Chapter 11: The Assassination

The carriage drove through the woods. Inside the carriage were Zarok and his maid, Isola, and accompanying them were 11 young knights. The surroundings were extremely quiet, showing that this place was remote—they were in the middle of the forest.

Zarok was silent the entire time; he knew what was going to happen next. The maid, Rale, was sitting with him in the carriage while the rest of them followed, riding horses. Rale had been a bit suspicious of him for a few days; he was too silent and spoke less. Unlike in the past, he no longer cried.

Outside the carriage, the group of knights was discussing. "I heard that the prince is known for coercing those with low status," one knight said. "I heard he is not talented in any aspect," another knight chimed in. "Those second-generation nobles forced us to come. We can only pray that the prince won't cause us much trouble."

Among them, the most talented was Elvin. He was a farmer's son. Due to a famine, his village had suffered, but thanks to the royal family giving away some supplies, they survived. He wanted to serve them, but after enrolling, he figured out the harsh reality—he was continuously suppressed by the nobles' second sons because he was a farmer's son. There were many commoners like him; they were bullied and suppressed, and their hard-earned credits were taken away.

Elvin could only wish that these were just rumors, but even he knew it was just wishful thinking.

At the time, there were several black-robed figures hiding in the trees, waiting for something. When the carriage arrived, one of the black-clothed men said, "Everyone ready; it will go according to plan." They were the assassins sent by Isola. They remembered how they knelt down to Isola in the room.

Isola had instructed them, "I command you, as your master, that you will assassinate Zarok at all costs. You must make sure that no one finds out that it was me who sent you." The plan was foolproof; they had a master-servant seal on them. If they were unable to follow the order, they would bleed from their orifices and die.

Back in the present, they were hiding in the surrounding trees, communicating with each other. "Is that the target?" "Yes, the carriage driver is one of Madam's men. When he leaves the carriage and runs away, that's when we will attack."

They communicated with each other through lip-reading techniques, hiding in different trees. Assassins usually used lip-reading techniques to communicate.

The carriage arrived with the knights around it. Suddenly, the carriage stopped. "What's wrong?" a knight asked. Suddenly, the driver jumped, disconnected the horse from the carriage, mounted it, and ran away.

"Stop! Where are you going?" the knights were surprised, but no one followed him, as their duty was to protect the crowned prince.

At that moment, four black-robed men appeared. "Everyone, be ready! We are under attack," Elvin said, becoming alert. He drew his sword, preparing for battle.

Inside the carriage, Rale had a smug look on her face, but it lasted only for seconds because she saw that the prince was still calm. With a dumbfounded expression, she saw Zarok get up and walk out of the carriage.

"Your Highness, please stay in the carriage; we are under attack!" Elvin shouted, ready to protect the prince.

"Everyone, be careful. Create a circle formation; there are more assassins. The rest of them are hidden," Zarok commanded. All the knights were shocked to hear the prince commanding them. "It's an order!" Hearing this, all the knights became alert and followed Zarok's order. Suddenly, four more black-robed men appeared from the trees. One of them grabbed Zarok and took him as a hostage. The knights didn't have time to react because what the prince had said was true. On the other hand, the black-robed men were annoyed that their plan didn't work.

Zarok knew this because of a cutscene from the game. Zarok was very prideful; he would rather die than live like a dog. Even though the current Zarok was a weakling, he knew how to outsmart his enemies.

The black-robed man who had taken Zarok hostage was about to strike him with a knife. Suddenly, Zarok whispered, "Isola Ravenscar sent you, right?"

Hearing this, the black-robed man's eyes widened. He held his chest tightly as if he was in severe pain and let go of Zarok, who then ran toward the knights. The black-robed man held his head, feeling like several worms were crawling inside it. "GYaaa!!!" Blood oozed out of his nose, eyes, and ears. After some suffering, he fell down dead. This was part of Zarok's plan, and he was pleased to see it go smoothly.

The master-servant seal ensured that Isola's identity could not be revealed; failure meant death.

Everyone was shocked but soon came to their senses. The knights were beside Zarok, protecting him. The remaining black-robed men were ready.

"Who sent you?" Elvin asked.

"You don't need to know. Die!!!"

With that, he attacked Elvin. The two other black-robed men attacked the knights beside Zarok to distance them. The remaining four saw Zarok as a target. But at that time, Zarok opened his mouth and moved his lips, "Isola sent you, right?" Although he didn't make any sound, the black-robed men knew the art of lip-reading and understood.

"Gyaa!!! Arg!!!" They all died the same way. The rest of the three remaining black-robed men were taken aback. The knights saw this opportunity and struck them with their swords.

After some time, Elvin was holding a black-robed man and asking, "Who sent you?" The black-robed man remained silent.

Then Zarok told Elvin to step aside. Zarok had a dagger. He cut off the black-robed man's ear. "Argh!!!" The man screamed in pain.

"No matter how much you torture me, I won't tell you anything," the assassin said.

"Do you think I am a fool? No matter what happens, you can't tell because you are bound by a master-servant seal." Zarok smiled as he said this.

"You—how did you know?" The assassin was filled with shock. "Then why are you torturing me?" he asked.

"Because you said the dialogue 'Die!!!' That was so cringe, I didn't like it," Zarok replied.

"Just for that reason?" The assassin was dumbfounded by Zarok's reply. Zarok didn't waste words and made a cut on the assassin's neck. The assassin struggled to breathe, and after some twitching, he died.

Rale came out of the carriage, but after seeing the scene, she was shocked. She wasn't able to accept the fact, but it was right in front of her. She was not convinced—how could the prince, who was always timid and a waste of space, become so sharp? Could it be he had been taken over by a demon? The thought flashed through her mind. No matter what, she had been keeping an eye on him, so it was impossible for someone to change so much. It's better to report it to Madam Isola.

But the thought of Zarok escaping the assassination made her depressed. "Tch," she clicked her tongue in annoyance. She went back into the carriage. She had to pretend to be scared of the assassination event, or the knights might be wary of her.

On the other hand, the knights were happy with the prince's performance. They started seeing Zarok in a new light, and it would be an honor to serve under someone like him for the rest of their lives. That's what they thought.