammer.

But soon-

*Whoosh.*

Someone, wearing all black that melded him with the dark of the night, appeared right behind the old man wielding two daggers with his hands. He struck both of them to the old man’s vitals.

But before the daggers could go even halfway through their trajectory, the assassin called back the attack and retreated with utmost speed, even using a bit of life force to give his speed a boost.

*Boom*

The mighty hammer passed through right where he was just at with supersonic speed, clashing with the air- making an explosive sound. If he did not dodge in time and use his life force, pieces of his body would have been lying scattered across the ground.

But this sudden retreat was not a defeat on the assassin’s part by any means. This jump led him directly before the carriage doors.

He broke through the door while another whistling arrow distracted the guardian.

The assassin’s eyes underneath his black hoods widened.

The carriage- was empty.

All there was a smoothly cut out hole below on the marble carriage floor.

Adrian Darkheart- their target- was missing.