Amon received the baton from Meiji and began to deal with the assassins of the Saljugye.
While facing them, Amon quietly observed their weaponry.
‘Yodo…’
It’s Yodo again.
Just like the assassins from Saljugye who had blocked Amon and Cassie on the road to Geumgang today.
The fact that they carried Yodo wasn’t surprising anymore.
However, at this point, another question arose.
‘They’ve become stronger than when I met them before.’
To be more precise, it wasn’t that they had become stronger but rather that they had become more troublesome.
As if they had figured out who Amon was, their movements became much more varied.
Of course, in the end, they would lose due to the fundamental difference in their specs, but the fact remained that they had become more troublesome compared to before.
‘There couldn’t have been any information shared… Is it like a hive mind?’
Amon thought of several possibilities, but in a world where anything is possible, there were so many options that he couldn’t even guess.
He decided to file this relevant fact away in his mind and continue with the battle.
Meanwhile, a message came through Amon’s earpiece.
[There’s a member of the Sword Guild who’s affiliated with the Saljugye.]
“Levi? What does that even mean, ugh?”
Even during the battle, Amon continued the conversation, breaking up his words.
Levi, considerate of Amon, sent a message that didn’t require a response.
[This is something I learned from the current prince’s pip, but there’s someone from the Sword Guild in the Saljugye. Don’t ask me who it is, even the prince doesn’t know.]
As soon as Amon heard this, a click sounded in his mind, and puzzle pieces began to fall into place.
All the events that had seemed unrelated at first were now connected in a single line.
Amon shouted to his teammates through the earpiece.
“Sunwoo, Sunhwa! Bring the current prince!”
[What?]
Sunwoo and Sunhwa were confused by Amon’s sudden command.
They were supposed to be evacuating, but now Amon wanted them to bring the prince here?
But Amon’s decision was firm.
“Here, dealing with an infinite supply of assassins… I can’t do this anymore!”
Amon wanted to explain his reasoning in detail, but there was no time for that during the battle.
In the end, he chose to give orders rather than explanations.
“Don’t talk, just bring him!”
It hadn’t been long since they’d come to know Amon, but it was certain that he wasn’t the type of person to speak nonsense.
The siblings followed his orders and brought the prince.
Along the way, as the crown prince had hinted, they also brought reinforcements.
When they returned, Amon had already dealt with the first wave of assassins.
“Let’s hurry. If we wait, we’ll have to defend for hours.”
Amon was unceremoniously carrying the prince on his shoulder like a sack.
The prince struggled, feeling a sense of déjà vu, but as an ordinary teenager who hadn’t trained or received battle-related treatments, there was no way he could escape Amon’s grasp.
Sunwoo, Sunhwa, the royal guards, and the soldiers of the Royal Secret Police were all surprised by Amon’s actions, but Sonia and Cassie followed Amon as if it were natural.
Sunwoo couldn’t hold back and added a remark.
“Even so, this is different from last time. It’s disrespectful.”
But Amon calmly replied.
“I’ve sent several cardinals to your mother’s side, but this doesn’t even count as disrespect.”
“Huh? What does that mean?”
“We’re leaving. Keep up so you don’t lose us.”
Amon didn’t wait for a reply before starting to move.
Sonia and Cassie followed him without hesitation.
The others, who couldn’t keep up with the situation, eventually started chasing after them.
To anyone watching, it would have looked like they were chasing after the person who had kidnapped the youngest prince.
***
As they continued their unexpected midnight sprint, Amon shouted toward the prince on his shoulder.
“Don’t lose consciousness! Guide me to the traitor’s Sword Guild right now! What time is it clockwise?”
‘It’s… 7 o’clock now. No, from your perspective, it’s 1 o’clock!’
Amon’s shoulder carried the prince, who was hanging upside down while being dragged along.
The prince wanted to at least look forward, but…
“Wait! My position… ugh!”
He couldn’t ask for it this time like he did before, by biting his tongue.
Amon continued to follow the prince’s guidance, crossing Geumgang Palace.
“Right now, it’s 2 o’clock! Is that right?”
