Fumbling with the letter, Starling quickly got on her knees before King Hogard. She knows now that the matter had escalated.

If the spies and traitors found are understandably beyond her position, then the gnomes invading their city is a great fault of hers, but nothing can be compared to the fact that Kairos held such information.

Frightening beyond words.

King Hogard sighed.

Even in the hands of someone they consider a friend, it is an awkward situation.

He looked at Starling and asked, “Starling Goldplate. A friend obtained a map of our city and so kindly pointed out the weaknesses in our walls. Go and remedy it.”

Starling who was prostrating herself got up quickly, more out of surprise at King Hogard’s words than from following command. Hogard can tell that she did not know how Kairos could see the city layout in details. Further pursuit will hammer out nothing useful from her. Besides, Kairos’ uniqueness is well-known amongst the dwarves. It is highly likely no fault of Starling’s that the boy somehow harness information he should not be privy to.

She looked confusedly at her king and grandfather. He had granted her mercy despite a king needed to remain impartial. In the end, blood ties each dwarf together strongly.

What is even more surprising is the king’s quiet deposition towards vital information being held by someone outside of their control.

On the side, Leo and Linda watched everything that happened quietly.

The little girl, of course, was told to behave and obediently did so.

Starling did not recognise the two of them but couldn’t help to think that the king’s decision was as much for her sake as it is for two to see.

She bowed and quickly turned to leave. On her small shoulders carried the heavy burden of the dwarven’s honour. The smudge on their pride from gnomish invaders setting foot into their land must be eradicated.

King Hogard sighed again as he watched her leave.

The decision to overlook Kairos holding crucial information and his means of doing so is a huge show of good faith; this is what Leo was told to look out for and Hogard knew.

The reason why the dwarven king did not pursue matters is not simply because Kairos is a friend, although that greatly contributed to the decision making. The thing that really tilted the scales is his strength and importance to the dwarves.

Especially the latter. Kairos’ ability to decipher and simplify ancient scrolls is potentially decades of technological advancement for their race.

…..

Kairos looked at the map linked to his ocular spell. In a holographic manner, the movement of every living being is displayed clearly that with a thought he can discover well-hidden targets.

Surrounding the checkpoint to enter the Royal Garden City, there are already several groups of gnomes hiding patiently in the shadows.

Kairos feel that it is time to pull the net he had laid out. These are all the closest gnomes to this location, the other assassination teams will take a bit more time to arrive.

They were instructed to wait, but for who or what they were not told.

Kairos looked at his map for his special guests.

At this time, the gnome king and two elders are moving towards this location in rapid fashion. To find the big fish every gnome were searching for, the leaders definitely want to be there personally to oversee the operation.

Unfortunately, who is the fish here is yet to be seen.

By Kairos’ estimations, they will arrive in another 45 minutes. This is because the checkpoint where Kairos chose to attack is at the other end of the city away from them.

If they are cultivators, it will merely take 15 minutes at most, but this place is the Axis. Even if these warriors are strong, they are using pure physical strength to travel. Travelling at 108 metres per second, they are as swift as a diving falcon.

On a straight path, they will be able to move 291 kilometres within that time but that is before magical enhancements. With the right spells they can travel three times as quickly and cross 874.8 kilometres. Considering that the mountain is a few thousand km wide, the gnome king’s party is in fact in a centralise location.

In comparison to cultivators, this speed is really nothing.

At his peak, Kairos’ travelling speed on foot can easily reach 150 to 200 metres per second, and this is before using movement techniques. When he was D rank, his fastest burst of acceleration could break through the sound barrier and reach above 370 metres per second. When he first fought Calculus the sonic boom of their clash was strong enough to blow back onlookers.

Of course, this speed can only last for an instant, much alike why whips can crack when swung.

With proper techniques, an average cultivator can maintain five times the travelling speed, on a straight path they can move across 900 kilometres in 15 minutes.

At this time, ten gnomes are jumping across the rooftops at breakneck speed.

Greenish mana wrapped around their ankles like ribbons. They are almost fast enough to break through the sound barrier and ought to be facing a great wind resistance, but thanks to a simple spell they ran without a care.

At the same time, Kairos made his move.

He nodded towards Clef and like a signal, everyone scrambled.

