Yual glared at his communication stone like he wanted it to explode. It had been receiving a ton of messages from the other members of the council on why he hadn't issued their main forces any commands. Word that everything was ready for the assault had spread like wildfire among the higher-ups.

"The bombs are ready, what are you waiting for."

"The main forces need instructions, why haven't you done anything"

"...I'm disappointed in you, leader."

"What is going on? Isn't everything ready?"

"Is the plan still happening?"

On and on and on; these messages sometimes lasted minutes. His communicator damn near maxed out on available recorded message space. He had to go through each and every one, to make sure he didn't delete any wrong ones.

Just leave me alone...I don't want to deal with the Empire right now; I need to figure some stuff out first, in peace.

After his 500th message in 3 hours, Yual had had enough. He quickly devised a plan that would hurt the Empire the most using the resources they had and sent the instructions to the commanders of the armies.

He silenced his stone and exhaled a sigh.

Can I not get some time to myself? Is that too hard to ask? Has it always been like this and I was just too anal to notice? Can the world not continue to spin without me?

He was annoyed at their comments. The constant beeping and questioning of him. The little things nor the big thing now grabbed his attention, his new focus was on the pair of people that would rise above all in the future. He would nurture them into the perfect weapons. He would guide them until they were even more powerful than he.

His life and the life of so many other nigh immortal beings on this planet were ended for no reason other than some guy that hunts them down. What kind of fucked up planet was this? since Yual wasn't strong enough to move to another planet, and since he clearly wasn't powerful enough to beat the Immortal Killer himself, he hatched a new plan.

I want to LIVE.

---------

Across the mountain range and over half the sea, the high command of the Harbinger's armed units received word from Yual. Hgur stared at the waiting message with bated breath.

These are commands from our master; the strongest of all the Harbingers. His words enable us to shake the foundations of the enemy and free their people from its tyranny.

He hesitated to check the message, fearful of what crazy scheme they would be, what genius would be shown before him.

{Hgur, there are 1000 of our precious explosives in your possession. I want your elite squad to sneak into the castle and replace the Empire's most valued treasure with them. Steal the stuff, place the explosives. Then, surround the entire capital and attack with the army to weaken the military. In the ensuing conflict, sneak in and take out all the nobles who would be desperately panicking and trying to flee; afterward fleeing yourselves. Once everyone is clear, blow the place sky high. Wait for further orders.}

Hgur was in shock at the boldness of the plan. The Harbingers were mainly assassins after all, so a full frontal conflict was going to be tough. They did have some specialized units that could carry a few dozen people, but not all the ten thousand strong soldiers.

It was for this boldness that we all chose to follow him. He is the strongest out of us all, so only he can dare to be so bold. His plan is genius.

The people who saw the plan assumed that Yual had taken every variable into account before formulating this attack. He hadn't failed them before, and he was the strongest, so why should they question his judgment?

Yual truly wanted a break from his life, just coast for a bit to find meaning in it again. He knew his time was coming soon, a few hundred years and he would just be another decaying corpse in the last position he was fighting in.

He had spent ERAS just accumulating power. Through rage and torment and grief and bloodlust and pain, he had managed to wrap his fingers around the smallest bit of control over his life. In reality, it didn't matter. He would die just like the giants before him. So what would he do with the rest of his life? He didn't know.

The one thing he was sure of was that he could never stop being the cunning tactician he strived to be. The plan was thought out deeply, even though it was only for a few minutes; in that time, he was able to create a masterpiece of a plan with no planning.

Hgur got his units ready. It would be his 4 most trusted and capable subordinates. They gathered around him and awaited their orders.

"MEN! This is the day we plunge our dagger deep into the heart of the Empire. THIS is the day we will catch them off guard and bring them into the shadows. We will strike them and crippled their growth. For that is who we are, we ARE THE HARBINGERS. Nations that have lived too long, resting on their laurels, need to be culled. The weak die and the strong survive!"

The army cried out together. The words built on each other until the soundwave was more like a shockwave, ripping through the area with the conviction of every soldier.

THE WEAK DIE AND THE STRONG SURVIVE!

With their spirits raised, they set the plan into motion. The 1000 annihilation cores were preparing to be loaded into three separate storage cubes. The heavy metal cubes were the standard for moving large quantities of stuff. The cubes max size was only 50 cubic meters, but these were only single use. To get such a larger space, they were overcharged to get 100 cubic meters and became unstable, they would lose them after this mission.

Hgur took all three cubes and went to the secret tunnel they had dug into the underground. The walls were rough and unfinished, but the floor was smooth. It was a short tunnel, leading to a wooden door with glowing symbols on it. The door was enchanted out the ass, radiating such a powerful aura that the weak wouldn't be able to even look at it without fainting.

The door had a simple bronze key for its traditional lock. The unadorned key was not visually special. Perfect for keeping it hidden. Once it was inserted into the lock, the symbols infused in it glowed brilliantly and unlocked the door.

Hgur passed through the door and into the small stone room. 1000 annihilation cores were stacked into a square pyramid up to the ceiling. Each one was a fist-sized orb made of what looked to be highly reflective glass. Inside the center of each glass orb was a swirling mass of red.

