Barin drew back his bow and pointed it towards the sky. The arrow in his hand glowed purple, as he focused his mana into it.

“Gas Arrow!" The bow string twanged as he released it.

Shortly after the arrow was released, it exploded, showering streaks of purple gas over the surrounding area. He and the five other assassins standing around him became shrouded in purple mist.

After expending much of his mana, he felt as though he had no energy left in his body. The bow in his hand now felt much heavier.

The man standing beside him coughed. "Branch Leader, are you sure you’ve given us the right antidote? I’m feeling sick already from breathing this toxic mist.”

Barin responded to the man, who was one of the Sword Devil Twins. "You’re just imagining it. If you hadn’t taken my antidote, then you’d probably be dead by now. But I doubt that even this will be enough to kill Hupo. I hope that, at the very least, it'll weaken him.”

The Sword Devil Twins were identical twins. Individually, they were much weaker than Youji, the strongest swordsman in the Dominion. However, they fought incredibly well together, as if they could read each other's thoughts. With their extraordinary teamwork, even a fight against Youji would have an uncertain outcome.

"Isn't this overkill? Did you really need to gather all of us just to kill one man?” A woman standing beside Barin twirled a blowpipe in her hand.

Barin turned to face Poison Piper. “Hupo is not your average man - he’s a Combat Tournament champion.”

Poison Piper was a poison specialist. She could consistently hit a target the size of a coin fifty meters away with her blowpipe. Each of her darts were coated with a deadly poison that could kill a human with one hit.

“Didn't the prince say he'll be unarmed?"

"Yes, he did say that. According to him, Hupo will be returning from a visit to the Royal Palace, where guests are forbidden from bringing weapons. However, that doesn't mean we can let our guard down. Master level warriors can be very dangerous, even without their weapons. That’s why I’m personally overseeing this assassination. This ambush is designed to kill the most dangerous opponent imaginable.”

“Sounds exciting.”

Barin used mental imagery to simulate how the assassination would unfold in his mind. It was a ritual he engaged in before every assassination, to help him prepare for all possible scenarios. Since he’d never seen Hupo before, he imagined him as Youji, the strongest warrior he knew.

He and the other assassins would lie in wait for the carriage carrying Hupo. The coachman would die within seconds of entering the poisonous mist. His death would be the signal for the Sword Devil Twins to strike. They would leap onto the carriage's roof and stab through it.

If Hupo managed to survive the rain of swords from above, he would exit the carriage into the poisonous mist. The mist would not only weaken him, but it would also distract him. While he was distracted, Poison Piper would shoot a poisonous dart at his blind spot.

Even if, by some miracle, Hupo managed to dodge or survive the dart attack, the two Chain Brothers would finish him. They had the ability to control the movement of their chains as freely as their own limbs. Jumping from the rooftops of the surrounding buildings, they would wrap Hupo up in chains and squeeze the life out of him.

Barin would intervene if he saw a problem at any point of the assassination. He was a master level archer, who could augment the destructive power of his arrows and fire them with lethal speed and accuracy. His arrows were so swift and lethal that his targets often died before they could scream.

After imagining the battle in his mind many times, Barin couldn’t see any way for Hupo to walk out of the ambush alive. That was, assuming Hupo was as strong as Youji.

Barin heard the sound of galloping horses. "The carriage is coming! Get into your positions!"

***

Hupo rode home with Alana, in the same carriage that had taken them to the Royal Palace.

"May I ask you a question, Hupo?"

"Of course, I'm always happy to answer your questions."

"I don't understand why we didn't just teleport back to Chicken Castle. Wouldn't that be a more efficient and faster way to travel?"

"Good question, Alana. The reason why I chose to travel home in the carriage is because it would be rude not to, since it was a courtesy extended to us by the king."

She looked confused. “Why do we need to inconvenience ourselves to appease him? Isn’t appeasement a sign of weakness?”

He nodded. “True, acting cold toward others may be seen as a sign of strength. But that’s only a facade that masks weakness. As humans, we all have an inner core of needs and wants. Not recognizing that is, in my opinion, a shortcoming. On the other hand, showing kindness and regard for another’s thoughts and feelings is true strength. It’ll help you build a support network around you. You may find yourself in a challenging situation one day and that person that you’ve maintained a good relationship with may be able to help you.”

“I still have a lot to learn from you. Being human is complicated.”

“You’ll get a hang of it. Life as a human is a series of trials and errors. No one gets it right from the get-go. One of the most important things you can do, as a human, is to learn from your past mistakes. That way, you can avoid repeating them in the future. Humans are not perfect, so we’re all bound to slip up from time to time. Even I make mistakes. I told Raizen how strong you really were, without thinking about the consequences. If he informs the king about your powers, then the king will probably try to turn you into a human weapon. I’m sorry for not thinking about that earlier.”

"It's okay, I know you always try to do what's best for me."

The carriage jolted to a stop.

He heard the coachman's voice coming from outside.

"Get off the road!"

Looking out the window, all Hupo could see was purple mist.

Strange, it was clear a moment ago.

His instincts told him that something wasn’t right, so he activated [Awakened Eyes].

He saw particles of mana dispersed throughout the air, which indicated that someone had used a skill to create the mist. "Alana, teleport to safety. I'll handle this."

"But -"

"No buts. Please trust me."

"Watch yourself. Teleport." Her body was engulfed in blue light, then she vanished.

He heard choking sounds coming from outside the carriage.