They charged straight at the closest group. To be daring enough to hide near their target, this is a team of killers that are elites amongst The Reapers. They might not be the best group in their organisation – that title belongs to the group under their leader, an existence not unlike the Hall Master and nine ghosts of the Dark Hall – but prided themselves in having the best stealth abilities. Otherwise, they would not dare to be the closest group to an Omega-level target.

Their confidence is not unfounded, after all they had a hundred percent success rates without ever being caught.

For an elite team, their assassination targets are the strongest warriors or the most heavily guarded executives in the realm, and having a perfect record speaks for itself.

Their highest achievement, although nothing in comparison with their boss, is still an Omega-level threat.

Which is why they are confident to face Kairos’ team, moreover, they are not the only team in this place.

Unfortunately, the best stealth ability is nothing in front of the Heavenly Sight. The five targets ran straight at them even though they were cloaked by multiple spells.

Although they were surprised, they retaliated ferociously.

They are eager to clash head on with number on their side.

Moreover, not all in their trade are bad at frontal combats.

This is a team of six veterans. While most of them are professional assassins, there are some among them that are more accurately described as killers instead, like their vice-captain.

When the enemy detected their group, he was the most excited. Of course, he did not let his feelings take over and rush out alone. He have plenty of time to enjoy himself after subduing the enemy.

The mission this time is to take out a group of powerful enemies, three men and two beautiful ladies, all at Alpha threat level or above. He felt even more eager to fight against the strong and the proud, not for the sake of the battle… well that too, but more for the exhilaration when he step on their faces afterwards.

He felt a little heated up as he usually would on missions, only this time it is ten times hotter than usual. Just thinking of Clef’s face made him excited.

Ah, he couldn’t wait to break that grim and proud look on the Hyena Mage.

The rules within The Reapers are rather slack. People with all kind of fetishes gather among their ranks easily.

Nevertheless how strange their tastes are, all of them are elites worthy to be in this organisation.

The formation Kairos’ group are in is the Northern Star array as before, with Relestia charging at the front most and Kairos at the formation’s heart.

This arrangement is of course insisted by Relestia.

Seeing a little girl that barely reach half his height charging at him, the Vice-Captain was overjoyed.

He noticed that his team are already responding from the side of his eyes and his smile became wider.

“Such naivety, such arrogance… Let me crush it for you!”

With such thoughts, the Vice-Captain rushed forward to meet with the little girl, already imagining how artistic her blood will paint the ground.

He adjusted his blade – a giant cleaver that is meant more for smashing than slashing – with the right strength and angle, it will create the picture he want.

He will be the first one to reach, the others only a couple of steps behind. Not too far away to support him, but not close enough to steal his target.

The other groups remained unmoving around 50 meters away. At that distance, they can provide aid almost immediately, but are far enough to remain hidden. Who knows if the enemy found one group because they were too close?

However, just as the vice-captain was about to attack Relestia, a great beast scooped him up with a giant maw.

There was no terrifying roar nor any form of signal. The creature appeared to materialise out of thin air.

By the time he took a good look at what caught him, the vice-captain is already waist down in the beast’s throat.

This is a giant creature, with majestic golden fur. Standing over four metres tall and with bulging muscles as hard as steel, the beast stared proudly at its prey.

This is the Nemean Lion. A powerful magical beast that can challenge a kingdom by itself.

It is a creature belonging to the immortal and divine realms, but somehow preserved its line despite Gaia falling to the mortal realms.

The gnome quickly transformed into a large decaying treant – a demon tree - and smashed both its blocky fists on the snout of the great beast.

Again and again he struck the unmoving lion.

It took him a moment before he realised he is still holding on to his cleaver and with one fell swoop he swung his blade downwards.

*CLANG*

The creature looked at him coldly. After catching him in its mouth, the Nemean Lion simply stood still, enjoying the struggles of its prey.

It is a vicious monster, impervious to normal weapons, and loved toying with its food much alike a house cat.

The gnome, frenzied with fear, attacked ceaselessly. His teammates have arrived, bravely chopping at the creature but their attacks were useless as well.

The lion snorted. Even a gazelle should know when its time is up.

Tire of its prey’s foolish efforts, the lion chomped down and the treant became broken pieces of scrap that are spat out with disgust.

Seeing such a powerful creature, the other teams didn’t dare to tarry.

A few melded into the shadows, hoping to deliver a fatal strike at the opportune moment.

Those closest went forth to join the first team in stopping the lion. They must distract it until the other targets are neutralised.

