“Hurry up, you two! The meeting is about to start!”

While the woman urgently whispered those words, she made small hand gestures toward the two males who were a couple feet behind her to hurry. Chang, who saw Seol Hwa’s urgent movements couldn’t help but sigh and lifelessly jog over to where she was. Yong Hwa just shook his head and smiled at the scene.

“Just who are you saying hurry up to?! The reason we’re so late is because of you! Who is the one that lost their black outfit, huh?!”

As Chang complained, Yong Hwa arrived at the location. The three were dressed in a similar fashion and wore a black outfit with a black bamboo hat with shades that hid their faces. In the middle of the night inside a dark forest, one would not be able to make them out if they stood still.

Right at that moment, Seol Hwa rushed forward and smacked Chang in the back of the head without making any sound.

“Haven’t you heard the saying: “a girl never makes a mistake?!” Shut up and quietly watch them, you idiot! Sheesh, why can’t you be like our adorable Yong Hwa here?!”

Yong Hwa’s face blushed at the compliment from Seol Hwa. Chang, on the other hand, squatted down and grabbed his head in agony at the sudden assault. After he had mumbled a few words that the other two weren’t able to hear, he joined the group and took up a position behind the tree to view the scene below.

Even though it was the dead of the night, the three were able to clearly view the scene that occurred before them as numerous men bore torches to brighten the clearing that they were in. As the three viewed, the clearing was full of people who wore armor and were armed with various weapons. At the moment they were clearly divided into two different group as there was a distance of five feet between them.

The merchant group had about twenty people present. The majority of the people on their side wore leather armor and were either holding a torch or their own soul weapon. All of these people had grim expressions as they warily eyed the other side. Yong Hwa and the others were able to comprehend that these people were hired mercenaries, in one glance. At the forefront of this group were three older gentlemen dressed differently from the mercenaries. They wore fine silk clothes that were in various colors coupled with tan bamboo hats.

“Those three in the front, must be the merchants who are selling the information.”

As Chang spoke, Yong Hwa noticed that his hands had been clenched into a fist as he looked on in anger at those people. He didn’t say anything as he was able to guess how his best friend felt. Chang did, after all, have a strong sense of nationality and wouldn’t forgive those who betrayed the nation. After he squeezed his shoulder in understanding, Yong Hwa once more looked upon the clearing and examined the other group.

The other group was much smaller than the merchant’s side, with only five people. These five were all dressed in black shirts and pants. Over the shirts, they wore gray vests that reached their knees. On their heads were black bamboo hats with shades just like the ones the trio wore that hid their faces. Even though they weren’t able to tell much from their outer appearance, Yong Hwa could tell that these five were very confident in their skills, as they were relaxed in front of the merchants who had four times as many people as them. As he contemplated that thought, the meeting within the clearing finally began as one of the three merchants walked forward and greeted the other side.

“It’s been a long time, sir. I pray that you have been well?”

“Let’s cut out the flattery and small talk. Why the large number of guards?”

The merchant’s smiling face twitched a little at the rude remark from the other side before it quickly returned.

“Ah, sir… Us merchants are not very capable in regards to fighting so afraid of running into any beasts or …unwanted people, we have to be prepared to defend ourselves which is the reason we have our guards.”

“Hmph, like these weaklings would be able to fight off any capable warrior even with their superior numbers. Merchant Wesley, I advise you to hire more capable bodyguards next time. These people with you are too lacking.”

When the mercenaries heard the disdain in the other’s voice, quite a few grew furious and seemed as though they wanted to say a few words. The captain of the mercenaries, however, threw a glance at them to silence them and they returned to their post. Still, Yong Hwa was able to clearly see the anger that remained on their face. The merchant, on the other hand, continued to smile and bowed slightly.

“I will take your words into consideration, sir.”

“Good, anyways let’s get straight to the point. Have you guys gathered any new intelligence in the past six months?”

“Ah, yes. There is word that there is discord at the capital right now. It seems as though the King is planning on abdicating the throne soon but has yet to announce who will be his successor yet. The nobles are now divided into three factions.

The first faction is filled with nobles who back the first prince. As you already know, the oldest prince usually takes over as King when the previous one dies or decides to abdicate. Still, rumors say that the current first prince is snobbish brat who likes to abuse his power and lives a glamorous lifestyle so there are only a few who believe that he has the qualities of a King.

The second faction backs the third prince. The third prince, while not very bright in politics is well respected as a warrior and brilliant general within the army. He is very popular within the military ranks as being a strict but passionate leader. I have heard that you can count on one hand those who are more talented in fighting than him within the continent.

Finally, the last faction backs the sixth prince. The sixth prince isn’t very skilled as a warrior but is rumored to be a brilliant politician and tactician. It is said that he can influence even the most stubborn of people to view things in his light and convince them to believe it. His power within the ranks of the noble and the senators is very tight, or so is the saying.

Out of the those three factions, it is mostly a battle between the third and sixth prince as the first faction is made up of only a few minor nobles and none with any power. I have heard that both factions have already begun to act against the others. There are whispers of an upcoming blood storm within the capital.”

While the merchant relayed the information, the man who had stepped forward and represented the five warriors stayed motionless as he seemed to ponder the information. A few minutes after the merchant had finished saying the information, he once again spoke up.

“Do you think any of the three princes would be willing to collaborate with us if we assisted them in becoming the next King?”

