Several hours later, thirty assassins could be seen hiding behind trees along a narrow forest road.
Each of these assassins was cloaked in black, allowing them to blend easily with the darkness of the night.
However, they had been waiting here for hours, and the fourth prince's caravan was yet to arrive.
Thus, the assailants were slowly becoming restless and frustrated.
"It's getting late, are you sure they'll pass this route?" The second in command asked.
"Yes, they will. The Third Prince said that they would come through this road, so we have no choice but to trust him. Besides, he paid good gold for this mission, the least we can do is wait and execute our plan." The leader, Marco, replied.
"Tch.... These nobles... always believing they can tell us how to do our job," one of the assassins, a low-ranked one, muttered underneath his breath.
"I know, right? If I were the boss, I'd carry out my revenge on them by sneaking into their wives' bedroom at night, just to spite them."
"And do what? Admire their wives' thighs and asses?" Another assassin asked with a scoff.
"That's right, I'd admire her beauty behind closed doors as a few moans seep out of the room, of course."
"You'd be dead before you know it."
"At least, I'd died a happy mercenary." The low-ranked assassin replied, cackling at his joke, and the others chuckled as well.
But then, Marco swiftly raised a hand.
"Everyone, shut up.... I hear something."
His subordinates quickly quieted down, and once they did, they began to hear it as well.
It was hoofbeats, and it was approaching them from a distance.
"I hear it too."
"Stay quiet and follow the plan. Once the prince's carriage is within view, we attack." The leader instructed, and everyone nodded in response.
But suddenly, they heard loud sounds ahead, coming from the direction of the anticipated carriage.
They sounded like screams accompanied by the sound of swords clashing against each other, meaning that a different group had ambushed the prince before they could.
"They're fighting." Someone muttered.
"But that's not our squad." Another pointed out.
"Boss, what's going on?"
"I don't know, but let's go check it out," Marco ordered, and three scouts crept forward through the trees, with the rest trailing behind them.
As they got closer, the scouts could perceive the smell of smoke and burnt flesh, but then, everything turned silent.
The scouts arrived at the clearing, but there was no one there.
Actually, there was no one alive.
Glancing around, the scouts noticed that only dead bodies were scattered around.
Some had several slashes, while others were charred and barely recognizable.
"What happened here?" A low-ranked assassin asked in confusion.
"Could their opponent have been a Fifth Order Exorcist?" Another suggested that only a fifth Order Exorcist would be enough to wipe out the entire prince's caravan.
Even Marco and the second in command were still Fourth Order swordsmen. Therefore, a Fifth Order Exorcist would be enough to wipe out their team of thirty assassins, which mainly consisted of Second and First Order Exorcists and only about three Third Order Swordsmen.
Fearing that a Fifth Order Exorcist might really be nearby, unease began to creep into the hearts of the assassins, but their leader continued to remain unfazed.
"The prince, look for him. Find out if he's dead or alive." Marco ordered, and everyone began to search the bodies, but two low-ranked assassins noticed something.
It was a carriage, it was still intact despite the carnage, and it was even shaking slightly.
They exchanged confused glances before moving forward to open it.
But as they did-
"Grrrrk!"
A flash of lightning was all they saw before realizing that their throats had been slit.
The two men collapsed backwards, clutching their necks as blood sprayed from a clean, near-invisible cut.
The nearby assailants gasped in fear, but then they spotted a small glowing figure with a cute round head, smiling ominously before vanishing into thin air.
"Spirit!!!" One of the assassins immediately cried out in fear.
"Someone summoned spirits to kill the prince!!" Another joined, and panic and chaos began to spread.
Although they feared a Fifth Order Exorcist, their terror toward spirits was even greater than that of mere Fifth Order exorcists.
Spirits were bloodthirsty beings, capable of ripping the limbs of any living being they encountered.
Besides, they could willingly decide if they want to be seen and if they do not, and that makes them even more terrifying, especially on a night like this.
So, this caused the assailants to go into a frantic state, as everyone began to flee for their lives.
But Marco yelled out loud, urging them not to move.
Unlike the rest of his subordinates, Marco had encountered a spirit before, and he knew the most important thing a person needed to ensure when facing a spirit.
Never show it fear.
Because if you do, the spirit would feed on it.
It was similar to the common saying that horses could smell fear.
Spirit could do the same, and it only served to make them innately stronger, the more their prey displayed signs of fear towards them.
This was what Marco was trying to tell his subordinates, but no one bothered to stay behind to listen when there was a frigging bone crushing spirit who disappeared right in front of them.
His men tried to spread out through the forest, but to their surprise, flaming arrows rained down from above the trees.
"AMBUSH!!!" Marco screamed as explosions of fire lit up the night. But his men couldn't react in time to defend themselves against Austin's party, who were now emerging from all sides of the forest.
Mira lunged forward first as the tip of her sword crackled with electricity, before she sliced her opponents in half.
Meanwhile, Lina cast sharp wind daggers that pierced through the hearts of the assailants in front of her.
Sue fought against two Three Order Swordsmen with dual blades.
She blocked and countered their attacks with terrifying ferocity, while Leo locked blades with his attackers.
Even Sana and Mae were busy with their opponents as well.
Seeing all these unfolding around him, Marco couldn't help but scream out in frustration.
"Aarghh!!! What is happening?!"
"This wasn't how it was supposed to go."
"Why is nothing going according to plan!!!"
Marco was becoming increasingly frustrated with what he was seeing, as he clenched his teeth in a rage.
Not only was he surprised to see Austin's party ambushing them, but he was still surprised by how a spirit had appeared out of nowhere to attack two of his men.
Moreover, why were they still fighting against each other?
Shouldn't everyone be panicking about the spirit hiding within their midst?
Just what the hell was going on right now?!!
Nothing made sense anymore.
Marco screamed in anger and frustration once again when suddenly, he noticed the tip of a blade aiming straight for his head.