Chapter 51: Ambush

After working until late at night, the group decided to rest when they reached their limit.

Unlike the rest, Hiro never slept. He could rest and make time pass faster for himself, but he had never gone unconscious since becoming a parasitic tentacle. He considered that a blessing—he could always watch over his girls. And that blessing turned out to be a massive boon in the current situation.

In the forest, it was impossible to remain completely quiet. Insects and small animals were always lurking, so background noises were common. However, amidst the forest sounds and the snoring of soldiers, Hiro sensed something was off—distinct sounds of leaves and branches being stepped on.

At first, Hiro thought someone was just going to the bathroom. But that wasn’t the case. After all, the steps were too slow, too deliberate—as if someone were tiptoeing through the camp. Only enemies moved like that.

Feeling curious, Hiro slithered away from his girls and began surveying the surroundings. Alarm bells rang inside his head as he continued to hear the sounds, though no one was visible. He quickly lashed out his tentacles, throwing branches and causing a commotion.

“Huh? Hiro? What happened?” Cecile woke up as Hiro shook her body—so violently that he nearly choked her.

“What happened? ARGH!!!” Screams from soldiers echoed through the dark forest.

A dark shadow revealed itself from nothingness. Hiro didn't need to know he was Jonathan, the reaper. The fear he had embedded in him when he tried to assassinate them in Marissa's Village was still fresh in his mind.

“Huh? What’s going on?” Cecile grabbed her swords, still confused.

“Enemy attack! It’s the assassin—ARGH!!” one soldier shouted, his scream abruptly cut short.

“Everyone, retreat!” the commander shouted. He quickly reined the girls’ horses and ordered them to flee without fighting back. “Especially you—go! We’ll try to buy some time!”

“Eh?” Cecile turned toward the commander. His voice was firm as he repeated the order.

“There’s no way we can win against a symbiote holder. Flee!” the commander shouted while shoving the girls onto the horses. After helping Cecile’s group mount their horses, he too climbed onto his horse and rallied the men to retreat.

Hiro realized this was the reality of the battlefield—humans couldn’t win against symbiote bearers. All they could do now was flee.

The horses neighed, and even though Hiro could see nothing, he could feel death creeping up on him. Despite being inexperienced, the knights didn’t abandon their training. They maneuvered through the forest with utmost efficiency. Within an hour, they had already made it out of the woods.

“Hurry! Quantora Village is in sight! Warn the guards!” the commander roared.

A black shadow leapt from the forest. Jonathan was no longer in stealth. Clad in a black bodysuit, he looked like a reaper, ready to slaughter the knights. Black daggers shot out from him, taking down knight after knight. Hiro quickly enveloped his girls and formed a shield behind them.

A human shouldn’t be able to throw daggers that could pierce metal. But anything was possible in a world where stats reigned supreme. Hiro felt a sharp pain as a dagger pierced the shield he had placed behind Cecile.

“Commander! Go! We’ll buy you some time!” Ruger from platoon two turned around with four other knights. They unsheathed their swords and lances and charged toward the black reaper. Their effort was in vain, as Jonathan dispatched them effortlessly.

Nevertheless, they bought precious time—just enough for the commander and the remaining knights to flee and reach Quantora in time.

“Open the gate! Watch out! Jonathan is here! Raise the alarm!” the commander shouted as they reached the entrance.

The wooden gate creaked open as soldiers rushed to man the walls and pelt the black shadow with arrows. The arrows did nothing but a hindrance; the shadow spun his daggers, deflecting them with ease.

Still, the black shadow stopped as the knights entered Quantora one after another. Jonathan might be a symbiote user, but he was an assassin-type. Unlike Seraphine, his skills were useless against an army.

“Whew… didn’t think we’d make it out alive,” the commander sighed. He then turned to his men. “Soldiers, headcount!”

“Yes, sir! We lost ten people, including Platoon Two.”

“Good. That’s fewer than I expected, especially against a symbiote user. Note Platoon Two’s name. We lived because of them—they deserve to be honored.”

“Sir, yes sir.”

After a quick headcount, the knights were led to their own barracks. More reinforcements had arrived, making it so cramped that most of them had to camp outside. Hiro couldn’t help but frown at how public order seemed to deteriorate due to the fear of running out of food.

“I will give my report to Lady Marissa. You guys should rest—especially Hiro. He did much for us tonight. We wouldn’t have survived without him.”

“We didn’t do much either. But if you say so, we shall retire for today,” Rebecca said.

“He meant Hiro, of course,” Nana hushed her. Rebecca closed her mouth and bowed apologetically. But then she tilted her head.

“Hiro’s achievements are ours. We are one.”

“Well, that’s true. I thank you guys as well,” the commander said.

“We’ll come too. I need to report to Lady Marissa,” Rebecca said. The commander nodded. Hiro liked the fact that he wasn’t overly vain and let Cecile and Rebecca make separate reports to their own superior.

Afterward, the commander met with the general and Marissa. Of course, the first remark was congratulations for escaping a symbiote user with so few casualties. Then the general asked the commander how they detected Jonathan.

“I think we only suffered so few casualties because Hiro warned us,” the commander said, reminiscing about the event. He and the others had worked from dawn until late at night, so he was tired and couldn’t recall the event perfectly.