The rest avoided the monster and went straight for Relestia and the others.

The counteraction was formulated almost instantly without needing words. None even thought of running away.

Perhaps as assassins they are used to deaths, or maybe they know that it is impossible to flee because neither their targets nor The Reapers would let them off.

In fact, many felt that the Vice-Captain of the nearest group was a fool for letting his guard down around Alpha and Omega threats.

Confident that the same fate would not be theirs, the assassins approached silently. Their bloodlust, footsteps, and presence, nearly undetected. As they walked, they took out their enchanted weapons, threw on high-level cloaking spells, and started reverting to their original plant-forms.

These are the best that the gnomes can bring out.

Because of how varied their species is, the type of plant that each gnome originates from is classified accordingly. The ones belonging to the Reaper are mostly of the nightshade-class, noxious plants that grow in the shadows.

They are the deadliest type, naturally endowed to carry out assassinations through stealth, poisons, and concealment.

Because of what happened to the Vice-Captain, the rest became more careful but remained ascertained to be able to handle their targets. Albeit at the cost of some lives.

In less than a second, all had sprung into action, but they carefully maintained their distance.

A giant paw swiped at the closest gnomes, but these assassins easily jumped out of the way.

The lion’s claws dragged across the floor, cutting four deep lines into the ground.

Before it could strike again, those that avoided the initial blow started retaliating. Concealed weapons flew like rain towards the beast, but harmlessly fell from its fur.

Poisonous smog with corrosive properties rained down on the beast. It stings but only enraged the powerful monster.

The lion roared, deafening its attackers, crushing their will like a Class 9 Aura Master; the presence of a fearsome beast is not inferior to a practiced master.

Forced back by the aura, the gnomes did not retreat. Instead, each of them activated a form of mind-clarity spell or protective measure. They may not be able to use Aura, but had plenty of experience fighting against it.

Shrugging off the pressure, those further away from the lion prepared to take the opportunity to neutralise the other targets.

There is over thirty assassins present, although only ten could be seen.

While the lion is applying its Aura as a beast king, it would not be prepared to protect its master.

Unlike Aura Masters, beasts are not acquainted with people ignoring them.

When all the assassins ran past, it did not stop them.

Glad that this dumb beast was distracted, the closest three assassins leapt at Relestia.

Of course, unlike the vice-captain, they approached slowly so that they may retreat if another creature appears.

Unfortunately, their caution made them slower.

Slow enough for an enchanting tune to wrap around their heads.

All at once, the fearsome assassins halted their approach.

The song she sang was a quiet one and her listeners were enrapt in their own memories. On their faces there are happiness, sadness, even bitterness, but no one was indifferent.

Reaching Entry C rank cultivation, combined with the Vestimore family’s enhancement technique, her Ki-infused voice easily enthralled all the assassins and without exception trapped these stone-faced enemies in their own minds.

Granted, it won’t be long before they can throw off her sound art. These aren’t weak willed men. However a moment is all she needed.

There is a little thing that few knows about the princess.

Relestia Vestimore is not a helpless little girl. She might be young, but a fourteen year old with a dagger can be just as dangerous as an adult.

And her father made sure she knows how to use her knives.

Although many of her targets are cloaked, no one can remain clandestine before the Heavenly Sight. Kairos who is controlling the formation can direct those within the Northern Star formation in every direction with precision.

Although they stopped moving only for an instance, it is enough for her.

She walked forward. Her little feet, dainty and light as a fluttering butterfly.

*Tat tat tat*

In three quick steps, she took down the closest three, then she turned to the others. What’s horrifying is her song continued even as she pushed her dagger into each person’s heart and pulling out a red blade with blood spluttering onto her face.

Even when she was drenched in red, she did not stop singing.

Behind her at the middle of the formation, Kairos frowned.

He silently cast a sanctification spell on her but there was no purifying signs.

“Doesn’t look like a possession. No… This is the Demonist’s path? Her Dao Heart is being tested!”

As one who walks the Heavenly Path, Kairos is one who understand heaven’s ways and treads firmly. However, other cultivators are frequently tested. No matter the demonists or the righteous, those that allowed powerful negative emotions to form in their Dao Hearts will fall away from their path of cultivation and delve into madness.

To treat lives like crumpled paper ready for the bin, Relestia is undergoing the trial of the heart demon. Should she fail, the person that Kairos knew before will disappear.