'....I messed up.'

I looked at the clothes on me. They were baggy and didn't fit me at all. I had to use Eatherwave

in order to keep them positioned tightly on me. The person I ended up knocking out was on the heavier side.

Furthermore, the clothes were a lot different than I expected.

They were almost entirely black with several pockets positioned around the pants and shirt. There was no real padding and the pockets were completely empty.

'Tsk.'

I silently clicked my tongue while turning my head to see Leon in a similar situation.

But unlike me, he didn't have anything to keep the clothes tight on his body.

It was a comical sight. Too bad I didn't have the time to laugh at him as I shifted my attention to Evelyn who looked around with a frown.

She raised her hand and then pointed towards five different spots.

Leon was the first one to move.

Rustle~

I stood behind him while keeping [Veil of Deceit] on him.

His steps were light and in a brief moment, he arrived before one of the spots Evelyn had pointed out. In one swift movement, he brought his hand up and chopped down the air. Swoosh!

Just then, Evelyn raised her hand.

At first, I wasn't sure what she was planning on doing.

However, when I noticed that no sound came out right after Leon chopped down, I understood.

'What an interesting skill.'

....I didn't feel any 'lightning' element coming from Evelyn's body when she used the skill, indicating to me that it came from a bone.

It was a useful skill but seemed to be a little bit of a waste for a bone skill.

Perhaps there was more to it...

'In any case, it's a good thing he isn't killing them.'

It wasn't because I felt pity for them or anything like that. It was the family Head's orders. He distinctively mentioned something about not killing unless necessary.

I was fine with that since it would keep the clothes clean.

I planned on having everyone wear the clothes to blend in better for later when we infiltrated.

If there was blood then...

'Hmm, actually, now that I think about it, it's better if there's blood... It'd be unrealistic if the soldiers come back completely unharmed.'

I almost had the impulse to smack my head.

However, it was a little too late to warn Leon so I could only sigh before pointing in the direction of where Leon was heading.

'.... Whatever, it's not like this can't be fixed.'

The soldiers could also be used as collateral and compensation for when everything was over and done.

They could also be converted into vassals.

"Alright."

I licked my lips before shifting my attention towards Evelyn again. Her brows were locked into a tight frown as she tried to determine the location of all the people waiting in the ambush, but just as she was about to point in a certain direction, the bushes rustled.

Rustle~

A figure emerged from the bushes.

He was dressed in a similar dark outfit, the fabric blending seamlessly into the surroundings.

A small cap perched on top of his head obscured his face, only making his eyes visible.

The air grew tense at his presence as Leon stopped moving.

I did as well.

Sweat dripped down from the corner of my cheeks as he surveyed the area with his sharp eyes.

I could tell from a glance that he wasn't stronger than us, but enemies surrounded us.

We couldn't afford to be spotted by him.

Rustle~

The bushes rustled and he stepped forward. Leon's body visibly grew tense as the man walked in Leon's direction.

Rustle~

He drew closer.

Rustle~

....And closer.

My brain worked in overdrive as I looked at Evelyn.

As if she understood what I wanted from her, she nodded her head, extending her hand in the soldier's direction.

I reached out for the shock orb and my body started to feel lighter. Pressing my foot against the ground, I jumped up in the air.

At the same time, I kept [Veil of Deceit] on me.

Swoosh-

Seamlessly blending with the surroundings, it was as though I was part of the wind as Evelyn blocked all noise around me.

Within seconds, I was upon the soldier, my hands darting toward his neck.

ײך "

He didn't notice me at first, but when I got close enough, his pupils constricted as he visibly

grew tense.

But it was too late.

I slipped behind the soldier, reaching for his neck and choking him from behind while

covering his mouth. At the same moment, I cast an illusion, making it appear as though he was simply scanning his surroundings.

"Khh!"

The soldier let out several noises and my body grew tense.

'Did...?'

I held my breath and looked around.

Thankfully, nothing happened.

Evelyn's skill clearly worked.

"Hoo."

Taking a slow and steady breath, I finally let go of the soldier once I felt no more resistance

coming from him.

He slumped on me and I helped him to the ground.

......That was close.'

I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and looked beneath me before shifting my attention towards Leon and Evelyn who both looked relieved.

'Evelyn said there's over fifty people...'

While it was true that we were most likely not going to be able to defeat all fifty of them, our

job was to reduce the number as much as possible before the vassals got here. By then, we'd

be able to completely overwhelm them.

.....At least, that was the goal.

Btzzz!

A sudden buzz caught my attention as I looked down.

I held my breath the moment I lowered my body to reach for the source of the sound and

picked up a communication device.

'Fuck.'

I silently cursed while staring at the communication device.

'What do I do now...?'

I couldn't replicate voices so it would become obvious that I wasn't the person in question. And even if I did know, I was sure there was some sort of keyword that needed to be said in

order to prove one's identity.

Btzzz! Btzzz!

My leg started to tremble as the communication device continued to tremble.

It was silent around me, but the silence felt suffocating as I held onto the device. Eventually, shifting my attention towards the other side of the riverbank and spotting movement from

there, I clenched my teeth and looked towards Leon and Evelyn.

