An Urgent Journey and a Desperate Plea

Earlier.

The biting wind, laden with withered leaves, whipped against the thick walls of the galloping royal carriage, eliciting sharp, crackling sounds.

Dusk was settling, and the daylight swiftly faded, painting the rugged road outside the carriage in an oppressive shade of dark grey.

The wheels churned over the frozen earth and stones, making the ride exceptionally bumpy.

Within the carriage, under the soft glow of a wall lamp, Lumina Loganis wearily massaged her temples.

She was clad in a light blue wool gown, designed for ease of movement, and draped in a deep blue velvet cloak trimmed with silver embroidery.

The cloak’s hood rested softly behind her shoulders, revealing a cascade of smooth, pale golden hair, reminiscent of the nascent moonlight.

Her features were delicate, imbued with an innate gentleness, yet at this moment, her pale violet eyes brimmed with an unshakeable anxiety and profound exhaustion.

“Your Highness, it is almost nightfall; are you certain we shouldn’t pause to rest here?”

Gina, Lumina’s personal maid, a young woman with chestnut curls and eyes full of concern, could not help but voice her worry.

Observing Lumina’s pallid complexion, she tenderly offered a cup of warm honeyed water.

“You have been traveling relentlessly for days now; your body will not endure this pace.”

Lumina accepted the cup, her fingertips chillingly cold.

She took a delicate sip; the warm liquid glided down her throat, yet it failed to dispel the chill that had settled deep within her heart.

“No, Gina.”

Lumina’s voice, though tinged with fatigue, resonated with unwavering resolve.

“Our journey has already fallen two days behind schedule.

We must traverse these hills overnight if we are to reach our next destination by the appointed time.”

Gina hesitated, her hands nervously twisting the hem of her skirt.

Having served Lumina for many years, she knew the princess to possess a gentle disposition; this current display of urgency was entirely uncharacteristic of her.

After a moment of hesitation, she finally mustered her courage, lowering her voice, imbued with profound respect and a hint of almost imperceptible bewilderment.

“Your Highness… please forgive my presumption.

The itinerary for this Grand Tour is so exceptionally tight, and its scope has been greatly expanded; I have never witnessed you in such a state of urgency.

Are you… are you doing this to contend with Princess Ariya?”

Lumina set down her cup, her gaze drifting towards the rapidly fleeting, increasingly blurred silhouettes of withered trees outside the window, her eyes becoming complex and profound.

She remained silent for a moment, the only sounds within the carriage being the rumble of wheels and the howling wind beyond the window.

“Gina.”

Lumina’s voice dropped, carrying a weight Gina had never before heard from her.

“It matters not to me who occupies that position, so long as the Empire remains stable and its citizens prosper.”

She paused, and a sharp glint flickered in her pale violet eyes, a striking contrast to her gentle demeanor.

“But this time, it is different.”

Lumina’s fingers unconsciously tightened, her knuckles turning faintly white.

“But Ariya… absolutely not! The Empire must never fall into Ariya’s hands!”

Gina held her breath.

Lumina did not elaborate, but Gina could sense the princess’s unquestionable resolve and… a profound trepidation in her words.

Gazing at the princess’s tightly furrowed brows and sealed lips, she understood that some matters were beyond her purview.

Gina could only silently adjust Lumina’s fallen cloak, her heart heavy with anxiety.

Just then—

“Enemy attack! Protect Your Highness!”

Outside the carriage, the captain of the guard’s shrill roar erupted like a clap of thunder, instantly rending the twilight’s silence!

Immediately following came the jarring clash of metal, the terrified neighs of warhorses, and the brief, desperate screams of men on the brink of death!

“What’s happening?!”

Lumina’s eyes snapped open, her pale violet pupils contracting sharply.

Gina’s face turned ashen; she instinctively lunged towards the carriage window, pulling back a corner of the heavy curtain.

The sight before her stole her breath!

Lumina’s convoy was traversing the bottom of a low-lying valley, flanked by steep, craggy hills on either side.

At this very moment, the valley’s front and rear had been inexplicably sealed off by dozens of figures clad in jet-black attire, their faces concealed by grotesque metal masks!

These attackers, like specters birthed from shadow, moved with the swiftness of wind and impeccable coordination, their curved blades carving arcs of lethal light through the fading twilight.

Though Lumina’s royal guards were elite, the suddenness of the assault, coupled with their position in the inescapable hollow of the valley, left them utterly unprepared and instantly on the defensive.

Several guard carriages at the front were already ablaze, their raging fires leaping skyward, illuminating the chaotic battlefield and casting the silhouettes of the guards, fighting valiantly but continually falling, into stark relief.

The attackers did not appear to hold an overwhelming numerical advantage, yet their tactics were exceptionally ruthless and effective.

A contingent of them relentlessly engaged the perimeter guards, while another, like a honed blade, drove directly towards Lumina’s main carriage, situated in the middle of the convoy, their objective unmistakably clear!

“They are assassins!”

The captain of the guard, parrying a blade aimed at the carriage, shrieked hoarsely.

“They are after Her Highness! Hold the line! Protect the Princess and break through!”

However, the terrain proved incredibly disadvantageous.