“Well, you can count the third prince out immediately. He is said to be very nationalistic and is one who would never betray his country. I believe you could convince the first prince but he is very lacking. Your best bet would be the sixth prince. Not only does he hold a lot of power amongst the assembly, he is also rumored to be a very ambitious person. If you made contact with him and….”

As the merchant continued his explanation, the three who were listening in from a distance were in a state of shock. Even though he wasn’t able to see his face, Yong Hwa was able to tell that Chang was gritting his teeth in anger. His fists were shaking in fury. Seol Hwa, on the other hand, stood motionlessly as she processed the shocking information. Yong Hwa himself was shocked. Who would have imagined that on their very first mission they would spy on a meeting about an uprising within their own royalty? As he tried to process that, Chang slightly shaking voice whispered out.

“Those bastards, they’re actually helping a foreign country take over our country.”

Even though he doubted that it would go that far, Yong Hwa didn’t retort. He knew that even though they wouldn’t be taken over by this, their nation would still suffer greatly as they would basically become a puppet nation that would do the bidding of the mysterious country behind the five warriors. At that moment, Seol Hwa’s sweet voice also spoke out.

“We need to figure out what country those bastards belong to and head back to report this to headquarters. This information is too muc..”

While Seol Hwa spoke, Chang moved his body a little and kicked a stone in the process. The stone, hopped a few time, causing rustling noises as it came in contact with the dead leaves that laid scattered among the forest ground. At the sudden sound, the three froze in place and prayed that the sudden sound hadn’t reached the clearing that was about 15 feet away.

It was, however, a vain thought as all five warriors immediately turned their heads to their direction.

“There’s some uninvited guest here, it seems.”

As the lead warrior said that, he tilted his head in the direction of the trio. Without any words, the four warriors behind him bowed slightly and rushed toward them. Merchant Wesley, who saw this, also gave a nod to the mercenary captain who then ordered his men to also rush toward them.

“Shit, we’ve been caught. Let’s split up and go back. We’ll meet back at the Millennium Inn, okay?”

With those brief words, Seol Hwa sprinted northeast. While he cursed at himself for being clumsy, Chang headed east. Yong Hwa, who had given up on secrecy, rushed southeast at his fastest speed without care that he made noises with the rustling of the leaves.

’One, two, four, seven. Shit, there’s seven people chasing me, huh? I don’t really know the geography here too well and those bastards are catching up. Azuron, it looks like we’re going to fight, get ready.’

‘I can tell that much by myself too, child.’

While Azuron’s deep voice rang through his mind, lights gathered around Yong Hwa’s right arm. As the light disappeared, what replaced it was a long single handed sword with the replica of a dragon’s head as a hand guard. On the silver blade, there were ancient writing that was etched. With the soul weapon summoned, Yong Hwa stopped in his tracks and turned around. The pursuers immediately caught up and surrounded him in a circular formation.

“You’re pretty quick, you damn rat. You’ll regret stopping though. While we’re being nice, tell us exactly what you heard.”

From the encirclement, a woman who had been part of the warrior’s group stepped forward and spoke to Yong Hwa. While he disregarded her words, Yong Hwa inspected his pursuers. He found out that out of the four warriors who had rushed out, two had followed him.

’Shit, why did two of those bastards have to follow me?! They should have chased Chang damn it!’

When the woman saw that Yong Hwa had no intention to speak, a hint of anger rose from voice.

“You choose silence, huh? Well then, we have ways to make you speak. Hamiya, let’s do it. As for the rest of you, don’t kill him. We still need to interrogate him, after all.”

When he heard what the woman said, Yong Hwa grew alert as everyone slowly walked forward. The two warriors slowly approached from opposite sides. When they were only five feet away, both reached in toward their waste and threw powder forward.

Caught by surprise, Yong Hwa tried to cover his nose and mouth with his arm but was not in time as he inhaled a small portion of the powder.

’Child, watch out! That powder contains paralyzing and sleeping effects in it. I’ll try to block some of the effects but I won’t be able to block everything! You won’t be able to control your movements as well.’

As Azuron urgently spoke in his mind, Yong Hwa noticed that his vision had become blurred and his body felt sluggish. While he struggled to move his limbs, the mercenaries approached more leisurely and began their assault.

When the pursuers saw Yong Hwa desperately fighting against the effects of the powder and swinging his sword, they laughed. To them, the guy truly looked pitiful and funny. They all knew the terrifying effects of the drugs. Right when they were only three feet away though, a shadow appeared and swung a sword in a ninety degree arc. Surprised by the sudden appearance, the pursuers immediately jumped backwards. The two warriors, in particular, looked at the shadow in surprise; they hadn’t felt any presence at all even when it had appeared.

When they inspected the shadow carefully, they saw that it was a female who wore a gray shirt and black pants. They weren’t able to make out her face as the shades of her black bamboo hat completely blocked off any views. The only reason they were able to identify her as a woman was because of the bulge at her chest. Still, stood confidently in the middle of the encirclement.

Everyone was silent as they waited to see what the woman would do. As they watched, the woman inspected all the pursuers before she turned back toward Yong Hwa who was struggling to ward off the effects of the drug. Once she was sure that his life wasn’t in any imminent threat, it looked as though she released a sigh of relief before she turned her attention back to the pursuers and finally spoke.

“Now then. Why would seven grown adults be surrounding a stranger with their weapons out in the middle of the night?”