A Desperate Escape

The desperate cries of the loyal guards grew increasingly sparse outside the carriage window.

Each dull thud of blade meeting flesh resonated like a drumbeat, hammering against Lumina’s taut nerves.

A heavy stench of blood, mingling with the acrid scent of burning fire, seeped through the carriage’s seams, threatening to choke her.

“Your Highness!”

Gina’s voice was thick with tears.

Her small frame stood resolutely before Lumina, clutching a short sword drawn from a hidden compartment within the carriage, yet its tip trembled violently.

Lumina bit hard on her lower lip, tasting the metallic tang of blood.

The jeweled dagger concealed in her sleeve was slick with sweat.

‘Breakthrough?’

The convoy was trapped within the hollow, its path forward and back utterly blocked.

How could a breakthrough possibly be achieved?

‘Was there truly no option but to await their demise?’

Lumina’s pale violet eyes fixed intently on the encroaching dark figures outside the carriage window.

Masked, silent, efficient, and utterly ruthless, they resembled machines designed for reaping lives.

One of the assassins had already raised a blood-soaked scimitar, its target unmistakably the carriage door!

Just as the scimitar was about to cleave through the door’s latch—

“Boom!”

A muffled, explosive roar suddenly erupted from behind the assassin ranks!

Then came a second, and a third!

Lumina’s pupils contracted sharply.

Several searing bursts of orange-red flame suddenly surged from the darkness behind the assassins.

These were no ordinary bonfires; they burned with terrifying speed, instantly igniting the dry grass and low-lying shrubs at the hollow’s edge.

Tongues of fire greedily licked at the air, crackling and popping, rapidly merging into a scorching wall of flame!

“Behind us! An ambush?!”

“Fire! It’s on fire!”

“Watch your backs!”

The assassins, previously so orderly, were instantly thrown into a slight disarray.

Those at the rear were forced to retreat repeatedly by the sudden inferno, their formation inevitably dissolving into chaos.

But this commotion was merely the beginning!

“Urghh—!”

A bloodcurdling shriek erupted without warning from the assassins’ left flank!

An assassin lunging towards the carriage stiffened abruptly, a crimson mist blossoming at their neck, before collapsing to the ground without so much as a groan.

Immediately after, a muffled grunt came from the right, and another assassin fell, clutching their gushing throat.

Then, from the rear, near the edge of the flames, another short, sharp cry rang out!

“To the right as well!”

“Enemy attack!”

The attacks came from all directions! Swift! Too swift!

Amidst the flickering firelight and deep shadows, only a ghostly red blur could be faintly discerned, darting and flashing rapidly around the periphery of the assassin group.

Each flash was accompanied by a dying scream and the fall of an assassin!

“Hold steady! Don’t panic!”

An assassin, seemingly their leader, shrieked, attempting to rally the ranks.

However, the sudden onslaught had already plunged these highly trained assassins into momentary panic and misjudgment.

Instinctively, they tightened their formation.

Some cautiously turned towards the darkness at their rear and flanks, desperately trying to pinpoint the elusive attacker.

The others, meanwhile, lunged even more ferociously towards Lumina’s carriage, intent on achieving their objective before the ‘reinforcements’ could completely disrupt the situation!

“A chance!”

The captain of the guards, drenched in blood, his left arm hanging limply, saw the sudden chaos and a final flicker of hope ignited in his eyes.

“Protect Her Highness! Break through!”

The remaining guards, summoning their last reserves of courage, attempted to force a bloody path through the assassins’ disordered ranks.

Yet, the assassins’ obsession with Lumina proved beyond imagination; their assault on the carriage grew even more frenzied!

Flashes of blades and shadows instantly overwhelmed the last few defenders!

“Bang!”

With a deafening crash, an assassin slammed their body against the carriage door, forcing it open.

They lunged directly into the carriage towards a deathly pale Lumina!

‘It’s over!’

Lumina’s mind went blank.

Her knuckles, clutching the dagger, were white from strain, yet her arm remained rigidly unmoving.

Gina shrieked, swinging her short sword, but the assassin easily parried it.

A cold blade, imbued with bone-chilling intent, arced down directly towards Lumina’s head!

At this critical, hair-thin moment—

“Duck!”

A sharp, ringing command, like a clap of thunder, exploded in Lumina’s ear!

Lumina instinctively obeyed, burying her head with a sudden motion!

Almost simultaneously, a blinding, searing white light erupted without warning at the carriage doorway!

“Urghh—!”

The assassin let out a horrific, inhuman shriek!

The intense light seemed to carry a physical force, instantly tearing through the dim carriage and illuminating everything as if it were midday!

The metallic mask on the assassin’s face reflected the fierce light with an eerie gleam.

Their scimitar clattered from their grasp, their hands clutched desperately at their eyes, and their body contorted and twitched in agony!

The blinding light lasted only a fleeting moment, yet its effect was devastating.

Not only did the assassin at the doorway instantly lose their combat ability, but all assassins, both inside and outside the carriage, who were directly struck by the glare, let out painful grunts and cries, their movements becoming noticeably sluggish and disoriented!

At that very instant, a cold hand abruptly seized Lumina’s wrist!

“Follow me!”

Lumina was abruptly yanked from her seat!

She stumbled as she was dragged from the carriage, the acrid scent of gunpowder and the heavy reek of blood instantly engulfing her.

Amidst the chaotic interplay of light and shadow, she only managed to glimpse a slender figure wrapped in a dark grey cloak, their hood drawn low, obscuring their face.

“Gina!” Lumina called out instinctively, her voice laced with terror.

“Leave her! Hurry!”

