The Lowest Royal Returns

Raelis glanced through his bag, making sure nothing was missing.

He had spent the last two hours getting all sorts of rations ready. It wasn't because he didn't feel confident in getting his own food. Instead, he knew that the moment he reached the Azteran Mountain Range, the amount of food there was very little.

There weren't any animals, and plants were extremely scarce. He might be able to find bird shit every now and again, but he was definitely not planning to eat that.

Therefore, this bag he had slung over his back was preparation for when he finally arrived at the mountain range. It was only a few hundred kilometers away from the village.

Of course, he was going to head to the Azteran Mountain Range first. If he could get what he needed there, then he would definitely have enough power to face a Demon Captain.

So with that in mind, Raelis glanced around, then tossed his entire giant bag inside his shadow. He was surprised it worked, but thankfully it did, because there was no way he was going to carry it so far away.

Therefore, Raelis didn't hesitate to jump into his shadow and travel out of the city, reaching the forest in less than a few seconds.

He traveled incredibly fast in the shadows, likely five times faster than on foot, and because of that, he was fairly confident he could arrive at the mountain range within a day or two.

However, when the city was starting to grow further and further away, he suddenly had to stop. In the next instant, a javelin struck the ground, narrowly missing the shadow he was traveling inside of.

And not even a few moments later, a man dressed in full black attire stepped out. He held a curved sword in his right hand, and another javelin in his left.

He pulled his hand back, prepared to throw it at the shadows again. However, Raelis swiftly dodged the incoming attack, then appeared inside the man's shadow.

But it seemed like the man was expecting Raelis to do that, as he suddenly swung his sword downward, cleaving the ground in two, forming a small ravine.

Raelis tried to bounce around shadows a couple of times, but it was almost like the man could tell where he was without breaking a sweat, so Raelis simply left the shadows and perched atop a tree branch right above the man.

"You're pretty sensitive to shadows. Or are you just good at detection?" Raelis asked. "Well... not like it matters. You're a bounty hunter. I will kill you and get going."

The man chuckled. "You seem to be very calm despite the situation you're in. I am a 4th Circle swordsman. You're just a child."

A 4th Circle swordsman? Raelis tilted his head.

Lizbeth was a 5th Circle swordsman herself, but her combat prowess could easily bring her into the 6th Circle if she went ahead and passed the exam. But whether it was because of anxiousness or self-doubt, she didn't.

However, this man here seemed nowhere near her level. If anything, Raelis treated this man as a joke.

He jumped down, yet instead of hitting the ground, he landed on two flying knives, suspending himself in midair as 18 of his other knives spun around him with perfect precision.

The man raised a brow, and without another word, he dashed forward, his stance solid enough to not be broken through normal means.

But Raelis wasn't someone who fought normally.

All of a sudden, a golden-white fireball descended from the sky. It came in fast, and Raelis made sure to cast it when he had left the shadows a moment ago.

Because of that, the man only had enough time to take a single step back to dodge, but that was exactly the opportunity Raelis was looking for.

He extended his right hand, and in the next instant, knives flew out in a spiral, swiftly arriving in front of the man and embedding themselves into each of his weak points.

It all happened so fast, much faster than the man had expected, and definitely much faster than Raelis had given himself credit for.

The sword fell from the man's grasp, and soon after, his legs buckled as he fell to the ground, landing on one knee.

His eyes widened.

"H-How? Knives...? No one said you could use knives!"

Raelis rolled his eyes and approached the man, then yanked the mask off.

To his surprise, the man was surprisingly young, maybe only two or three years older than him.

But even so, he had tried to kill him.

He would try to employ his mother's strategy of giving this person time, but cannon fodder like this would just slow him down.

"You were pretty terrible for a 4th Circle swordsman. Rather, do you still have enough pride to call yourself a swordsman after you were defeated without even being able to muster a single swing?" Raelis taunted, clicking his tongue.

"You're going to pay for this..." the man mumbled. "I might've failed, but trust me... when word gets out that you finally left the city, everyone's going to jump at the opportunity to kill a Varekan imperial scot-free."

"I'm sure. But how were you able to track me?" Raelis asked. "If you tell me that much, then I promise I'll make your death painless."

But it seemed like the man didn't care enough for his life, as he suddenly bit down on his tongue.

The way he glanced at Raelis almost seemed like he was expecting Raelis to save him, but he had no intention of doing so.

He knew there were people, and there were definitely ways to track him. He just had to accept it and not leave behind trails, which was what he was doing by traveling in his shadows.

And just like that, the man bled out, a satisfied smirk on his face.

Raelis stared at his body for a second, then glanced at the curved sword on the ground.

People will keep chasing me, and it's very likely they'll find this guy here, or a trace of him at least...

So there was only one thing Raelis could do to ward away the annoying pests, and that was to send a simple message.