Berenus Kyle, the Master of the Red Tower, used the power of the “Flamour Staff” to spread the flames as far as possible to reach till the last Orcs.
Kagagak!
The Orcs gathered together screamed and scattered. The Orcs were famous for using their fierce weapons, but there was nothing they could do against flames.
The Wizards from the Ghost Army tried to calm the fire, but the flames came from a Master of the Tower so they could do nothing against it.
“I’ll open the way.”
Berenus said in a calm voice. Controlling the flames over a wide area consumed a great deal of mana.
He looked very pale now.
“It’s open.”
The flames around the center receded and opened a path for them.
Where the flame passed, nothing but ruin remained. As they walk on the path, they could only step on the black ashes that the flame left.
They walk amidst the flame for half an hour without a break. By the time the knights in armor breathing were rough, the blue tower Master found traces of a suspicious mana and informed Raymond.
“It’s a wizard in comouflage. There’s an Alarm spell next to it.”
At the words of Lisefield, Raymond gathered his entourage to explain the plan.
The plan was to rescue Marquis Crayer by infiltrating deep into the hideout with a small number of men. Meanwhile, the troops will be commanded by the Master of the Blue Tower and will lure the Ghost Army out.
There was fierce opposition, led by the Imperial commander, Casillas, because Raymond will put himself on risk again this time, but it was able to push it through under the pretext that they didn’t have much time.
“Let’s get started.”
Lisefield Dior, pulled out the Sea Heart. As the mighty mana gathered around the blue tower Master, the hidden Ghost Soldiers appeared.
“Now!”
Raymond took the lead and guided the small team away from the main battlefield.
Alarm Magic began to sound, but the number of people who encountered Raymond and his party were very small.
Most of the Ghost Soldiers in the hiding place came out to intercept the sudden appearance of a Great wizard.
“Argh!”
“Cough!”
Ghost Soldiers, who were beaten by the sword wielded by Casillas and Cron, collapsed with blood.
“Ice Spear!”
Ice Spears flew straight to the Ghost Soldiers’s chest at Desia’s magic.
“Kuck!”
When the Ghost Soldiers collapsed with a painful scream, Casillas and Cron did not stop and advanced deep into the cave following Raymond’s small team.
The lights were not properly installed. There would be some Ghost Soldier that would pop out of somewhere in the dark cave, but now they have no fear for them.
“Argh!”
Scream broke out in front of them while they were moving forward without hesitation.
They arrived in a place with barely any light.
They moved their eyes around the place where the scream was heard, but there was no sign of the attacker, only a fallen knight’s body bleeding.
“Light!”
Raymond used light magic to drive out the darkness. Mana gathered over his head and emitted a strong light, but there was no sign of the attacker.
“It’s an Assassin!”
If they are a user of “complete hiding” that could hide himself in the dark even with the light, they must be an Assassin.
At Raymond’s cry, Gesteine stood close to his side and Desia prepared a defensive spell.
Knights around them also raised their swords and were wary of the surrounding area.
“They are around us.”
Gesteine whispered in a quiet voice. The only way for a high-ranking knight, who could not use magic, to detect their presence was use all of his senses.
He could only block the attack. It was only possible for a high-ranking and above wizard to pinpoint the exact location of the complete hiding.
“Coming.”
Feeling the intangible energy rushing towards the Fifth Prince, Gesteine blocked the front. His blade with Mana sword collided with the dagger of the Assassin.
“Watch out Shadow Squad! There are more than one Assassins!”
“The Imperial Army, protect the Fifth Prince!”
Two members of the Shadow Squad and a knight of the Imperial Army rushed towards Raymond’s side. Casillas and Cron also put their backs together and looked around.
“Argh!”
Gesteine cut the Assassin’s throat. Other Assassins popped out of the darkness before the helpless body could hit the ground. Their numbers was about five.
The passageway was very wide for a cave, but it was not enough to attract more than ten people, and naturally a chaotic battle took place.
Two of the Shadow Squad and a Knight of the Imperial Army were unable to handle one Assassin and collapsed.
“Prince!”
Gesteine tried to hurry towards Raymond, but three Assassins blocked him.
It was not easy to deal with three Assassins, even though he was an high-ranking knights.
“That’s it!”
The blade of the Assassin’s dagger sticking out of the darkness contained Mana. It was a total surprise.
Gesteine was dealing with three Assassins, while the two tower Masters are outside the cave confronting the Ghost Army, Desia Heli was the only wizard remaining.
“I swear, your blade will not cross my shield.”
Mana poured out and became a shield.
“What a shield!”
The dagger wielded by the Assassin attacked the Mana Shield, but it could not penetrate.
The Assassin was in a moment of astonishment at the fact that his mana coated dagger was blocked by the shield, the assassin soon tried to back off, but chain of blue manas poured from the shield and it wrapped around his legs.
“What…!”
“Well done, Desia! Keep holding on!”
Raymond pulled out his soul sword and used Mana at the same time.
Before receiving the Sword and Magic Blessings, he felt like his mana sword was twisted in every reaction.
“Mist!”
Since he could not use blind, the next high level magic, ‘mist’ was used to temporarily cover the view of the Assassin.
A white mist blurs the view. The assassin might have his sight blocked, but he still calmly took the short dagger and aimed at Raymond.
The assassin made a deadly move to attack Raymond, but he dodged it too easily.
“You, who are you…….?”
After Raymond dodge, the Assassin aimed the dagger at Raymond, he was very wary of him.