“Yeah, that’s correct. Hiro was the first to notice something was amiss and threw those branches at Jonathan,” his aides nodded.

“Hm… this is the second time Hiro has detected Jonathan before he killed anyone. That means he possibly has some kind of detection skill. Hah… if only Hiro were a bit higher level, Jonathan would no longer be a problem.”

“Too bad Hiro can’t even talk. We could ambush Jonathan if he could just whisper commands when he comes,” the commander smirked.

“Nah… from your report, Hiro only detected him when he was already there, right? About ten or so meters away? That means he can prevent Jonathan from killing you in your sleep, but he won’t be able to spot him miles ahead.”

“That’s good enough. Hiro’s not a combat specialist anyway. All we need is for him to stay alive,” the commander said, and the general nodded.

Jonathan was feared as a symbiote assassin by neighboring countries due to the fact that he could slip into bedrooms at night and kill his targets. No matter how powerful symbiote users were, they still needed to sleep—unless their symbiotes had specialized detection skills. After all, unlike Hiro, most symbiotes still needed rest.

“We should rearrange the barracks. Hiro is now essential for detecting this assa—” A bald man entered the room. Hiro tilted his head, wondering who he was, but the commander looked at him, stunned.

“Lord Ser—” the commander began to shout, but Seraphine silenced him.

“I’m undercover. My subordinate will arrive tomorrow, and I need you all to act as if he’s the real Lord Seraphine,” Seraphine said.

“Brother… what happened to your hair?” Marissa asked.

“Well, I cut it. My long blonde was too conspicuous, so I got rid of it. It’ll grow back in two or three years. Sacrifices need to be made. Jonathan slipped through my fingers once—I won’t let that happen again.”

Seraphine then explained his plan. He intended to use his subordinate as bait. Seraphine was strong, but like other symbiote users, he had a similar vulnerability to assassination. So, he devised this plan in the hope of countering Jonathan’s methods.

A subordinate would act as Lord Seraphine. When Jonathan came to kill him, Seraphine planned to ambush Jonathan as he fled. He had noticed that Jonathan couldn’t activate his invisibility skill after attacking—that would be their chance. If the plan failed and Jonathan escaped, Seraphine intended to use other subordinates as bait, continuing to fish for Jonathan until he finally got him.

Hiro was stunned that Seraphine’s subordinates were willing to become bait like this. However, he also realized the plan might work. Even he barely recognized Seraphine. In a world without cameras or photographs, only those who had met him in person would know his face.

Even Hiro who had met him didn't recognize him at first. His stunning blonde hair was gone and he didn't have his armor. Well, if Ralph came out, everyone would know he was Seraphine. To him, Ralph was more memorable than Seraphine himself.

“I see. Was Father okay with that? Your hair and face were kinda iconic, after all.” Marissa frowned, holding back laughter at her brother, who had gone from a handsome hero to something resembling a Buddhist monk.

“We need to win the war first and foremost,” he replied. Hiro hated how, despite losing most of his old charm, Seraphine still looked cool. He now appeared serene and kind instead of handsome and popular. It made him seem mature.

I guess he’s the type who commands respect no matter what he looks like, Hiro sighed, comparing Seraphine to himself—a lecherous tentacle.

“However, since Hiro seems to have the ability to detect our nemesis, we should use him to the fullest. I don’t want to sacrifice my loyal subordinates if possible—they’re like brothers to me. Cecile, Rebecca, Nana, would you help me?” Seraphine asked.

“Hm? How can we help? Besides, was Hiro really able to detect Jonathan?” Rebecca asked. Hiro slithered out and shook his tentacle.

“Are you saying it was merely luck?” the commander asked. Hiro nodded.

“Hm… but it’s happened twice…” Seraphine frowned. The commanders and general nodded in agreement. “Are you saying you didn’t use any skills?”

Hiro nodded again.

Rebecca said to him, “Don’t belittle yourself, Hiro. It’s not good to lie.”

Hiro sighed inwardly. It might have looked that way, but he hadn’t lied—he didn’t use any skills when Jonathan happened to stumble in front of him.

“Well, it might have been luck, or it might not. The plan doesn’t change. Cecile, Rebecca, and Nana—you need to sleep in separate barracks, mixed with other soldiers. General, don’t forget to post guards near Marissa’s room. She’s my dear sister, after all. We don’t know who Jonathan will target next,” Seraphine said, and the soldiers saluted.

“Yes, sir. We will assign forty knights to Lady Marissa’s manor,” the general suggested, and Seraphine nodded. Forty was excessive, considering the barracks and Marissa’s building were right next to each other—but one couldn’t be too careful.

Even though Hiro had belittled himself, the atmosphere didn’t change. Once again, they placed their hopes in Hiro—even Seraphine did. Hiro was happy to be recognized, but the pressure had certainly grown heavy.

It was later decided that Marissa would sleep in her own room. Her personal knights, including Elysia, however, would sleep in the barracks—not bunched up in the women’s quarters, but strategically spread out among the men, and women, near the entrance, and at the back of the barracks.

As always, the night passed peacefully—because danger never came when you were prepared for it.