The Strongest Dull Prince’s Secret Battle for the Throne

"Damn it, all of them...!!"

Beside me, Jack clicks his tongue in frustration.

I understand how he feels. We are at a certain mansion in Duke Kleinert's territory which has been our base of operations and it was until just moments ago that the assassins arrived.

I had already evacuated Fine and Sebas who were nearby with Henrik currently guarding them as a precaution.

It was immediately clear that the attackers were not ordinary. Furthermore, there were multiple assailants. All six of them were cloaked in black robes which were hiding their identities. Each one of them is a highly skilled combatant, capable of taking on us two SS-rank adventurers simultaneously.

"Try not to cause too much collateral damage, alright?"

"Got it!"

We had a handicap. The mansion that is serving as our base is under Duke Kleinert's jurisdiction. We weren't given a run-down mansion that was far from civilization, but one that was relatively close to populated areas. If our attacks were deflected carelessly, the nearby town could be devastated by our own attacks.

"What do we do?"

Grabbing Jack, I flew at full speed through the air. The six pursuers followed closely, making it clear that their target was us.

We continued until we reached a more open area where I descended.

"Is this place okay?"

"It's a better location than earlier, but still be cautious of the surroundings."

As I cautioned Jack, I turned my attention to the six attackers. Being able to keep up with my full speed was not normal and it looked like they were flying with ease, despite their movements being beyond ordinary.

"This is going to be tough."

"Seems like it."

Simultaneously, I launched magical bullets while Jack fired arrows. Countless magical bullets, each loaded with a significant degree of power.

However, they neither slowed nor stopped the attackers. They dodged the unnecessary shots and deflected the necessary attacks while advancing steadily.

One of them became the target of Jack's arrow which was a high-powered, straight attack. Avoiding it after the magical bullets was nearly impossible and yet, the attacker deflected the arrow's trajectory with their sword, an act requiring an extraordinary level of skill.

An exceptional swordsman. Moreover, I recognized the magical sword that he wielded.

"The magic sword... Flame God."

It was supposed to be kept in the adventurers' guild as it was a magical sword that was once wielded by Nigel, a fellow disciple (former) like Theodore. Nigel had wreaked havoc in the imperial capital before being captured and executed under imperial law. The ancient magic sword, Flame God, was similar to the one used by No Name and was supposed to have been securely stored by the guild.

And yet here it was before us.

"I guess it was stolen while the guild master was absent, huh?"

"Is this bad?"

"Think of it as No Name level bad."

"That's really bad then."

The feared scenario.

In the hands of a highly skilled swordsman, it was a significant threat since only a few swordsmen could deflect Jack's attacks.

(What to do?)

As I pondered, flames erupted from the Flame God, engulfing the area. Jack and I dodged, but a substantial area was set ablaze.

"They don't seem to care about the collateral damage, huh?"

"That doesn't mean that we can do the same."

I set up a barrier to contain the area while creating a combat field for us.

Now we had to fight with caution.

"Do you think these kinds of people are unknown?"

"Not a chance."

"Then they must be renowned fighters."

Being able to handle two SS-rank adventurers with ease.

It's an unreasonable challenge and we knew that well. Such individuals that are capable of doing so are extremely rare and yet there were six of them.

It seemed impossible, but we knew a plausible explanation.

"They're possessed by demons."

"Nothing else would make sense."

The enemy had suddenly taken an aggressive stance. Whether it was due to the allied forces moving or another reason, they had sent some of their valuable assets against us. Clearly, our presence was a significant threat to them.

As I was considering this, the swordsman with the Flame God charged and I countered his slash with my magical bullets, all of which were deflected and soon I retreated into the air to avoid his downward slash.

"You can't escape."

I deployed hidden magical bullets, forming an inescapable cage around the swordsman. Magical bullets covered every angle, making evasion impossible. Even deflecting them would be near impossible.

As I flicked my finger, they all attacked the swordsman simultaneously, causing a series of explosions. However after the blast, the swordsman stood unscathed.

But there was one result that came out of the attack.

"So, even the famous Silver can't do better than this?"

The black robe that was hiding his face was gone, revealing it to be Nigel. He had undoubtedly been executed and with no chance of survival.

Yet, here he was.

Which meant...

"The remaining demons have forcibly possessed strong bodies..."

In the Perlan royal capital, the demon possession matched the host's compatibility, aiming for the best fit. But this was different, the demon possessed a naturally strong body while disregarding compatibility, with the strength of the body compensating for any mismatch.

While a living host enhances post-possession power, a corpse has its limits. Yet, a sufficiently strong body can still wield immense power.

There’s no doubt about it. If someone was able to use Wilhelm's body, others could do the same.

Therefore...

"The remaining five are likely demons that are using skilled bodies."

Despite being dead, Nigel had once taken on the captain and vice-captain of the Imperial Guard Knights together. Now that his body is being possessed by a demon, he would be even stronger than in life.

And there were five more like him. To deal with two SS-rank adventurers, it was a formidable force.

"Someone you know?"

"I know his background. He's dead though."

"So he's a demon too."

Sighing, Jack, who had been holding off the other five, managed to confirm our suspicions. Only one course of action remained.

"We'll go all out, Silver."

"Not here, though."

"Do we look like we still have a choice?"

Jack's words were right but if we went all out here, the entire western region would suffer. We had to avoid that.

Nigel smiled faintly at me as I considered this.

"Let's change the venue."

Multiple cylindrical magical devices were thrown. They were teleportation devices, and we were transported to a different location. The new area was a barren wasteland, likely outside the Empire.

It was a suitable battlefield, though.

"How kind of them to prepare a place for us."

"They must have an ulterior motive."

"They don't want us in the Empire."

"That's for sure."

Their intent was clear. They wanted us away from the Empire.

Nevertheless...

"Should we go back?"

"Leaving them here would be far more dangerous."

Returning to the Duke’s territory would mean facing another attack by them. If Jack stayed to hold them off, the odds would be against him with these six and they also had teleportation devices.

The next attack might also involve the surrounding civilians. Checking how many devices they had and a battle of endurance might work, but it would drain my magic so it was better to settle it here.

"Let's finish this quickly and go back."

Jack slowly drew his bow, finally shifting into full combat mode.

Matching him, I unleashed my magic. After being fully rested, my magic was replenished and this opponent was just right to test our strength after a short break.

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