Though the others couldn't see me, they could.

"They're almost here, we might as well take out as many as possible.'

'Okay.'

!....???!

Leon was the only one who understood me as Evelyn cocked her head in confusion.

I could at least understand that much from her expression.

Thankfully, she soon got what I wanted to do as I picked up three rocks and threw them in

three different locations.

Rustle, rustle, rustle~

A change began to occur the moment I did as several figures emerged from the foliage, all

turning their attention toward where the noise was.

Three figures appeared in the direction of where the noise came from.

'... They're not the best but they should do.'

The figures were merely illusions I cast in order to trick them.

"Ambush!"

The soldiers all got to work pretty quickly, sending several people in the direction of where

the illusions were.

Some even shot spells in their direction as the forest lit up.

Swoosh!

Leon was the first one to move. The moment the spells rained down, his eyes changed and he

shot towards the nearest soldier, the back of his sword smacking against the back of the

soldier's head, sending them crashing against the ground.

Cracka! Cracka!

Lightning formed around Evelyn's body as her eyes turned a purplish hue and the surrounding

vegetation pushed down around her.

Craka-

Several bolts of lightning shot forward, directly hitting multiple soldiers.

"Hiek!"

"Akh...!"

In the time it took for me to breathe, Leon and Evelyn had taken out several enemies. Not

wanting to be left out, I lowered my head to stare at my hand.

"Hooo."

My chest trembled as my hand slowly started to turn a sickly green color.

I then shifted my attention towards a group of soldiers in the distance. Locking focus on

them, I slowly brought my hand up.

"Ukh...!"

But it was hard.

It felt as if my hand was stuck in thick mud; I could barely lift it, straining every muscle just to

make it move.

Clench.

A red orb appeared in my mind and the muscles in my hand popped and squirmed as I was

finally able to move my hand up faster.

Rumble Rumble!

The ground trembled, and before the guards could grasp what was happening, dozens of

green hands burst from the earth, clawing their way up and closing in around them.

"What the-!"

"Akh...!"

Reaching out for them, the hands grasped every part of their body.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

....and they all grew limp right after that.

"Haa... Haa..."

My breath was a little bit heavy but I was satisfied with the power of the upgraded version of

[Grip of Pestilence]. While it took longer to cast, it was also a lot more powerful.

I could now render someone completely limp in just one move.

Still, things were far from over. In fact, they only got worse for us since the element of

surprise was gone.

"Over there!"

The remaining guards finally managed to spot us as heavy traces of our mana lingered in the

air, making it easy for them to spot us.

I shifted my attention towards the bridge and saw the vassals rushing over.

'Just a little more...'

Instead of pushing back, I pushed forward.

A green and red orb appeared in my mind. 'Pop', 'Crack', I could hear every muscle and fiber in

my body shift as power surged through me. Leon on the other hand blinked his eyes, getting

rid of all the stars in his eyes.

"Get them-!"

I almost had a heart attack seeing the number of spells that were being directed our way.

However, I didn't panic and directly moved towards Leon who firmly planted his feet against

the ground.

....The attacks rained down shortly after as the hair on my body rose.

The sheer number of attacks made it impossible for me to escape. Pressing my lips together, I

dashed in Leon's direction and...

Bang! Booom! Bang!

The attacks soon came, drowning us entirely.

***

"....The Evenus Household will soon send several vassals in order to defend the Gold Mine.

Our goal is to ambush the vassals and get rid of Captain Thalric. He's the one we should be

paying the most attention to. So long as we injure or kill him, our mission will be completed."

Everyone could still remember the orders that had been issued back then.

It was a simple plan.

Wait in ambush and get rid of Captain Thalric.

"Is there anyone else we should watch out for? What if they send out the twin stars?"

"...That will be a little problematic, but we should be able to deal with them. The one we

should really watch out for is the captain. He's extremely powerful."

It was supposed to be like this, and yet...

Yet...

Bang! Bang!

Spells rained down and soldiers fell.

It was a catastrophic sight as the captain in charge of the ambush shouted,

"Get them-!"

All soldiers cast several spells, all directed toward the three figures that had appeared out of

nowhere.

Panic started to flood the minds of the soldiers as they attacked relentlessly.

Bang! Booom! Bang!

Trees shattered, the earth caved in, dust billowed into the air. One by one the soldiers

attacked with the strongest spells available to them.

...They only stopped when they felt tired.

"Did we do it...?"

"Did we...?"

The hearts of the soldiers stopped as the dust cleared, revealing the gleam of two cold black

eyes.

He was completely unharmed.

"A-ah..."

Several soldiers went pale, and before they could even react, a figure darted out from behind

the black-eyed figure.

He was fast, leaving them with no room to react.

The only thing that they managed to see were two gleaming yellow eyes as he reached them in

a flash.

"M..."

One of the soldiers staggered back, his legs trembling.

But it was already too late.

The figure closed in, and his vision began to fade.

In that moment, he recalled the captain's words. How he so wanted to shake his head and tell

him he was wrong.

He was so wrong.

"They aren't problematic, the captain isn't the problem, they are...'

Just before the darkness consumed his mind entirely, he managed to choke out a single word.

"...M-monsters."