Chapter 14 – Prince Cliff

On her way to the capital, Sona couldn’t even speak to Ed. Ed drew the line exactly as an excuse for this. They became close friends during the boat ride, but he knew how she would treat him when their lives could be put at risk because of the mission. So he decided to treat her like a commissioned mercenary. The first time it happened, he was a little worried, but the rest of Dalia’s forces didn’t go after them. Some of these people who recognized that his outfit was Crow’s official outfit tried to buy him a drink, but no one was looking to recruit him. When they arrived at the capital after traveling without a single conversation, soldiers of the Kingdom of Travia stood at the gate. The soldiers, who blocked Ed, dressed as the Crow of the Kingdom of Dalia, stepped down once they saw Sona’s card. They went inside past them and booked a room at the inn. But as Ed entered the inn, he found it different from other inns. There are people inside, but all of them are from the Kingdom of Travia. They looked at Ed and Sona for a moment and then stepped down. Ed sat down and opened his mouth, waiting for the food to come out.

“Is this the Akalan’s hideout?” “That’s right.”

They didn’t need to talk until now, but they needed to talk now. As Ed looked at her, Sona calmly brought up the subject.

“The operation is in two days. In the meantime, I’ll bring the interior drawings of the palace. You have to understand everything from the infiltration. I’ll come with you, just in case.”

As Ed nodded, Sona continued.

“It’s the job of Akalan’s agents to drop the prince’s guard. But one of them will always stand by him. Etrian, the knight called Prince Cliff’s sword.” “Is it a female knight?” “Right, when I was in the royal palace, she was surrounded by all sorts of gossip with Prince Cliff, but her skills were worthy of recognition. I thought she was going to die during the war, but she played a major role. There’s talk that we should upgrade the assessment of her skills.” “But she’s always beside him?” “She doesn’t leave him under any circumstances.”

Ed looked at Sona with a cool look.

“Then will you deal with her?” “That’s the plan.” “Are you confident?”

Sona replied nonchalantly.

“I didn’t say I was dealing alone. There are two more people who will be with me that day.”

Akalan’s team leader and two agents. It’s a formidable power. It won’t be hard for them to block them. The problem is the next part.

“Then get the drawings.” “I’ll get it by tomorrow morning, so rest.”

Ed went back to his room and started checking the equipment. Since that day, the arrow has never been removed from the ice bow. He was wondering how cold it would be since he charged it for more than five days. The arrows of the infinite barrel have already been refilled. If he can’t control his opponent with 510 arrows, he should give up. The magic power has increased, and the equipment is better than when dealing with the intermediate demon Creatine. However, if the prince is a demon, he cannot be relieved by what has not been known so far. By killing Bell and those who were gathered there, he gained considerable experience. His level has not risen, but if he kills someone of the same level, his level will rise. This could certainly be a variable, too. If the prince is a demon, he can rise to his level by killing him. But that’s only if he can really catch him. Ed pulled out his dagger and began to clean it. Using a dagger is as good as archery, but in terms of power, it is not as powerful as archery. Still, it is helpful in times of crisis. Ed, who had prepared his dagger, took out his sword. The blade was about 30cm long, and the spirit of fire was burning red. Ed looked lightly at the Spirit Sword because it was his first time. The heat was transmitted along the red trajectory. It was a weapon wielded without using mana, and even if the spirit power was reduced, it was a very hard and sharp weapon. Its performance is also great, but its sharpness and firmness as a weapon itself are not comparable to luxury goods. In addition, he thought he could use this weapon well because he didn’t need to fix it. Ed is strong from a distance, but that doesn’t mean he can’t use daggers. With his excellent agility, he can win as many times within his opponent’s interval. However, it has not yet been shown to others. He is also one of the hidden ones.

On the interior of the palace, Sona explained the operation.

“I plan to set fire to the north and east of the palace. They’re also very nervous right now, so I’m sure the guards will move if they detect intruders. Ten agents, including me, will infiltrate the area with such an eye-catching look. Agents to bring out the remaining guards.” “How many guards are there?” “One mystic, one savage warrior, one assassin, and two knights. One of the knights is Etrian, so the rest will move in response to our attack except her.”

Ed agonized for a moment and asked.

“What about Prince Cliff’s powers?” “Before I went to war, I was told that his swordsmanship was pretty good, but he wasn’t very good in person. And he never wielded a sword himself on the battlefield. He’s never been in danger because of his side-guard.”

Ed’s gaze turned to Sona.

“What? Are the guards that good?”

Sona smiled bitterly.

“It is known that the guards’ ability to protect him is roughly the level of a general.” “General?”

