Chapter 10: Assassins

The descent into the dark hollows of the forest was eerily quiet. Everyone was on edge. The troop had been divided into groups of 5 five. They were told to signal the group if they came in contact with more than they could handle.

Sword Saint had educated the group on monsters over the course of their training. They only expected to find low-level monsters in the forest. In the event, they came across anything other than goblins and beasts, they were to retreat. The Sword Saint or the troop leader would handle any high-level creatures.

Lucia's group had been making their way through the forest for several hours. They had encountered a few packs of goblins which they had dispatched. After a while things became quiet. The birds had stopped singing. There was a feeling of dread in the air.

They wandered towards an opening in the trees. An ominous cave came into sight. There was blood splattered across the entrance.

The group exchanged weary looks. Reluctantly, they made their way inside. The first thing that hit them was a grotesque stench. A repulsive odor emanating from the pits of the cave.

Following the light of their torches, they descend deeper into the cave. The light illuminated the pale faces of the dead. They found a squadron of Empire soldiers amongst a pile of bodies. The bodies were practically decomposed. They had been there for some time.

A blood-curdling guttural growl echoed through the cave. Lucia instantly recognized the sound.

"It's an Ogre. Everyone go! Out of the cave!", She yelled.

They ran back the way they had come, dashing towards the exit. The thundering vibration of heavy steps followed them. As they emerged back in the clearing, behind them came a vicious snarl.

The bloodthirsty roar of the Ogre pierced their ears. Its large oblong head appeared from the entrance of the cave. Its gigantic belly followed as it extended the length of its body, towering over them.

Lucia had the displeasure of facing an ogre in her past life. Despised creatures that fed on human flesh. Like other high-level monsters, they were resistant to most magic. Their only weakness was fire.

Over the past month, much of Lucia's mana had returned to her. She had kept the extent of it a secret so far. She didn't want her progress to appear too sudden. However, the situation called for the full use of her mana. She couldn't engage with the other knights to worry about.

"Go send for help", She called back to the other, "I'll hold it off".

"Don't be a fool. The Sword Saint said..", One of the troops began to interject.

At the moment, the Ogre tore towards them. His club crashed against Lucia's sword. The force of his strike sent a ripple of air cutting across the plane.

"Go!" she yelled, struggling to fend him off. The Knight hesitated but made their way out of the clearing.

"We'll send help", One called as they disappeared.

When they were finally out of range. Lucia released her mana. Unlike before, a fiery burst engulfed her sword. She thrust the flaming swords down on the beast. It parried the bow with its club and returned a furious blow.

Lucia blocked the attack with the mana. A wall of fire deflected the onslaught of attacks. The Ogre released another heavy blow with its club and sent Lucia back. She drew her sword up and blazed past the Ogre with a decisive strike.

The ogre let out a painful groan as it fell to its knees. Lucia delivered the final blow. IT's head rolled to the ground.

"Looks like you didn't need any help", Came Keitel's voice from behind a tree. He had been nearby when the squad had signaled for help. Initially, he had been overwhelmed with emotion. He had gone there without hesitation. However, the moment he arrived, he could see Luca needed no help. Had he really improved so much since the entrance exam? He had to see for himself.

Lucia clenched her sword and turned to Keitel. She hadn't expected help to come so quickly. His arrival was poor timing. She had been planning to make a break for Veldeer in the chaos.

"We've cleared out a quarter of the forest today", Keitel said, coming closer, "I thought it was strange we hadn't encountered any high-level monsters yet".

Lucia flicked the blood from her sword. She sheathed the blade and turned to face Keitel.

"What now?" She asked.

"Let's make our way back to the other squads. We want to get back to base camp before sunset.

Before they could make a move. Keitel sensed a presence in the trees. He responded just in time to deflect a flying arrow. Shadowy figures materialized around the pair.

"Goblins?" Lucia suggested.

"I think not", Keitel growled as another arrow pierced through the trees. It was covered in mana. Keitel released a charge of electric energy to defend against it.

A figure cloaked in black sprung out from the bushes. He lunged towards the Prince. The assailant used a blast of mana to send the Prince back. Another cloaked man pounced from behind.

Lucia dashed to the Prince's back. She struck the assailant down with a fiery strike. In-kind, the Prince struck down two more in a lightning-fast flash. More attackers surrounded them. The pair continued to fight against the attackers. More and more kept appearing from the thrush.

"There's too many", The Prince breathed jaggedly.

"There's an opening. I'll cover you", Lucia pointed towards a path amongst the trees. They both retreated into the dim woodlands. They both ran until they caught a glimpse of the sun dipping down below the horizon. They came to the jagged edge of a cliff.

