At around the same time, Arthur was in his office doing paperwork. Although he had finished their quota of paperwork for today, Arthur preferred to continue for as long as he could. After all, work that was finished today wouldn’t have to be done tomorrow and it especially helped that he had an extra pair of hands.

“I’ve finished reviewing this stack of documents. Nothing seems to be wrong with the taxes and budget.”

“Thanks just put them over here and I’ll do the final check and approval.”

In addition to guarding Arthur, Barton was also doing his fair share of paperwork. After all, although his education had primarily been focused on combat because he was a Dual Class user, he was still a prince and expected to take over rule if something had happened to Arthur and Edmund. Thus, he had was able to do anything Arthur could even if Arthur was the one who did the final reviews and signed the documents. Although Arthur had a fiance but wasn’t married yet so he didn’t have any heirs who could inherit the throne. Furthermore, in Arthur’s eyes, Barton would make a better king than Edmund who loathed paperwork and would probably spend the day partying. Still, if something did happen to Arthur, Edmund would probably give up his right to the throne on his own so Arthur didn’t have to worry about a battle for the crown.

“I’m kind of glad you forbade me from equipping a Class now. If my back is so sore in my casual clothes I’d hate to imagine if I were to sit here all day in my armor.” Usually, Barton would be wearing his white and golden King’s Guard uniform but a maid had accidently spilled coffee on it the other day. Instead, Barton was wearing the clothes he usually went out in: a red shirt with dark blue pants and a long white jacket. Other nobles may have said it was improper or something to that effect but Arthur actually liked how causal things were. It reminded him of more carefree days before the crown was thrust upon him.

“Don’t worry. I was the same in the beginning but you get used to it. After doing it for years, I can do paperwork wearing anything, including my armor. But enough of that. Let’s call it a night after these documents. Barry, are you sure you want to stay here with me? It’s been four days since you’ve returned and you’ve pretty much been by my side since then. Sure it’s great having you around helping me with paperwork since Glenn went to help the royal blacksmith in the Deurfaek Mountain but that’s beside the point. You should be resting a bit, spend some of the gold you got from subjugating that hydra. Anyways, are you sure the enemy wasn’t just trying to fool you?”

“I’ve thought of that too but when he mentioned he was screwing up the plans of ‘that asshole’ the disdain sounded genuine. It’s better safe than sorry though. Besides, I don’t even remember the last time you picked up a sword.”

“Haha I may not have held a sword for a while but if I remember correctly you’ve never beaten me in a spar. You can come back with the insults when that changes.”

A few more minutes passed as the brothers chatted idly.

“And then I told Ed ‘With the amount of women you get with, it’s a surprise we-

Kling

Seemingly out of nowhere, a hooded figure had drawn a dagger and tried to plunge it into Arthur’s neck. Fortunately, it was blocked by a barrier that had activated automatically.

“Sorry Mr. Assassin. Your ability to completely mask your presence and killing intent surprised me but you were too naive. The neck is one of the most vulnerable parts so it’s obvious that we would prioritize protecting it.”

Immediately, Barton touched his Class Crystal and equipped his Knight Class. Though the armor had yet to be repaired from battling the hydra because the royal blacksmith was out of town, Barton still felt more comfortable using it than the Ranger Class against an unknown assailant. After all, the Ranger Class specialized in analyzing a target and adapting to their fighting style while exploiting any discovered weaknesses. On the other hand, Assassins specialized in quick and efficient kills aiming for weak points although they too lacked physical strength and generally made up for it using poisoned weapons.

A skilled Assassin could kill a target in one hit so Barton wasn’t sure he would last long enough in the Ranger Class to learn the Assassin’s moves. Based on these assumptions, he had decided that damaged full body armor was still better than the single chestplate that he had in the Ranger Class.

Realizing that the assassination had failed, the Assassin jumped toward the exit, released a smokescreen, kicked down the door, and ran away with slightly less speed than sound.

“Barry, go after him but capture him alive! We may be able to find out something about the mysterious man and his group!”