What made the annihilation cores so potent was that each and every one was a mini stasis chamber. The creator captures the spell moments after making the orb and it remains in it until used. The harbingers have only recently gotten their hands on the man who can make them. The particular spell he put inside these orbs was called [Annhalation Burst].

It will be some spectacular fireworks when these go off.

Hgur loaded up the three cubes and handed them off to his team of 4. Without exception, they all wore black clothes and were more ethereal than corporal. They were the 'A team', the most capable penetration experts. 'Ghosts', they were called. They could seemingly pass through even enchanted walls and make it into any location undetected. Their skill was refined to a terrifying degree.

"You four will sneak into the castle before the conflict and plant these cores. Make SURE you leave one of the cubes, it will explode by the end of the day and act as the timer for the core's detonation. This mission is the culmination of decades of planning, don't fuck it up. May the Almighty System protect you on your quest."

The group of 4 started to run at the capital, their bodies slowly simmering until they completely blended in with the surroundings. They were completely invisible to the naked eye as well as the magical one; that was a must-have for the assassins in this world. The entire mission could be a failure because your target could see your presence with magic.

A combination of a skill and their cloaks helped prevent this. The cloaks were made with what was essentially lead for magic. It blocked all the errant waves that naturally emanate off of high-leveled individuals, allowing them to continue doing their job properly as assassins.

They raced through the forest that lay between their army and the capital. The massive red trees provided excellent cover with their vibrant plumes of green leaves. The group jumped from branch to branch, looking like a grasshopper as they rapidly accelerated before rapidly decelerating; repeating it in a loop.

The trees provided little resistance for their pursuit, in fact, making them move towards it faster as they had more surfaces to push off of.

The leader of the squad, codename 'Viper', put up his hand as a sign to stop. The other three immediately halted, awaiting his next words.

"We are close, but they are prepared."

All of them nodded their heads and put on rings from their pocket. Immediately, their bodies twisted and warped. Bone and flesh compressed and expanded, looking quite painful. Hair was removed and regained, fingernails fell off and grew again.

They took off the cloaks, revealing their altered bodies. Four middle-aged-looking individuals, two men, two women. Their features were plain, and there was nothing inherently recognizable with their bodies. If you saw them on the street, your mind would filter them out the moment you look away.

Viper turned to the other man, "Take out the cards."

Fang responded by pulling out 4 square tiles, just like Rupert and Veronica had seen that bandaged man use. They were ID chips to check the identity of the people at the gate. The difference between the ones the bandaged man had used and these was that the capitol chips had a dozen more safety measures. For the assassins, this was not their first rodeo.

Years ago, they had gotten into the city, claiming they wanted to get their IDs. The guards let them, and hours later they walked away with a free pass right into the city. The number of enchantments on the single piece of tile was amazing, truly a fine work of craftsmanship.

They dropped from their position on the tree and quickly killed a nearby deer-looking creature. This would be their excuse to get in.

The gate on this side of the wall was only a few hundred meters from the forest, enabling people easy access to its riches, but also providing an enormous security risk for the capital. They didn't know it yet, but this simple forest would spell their doom.

Viper, Fang, Poison, and Blood all carried one part of the deer, making themselves look exhausted merely from carrying it. They wanted to impress upon the guards that they were just low-leveled hunters, catching the occasional animal in the forest.

They made it to the gate and waited in line. The blood from the deer was already starting to coagulate, not boding well for them. It would make them look like amateurs, not people who have been animal hunters for decades.

Blood used a skill that let her body absorb the blood, [Drain Lifeblood], sucking it dry of the red liquid in moments, but letting it keep essential fluid for preservation. The deer needed to look recently dead, not mummified. There, cover story saved through magical means. No one around them noticed the act and missed the weaving energy in the air around her since they were discreet about it.

When it was finally their turn for the gate, Poison turned on her charm, "Well hello there boys, how's it going?"

The guards were relaxed due to the subtle workings of her combinations of skills, the guards were level 40 after all, a category 8 being, why would they suspect low-level hunters making them unfocused and complacent? The guards were on the lookout for more powerful threats as well as the Otherworlders. Four simple citizens couldn't catch his interest; that would be his downfall.

They all presented their tiles and he checked them. The device said green, so he completely let down his guard.

"You taking that deer to the market? It's a little late in the day to get a good price."

"We took all day to hunt just this one, it was a really slow day. Now, we just need to sell it or it'll go rotten before tomorrow."

The guards agreed and let them pass safely through. They were on the inside, and everything was going smoothly. Blood used her skill again, manipulating it to consume every last bit of lifeblood in its body, leaving a dried and empty husk. With one touch, the deer turned to dust and was carried off in the wind.

The three dawned their cloaks again, allowing them access to more powerful forms of magic when they would be sneaking through the most powerful city on the planet. Their bodies shimmered and then they were gone. Their mission was going to be successful, no matter how many people got in their way.

Back at the gate, the guard felt something was wrong. There was a lot of dust in the air blowing his way. It felt odd to him since it was a single pocket of dust, moving a big cloud, like it came from the same source.

He shrugged it off. His magical senses didn't tell him anything, so he assumed someone was doing some spring cleaning and just had dumped a ton of dust.

I'm getting old, triggered by someone dropping dust; how could that be a threat?