“Shit.” Niklas gripped his own sword, his always-jolly face suddenly exceedingly serious. “So it really is him. Jeez, White Mask, Blue Sword — what’s the deal? We’re just small-time raiders! Are we on the Emperor’s hit list or something? Can’t you leave us alone? Or…am I so handsome that you wanted to come and see me again after last time? Ahaha! I’m not surprised! This face has roped in many beauties.”

Everyone froze. All at once, every pair of eyes shot to Niklas, who was still shooting his mouth off.

The audacity! In this kind of situation, in front of the most dangerous swordsman in all of Gongkuan history, who could slaughter them with one blow each in a flash, he was making the same crackhead, arrogant jokes? Seriously! Abrial made a sour face. Hello?! Shouldn’t the leader of the regiment try and take things seriously for once?! Where had he gotten his renowned reputation with this kind of behavior?! So he really was just a mindless pretty boy!

From ahead, there came a surprisingly warm voice. It was White Mask speaking.

How was the voice of the scariest sword fighter of all time, right-hand man to the most infamous murderer in history…so kind?

“I am afraid that there is something you have that the Emperor needs. Please hand it over — I would rather not shed any more blood.”

Abrial’s eyes nearly popped out of her head and rolled on the ground. “I would rather not shed any more blood”?! What kind of statement was that, coming from someone who had killed so many people? And why did he sound…actually reluctant?!

Something felt terribly wrong here.

“Hah! What the heck?” Niklas guffawed ahead. “You must be mistaken, friend! The only thing we have that the great Emperor would want, is dashing style and attractive strength! I’m afraid that’s not something we can easily give you! What’s the real reason you’re here, White Mask, Blue Sword? And how did you know our raiding plans again? Don’t you have better things to do than chase around a small group of rebels?”

Abrial gripped the handles of her daggers. Already, she was scanning for an opening to flash forward and strike that graceful, weirdly kind and warm-seeming standing in front of them. Behind her, Finley tensed, ready to pull her back if she moved.

Meanwhile, White Mask seemed to be waiting for an answer. To be specific, he was looking straight at Instructor Wei with an expectant gaze,

Niklas noticed this. He suddenly became serious again, and the careless, joking tone evaporated from his voice.

“Guang-er, why’s he looking at you like that? You, don’t even think about attacking him, or I swear I’ll slash you to pieces! And besides that, don’t you know who this is? This is Wei Guang, the best swordsman in history! Ahem—the other best swordsman! You won’t get off easy if you make a move on him, you hear me?!”

White Mask shifted his weight casually from one foot to the other, his gleaming blue sword swinging slightly as well. Everyone present tensed, raising their weapons. It was well-known that a single flash of blue in this man’s presence meant certain death.

White Mask’s attention strayed away from Instructor Wei’s face. He scanned the group of raiders now, as though looking for someone or something. His eyes lingered on Abrial, and the back of her neck prickled. After a moment, he lowered his eyes and sighed tiredly.

“It seems that what the Emperor needs will not be handed over easily. Apologies; this means that I will have to take it by force. Forgive me.”

As he spoke, a group of figures appeared out of the darkness behind him, each one wearing the crimson armor coated with steel scales and spiked boots that marked them as imperial guards. The raiders cursed and raised their weapons higher. Clearly, the Emperor had known they were planning to raid Hwayeom Prison in the East today at this time! Not only had he sent his right-hand man along to stop them and take whatever precious “thing” he needed, he’d also sent a whole regiment of guards from the capital! Which meant…

“There must be a spy!” someone blurted furiously.

The other raiders chorused in agreement.

“Right! How else could the Emperor have known we’d be here today?”

“Not just that, he knew our raiding plans last time, too!”

“He even sent his trusted confidant both times! What the hell does the Emperor want from us that’s worth sending his right-hand man?!”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“I can’t believe we’ve got a mole! Disgraceful!”

One of the guards standing behind White Mask — the tallest, most burly one, who seemed to tower over everyone else standing at the base of the prison — began to laugh a deep, rumbling, bone-chilling laugh.

At that laugh, every nerve in Abrial’s body jumped. Her eyes narrowed, and her grip on her daggers tightened until her fists turned white.

“What a wonderful surprise!” rumbled the guard who had laughed. Or, no — he wasn’t only a guard, but a general! His armor was lined with gold, and his helmet was adorned with a curling, fierce dragon. Of course he was an imperial general, not just a guard — Abrial had seen this nasty man before. “I volunteered for this mission because I was excited to see the legendary Master Wei Guang and his Dragon Sword, but it turns out I’ve received an even sweeter surprise! Here’s the little girl who cut off my finger and made me a useless cripple for months!”