The steep hills on either side restricted the guards from deploying their formation, and with both front and rear blocked, any escape route was virtually sealed.

The attackers, like relentless parasites, fearlessly assaulted the defense line composed of the guards’ very flesh and blood.

Screams, the clang of steel, and the crackle of burning flames mingled into a desperate symphony of death.

The carriage swayed violently, and from time to time, arrows or thrown javelins thudded against its walls.

Gina shielded Lumina fiercely, her body trembling violently from fear, yet her gaze remained remarkably resolute.

Lumina’s face was ashen.

Peering over Gina’s shoulder, she watched the black figures drawing ever closer outside the carriage window and her loyal guards falling one after another, her heart plummeting into a chasm of despair.

She gripped the jewel-encrusted dagger hidden in her sleeve, her knuckles white with strain.

‘Could it be… that this is where it all ends?’

Meanwhile, several dozen meters from the chaotic battle, on the leeward side of a slightly elevated hill, two figures appeared to meld seamlessly into the shadows of the rocks.

Rachel—still in her guise as “Gray Goose” at this moment—peered through a crevice in the rock, her gaze fixed intently on the bloody struggle unfolding in the hollow below.

Beside her, Ruby stood like a frigid sculpture, her long red hair fluttering in the cold wind.

Her amber eyes, too, were locked onto the battlefield, yet her gaze betrayed an air of detached indifference.

“Looks like it’s Fifth Princess Lumina’s convoy.”

Rachel’s voice was barely a whisper.

“Judging by the insignia and the guards’ uniforms, there can be no mistake.”

Ruby remained expressionless, merely offering a cold grunt.

“The attackers do not appear to be ordinary bandits.”

Rachel continued her observation.

“They are well-equipped, display seamless coordination, strike with brutal efficiency, and their target is clearly the princess herself.

This is unmistakably a premeditated assassination.”

In the hollow, Lumina’s guards were steadily pushed back under the attackers’ precise and efficient assault, the encirclement visibly tightening.

More than half of the guards surrounding the main carriage had already fallen, rendering the situation critically precarious.

“We must go down and help!”

Rachel turned to Ruby, her eyes beneath the hood gleaming with unyielding determination.

Ruby’s brows instantly furrowed, her icy amber gaze piercing Rachel with palpable intensity.

“Help? Help whom? Lumina Loganis? She is Princess Ariya’s political rival! My orders are to protect you, not to rescue the Princess’s enemies!”

“Furthermore, there are at least thirty highly trained assassins down there, and we are only two! Do you intend to rush to your death?”

“Listen to me, Ruby.”

Rachel adopted a patient, persuasive tone.

“Firstly, this is the very edge of Lockwood territory! If the Fifth Princess perishes here, regardless of the culprit, I, as the lord, will not escape implication!

The wrath of the royal family, the ensuing investigations… all utterly troublesome affairs I wish no part in.”

Ruby’s icy gaze flickered imperceptibly, yet she remained unyielding; clearly, this rationale failed to sway her.

“Secondly.”

Rachel raised two fingers.

“I ask you, do you believe these attackers are Princess Ariya’s people?”

“Of course not Princess Ariya! Her Highness conducts herself with integrity and honor; she would never resort to such despicable tactics!” Ruby retorted instantly.

“Exactly! I also believe it’s not Princess Ariya!”

Rachel interjected immediately, her words coming faster still.

“But have you considered this? If Lumina perishes here tonight, who, in the eyes of outsiders, will bear the greatest suspicion?

Who will be the first to be thrust into the eye of the storm? Only Princess Ariya!”

“The objective of these attackers is likely not merely to kill Lumina, but to frame Princess Ariya!

Once this slander is cast upon her, it will be a devastating blow to Her Highness’s reputation! Are you willing to witness your Princess being thus maligned?”

Ruby’s body jolted.

For the first time, a profound emotional shift rippled across her perpetually impassive face.

The second point Rachel elucidated struck her heart like a heavy hammer.

In an instant, Ruby’s gaze towards the hollow transformed, no longer indifferent, but filled with icy killing intent and a hint of almost imperceptible panic.

Safeguarding Princess Ariya’s honor was, after all, equally a part of her mission!

“But…”

Ruby’s voice remained cold, yet her resistance had clearly begun to waver.

“But with just the two of us? How can we possibly save them?

Rushing down recklessly would only lead to us being cut to pieces! Forget saving anyone; even self-preservation would be a challenge!”

Rachel’s gaze returned to the chaotic battlefield below, her mind racing.

The flickering firelight illuminated the tense line of her jaw beneath her hood.

The guards were still fighting desperately, but the encirclement had shrunk considerably, and Lumina’s carriage, like a lone skiff amidst a raging storm, threatened to capsize at any moment.

Time was running out!

She drew a deep breath of the cold air, thick with the scent of blood and char, her eyes abruptly sharpening with fierce resolve.

“I have an idea.”

Rachel’s voice was low and clear, imbued with a sense of desperate finality.

Her hand quietly slipped into the inner pocket of her dark grey cloak, grasping the cold, rough, weighty grey-black spheres she had crafted herself—her Flash Spheres.

“Ruby, listen to me…”