The assailants surrounded them. They had been fighting since dawn. Both were low on mana. Keitel mustered the strength to raise his blade. His heart was bumping. He could see the edge approaching from the corner of his eye. Another archer released a mana-filled shot. Keitel clenched his sword, he felt his mana fading. As his sword met the arrowhead, his defense gave way. An arrow pierced through his shoulder and he fell to one knee.

Lucia's mind went over all the possible options. Their only viable choice now was to try to escape over the cliff. The height looked formidable, she doubted they would survive. But she had no choice, the Prince was already teetering over the edge. This was no random attack. It was an organized assassination. They were obviously aiming for the Prince. No doubt, they intended to make it look like the Prince was killed in a monster attack.

A thought occurred to her.

"Wait!" She addressed the attackers, "It's clearly him you're after"

Keitel stared at her incredulously. He held his shoulder and struggled to stand.

"What are you saying?" He coughed.

Continuing to talk to the gang, she threw her sword to their feet.

"I'm not involved in this. I don't care if he lives or dies. Just let me go. I can pay you", she continued.

One of the gang stepped forward.

"We're not in the habit of leaving any survivors", The cloaked man chuckled.

"I can make it worth your while", Lucia implored, "name your price".

The Prince gripped his sword shakily.

"I knew you were a cheap bastard, I never thought you'd sink so low", Keitel spat.

Lucia looked down on him coldly without responding. The cloaked assailant scratched his head.

"Guess not even Empire money can buy loyalty", he laughed to himself, "Still, I've been paid to make sure there are no loose ends".

He pointed his sword to Lucia.

"And you are on the loose end, I'm afraid", he gestured to the archer. He set his aim on Lucia.

"Well, that's unfortunate", Lucia smiled. Whilst they had been talking her sword had been slowly getting hotter and hotter. As the archer's arrow began to fly, a white flash of burning light exploded from the sword. By the time the steam had cleared the air, the two were nowhere in sight.

Lucia clutched Keitel by the arm as they plummeted below the cliff. She had conserved enough energy for one final blast. As they approached the surface of the trees below, she just a pilfer of flames to break their fall. They crashed through the branches, tumbling to the ground.

Lucia let out a gasp. She has flesh wounds from the fall but was not seriously injured. She scanned the clearing for Keitel. They had separated just before landing. She was certain she heard a splash as they landed. She followed the sound of running water.

Keitel was hovering over the edge of a river bed. Lucia darted to his side. She dragged him from the water. He let out a cough and collapsed. Lucia noticed the blood soaking through the armor.

She quickly undid the fasteners and removed the arrow. She tied a piece of her vest around the wound. She forced herself up with her remaining adrenaline and made a campfire.

Finally, she took a seat beside Keitel. He looked pale. He had broken out in a cold sweat. Coming in and out of consciousness, Keitel jolted awake again. He looked around confused at their shelter under a large rock formation. He finally settled his eyes on the fire and flickering flames.

"Try not to move", she said softly. Keitel's gaze came up to meet her. He leaned out, reaching toward her. She knelt down just in time to catch him.

Lucia focused her mana. Her whole body shook from the strain. She had no mana left, she would have to use her own life energy. She summoned the energy to perform a healing spell. She could only do a basic spell but it seemed to work. Keitel began to settle.

Lucia sat back. She felt woozy. Everything went dark. She slumped down beside the Prince's body...

Hours passed before Keitel came to again. He was awoken by a throbbing ache in his shoulder and a soft hair tickling his neck. He cast his eyes beside him. The hair belonged to the figure slouched down beside him. Those scarlet locks were familiar. He rubbed his eyes and examined the figure more closely. It was Luca. The events of the night before flooded back to him.

He had been shot. Descending over the cliff edge, Luca had released a ball of flame that softened their fall. He put a hand on Luca's shoulder and shook him. Luca flopped back down.

"Luca? Luca?", he called out gently. Luca did not respond. Keitel mustered the strength to sit up. Pain ripped all down his side.

"Hey", he tried again. As he did so, Luca's body slumped across the Prince's lap. Keitel flinched. He looked down at Luca's soft features and felt strange. He didn't have the strength to move the boy again. He lay back down and closed his eyes.

By the time the morning light came streaking through the trees, neither had stirred. Keitel was the first to wake. He felt a weight over his abdomen and instinctively looked down. He barely remembered the night before. Luca's eyes fluttered open in the same instance. The pair stared at each other, both as surprised as the other.