Without another moment to think, Lumina was pulled along by that firm hand, scrambling down from the carriage, her steps uneven.

Beneath her feet lay sticky pools of blood and cold corpses, while around her raged the chaotic shouts of battle, the roar of flames, and the agonizing cries of assassins blinded by the intense light.

The timeline rewinds to a moment earlier.

“…That’s how it is.”

Rachel spoke with urgent speed, simultaneously thrusting a bundle into Ruby’s hands.

“There are still a few Heatstones left here. Use your spiritual energy to activate them to maximum output; the heat will be enough to ignite dry grass and dead branches. Remember, light at least three spots, spread them out, and keep the intervals short!”

“Then, after setting the fires, attack the isolated assassins on the periphery from different directions, using the fastest and most ruthless methods. Strike once and retreat, never getting bogged down in a prolonged fight!”

“In short, disrupt them, distract them!”

Ruby took the dull grey iron pieces.

Her cold amber eyes swept over Rachel, her tone carrying a hint of imperceptible sarcasm.

“You’re certainly not shy about ordering me around.”

“Outnumbered as we are, one person must naturally be used for the work of two.”

Rachel responded nonchalantly.

Her gaze remained fixed on the increasingly perilous situation below, one hand slipping inside her cloak to grip the heavy Flash Spheres.

“Once the assassins are in disarray, I’ll immediately use the Flash Spheres to clear a path and rush in to save them. Don’t worry about me; disengage from the battle as soon as you see the bright light. After that, proceed as we planned!”

Ruby fell silent for a moment.

Her gaze swept over the carriage below, which was on the verge of being breached, then returned to Rachel.

Finally, she merely let out a cold ‘humph,’ and her figure, like a black panther merging with the night, silently vanished behind the rocks.

Rachel, meanwhile, took a deep breath, focusing all her concentration on the precarious carriage below, awaiting the moment Ruby would create the diversion.

The timeline returns to the present.

“This way!”

Gray Goose (Rachel) uttered a low command.

She abruptly veered towards the rear side of the carriage—an area where the flames had just erupted and hadn’t yet fully converged, marking it as the assassins’ weakest point of defense and a corner where their attention was diverted!

Rachel’s movements were astonishingly swift.

She seemed to possess a clear foresight of the chaotic battlefield.

Pulling Lumina along, she weaved through the throngs of panicked figures and burning obstacles like a nimble fish.

Her other hand remained inside her cloak, and as she dashed past an assassin who was temporarily blinded by the flash and wildly swinging their weapon, she flicked her wrist, sending an inconspicuous grey-black sphere accurately smashing at their feet.

“Boom!”

Another blinding white light erupted at close range!

The assassin shrieked, collapsing to the ground and rolling in agony.

This terrifying flash weapon clearly stunned the nearby assassins.

They instinctively recoiled and gave way.

Rachel seized this fleeting opportunity, pulling Lumina in a sudden dash out of the assassins’ densest core and plunging into the burning thickets and deep shadows at the hollow’s edge!

“Pursue them! Don’t let the target escape!”

“Kill them!”

“Beware of those glowing projectiles!”

The furious roars of the assassin leader echoed from behind them.

The remaining assassins finally recovered from their initial disarray.

Some stayed behind to extinguish the spreading flames and search near the carriage.

The others, however, fiercely pursued Rachel and Lumina in the direction they had vanished!

The biting cold wind whipped across Lumina’s face like knives, and her lungs burned with a searing pain.

Dragged by Rachel, Lumina scrambled along the rugged, stone and thorn-strewn edge of the hollow.

Her velvet cloak singed from the low-burning shrubs, emitting a scorched odor.

Her elegant skirt was torn by sharp rocks and dry branches.

“Over here! Hurry!”

Rachel’s voice carried a hint of breathlessness, yet remained steady.

She pulled Lumina, abruptly turning into a relatively dense, shadowed area comprised of tall thorns and jagged, strange rocks.

The terrain here was slightly elevated, overgrown with thorns, forming many natural crevices and depressions.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Rachel pulled Lumina, crouching low, and squeezed into a narrow crevice formed between a massive rock and a steep slope.

She then forcefully pushed Lumina into a depression at the deepest part of the crevice, half-obscured by thick, dry vines.

“Crouch down! Don’t make a sound!”

Rachel’s command was short and sharp, imbued with an undeniable urgency.

Lumina practically collapsed onto the cold earth and decaying leaves, her back against the rough, damp rock.

She gasped for air, her heart pounding wildly in her chest, threatening to shatter her ribs.

Rachel squeezed in right after her, instantly filling the cramped space.

The two were pressed tightly together; Lumina could clearly feel the rapid heartbeat and heat from Rachel’s cloak, along with a faint, peculiar scent of metal and saltpeter.

Rachel quickly pulled the dangling vines closer, trying her best to conceal their figures.

She too crouched low, holding her breath, revealing only a pair of eyes as sharp as a hawk’s, which meticulously scanned for movement outside through the gaps in the vines.

“Over there!”

“They ran up the hill!”

“Split up and search! Find them!”

The assassins’ fierce shouts and hurried footsteps rapidly drew near.

The torchlight flickered among the thorny bushes and rocks, like the eyes of vengeful ghosts.

Several dark figures swiftly passed less than two meters in front of their hiding spot, their heavy leather boots crunching on the loose stones, creating a heart-stopping sound.

Lumina’s heart leaped into her throat!

She bit down hard on her lower lip, just barely suppressing a gasp that threatened to escape.

She could feel Gray Goose’s body beside her instantly tense as well, the hand that had gripped her wrist now subtly pressed against the inside of her cloak, seemingly clutching something, poised for action.