The Guardians' Throne - The First Magic Swordsman

"… I suppose you can come with us," Erean said after a long sigh. "Just try not to try too hard."

  In the end, Erean knew fully well that they would need Zaos for that job. Even while he was wounded, he still was much stronger than most soldiers. Not to mention, they needed his tracking skills to catch and kill all of the assassins watching the mines.

"Now that is settled, we will need at least of you to show the way to the port," Erean said. "We will also try to alert our allies back home, but who knows when they will come to help us."

                                                                                                        That was a pretty difficult thing to ask. Who wanted to leave the safety of the mines and risk their necks on a mission where a lot of blood would be spilled? As such, no one raised their hands immediately. Even though they wanted to solve that problem as fast as possible…

"… All right, I am going," Orleand said.

"No, dad," Noemi stepped forward and then said. "It will be better if I go."

"Nonsense, how would it be any better for you to go to my place?" Orleand asked. "There is no way that a father with any self-respect would let his daughter go in his place on such a dangerous job."

"Well, dad… you are the head of the family, so we can't afford to lose you," Noemi said. "My little brothers and sisters still will need you for the next few years. Besides…"

"Besides?" Orleand asked while frowned.

"I am more physically capable for this kind of task," Noemi said. "I am sorry to say this so blatantly, dad, but you will slow them down. Years of doing nothing but paperwork while considering the finances of many types of business made you gain a round belly."

                                      In the end, Orleand was left speechless. He knew that he was out of shape, but that was just a minor issue considering the situation. Besides, the silence of everyone around only made things worse.

"Well, we aren't exactly in a hurry, so I am going and you will stay behind," Orleand said.

"Dad, you don't know how to walk in these woods silently," Noemi said. "Perhaps instead of slowing the group down, you might warn the enemies and destroy the plan."

                                                                                                        Orleand didn't back down, and thanks to it, he argued with his daughter for several minutes. It was understandable that he didn't want to put her in danger, but the team needed someone who knew the woods a little and also knew the port, and at the same time, it had some stamina. Noemi sure fits the criteria.

"Well, if Noemi is going, I am going too," Ameria said.

"Oh, boy…" Zaos said and then sighed. "Who could have thought that the situation could become worse?"

"Well, you will need some archers to back up and I can't see anyone better than me around," Ameria said. "Aside from Zaos, everyone here pretty much sucks, even at using the crossbows."

"It looks like someone is getting carried away recently," Zaos said.

                                                                                                        Weirdly enough, Erean wasn't trying to let Ameria behind. They actually need some long-ranged fighters better than the soldiers with big swords in a task like that. Besides, if Ameria was going to offer just some backline support, it wasn't a problem. With Zaos on the frontlines, the assassins would barely look at her. Not to mention, she was really skilled with a bow. If she could contribute to the mission, she actually would make the job of protecting her a lot easier…

Before they could waste any more time, the group left mines after they burned out the campfires. Moving in total darkness wasn't easy, but it was the only thing they could do to surprise the enemies. While she was moving away, Orleand began to cry because he was thinking that he became a burden for his daughter, but at the same time, he felt pretty proud.

"Zaos will be moving ahead of us and he will give us a sign when he confirms that the path ahead is safe," Erean said and then passed the crossbows to Ameria and Noemi. "Please… please… don't try to hit an enemy when you think that an ally is in the same direction. The last thing that we need right now is some friend fire."

                                                                                              Zaos began to walk toward the West side of the island while zig-zagging. It was the best way he could think of to increase the range of his Magic Perception. Fortunately, the plan began to work much sooner than expected; he found two presences approaching the mines very slowly… the enemies sure knew how to move as quietly and fluidly as possible. It almost felt like the wind was moving them.

                                                                                              Regardless, once Zaos felt the presence and could see them at the same time, he enchanted a bolt with wing magic. He used half of the mana as he would have to usually use, so that was a pretty neat way to defeat the enemies while his condition wasn't that good and without making any mistakes. The first bolt pierced the neck of one of the assassins, and when the other noticed that something was amiss, Zaos also hit in the neck. He tried to hit their heads, but in the end, it seemed that not even he could hit enemies perfectly in the darkness. Things could be a bit better if he uses Light in the Darkness, but while the spell would come in handy, it wouldn't last long.

Your Assassination Technique has reached level 01.

Your Assassination Technique has reached level 02.

                                                                                              Without wasting any time, Zaos moved and picked the weapons of the enemies. That notification seemed weird, though. Zaos was pretty sure he had defeated enemies while using stealth skills like that before. Regardless, that was just a minor bonus. Zaos returned to where his allies were and then gave them the rapid-fire crossbows. They followed him for a while, but then they stopped, and Zaos couldn't help but sigh… that was going to be one hell of a long night…