The journey toward the Summit was in full swing. The destination was a place unanimously agreed on by the ruling powers called the Free City, the place where the Mercenaries Union originated. It was also a place where a group of Elite Merchants dictated its laws and controlled its day to day operations.

The Free City was, of course, free of harsh taxes, forced customs, and imposing noble families. Though there were prominent merchant families who acted as nobles so that last part was arguable. Nonetheless, the Free City was an economic giant that sat on a bay, aptly named the bay of freedom, which was sprawling with sea life that only served to help the city become self-sufficient. The Free City was completely unbiased toward all other ruling powers due to its self-reliance and really only traded to increase its growth.

As the caravans continued to move, everyone agreed on one thing, the Fourth Prince Leonard’s caravan was the least defended and yet was also the most opulent. Gold lined the frame of his carriage, in addition to the silk curtains that covered its windows. It was hard to associate the lazy and wasteful Fourth Prince with his hardworking, dignified, and charismatic brothers.

People looked on at the Fourth Prince’s entire escort. A single simple-looking carriage that lagged behind. They had heard that the Fourth Prince had chosen the strongest Mercenary available, but many wondered if it would be enough with just a single person guarding him. No one knew that the Fourth Prince was probably the safest person around since Ira had brought Avery along with him.

Just as people were debating about the Fourth Prince, his carriage turned off the normal road, and onto a barely cleared, icier road. Seeing the odd route change, people began to form certain ideas in their head. Was someone plotting against one of the Princes and so openly at that?

Inside of Ira’s carriage, he and Avery sat across from each other, unaware of any changes on the outside. Ira was busy staring at Avery who was sharpening her saber.

“You know…” Ira started. “...We could be doing something else to pass the time.” he said with a telling grin.

“You’ll break the carriage.” Avery responded as she continued to sharpen her saber.

Ira was just about to agree before he lit up with realization. “I can just strengthen it.” Although it was one of his abilities that didn’t see much use, Ira could alter matter, specifically, he could harden non-living objects.

Avery gave an indulgent sigh while shaking her head before she sheathed her saber and tossed it to the side. Ira had already moved his hand over the interior of the carriage, while Avery was undoing her jacket.

Just as Avery moved to undo her shirt the carriage stopped abruptly and the sound of yelling came from outside. Which caused Ira’s face to morph into an expression of pure annoyance.

Avery laughed as she stopped undressing. “I’ll guess you’ll have to wait.”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.” Ira said as he stepped out of the carriage.

…

A few minutes earlier.

Several dozen men with cloth covering their faces were lined up on opposite sides of the small road, hiding behind trees.

“Looks like a royal banner.” One of the men said.

“You think? With just one carriage for an escort?” Someone chirped in.

“We weren’t paid to think about that much, we got the signal now let’s go.” Another man said as he drew his sword and began to push a fallen tree toward the road. The tree easily slid down the small hill and blocked the road and the men rushed down to stand in front of it, making for what would be an intimidating sight to most.

One of the men who looked to be the most skilled raised his sword toward the driver of the Royal Carriage.

“Do I have to say it?” The man asked. Although he had been told that Ira would be there, he and a majority of the people present had at least an A- rating. Even Rhys might’ve had a difficult time fighting so many people alone, that is, if one were to go by her combat rating and not her actual abilities.

Irving stepped out of the carriage with a shocked expression, “Do you know how many crimes you’ve committed just by lifting that sword in this direction?”

“And who’s here to reinforce them?” The man asked sarcastically.

Irving’s face went red as he ground his teeth. “This is the Fourth Prince’s convoy!”

“Even better.” The man smiled.

Just then, the door of the simple looking carriage swung open and a boy with black hair and bright yellow eyes stepped out. He was dressed in a military-style jacket often worn during ceremonies, black pants, and leather black boots with a sword sheathed around his waist. If his jacket wasn’t casually unbuttoned, something that was against regulation in the Kingdom’s military, one might be convinced that he hailed from some prestigious family. He shut the door before looking around at the men surrounding the caravans and then at the one who seemed to be leading the whole thing. He nodded a few times before undoing his scabbard and sticking it into the snow.

…

Ira exited the carriage to see a group of armed men all around and instantly knew something was off about the situation. There was no one else around them, so it meant they had taken a different route. Ira nodded when he got a clear idea of the strength of those surrounding him. No one present was a real threat toward him, so Ira undid his scabbard and stuck it into the snow.

