After an unknown amount of time, I woke up. And I was still feeling that presence.
Yeah, no doubt that was the Mist Dragon. He wasn't close or anything, but his power was just that overwhelming. Also, he wasn't suppressing it. He had been living freely here for centuries, so it's obvious he was now used to living without suppressing his might.
As I had been a normal human until now—even in my previous life—suddenly feeling the pressure of the Mist Dragon with my sixth sense, which could even detect small hidden things, was too much. In fact, it's good I didn't just die straight away.
I quickly went back to Flash, applied the Mist Dragon's smell to both of us again, and quickly left for Mist City without taking any chances. But now, I could feel monsters below and their intentions. However, everyone was just scared. Well, it's the smell I carry with me.
Soon, I arrived at the outer forest of Mist City. I went towards a guard and asked him,
"Have four people come recently on Sky Dogs here?"
The guard nodded.
I thanked the guard and gave him a silver coin.
I then went to the sky and looked around. Since beasts would definitely not be allowed inside, their Sky Dogs must be somewhere close. But I couldn't find them.
Then I suddenly felt six beings looking toward me with familiar eyes. Five must be Raven's party, then the sixth must be other sky dog with Flash. I quickly found the group of Sky Dogs and left Flash there too.
Then I entered the city and soon encountered Raven with all his members.
He asked me,
"Have you finished your business, sir?"
I smiled and said,
"Yes."
Then I continued,
"I will rest today, then we will move."
Raven thought for a moment and then agreed.
We went to the best inn. I asked the Claw members to leave their previous inn and also booked rooms for them. Then we all ate, and I went to sleep. Claw members kept watch.
The next day, I woke up and met the Claw members in the dining area.
I initiated a conversation with Raven:
"You all rested well or just kept watch?"
"Hahaha, sir, we have taken many missions. We rested and also kept watch. We can't disturb your plans by not resting well—that would be unprofessional."
"Then are you ready to leave today?"
"We are, but we must also check the Sky Dogs."
"They have good stamina, and this much rest is good enough for them."
"If you say so."
"Then I will buy a few things and then leave."
"Okay."
Since I wouldn't be staying, I checked out of the inn.
Soon, I left with Claw protecting me again.
But today was different. After some time, I could feel six presences with faint killing intent, and their locations were also clear to me.
Soon, I notified Raven. Since he didn't know and was randomly looking for abnormalities, he had missed them before. But now it was different. With my help, he sensed them all. And since the assassins thought we didn't know their location, they didn't use even more advanced techniques to hide.
I kept talking with a face that looked like everything was normal.
"Raven, what is your plan?"
He replied,
"I think instead of waiting, it's best to attack since we have the advantage."
Emilia said from behind me,
"We should go to a little more secluded area so they take the initiative to attack."
Lucas wondered aloud,
"Maybe something like a back alley would be good."
Raven said,
"Yes, but everyone take a good look around—we don't want any variables due to the environment."
Everyone nodded.
Without acting suspicious, and in the most natural way, we went into a back alley.
Raven was behind me and Brock in front.
Lucas, Emilia, and Emma all focused on concentrating the assassins on one area so they couldn't sneak attack me.
To our luck, all the assassins came from the same side and close together, maybe thinking that since they were hidden, if they attacked in a bunch, someone might still reach me. But everyone, already expecting them, was on guard. Lucas threw them into one place with wind magic, and Emma and Emilia confronted them. By now assassins have realised that we knew about their presence. And this also meant we are more prepared.
The assassins split up evenly and attacked Emma and Emilia. Two of them kept an eye on Brock and also glanced toward us.
One assassin attacked Emma's head, but she ducked and saw another blade coming for her legs, which she deflected. She ran to the side so the third assassin wouldn't get a chance to attack. She also tried to grab the second assassin to use as a shield against the first, but failed as he retreated. She didn't pursue him because she might get surrounded if she gave chase. Also, since Emilia was on her left, she didn't have to worry much in that direction, trusting her.
Meanwhile, Emilia used her rapier's long reach to deter the assassins and also attack from a distance, which made it difficult for them to get close. However, the assassin on her left kept attacking and retreating. Slowly, the other two also started moving toward her left, which forced her back toward Emma. The attack-and-retreat pattern went on.
Lucas was silently watching, waiting patiently to attack or defend depending on how the formation changed.
But soon, I noticed something. My sixth sense was transmitting the assassins' intentions: they were pushing Emilia toward Emma, as close as possible.
Why?
But soon it became clear.
Due to my lack of experience, I hadn't realized it before. But now they were so close that Emilias rapier was restricted. If she tried to swing too much, she might hit Emma. This made me nervous.
But then something happened that shocked me. Through my sixth sense, I felt like Emilia was about to discard her weapon—and Lucas was targeting it.
And very soon, the same thing happened. Lucas shouted,
"Vines of Thorns!"
From Emilia's rapier, thorns shot out at high speed. They pierced through all three assassins who were fighting her. A few thorns also pierced Emilia, but those were very few, almost scratches, even for me.
After this, Emilia joined Emma empty-handed, and quickly all the assassins were defeated.
I see now—since they were allies, Emilia didn't hinder Lucas's spell. Also, since they had been together so long, they knew what to do without speaking. This kind of teamwork needs long-term cooperation. If not for the fact that the spell was very large so that all assassins could be killed at once, Emilia wouldn't have even gotten scratched.
I said to everyone
" I was scared for a second."
To which Emma laughed and replied
" They were A-Rank but weaker so it was easy"
Then we searched them and found a sign. I knew from the novel it was the sign of the Assassins Guild. Well, of course the duke couldn't reach me this quickly.
But these assassins from the Guild may have finished some work in this area and, after getting information, used their communication device to attack me.
Well, I am leaving soon. I have to look for the Nature Force.
I started walking silently. Lucas quickly destroyed the corpses, and Claw followed me again.
Soon, we left Mist City and I saw Flash. Seeing him, I felt happy. Maybe I had gotten attached to Flash. Though Flash didn't give much reaction, through my sixth sense I felt he was glad to see me coming.
I turned and said,
"Ride your Sky Dogs and follow me."
Claw members looked at each other. Then Raven asked,
"Sir, where are we going?"
I replied,
"The Land of Sorrow."
--------------
The Land of Sorrow would take three days to reach. But there was a huge army deployed by a small kingdom—maybe it was just for precaution, or maybe they had received some information. Because of that, going through there was not a good idea.
So, I decided to take a small detour, which would now take four days.
After obtaining my sixth sense, I could fly much higher. Sixth sense absorbed nature mana, and over time I also developed a resistance—another reason I could endure it.
We all started traveling toward our destination, but we still planned to stop at some cities to gather information. After all, it was possible that other forces could be deployed along our route. It would also provide some rest for the Sky Dogs, though they didn't necessarily need it.
While traveling, I also heard from Raven that the empire was making strange movements. There was only one empire, so I knew exactly what he was talking about. Well, I also knew the reason for those strange movements.
Currently, I was to the east of the academy. My kingdom was also in the east, so up until now all the places I had gone to were closer to the academy. However, the empire was in the west, so I didn't care much.