“Got it!” Barton poured mana into his armor and the translucent wings appeared on his back. Even though the confined spaces and sharp turns of the corridors prevented him from going full speed, he was still able to catch up with the Assassin in a matter of seconds. He crashed into the Assassin, tackling them to the ground and knocking off their hood.

Barton looked the Assassin in the face and froze for a moment. “You’re a girl?”

Her Assassin garb had hid her body and her hood obscured her face but after it had been revealed, there was no questioning her gender. She had a beautiful face, long black hair tied in a ponytail that went down to her waist, pale white skin, and gentle eyes that you wouldn’t expect to find from an Assassin. However, there also burned a determination in her eyes that told Barton she would do anything to succeed.

Although the gender of the Assassin hadn’t mattered to Barton, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen which threw him off guard for a moment. However, he quickly shook his head and pushed that thought out of his mind. “Surrender quietly or I’ll have to capture you by force.”

The Assassin merely responded by throwing daggers aimed at the cracked parts of his armor. Barton was able to easily deflect them with his shield and charged forward. The Assassin dodged, threw another smokescreen, and darted down another corridor. As long as she evaded capture, she could regroup and try again. She had made it to the main entrance when Barton appeared in front of the doors to block her way.

“Sorry but you’re not getting away that easily. I grew up in this palace so of course I’d know where all the corridors lead and where the shortcuts are.”

“The king is still alive and I didn’t kill anyone on the way here. I can force my way through you but I don’t like killing unless it’s absolutely necessary. Can’t you just let me go?”

“Afraid not. We’ve got some questions for you and in case you didn’t know, attempting to kill a king a crime usually punishable by death. Don’t worry though. Our justice system isn’t merciless. Depending on how willingly you answer our questions you might just get some prison time. Besides, I’m as confident in my strength to capture you as you do for getting past me. Now please surrender.”

Looks like I have no choice… I have to use my main Class. The Assassin twisted her Class Crystal and pressed it. Her Assassin equipment was gone in a flash and replaced with an outfit that was primarily pink, white, and yellow. In her hand was a decorated wand that was about a third of a meter long with a clear gemstone at its end.

So she’s a Dual Class user as well. Looks like this will be trouble. Mages specialized in wide area offensive magics and with large amounts of firepower. Many other classes could use magic. For example, Barton himself could use various types of offensive, defensive, and support magic in his Knight Class and healing magic in his Ranger Class. However, Mages not only did Mages have the largest mana stores of all Classes but there were also the most control, being able to guide magic even after the spell was finished. Although Barton could have used Magic Constructs to attack, Mages had weak physical attacks and Barton didn’t want to damage the palace any more than they had to so he prepared to strike her with a quick and powerful slash.

Unfortunately for him, the first thing she did was not cast a spell. Instead, she raised her right hand. “I need you help, Ashe!” Out of the summoning circle appeared a golden 2 meter tall Divine Phoenix. Divine Phoenixes were rare and powerful beasts that paralleled and rivaled Heavenly Dragons. However, while Heavenly Dragons were stronger physically and could use many types of magic when they matured, Divine Phoenixes were much more powerful magically but focused on fire magic.

The summoning had caught Barton by surprise and he barely managed to dodge Ashe’s flaming claws. However, the Divine Phoenix was relentless, continuing to peck, claw, and shoot fire at Barton’s broken armor as he struggled to block and dodge. Barton would have summoned Bailong to help out as well but he was still recovering from the hydra fight and Barton didn’t want to cause him more damage before he healed. Unfortunately, this meant that he was at a disadvantage. The only thing he could think of was to end the fight in one swift strike. Pouring mana into both his wings and his sword, Barton accelerated toward the Mage and struck her in half.

Suddenly the body burst into flames and vanished. A voice suddenly called to him from behind. “Sorry Mr. Knight but your attack was too naive. While you were being distracted by Ashe I had plenty of time to set up a Flame Clone. Now try your hardest to block my strongest attack. Ashe, come here!” At the Mage’s command, Ashe became wreathed in pure golden flames and entered the gemstone of the wand. Mana was swirling around her, tearing the ribbon holding her ponytail and letting her hair down. At the same time, her jet black hair turned a silvery white. “Mana of fire, fuse with the purest of flames and become the Golden Beast of Purgatory! Blazing Phoenix Strike!”

