Julius was bored. He was still far from his destination- Castle Thespelae. Life of a messenger, he thought. At least he was not going to battle. That would be dangerous and Julius doesn't want to die. To hell with Castonia or Tulosa. Julius was never a patriotic man. Why does it matter anyway? Why would someone sacrifice his life for the sake of an old man with a crown? He just joined the army because of the benefits.

Honestly, Julius found his task redundant. He was the so-called second messenger. He was bringing the same message to the same castle. Where's the sense in that! By the time he arrives at Thespelae, the first messenger would have already delivered the message. He felt that this entire journey would make no difference anyway. But since it was his job, he must do it.

Julius reached the first village in the fief of Baron Braun. This village had been abandoned by his subjects a long time ago. So the rumors were true, the Baron had really given up on playing the role of a lord. It's a shame, Julius thought. It irked him that the Baron would just throw away his land. Doesn't he realize how lucky he is? To have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Every commoner dreamt of being a noble, having power and bloodline. Yes, one can be good at business and become rich, but nobility can't be bought. Yes, one could excel in the field of battle and be awarded, but nobility can't be awarded. Only the proper bloodline could make a person a noble. There were poor nobles and cowardly nobles, but they were nobles nonetheless. As for a commoner? No matter how powerful, influential or wealthy he gets, he will never become a noble. He will never own a fief and have subjects like Baron Braun. But the Baron let his lands rot into what it was now. Julius heard that once there were thousands of people living here, but now there were only a few hundred.

Julius' horse trotted in the mud. Yes the mud! This was the only part of the road towards Thespelae that wasn't paved with stones. Other lords would have paved the roads going through their land to attract trade and commerce, but that Baron Braun… Julius frowned.

Suddenly, two people on horseback emerged from one of the abandoned houses. The house was large so its door could fit a man on horseback. Julius saw their faces. Wismarines? Why would a Wismarine be here? Since Castonia made ties with Wismar, Wismarine merchants were now common in Nirvana. But merchants, why would a merchant hide in one of these abandoned houses with a crossbow on his hand…Crossbow?

Before Julius could react, one of the Wismarines raised his crossbow and aimed at him. He pulled the trigger and the bolt came rushing towards Julius. The man must have poor aim because it missed Julius. But the second person also fired his crossbow at him. This time, Julius was able to react and turned his horse around. The bolt missed his neck by a few inches.

Julius urged his horse to run faster. His heart was racing and he was scared.

Whiz

Unfortunately a bolt hit Julius' thigh. He felt nothing at first, but after seeing the tip of the bolt protruding from his thigh, Julius felt the pain. It was unbearable. He couldn't feel the rest of his leg. The pain is so unbearable that his eyes became wet. Dammit! Julius cursed. Why! Why are they trying to kill him? This task of his was useless anyway. It's redundant!

Julius gritted his teeth. If he somehow survived this, he will quit his job as a soldier and leave Nirvana. Another bolt was fired. This time, it hit the buttocks of Julius' horse. The horse cried in pain, but Julius managed to keep it running. He grasped the reins of his horse. He doesn't want to die. He wanted to live. Please stop. Stop chasing me!

The horse ran slower. The pain in its buttocks must have affected the animal. The two Wismarines were closing in. One of them, a man with a huge scar on his left cheek, reloaded his crossbow and fired at Julius. It was impossible to miss at this distance. The bolt flew like a fist punching through the wind. It hit Julius' back and he fell from his horse. Julius hit the muddy ground. His vision was blurry and his consciousness was fading. He saw the two Wismarines dismount their horses and they approached him. The shorter one unsheathed his dagger and slit Julius' neck. Blood came gushing out -his blood. Darkness engulfed him.

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" Take his bag" Krul pointed at the brown leather bag on the messenger's body. The chase only took them a few minutes. They were not professional assassins but they did the job.

" Brother" Vilme looked at him. "He's the last one right?" He then took the bag from the man. He was a young man on his twenties. His features were that of a handsome person. It's a shame they had to kill him. Vilme opened the man's bag and took the letter. The letter was inside a metal casing wrapped in a cloth. He took the letter and searched the man for anything valuable.

"What are you doing?" Krul frowned.

"Searching for valuables." Vilme shrugged. "We will bury him anyway so anything of value he has will be wasted."

"So we are thieves now?" Krul raised his eyebrows. It's not that he doesn't see Vilme's point, he does. But the thought of looting someone's body seems to bother him. They are soldiers, not thieves. They killed the man because their Prince ordered them to do so, not because they wanted to rob him.

"But it's such a waste!" Vilme protested "Look! He got some gold coins in his bag" he said as he showed the gold coin to Krul.

" Fine" Krul gave up. "Do it quickly. We still need to bury him and burn this letter."

"We will split it I promise"

"No need. I don't…"

Krul heard the approach of horses. From experience, he estimated that there were five riders.

************************************************************************************

Bisham saw everything. He and four other royal guards rushed to help the messenger but it was too late. He saw the Wismarine kill the messenger and take the letter. And then one of them looted the body. Despicable, Bisham thought. Truly despicable.

Bisham charged his horse towards the taller Wismarine. The shorter one who looted the body was quick to mount his horse and run away.

"Chase him!" Bisham shouted. "Leave this bastard with me" He looked at the other Wismarine. He was muscular and young. Since Bisham was already old, he can only rely on experience to win.

He unsheathed his sword and aimed for the bastard's neck. Bisham may be old, but his arm strength never diminished over the years. He swung his sword towards his opponent's neck. The Wismarine was able to parry the sword in time. Clang! The two swords met. If the Wismarine was a second slower, his neck would have left his body.

Bisham quickly turned his horse around. He swung his sword again but the Wismarine dodged and aimed at his stomach. Years of fighting had trained Bisham for this. Although he was not experienced when it comes to fighting on horseback, he knew how to fight a man on horseback- dodge and aim for their lower body. Bisham redirected the sword with his dagger. He then kicked the man in the chest. The Wismarine lost his balance and fell down. Bisham again turned his horse around. He directed the horse so that its hooves will trample the Wismarine. The man's right arm and leg were crushed by the hooves. The man cried in pain.

Bisham didn't waste any time and dismounted his horse. Bisham kicked the Wismarine again in the chest. He then lunged towards the man, putting his weight on top of him. He grasped the hilt of his dagger and stabbed the man's chest. At first, the Wismarine struggled. He was strong but Bisham really put his weight on top of him. Additionally, the man's right arm was crushed. Bisham stabbed him many times until the Wismarine ceased on struggling. Bisham was panting and his clothes were red with blood. He looked at the Wismarine. The man was gurgling blood in his mouth. He was still alive but soon he will cease to exist. Bisham's hand were trembling. He's too old for this.

On the other hand, the other Wismarine surrendered after he was surrounded by the four royal guards. They confiscated his weapons and tied his hands.

"Captain, we found the letter. But the messenger was already dead." One of the royal guards reported to Bisham.

Bisham wiped the mud from his armor with a cloth. He approached the royal guard and verified the letter. It was what they've been looking for. It was a shame that they failed to save the messenger, but sending the letter to Thespelae was their priority. As for this man, they need to extract information out of him.

" Let's see if he could reveal something useful." Bisham said as he looked at the Wismarine