Meanwhile, Gesteine struck his sword in the heart of the Assassin who blocked him in front, and Casillas, who shook off the Assassin, went running.
If this drag on, it’ll be a disadvantage to the Assassin.
“I have a thousand knights behind me, so it won’t be easy.”
Raymond threw himself at the Assassin, uttering meaningful words. A clear white mana tore through the air and red blood was splattered.
“Argh!”
“The Fifth Prince!”
The first one to groan was Raymond. A dagger has cut his thigh and he fell to the floor after losing balance.
Casillas, who saw it, freaked out and ran towards him, and Gesteine used his Mana Sword to cut another Assassin.
While everyone was surprised and angry, Raymond laughed amidst the painful situation.
He looked at Casillas who was supporting him and silently pointed his fingertips in front. There was still an Assassin there.
“The Fifth Prince! I’ll protect you!”
Casillas, the commander of the Imperial Army, shouted while pointing his sword toward the Assassin, but the enemy did not budge.
As soon as Casillas confronted the Assassin, the head fell helplessly and rolled on the floor together with the body.
“……?”
Casillas was astonished. He heard from Gesteine, who he was close recently, that Raymond’s talent for sword art were unusual, but he didn’t know he would be this good.
The “Hassasin” is a well-known group of assassins in the Kingdom of Edgar. Their power is just below the Moon knights. They were the one who attacked them right now.
The Fifth Prince may be gifted, but it’s never easy to slit an Assassin’s throat.
“Fifth Prince……. What the hell is this…….”
“Just stop the bleeding. There’s no time.”
The Assassin’s presence means that the enemy already know the existence of an intruder.
They wouldn’t want to keep the Marquis alive anyway, so it wouldn’t be strange that they will kill him right now.
Therefore, they do not have much time.
Casillas was deeply moved while bandaging Raymond’s thighs. The Fifth Prince tried to take the lead for the Pilias Empire even though he was wounded.
Desia, who was behind, used a hemostatic magic, and Gesteine, who finished off all the remaining Assassin, joined them immediately.
The middle-aged one-armed knight, has his complexion very pale.
‘This is my fault. If I did something wrong, I might have lost my life.’
If the Assassin’s body was intact, the dagger could have cut his neck, not his thighs.
“Your Highness…”
“Sir Casillas. Take the lead.”
“Yes, sir!”
It was obvious what will pop out from Gesteine’s mouth.
Raymond interrupted him immediately by giving Casillas an instructions.
“I’ll lead the way!”
Casillas, the commander of the Imperial Army, ran forward. He ran for about a minute in tension.
After a while of running, he entered a large space.
“I see Marquis Crayer. Five ghost soldiers are hiding……. Looks like they are trying to have the Marquis spit some information.”
“Then let’s attack from a long distance.”
It was a suggestion of Desia.
They seem to have dug a trap and waited them to get close, but they didn’t seem to know the existence of a high-ranking wizard together with them.
“Dessia, can you do this?”
“Of course. Just leave it to me.”
The ice storm raged as she reached out her hands. She smiled broadly at Raymond as she cleared up the Ghost Agent who had been hiding near the Marquis of Crayer.
She looked like a puppy asking for compliments.
Raymond nodded and approached Marquis Crayer, while limping, with Desia.
Cron, Casillas and Gesteine followed, they were very wary of the surroundings.
“Fifth Prince?”
Marquis Crayer’s voice trembled after confirming Raymond’s face.
He didn’t expect that the Fifth Prince will come to rescue him.
He felt resentful of himself for daring to test his attitude.
Marquis Crayer look really terrible right now.
“You’ve been tortured.”
At Raymond’s comments, Marquis Crayer replied by a small smile.
The Ghost Army tried to extract information from Marquis Crayer using their proud torture technique, but he kept his mouth shut and said nothing.
It was time for the Ghost Army to schedule his execution, saying he was a tough guy, but then Raymond came to rescue him.
“Take this.”
Raymond took a sword from Casillas and gave it to Marquis Crayer.
“Shouldn’t you be holding a weapon in this dangerous place?”
Marquis Crayer is a high-ranking Knight, even if he is hurt and exhausted from torture, he could still protect himself.
“The Fifth Prince is a benefactor. I’ll make sure to repay this gratitude”
Marquis Crayer, who took the sword, said in a calm voice.
The Fifth Prince came to save him. Now, for Marquis Crayer, the rumor that the Fifth Prince was a scoundrel didn’t matter anymore. Raymond was now a benefactor to the Marquis.
“We’ll get the thanks after we get out of here.”
“That’s not bad either.”
Raymond stepped first, no, he tried to.
“Hey, what’s this?”
There was something that was binding Raymond, his legs wouldn’t budge.
“The Fifth Prince!”
“It’s a Binding spell! I’ll counter it right away!”
Desia used her Mana. The spell was immediately lifted. However, she looked pale, perhaps because she consumed a lot of mana.
“That’s interesting.”
Amidst the dark, a wizard woman in a brown robe appeared.
Seeing the unusual chain-shaped scar on her chest and her long purple hair under the hood, Raymond was able to guess who she was easily.
Her name is…
“Elphis.”
“Oh, you know my name?”
She didn’t deny it. This made his assumption true. Raymond bit his lip. He met the villain that he didn’t want to encounter if he could.
‘I never thought I’d meet you.’
He met the villain right at the second half of the first book, this was earlier than expected.