Silvery white hair? But that's-! Barton immediately raised his shield and put up an eight layered shield. This the the maximum number of layers he could use and was his ultimate defense. However, it was nothing to the 10 meter bird of pure golden flames that assaulted it. Each layer only lasted a few seconds before shattering. Finally, the phoenix had broken all the barriers and had gotten to Barton’s physical shield. With a final strike, Barton’s shield broke along with much of his damaged armor, the entire front entrance of the palace, and a significant amount of the courtyard. Perhaps if his armor and shield hadn’t been damaged, he would have been able to defend against the attack. However, the flames had torn through his damaged equipment even more easily than the Magic Construct barriers. Amazingly, he was still conscious after taking the attack and struggling to get up. However, his strength ran out at that point and he collapsed back onto the ground.

The giant firebird was about to finish the job when she was stopped by the Mage. “That’s enough Ashe. There’s no way he’d be able to capture us now. You can go back now.” With that, the Heavenly Phoenix returned to its original size and appearance and disappeared with a flash. The Mage on the other hand collapsed for a moment as her long silver hair returned to its original black color.

The Blazing Phoenix Strike really took a lot out of her and she had even used her bloodline ability to increase its power. Although she could have let Ashe finish him off, she wasn’t lying when she told him she didn’t like unnecessary killing. I can’t believe was able to survive Ashe and my combination attack. Looks like he wasn’t just boasting. Maybe if I had someone at his level, I wouldn't have had to come here. It’s a shame we’re enemies. He’s pretty handsome too. Wait what am I thinking?!? I should probably leave. After catching her breath, she got up and prepared to leave. “You fought well but looks like it’s my win. Maybe we’ll meet again.”

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain and lost feeling in her legs. As she collapsed to the ground she was able to slightly turn her head and saw a familiar face wearing black armor and wielding a bloodied spear behind her. Next to him was another familiar face who was wearing priest robes and immediately started healing her wound. “It’s you two?”

“Was it really necessary to stab her? She was on her last legs anyways and we could have easily captured her without having to hurt her!”

“Why are you so caring to an enemy all of a sudden? Besides if I didn’t use my Paralysis Spear, she could have gotten away. You know what we’ll talk about this later. For now I’ll apprehend the criminal. You should probably check up on Barton.”

“Hello again. Sorry about bumping into you earlier but imagine my surprise when I had a vision of you attacking the king! Looks like you were just unlucky.”

Dulhan’s bloodline ability, Future Sight, was not suited for combat. It could be used on a person once a day. Through physical contact, he is able to see an event that would happen to the person during the day. Although it is possible to change the future he sees, he found early on that it was much easier to let the event happen and try to fix it afterward. Otherwise, he might become the cause of an event he was trying to prevent. This was the real reason he had been shocked when he had helped the Mage up originally. After all, he had already set his heart on Medony so he wasn’t tempted by the girl’s beauty. The reason he only got here now though was because he had to catch up to Medony and explain the situation to her.

As Medony went over to heal Barton, Dulhan pulled out a pair of mana sealing handcuffs from his Class Crystal. He took the Mage’s hands and cuffed them behind her back. Thanks to the Paralysis Spear’s effects, she couldn’t even struggle. All she could do was resign to her capture. Next, he put anti enhancement legcuffs on her to prevent her from running. Immediately after, the Mage Class disappeared in a flash and the girl was back in the normal clothes that she had been wearing when she met the two in the first place.

The anti mana handcuffs and the anti enhancement legcuffs were the two Leferon’s two most valuable tools for capturing criminals. Although they had the basic function of preventing a criminal from using their hands or run away, they had secondary effects as well. The handcuffs prevented a criminal from using mana themselves and the legcuffs prevented any enhancements cast from an outside force from activating. When used together, they also negated the effects of Class Crystals and placed a seal on their physical strength, rendering even the strongest criminals practically harmless.

After making sure the prisoner was locked securely, Dulhan undid his paralysis effect and helped her to her feet. “Now you can walk right? I’ll escort you to your cell in the dungeons. I’m sure His Majesty would like to have a few words with you tomorrow.”