Once the shadow had jumped over to the other side of the forest covered in trees, he quickly took a quick glance back at Shad with a look of horror on his face before he disappeared.

None of the soldiers had noticed it as their attentions were solely on the dying 4th prince.

" I want you all to turn this forest upside down and find me that damn assassin," yelled Shad as he was looking at the four imperial knights that just got out from their tents. It seemed like they had felt the danger as well, but if it was for them, Shad would have already died already.

Before the soldiers had the time to feel any grief, they heard as Shad shouted at the four imperial knights behind him whom quickly ran towards the forest like a gust of winds.

Shad's chest had been pierced as far as the soldiers could tell. This meant that he should have been on the ground covered in blood. Yet, he was well alive without a scratch and even had the strength to yell at the mighty four imperial knights to chase the assassin. there wasn't a single bloodstain on his clothes or his body.

The Soldiers stared dumbfounded. ' What the heck is going on? The 4th prince had been stabbed by that assassin so how could he be just fine? Am I going blind?

Some of the soldiers were scratching their eyes and even asked some of the fellow soldiers to count how many fingers they were showing at them just to make sure that there wasn't anything wrong with their eyesight.

As for Shad, he had no idea that there was an assassin after him until he was in his range. His intention was always very sensitive towards the impending and always released his spiritual force to check his surroundings all the time, no matter how tiring it was. However, after what had just happened in the tent, he did not release his spiritual force to scan the surrounding as he was a bit tired.

Not only there were four powerful imperial knights next to his tent, there was also a hundred soldiers surrounding his tent, he did not dare to imagine that someone was crazy enough to make an attempt on his life. However, they just proved him wrong.

Shad saw the assassin coming and he was mentally prepared to face the attack, however, the speed of that assassin took him by surprise. He had come over to him like a shadow and attempted to pierce his heart.

He was so fast that Shad barely managed to raised his guard or defended himself against the attack. He had gotten so close to him that Shad was able to see the look on his face. they were cold, void of any emotions. if he was hit by that attack, he would have died instantly. Luckily he was saved by Monalisa.

No one had seen it but Shad, before the small dagger pierced to his chest. Shad saw a small black hole appeared on his chest. In another word, instead of the dagger piercing through his stomach, it went straight to the portal or the black hole which scared the shit out of the assassin and quickly stopped his attack and made a run for it.

As for the Soldiers, they indeed saw him getting his stomach pierced by that dagger. it was so fast that they did not notice the black hole as Shad was wearing a black robe as well which made it more difficult to notice.

While three of the imperial knights went after the assassin, one of them remained, positioned himself in front of Shad's body. his body was shrouded with a red battle qi as he summoned all his strength ready to protect the 4th prince.

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Without waiting for the three imperial knights to come back, Shad went back to his tent.

" Thanks, you just saved my life," Shad said as he arrived in front of Monalisa and gently kissed her on her forehead.

" You are master and my life is bound to yours, It is my duty to make sure you are safe, and even without that, I won't let anything happen to you," she said with a sweet smile on her face.

" By the way, when did you learn to do that," asked Shad with a puzzled look on his face. He only knew that she was able to make a portal to go wherever she had been before, but he never thought that she could make one of it on his body without him being affected by it or sent somewhere far away.

" Practiced, I've been looking for other ways to protect you with my ability and I've come up with that idea. it took me a long time to master it. The first time I tried it, I actually sent a poor animal into the void and the second time all the way the Nicholas empire while I was in Kalin city."

" But I have eventually succeded," she said with a prideful smile on her face.

Listening to her, Shad did not say anything but gave her a grateful look. they've known each other for quite some time and their relations had taken a step further, there was no need to waste his breath by telling her how grateful he was, he would use his actions to do that.

" Do you have any idea who wants you dead this time because this person was clearly not from the Chronos assassin guild," she said with a concerned look on his face.

" Indeed, this person was not part of the Chronos but he was an expert in the art of assassination."

" He was swift and decisive. As soon as he saw that his first attack had failed, he quickly retreated without waiting for the imperial knights to come."

What are the qualities of a top assassin? they were like the hand of darkness, they were like illusionary existence, entering like the wind and disappear into the nothingness, swift and decisive. Yet that person beside not being part of the Chronos embodied each of those qualities.

As for why Shad knew this person was not part of the Chronos, His great-grandfather had already uprooted two or three Chronos guild's base after finding out that someone had paid for his great-grandson's head, which caused the person to withdraw his quest and even compensated the organizations. Furthermore, Shad name's had been put on the non-kill list after he had told Nina his identity as an assassin and gave her the proof because it was a taboo to kill one of their own, otherwise, you will be hunted by the rest of guild. Not that they knew that Shad had killed nine of them already.

" Do you think it was the work of the 3rd prince of the Nicholas empire," asked Monalisa.

" It could be, but this person was a 7th rank warrior at most and his qi had already transformed into wind elemental battle which boosted his speed, an expert like that was hard to find," He said as he was thinking about that attack earlier.

7th rank and 8th rank warriors were considered as a top powerhouse in the Egul continent as the 9th rank warrior or mage barely made the appearance to the public or fight. As such, those high-level 7th rank and 8th rank warriors were in the spotlight and revered wherever they go.

Just thinking about that gave Shad a headache, he really did not want to face a person like that because he wasn't ready yet. He could fend off the attack of a 5th rank warrior or even stretch it to the 6th rank, but when it comes to a 7th rank warrior, it was impossible. After a person had broken through the 7th rank, they went through a qualitative change, whether it was their battle qi, their body or their life force.

So if the 3rd prince of the Nicholas empire had someone like that on his side, his trip to the Mulan kingdom won't be a peaceful one, and even he managed to make it in one piece. He would still have to face him eventually because he was an obstacle for the Djage empire in the Mulan kingdom.

In fact, when it comes to speed, Shad could be counted among the fastest people on the Egul continent due to his speed force provided by the lightning energy when it ran through his whole body like an electric shock. However, at the moment of the attack, Shad was in lost in thought as he was looking at the beauty of the moon and the stars.

However, this time he had learned his lesson to not let his guard down never again no matter the occasion. Most of the time the most valuable and unforgettable lesson comes from experience.

Author's Thoughts