Right now, the group is running away at full speed towards the border. They intend to cross into Saint Empire before the Phantoms caught them. Without question, there is no chance of survival against a hundred practitioners of double S ranks. They did not know that the Phantom organisation do not number only a hundred.

Kairos send out his two tiny dragons to spiral around them, scouting for enemy troops as they ride. Each dragon flew at the opposite end of the other, and they rotated in a large circle at high speed, so swiftly that these celestial beasts are barely visible.

As they flee from Ghost Maw forest, suddenly, one of the dragons halted in mid-flight as it detects several powerful individuals flying towards the location they had just left. It looked towards the sky, bobbing its head slightly to gain a better scent at them. Then, it darted off with a flash and appeared next to Kairos' side, breaching a distance of half a kilometre in a single breath.

"A hundred Double S rankers?" Kairos said astonished. He has no idea about the military prowess an empire would have, but to pull out a hundred SS rankers to chase after them appeared overly done, "Jones, what did you do to them?"

"Besides robbing their treasury and killing their princess?" The boy asked with a mischievous grin.

"Never mind that I asked" Kairos replies.

"Hahaha. Well, I don't know either, did they used me to blackmail the Solitary Blades clan?"

"They didn't contact your clan during your capture. At that time, it was like you had vanished off the face of the earth."

In this case, there are no reason anyone could fathom on why the Silent Lambs Empire is so hell bent on capturing Jones yet not killing him. The boys left this thought deep within their hearts. Especially Jones, who is the one they are targeting.

With such a mighty group chasing after them, their urge to cross the border has increased. They quickly headed towards the border city that they had first arrived at, all the way concerned if the SS rankers would catch up.

However, they would be safe once they increased the gap. Even practitioners of such rank would only be able to drift through the air at high speed for short distances by using their immense Ki to hurl them forward. Travelling in this way, they do not have much stamina to boast of, and they wouldn't be much quicker than a golden lynx for a long chase.

The distance they gained from the head start would not be overtaken by their enemies quickly, and they have a chance to escape if they continued at breakneck speed.

.....

Emperor Axtaius has received, not one, but four messages that the princess has fallen. The caretaker of the soul lanterns was the first person who barged into the audience hall and begged to see him. When he heard that it was the Caretaker who requested the audience, his heart nearly froze.

When Emperor Axtaius received the message, his immediate concern was if the crown prince had been hurt by the fugitives in any way at all. It was only after he verified that his son is still alive and well that he recovered some of his composure.

Then, one after another, the captain of Eagle Platoon, the leader of the Phantoms and the crown prince himself send the same messages. The princess has fallen. By now, no matter how much disbelief he is in, he had no choice but to accept that.

Then after the emperor had calmed down, he arranged his troops, recalled the prince and summoned the guardian at once.

All of reports came in with the same message. Syriong had slain the princess.

.....

Syriong had never left the side of Kairos' team. As a triple S ranker, he possesses the ability to soar across the sky, and he used it to track the team down. Hiding high above the clouds while following them, whenever he felt his energy running low, he would quickly land somewhere ahead of the group to rest, before returning to track them.

His massive Ki is slowly turning into Immortal energy. The SSS rank is the cultivation stage where a practitioner begins to transcend the limits of a mortal and become a higher form of being, and flying is the clear indication of this change.

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Having been deterred twice by this group he is chasing, Syriong is uncertain to be able to handle them before he has fully recovered, and that includes repairing the half of his artificial arm that was destroyed by Kairos.

The Guardian of the Realm had fought Kairos two times. The first time, the boy took his arm, and he had to use an artefact to replace it. The second time, the replacement arm was half destroyed by him. It was a shame he could not live with, failing against a kid nearly a thousand years younger than him, and only at A rank to boot.

A token within his robes started heating up, indicating that the emperor requires his presence. He pulled it out with an annoyance on his face that quickly turned into shock. The message on it was short, but it caused his face to disfigure into an enraged snare: "Did you murdered the princess?"