“Yeah. Wait, what’s there?! Aaah!”
Even when there were obstacles, Amon didn’t care.
If there was a building, he would leap over the roof; if there was a wall, he’d jump over it in one go.
Sonia followed with her flight, and Cassie used a red thread to perform wire action, following Amon.
As for Sunwoo and Sunhwa…
“Can’t we just take a normal route?”
“This feels like déjà vu…”
At least Sunwoo and Sunhwa, being from the Sword Guild, were used to jumping over walls and rooftops.
The soldiers following them were truly struggling to keep up.
“Gasp… pant…”
When the front runners jumped over roofs and walls, the soldiers had to take the long way around, scrambling to move their feet so they wouldn’t lose sight of them.
Amon knew the soldiers were struggling to keep up, but he had no time to spare for them.
According to the prince, the traitor’s Sword Guild was getting farther away in real time, even now.
Amon quickened his pace.
By the time Sunwoo and Sunhwa were out of breath, Amon had finally reached the traitor.
***
When they arrived at the location, a mountain of bodies, stacked up by the traitor, came into view.
The traitor was wearing a mask and had his robe pulled deep over his face.
Amon kept a wary eye on the traitor as he placed the prince on the ground.
“Your Highness, please hide somewhere safe now.”
“You’re the one who brought me to this dangerous place.”
Even as he said this, the prince followed the instructions well.
Amon handed the prince over to the reinforcements who had followed him and locked eyes with the masked traitor.
However, even though he was making eye contact with the traitor, Amon spoke to Sunwoo and Sunhwa.
“I told you before, didn’t I? I’d make you work hard later.”
Sunwoo, drawing his sword with confidence, replied.
“Is it now?”
He nodded.
His expression as he nodded didn’t seem particularly pleased.
Sunwoo, not particularly concerned with Amon, didn’t ask why and rushed out.
“Wait! I haven’t explained yet…!”
Leaving behind Amon, who was saying something, Sunwoo rushed toward the traitor of the Sword Guild.
Sunwoo’s swordsmanship was completely different from his sister’s.
While she fought by drawing and sheathing her sword without much movement, Sunwoo wielded a relatively short sword in each hand, relentlessly attacking without pause.
Because of this, his movements were more numerous than his sister’s, and he prided himself on being as fast as her when it came to his steps.
And this difference was most noticeable in the way he used his clones.
‘Let’s see if you can tell the difference.’
Rushing toward the traitor, Sunwoo activated his invisibility and hologram devices.
The purpose was the same as his sister’s: to deceive the enemy.
But unlike his sister, who left an afterimage and aimed for the enemy’s back, Sunwoo’s clone didn’t just leave an afterimage.
It moved independently, almost like a second version of Sunwoo.
Also, while his sister only used clones as a trick, Sunwoo used them as regular attacks.
A shell game that continued throughout the battle.
That was Sunwoo’s swordsmanship.
“Atone with your blood, traitor!”
Shouting, Sunwoo swung his sword toward the traitor of the Sword Guild.
Since Sunwoo admired the Sword Guild, his anger was partly because of that, but the bigger reason was to deceive the enemy.
They would never expect the hologram to speak, thinking it was just an afterimage.
However, the enemy didn’t hesitate at all and attacked Sunwoo, the real one, even though he hadn’t said a word.
It was as if they knew Sunwoo well.
‘What?’
Sunwoo, bewildered, distanced himself from the enemy.
Of course, it was possible that the enemy, being a member of the Sword Guild, knew Sunwoo’s style well.
However, since all members of the Sword Guild wore black attire with black hats, it was difficult to identify individuals, and the Guild tended to focus more on individual tasks rather than group operations, making it hard to know another’s sword technique.
Most importantly, Sunwoo’s relationships within the Guild were quite limited.
Only a few knew his sword style.
So, Sunwoo, who never expected a betrayal from someone he knew, was greatly confused.
At least it meant that the enemy knew him well.
“No, that can’t be…”
“Ha… I told you to wait.”
Muttering in confusion, Sunwoo turned around, and Amon wiped his face behind him.