As Jin entered the cave, he got surprised by the identity of the anxious and lone cultivator. It was one of the Princes. Why would he be here? There was only one possibility: they had lost and he was on the run. The guy didn't strike Jin as a brave and talented strategist so it was unlikely he was using himself as bait...

But then came the dilemma. Should he kill this guy? It was a royal after all and even if there wasn't anyone else around... It could be dangerous. Then, Jin noticed the sword at his waist and how he took off his hand from it and began to welcome him inside...

What a fool.

Jin wore a mask. How could the Prince ascertain his identity? Because he wasn't wearing a wristband? Those were nothing more than wristbands though, they could be taken off. From where did this guy's confidence came from anyways? As he kept studying the Prince, that guy kept babbling about how it was great to meet a fellow citizen of the Empire and so on.

Jin easily grasped that the guy might be in dire straits. Enough that he would try to rely on just about everyone and everything he could. The Prince probably thought he found a new pawn. He did not. But he did not know that, of course. As they got closer, Jin kept debating on what to do.

And as the gloved hand of the Prince extended for a handshake, his decision was made. He stabbed him in the heart thanks to the dagger hidden in one of his sleeve. He thought the Prince would dodge and a fight would break out but no. The guy got stabbed and died with an incredulous look still affixed in his eyes.

In the end, after weighing his options, the best choice became this one. The war was lost already, their camp would be destroyed and he would have to deflect. As such, was there any point in letting this guy go? None. He could have probably gotten a favor from the guy but would he be given face later on if he ever tried to get that favor? That was unsure.

Royals didn't make quite the great impression on him.

So, he killed him. A Prince should have some great things on his person, right? It was better for Jin to be the looter than let someone else. And as such, he began to check the fresh corpse. First, he took off the gloves. They weren't the thin and tight kind but rather the bulky type. Yet as he put one on, he noticed that they weren't impeding movements so he put the other one on too.

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The gloves were of a single color, fiery red, and had some small silver circles of robust metal spread upon them. As he knocked his fist together, he heard the sound of metal against metal. This was likely quite the strong equipment in itself. He couldn't help but have even higher expectations now.

He picked the sword at the side of the Prince. The sheath was of the same fiery red color and the sword's guard as well. As he unsheathed the blade, he was surprised that it wasn't the expected grey but a strange yet beautiful mix of yellow and orange.

That being said, it was the Prince's weapon and it was likely that he used it in the battles before. He decided to keep it in his pouch instead of using it. The gloves did belong to the Prince too but it was slightly different. Red gloves wasn't something only this one Prince might have worn. Hell, Jin saw a lot of mercs wearing gloves back in the castle city. He wasn't too scared that the gloves would lead people to associate him with the Prince.

A sword as unique as this one on the other hand... It was better not to take chances. He decided to hide it for now. Just in case. He would use it if he ended up out of other weapons though.

As he turned back to the corpse, he picked the rings off the fingers of the guy. He knew of the existence of spatial rings. The evolution of spatial pouch when it came to spatial equipment. He wanted one at first but as only spiritual warriors could use them... Anyways, there were four rings. He tried to put them in his own pouch and only one wasn't able to. That was one spatial ring.

It was a simple way to find out, really. Spatial equipment couldn't be sent into another spatial equipment. You could not infinitely compress things. That was one of the well-known restrictions on spatial equipment. Still, Jin didn't put the ring on one of his fingers. He decided to hide it in one of his robe's inner pockets instead. He couldn't open it yet as he wasn't a spiritual warrior anyways.

It was better for it to remain hidden. Those things were worth quite a bit after all. It would be stupid to attract greed if he could help it. Especially considering he would be alone in a sea of enemies soon.

And he bent over once again over the corpse... The Prince had no spatial pouch. Since he had a spatial ring, it made sense. It meant Jin wouldn't be able to check any of his spoils but that's that. Jin decided to check further. This was a royal's corpse, there had to be more good stuff.

He noticed the boots first. They were similar to his new gloves. He took them for himself but found that his feet were smaller than the Prince's. It wouldn't do to fight with a pair of shoes of the wrong size so he put them in the pouch.

Next, he stripped the Prince of his robe. The robe itself did not have much. It was a luxurious one indeed and offered similar protection as his own but no more. What mattered were the inner pockets. He wasn't expecting much since the guy had a spatial ring but who knows?

And it turned out he found something...