Even in the Demon Era, if they are general-level, intermediate-level demons can be easily killed. It was shocking that there were as many as five of them together.

“Are you sure you and two other agents and deal with Etrian? You said she’s a general.” “I know she’ll be hard to kill. But we can drag time.”

Hearing these things, he thought they could die at Etrian’s hands. Ed stopped paying attention to that part and turned around to look at the interior drawing. What they showed was an intrusion. But he had to pay attention to the retreat. It has the same level of difficulty as killing a nation’s king. It is amazing to request such a thing with only 100 golds and two artifact-class equipment. The problem is those guards. Some of them would have won the war against the Kingdom of Dalia. Maybe he needs to fight them too.

“I need the information of the guards.” “Information about them?” “Not just information. From the equipment, they have to the way they fight.”

Sona tried to say they didn’t need it, but when she saw Ed’s serious look, she nodded.

“It’ll be ready by this evening.”

Ed returned to his room without further waiting. Sona brought their information in the evening as promised. Ed sat in his bed and looked at their abilities. He thought about what kind of weapon they use and how they fight. He also thought about how he would fight them.

Sona stood behind Ed, who watched the sunset from the roof.

“When does it start?” “When the sun sets completely.”

When the deep sunset burned the sky red, and the cold navy sky sank completely, flames soared from the palace. Sona approached when she saw the soaring fire at the palace.

“We need to move.”

Ed moved first instead of answering. Ed’s eyes, running lightly on the roof, caught another blaze. Two fires. It’s an attack to drop the guards. Ed, who was running while watching the disturbance inside the palace, reached where Sona had told him to. The walls of the palace were far from the private houses. No matter how close it was, it was more than 20 meters away, but where Sona spoke, there was a line. When Ed saw it, he ran on the line without hesitation. He ran on the rope connected to the wall, followed by Sona and her agents running on the rope. Looking at the agile movement, he thought e could run away well. Guards were also driven to the place where the fire broke out, but the palace’s security was not completely lost. There was a lot of security. It was all as planned by Akalan. Sona and the other agents hit out at the same time and handled the guards. He was glad to see that the soldiers of the same kingdom of Travia stopped at the point of overpowering them without killing them. What are they guilty of? They are the only ones who were dragged into an impossible war and led the war to victory without dying. He didn’t want to kill those people. What Akalan wants is the death of the prince and the death of the guards. They don’t even want the lives of others. Ed ran without saying a word. Running on a roof made of tiles unique to the kingdom of Dalia, there was a scene of a disturbance in the movements of Sona and others. Screaming along with shouting, it seemed that the fight between the pro-Defense Forces and the Akalan also broke out. There are three places where you can hear such a commotion. It seemed to have successfully drawn out the guards. Then there’s only one person left. It’s Etrian.

“This way.”

The place Sona pushed forward is the royal palace conference room guarded by soldiers. Seeing that there were quite a few soldiers, Sona took the beads out of her arms and threw them away. Seeing the purple mist spreading at an alarming rate, Ed poured the medicine she had given her into her mouth. Watching the soldiers fall down, Sona opened the door and went into the conference room. There is a wide round table that looks 20 meters in diameter, and all kinds of documents were spread out on it. And beyond the round table stood a pair of men and women. A beautiful woman was wearing a chest glove with a man who looks like a woman. He could tell as soon as he saw them. Prince Cliff and Etrian. Etrian pulled out her sword and stepped forward. He could tell the moment he saw her pull out the sword. She was said to be a general level, but she was no match for Bell, who he met before. He doesn’t know what she had, but her gap covered the entire conference room.

“Sona.” “Why?” “I guess she has artifact-class equipment. I think it’s possible for her to attack from a long distance, so be careful.”

He said it because she shouldn’t die first, not because he was worried about Sona. Sona nodded and moved to the side, not listening to Ed. Etrian looked at Ed for a moment, then slowly turned around and looked at Sona and the Akalan agents. Then Prince Cliff looked at Sona and asked.

“The way Akalan moved, it looks like my father hired you guys.”

Sona bit her lip. Once they were found to be Akalan, they had to kill the prince. Whether he’s a demon or not. Sona looked at Ed with some anticipation, though. Ed has been staring at Cliff ever since he entered the conference room. Deep down in his eyes, he could see the flashing red light. He’s not a demon; it’s a symptom of those who have dedicated their souls to the demon. Ed took out an arrow and hung it on the protest, and answered Sona’s eyes. Cliff’s gaze turned to Ed.

“Are you the knife they hired to kill me?”

Ed nodded slowly.

“I’m the knife that’ll kill the stupid bastard who has devoted his soul to the demons.”