Abrial scowled darkly, fighting back the urge to roll her eyes. Even though the man was standing behind White Mask, half-encased in darkness, it was clear from the direction of the cruel glint in his eyes that he was staring hungrily at Abrial.

“Abrial…how do you know this man?” Finley asked from behind, her voice low. Everyone turned to Abrial, blinking in confusion. How did this young woman, new to the regiment, know an Imperial General already?

Abrial made a sour face. “He’s just a stupid oaf I met in a town a couple months ago. And..we fought. I, um, forget his name, heh…He didn’t leave a big impression on me. ”

Behind Abrial, Finley silently curled her fists until they turned white — from what emotion, it was unclear.

“Wow!” Niklas wiggled his eyebrows proudly at Abrial, back to his inappropriate joking mood. “I knew you were feisty, but I didn’t know you’d already reached that level of badassery! Bravo! I feel like a proud uncle, heh.”

“Hey!” Abrial ignored Niklas, pointing her dagger at that general — what was his name? General Magnood? That sounded right. She puffed out her chest and stuck her chin out for an extra confident effect. “You just said I crippled you. You shouldn’t be able to fight any more. How come you’re here? Do you want to die or something? If you have a death wish, uh…I swear I can grant it! Painfully! And…humiliatingly!”

General Magnood laughed again, the low sound sending shivers down more than one raider’s back.

“You, little brat, are the same as I remember: rash, fierce, and arrogant. That will make it all the more enjoyable when I cut off your fingers one by one. I was lame and useless for months, with all my military prowess and hopes dashed to nothing, but thanks to His Majesty’s grace, I have been healed. Now, though I can walk and run, I still have this as a permanent reminder of what you so insolently did to me!”

He raised his large, thick-fingered hand to reveal that, where the index finger should have been, there was only a stump.

“Such a clean cut!” Niklas remarked excitedly. General Magnood shot him a glare before advancing out of the darkness to stand by White Mask’s side. With his every footfall, the ground seemed to shake.

It was unfortunately not a lie to say that General Magnood was handsome in a rugged, overly masculine sort of way. Or maybe handsome wasn’t the right word…more like clear-cut and macho. That sort of look would make many women swoon. On the other hand made Abrial want to barf. She retched involuntarily, making another sour face. This guy was the peak definition of a manly man, sexist and condescending to the extreme.

General Magnood drew his sword, glaring hungrily at Abrial.

“Great White Mask, Blue Sword — since you’re the only one the Emperor shares his most precious information with, I’m just here with my men to fight off any raiders who cause trouble while you accomplish whatever top-secret mission His Majesty gave you. But it shouldn’t be a problem if I take that pretty little one for myself, should it? Torturing and killing magicians is part of my job, after all.”

With a disgusting lick of his lip, General Magnood moved forward without waiting for a response, like he was going to reach out to snatch Abrial up. But before he could, there was a flash of gleaming blue light, and he skidded to a stop. White Mask’s sword had swept up to his throat in a gleaming arc, preventing him from taking a single step forward.

“General Magnus,” White Mask said calmly.

Ah…so that guy’s name was Magnus, not Magnood. Well, she’d been close enough. White Mask continued in his firm tone:

“On His Majesty the Emperor’s orders, that one is off-limits for you to touch.”

Murmurs perforated the small crowd of raiders. What???

Why would the Emperor…make a specific order not to harm Abrial? Did he know her? Did they have a connection? Such an order was extremely suspicious. Everyone’s eyes shifted to Abrial guardedly. Abrial gaped, blinking in disbelief.

“Hey! What d’you mean by that?” she spluttered furiously. “You can’t mean me, right? What do I have to do with anything? Why would the Emperor spare my life? I don’t even know him!”

White Sword smiled apologetically at her and didn’t answer. His warm brown eyes returned to calmly watching Instructor Wei.

“I will ask one more time, Master Wei Guang; will you hand over what has been promised to the Emperor?”

Instructor Wei’s long, graceful fingers curled around his sword, lifting it into an offensive position. His face was cold.

“I do not know what you are speaking of.”

White Mask blinked slowly.“I see.”

His warm brown eyes seemed to fill with…that wasn’t right! Why did it look like his eyes were filled with sympathy?

Before Abrial could wonder aloud what the hell was happening, there was a flash of bright blue and a flash of searing white, and a shockwave rippled through the air, forcing everyone back a few steps. Right outside of the prison wall, Instructor Wei and White Mask, Blue Sword had pressed their swords together, light gleaming in every direction.

With that, the battle began.