“You guys...You fucking guys...” Ira rotated his shoulders before locking his gaze onto the men standing top of the hill.

They were the weaker members who were meant to be on lookout duty, unfortunately for them, Ira decided they were his first targets.

Ira lowered his posture before he kicked off the ground, sending snow flying into the air. The moment he reappeared, there was a loud sound of something being crushed. Everyone turned their gazes focused on the source of the peculiar sound, a poor soul who had his head slammed into a tree leaving nothing more than a headless corpse and a tree back stained with viscera. Silence filled the air as the group of aggressors tried to comprehend what they were seeing.

“Right, right, right. Having second thoughts now huh?” Ira chuckled. “If you thought that was good then wait for this next part.” Ira said before he leaped toward his next victim.

Horrified screams spread like a sickness as blood and body parts went flying, there was no time to escape let alone track Ira’s movements. Anyone who was targeted died without even knowing how, the number of men dwindled quickly until the survivors could be counted on one hand.

“Monster.” The man who seemed to be leading the operation was frozen in place as he watched men, many he who he knew personally, get slaughtered like farm animals. Only those lucky few that were standing near him weren’t targeted. The screaming and shouting quickly ended and before he knew it, Ira was standing in front of him.

“Who hired you?” Ira asked as he pinched the sword and moved it away from him. The leader woke from his daze and attempted to resist, but the sword refused to budge.

“Well...I guess you don’t have to answer. I’m betting the prince knows.” Ira said as he looked over his shoulder at Irving, causing him to shiver.

Ira snatched the sword from the Leader’s grip before kicking him into the snow. He gripped the sword tightly and a formless energy moved in a low arc, removing the legs of those last few surviving men.

“Aaaah!”

“Fuck!”

“No! No! No!”

Ira moved toward one and spoke, “Who hired you?”

The man wasn’t even able to hear the question properly due to the pain. Ira grabbed his neck and squeezed it, quickly killing him. He then repeated the same actions for the rest of the incapacitated men before moving back to the leader and placing a hand on his neck.

“Wait! I’ll tell you what I know!” He shouted.

“I don’t care anymore.” Ira said before breaking the man’s neck.

“Sir Ira...I know you may have some questions regarding the nature of this...attack, but I assure you his highness, Leonard, had nothing to do with it.” Irving said hastily, he had his doubts about Ira, but now he could only look at him with fear.

“I don’t care. Just don’t bother me again with something so stupid.” Ira easily lifted the tree that was in the way and tossed it to the side as if it weighed nothing. Which didn’t contribute any shock to an already stunned Leonard.

Ira dusted his hands off and picked up his sword, before climbing back into his carriage, leaving Irving stupefied.

As soon as the carriage door closed, Ira was about to rip his jacket off, but he saw that Avery was covered in her grey cloak.

“Did I really take that long?” Ira asked with an exaggerated expression of defeat.

Avery smirked as she dropped her cloak, revealing that she was wearing nothing underneath.

“I–” Ira opened his mouth to speak, but Avery interrupted him by pulling him into her embrace.

…

Inside of the Fourth’s Prince’s carriage, a handsome young man, dressed in exuberant clothes held a deeply contemplative look. His regal temperament was a far cry from the rumors of laziness and hedonistic tendencies that circled around his name.

“Your Highness, it appears he’s as strong as he’s made out to be, if not more.” Irving said with a cautious look.

“I see...tell the driver not to give the second signal, I’d say we’ve gained enough from this particular encounter.”

“Do you think you can win him over as an ally?” Irving asked.

Leonard gathered his thoughts before answering, “From what I’ve heard and seen, I doubt he’s a man who would move for status or monetary gain. The first rest stop is up ahead, at that time I may have to personally meet with him to learn more.”

“Your Highness, allow me to converse with him. Wouldn’t it be dangerous to interact with him without first showing our cards? I believe he’ll be more willing to ally with us if we show him what we have firsthand.” Irving said.

“You may be right, but if he grows more distant it’ll only serve to make things harder,” Leonard spoke.

“Although he’s strong are there no other options. Perhaps we could look to the neighboring countries? Don’t we have assets centered abroad?” Irving asked.

Leonard shook his head before he spoke, “There is something more to Ira that’s what I truly believe. In truth, I’ll even be satisfied if he maintains a neutral stance toward us.” Pure ambition filled Leonard’s eyes, he harbored an idea for the future that was only understood by him.

...