42 A New Villain Emerges? (1)

"Run, Frank!" Tom yelled as he took off into the woods, hoping to escape the impending death.

This was supposed to be an easy job, a simple kidnapping. Kidnap the wife of baron Jurdan, have some fun with her, then ransom her back. They have done this job multiple times without any problems till tonight.

The plan was going perfectly, they waited till the carriage left town before ambushing it, killing the guards and the driver, and then all eight surrounded the carriage. That's when things started going to hell.

One moment there were surrounding the carriage, the next, everything became pitch black, and they couldn't see anything, and that was when the screams started to begin.

Tom immediately picked a direction and started to run. He made it about ten meters before the world became visible again. Looking behind him, he saw a sphere of darkness covering the carriage, and looking to his left, he saw Frank and shouted.

He made it about five more meters before an arrow pierced his throat.

"The reports state that the baron's wife was found safe. She only claimed that a cloaked figure stole her ring." A man dressed in formal clothes reported

"That's the sixth case within a year reported about a cloaked figure saving someone only to steal from them." Olivia calmly said as she analyzed the reports

When Olivia heard that a figure that went by Ang Anino was going around robbing people, she immediately went to her father. She asked that she be a part of this investigation, and her father agreed without much resistance, even putting her in charge of the investigation.

Did she care about the victims? Did she want to catch the masked person herself? What were her motivations? Many people wondered why the princess would be so interested in this case.

If only people knew the truth, she didn't care about the people or the masked person. What she cared about the most was the name. Ang Anino. She had never heard that word, and she was drawn to it. She needed to figure out what it meant.

She tried countless things, anagrams, looking over ancient texts, even spending almost a month in the royal library, and she still couldn't figure out what the name meant.

This was on the same level as a certain boy who kept avoiding her for nearly two years, she couldn't figure it out, and that made her feel uncomfortable? Angry? Irritated? Annoyed?

"There are reports that this… Anganino had taken out multiple bandit camps near the city Praset, known as a lawless town controlled by the syndicate." The man said as he continued reading the report

"Ang Anino." Olivia replied

"Pardon, princess?" The man asked after a moment

"The person goes by Ang Anino. It's two words, not one. They're going by a title. Has there been any reports of what kind of magic they use?" Olivia explained, completely ignoring the bandit camps

"No, princess. All the bandits were killed either with arrows or swords. No magic has been reported by any of the victims." The man replied after looking over the reports

"The stolen items, any particular reason why they were taken?" Olivia asked

"We can't find a reason." The man replied

I'm missing something, Olivia thought. The answer had to be the items that were taken.

Looking toward the man, she calmly demanded.

"I want everything you have on the victims that reported the stolen items."

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"So, you've come." Sandor said as he gripped his claymore and stared at the figure in front of him

Sandor was the head of a gang affiliated with the syndicate and was rumored to be one of the most vital syndicate members.

The figure said nothing as they held a sword lazily pointed downward, with blood dripping from it.

"At least tell me that my men put up a fight," Sandor said as he summoned fire that coated his sword.

"They were worth good XP." Came the husky voice as he readied his sword

"Not sure what that means, but ill take it as a good sign," Sandor said as he took a deep breath before charging….

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"Reports indicate that Sandor, the enforcer, was killed by a single sword thrust to the heart." The finely dressed man said while reading the report

Olivia sat there, hand on her chin, lost in thought. What does the name mean? The swordsmen? The Ghost? The Hood?

"Why did they attack Sandor?" Olivia thought out loud

"This Sandor was an influential syndicate member and mainly dealt with slavery. The possibility could be that they were trying to rescue someone." The man replied after a moment of thinking.

"Whomever this person is, they don't care about slaves. No, they were after something, most likely an item this Sandor was holding. That's why they attacked." Olivia said after a moment

While looking at the map hanging up on the wall, with circles representing where the attacks occurred, she noticed something. Immediately a strange glint appeared in her eye for a moment before disappearing.

"Prepare a carriage and the honor guard. I am going to Praset." Oliva said as she stood up and prepared to leave.

Not expecting the turn of events, the man froze for a moment

"Prin… Princess, that place is far too dangerous. Why do you want to go there?" He asked as he followed her

"All roads lead to Praset. Whatever they are planning, it's going to culminate there." She responded