"Don't!"

Eve stopped Angelica by holding her hand when she reached out to open the door.

"What!?" Angelica snapped. Unconsciously her voice came out in a harsh tone.

"Please don't go outside madam"

Pleaded Heather with tears welling up in her eyes.

*clang* *clang*

Noises of swords clashing were heard from the other side of the door.

Angelica had a complicated look on her face on seeing the maids trembling before her. It was obvious that they had never been in such a situation before.

Her head went blank for a moment from seeing their crying faces. She wanted to help the knights, but she couldn't bring herself to leave those two alone.

*bang*

The door rattled.

A loud noise was heard sending the duo to cry out.

Eve immediately closed Heather's mouth with one hand and her own with the other. They were afraid that the tiniest noise could leave them as targets to be attacked, although the target was standing right in front of them.

Angelica was looking at them helplessly not knowing what to do to console them. She could guess that someone was thrown towards the carriage at maximum speed.

This meant there were mages among the assailants outside attacking the knights with combat magic.

Suddenly the carriage started to move without any warnings. It was shaking violently as if it was moving in a rough pathway.

"Stop the carriage!"

Angelica yelled at the coachman through the communication port. But there was no response.

'Damn it!'

"Keep your heads down" Angelica said, pressing Eve and Heather's heads towards their thighs. There was no seatbelt in the carriage to keep them steady.

"Use your hands to protect your heads"

Although the carriage was luxurious with cushioned walls, it doesn't guarantee that it would be safe in such a dire situation.

The carriage was traveling in an upward motion. There weren't any other sounds aside from the horse and the carriage rattling.

Angelica balanced herself by placing her hands on either side of the walls and one leg up the opposite seat. She surmised from the direction of travel that they were being taken to the mountain cliff.

Mount Zion was located at the border of Volos, the capital of Orion. The mountain acted as a barrier against the strong currents from the Oric ocean shielding the northern part of the capital.

There was a port attached to the eastern part of the capital, where major trades were made with the Naisa continent.

She remembered overhearing the maids talking about the sharp cliff on the edge of the mountain where lovers light lanterns to pledge their love for each other.

Angelica concluded that it was their destination point.

The ocean surface below was riddled with rocks and the wave currents were strong enough to move the ships without the need to use any other means. The weather was unpredictable along this part of the ocean, making it one of the most dangerous seaways to travel that even skilled sailors found hard to navigate.

The carriage came to a stop with a loud thud.

"Surround the carriage" Sir Tate instructed his subordinates.

Their party was ambushed by a group of masked assassins that emerged from the forest.

The knights and assassins engaged in a fierce battle resulting in a few casualties along the enemy side.

It was nearly impossible for random assassins to win against elite Frost Knights. One batch of knights surrounded the carriage and formed a defense line while the others were fending off the assassins scattered across the pathway.

The knights had the upper hand but, victory cannot be determined in a battle until the very end.

Sir Tate was fighting against the leader of the group of assassins. He knocked his grip on the sword and pinned him to the ground.

"Who are you? How many of you are there?" He interrogated the leader while holding him down.

From the way, they fought it was obvious that other than the leader of the group the assassins were mediocrely skilled.

"There are far more of us than you can ever imagine.....fufufu" The leader who initially struggled gave up and started laughing.

"You think you can save her?" He sneered.

"Stop talking nonsense and answer my questions. Who sent you?" Sir Tate was getting impatient with his frivolous answers.

"You are too late anyway.....they are already here"

"Wha..."

*bang*

One of the Frost knights defending the front was sent flying towards the carriage.

A group of men with long hair and white masks were attacking the defense line using combat magic and distorting the formation.

The masks they were wearing had a red snake pattern drawn across them.

The area turned into a battle zone as more and more masked individuals started to appear from the trees. They targeted the knights surrounding the carriage.

In the midst of the mayhem, one of the assassins managed to climb into the coachman's seat and started to take off towards the cliff.

"Squadron one kill all the assassins. Watch your backs and don't leave anyone behind" Sir Tate yelled towards his men.

The safety of his men was as important as the ones they were protecting.

"Squadron two follow me. Kill anything that comes in your way"

*neigh*

Sir Tate jumped onto his horse and gave chase.

They managed to level up to the carriage's speed within a few minutes.

The Knights overtook the carriage in order to surround it from all sides. One of the Frost archers shot the coachman in the heart killing him instantly.

The unmanned vehicle was shaking violently as if it would overturn by any minute.

Sir Tate balanced himself and leaped towards the carriage without a second thought. He caught the reins of the horses and pulled them towards him, steading it in the nick of time, approximately twenty meters away from the cliff.

He pushed the coachman aside who had a shot arrow through his chest and jumped down.

"Is everyone alright?" He asked knocking on the carriage door worried about the state of the people inside.

Angelica slapped herself to come back to her senses. She checked Eve and Heather who still had their heads down.

"I think we're....good" Angelica replied, haggard from all the shaking.

They weren't injured although they were scared to death. They were trembling and crying from fear.

"That's good" Sir Tate sighed.

At this point the sun has completely set, leaving only the illuminations from the glowing plants nearby to lighten the area.

*thunder*

A large lightning bolt came from the sky and set the tree near the cliff on fire. The area brightened from the sudden fire.

A hooded figure with the same snake-patterned mask appeared from the darkness. He was clapping as he emerged from the dark forest.

"As expected of the elite Knights from Frost" He continued clapping.

"I'm impressed" He bowed theatrically, gaining center attention.

"What do you want?" Sir Tate asked, standing guard in front of the carriage. He steadied his sword and got into stance.

On closer inspection, he had red beaded earrings on his ears. He smiled as he walked closer to them.

"All I wanted was to play a game" He pouted tilting his head like a ragged doll.

"So let's play"

Green sparks emitted from both of his hands as he strode towards them at a slow yet taunting pace.

Just by the sound of it, Sir Tate deduced that.........

'The real fight has just began'