Nearly crushing the token in his hand, he restrained himself and shoved it back into his robes, promptly ignoring it. He knows that if he returns to the palace now to prove his innocence, he will lose his last chance to revenge the loss of his arm. And having snuck out by disobeying the Emperor's command to stay, he isn't confident that he would win his case.

Three days of travel brought the guys close to the border. Knowing that their pursuers are right behind, they could not stop for even a moment.

Fortunately for them, the Phantoms could only depend on their speed and stamina to chase after them. As the strongest combat unit under the Emperor, almost all of them chosen a combat type contract beast over a mount.

Except for being unable to keep non-contracted beasts within their body, it usually poses little problems for them since they could prepare mounts before a mission. However, this time they were ordered to Ghost Maw forest far too quickly.

Unfortunately, even if all of them are top tiered practitioners, they are still mortals of flesh and blood, and their energies are not limitless.

In long distances, the effort to continually hurl themselves through the sky with their Ki is simply too much, and they are unable to catch up the land Wyrm.

After reaching the forest, they found their target, the Crown Prince safe. The first hundred Phantoms who arrived, stayed and protected him, while the rest were sent after the fugitives.

At this time, Prince Axtalius received a command to return to the palace, but hell bent on seeking vengeance for his sister he refused to return. His target has now shifted to Syriong, which he correctly guessed would be near Kairos' group. The Prince revealed his intention to give chase but the phantoms that heard it insisted on his return.

Hearing the prince's vehement decision not to head back to Aurolia, the Eagle Platoon in an attempt to deter him, started telling him the things the Princess did which he never knew.

They did so because they are worried of a confrontation between the Prince and Kairos' team would reveal that they had made the guardian of the realm their scapegoat.

They told him of all the cruel things that the princess had done before, in an attempt to shatter her image in his heart.

"No, impossible. She was always kind to everyone around me. Another lie and I will be merciless" He spoke, angrier than before as he glared at the soldiers who are 'slandering' her.

"You highness, we are not lying. When we confronted Syriong, he claimed that he slew her to stop her atrocities. We are merely asking your highness to confirm this administering the guardian's death" A soldier threw himself at the prince's feet and said.

Another soldier quickly followed while bemoaning, "Your highness, though the loss of the Princess is great. We cannot afford to lose Syriong as well."

The Prince refused to believe them. There is no way he could accept what they said about his younger sister.

Then, he saw a new arrival coming towards them, a shadowy figure that made its way out of the forest and walked closer to them with a hunch. The personal guard of the princess, the S ranker that had been broken to behave like a dog. After the princess' death, a runic seal in his mind was broken, and he regained consciousness. Unfortunately, he retained all of his memories during his insanity.

When he heard the words of the soldiers, his face changed in surprise for a short moment, since he was there when Vouno killed the princess.

But he quickly recomposed himself and stepped forward to the prince with a bow. Those from the Eagle Platoon turned grim when they saw that he once again acted human. Because he is the only one that could overturn their accusation.

But unexpectedly, this man who is loyal to the Emperor chose a very different thing to what the Imperial troops expected. He decided to slander the princess together with them, confirming their statement of her cruelty.

In the loyal retainer's heart, his freedom was only returned him because of the princess' death. And he credited it all to Kairos' group. With a glance, he could see that these imperial troops had changed lied to save their skin. But he did not see anything wrong with that, except the guardian that will become the scapegoat.

In the end, he chose, to tell the truth on the princess, thinking that this may take some heat off his benefactors and repay them indirectly. He showed his body as proof of the tortures he had undergone, and it finally shattered the prince's confidence and ended the debate.

Prince Axtalius ordered a withdraw, bringing back the Eagle and Fox platoon together with the now-sane retainer.

The guys travelled unmolested to nearly a kilometre away from the checkpoint, then Kairos stopped the group. After scanning ahead with his soul perception, he frowned and said, "Looks like the border has been sealed, and the number of guards increased at least three times. We just don't have enough power to break through."