Scouting

The Captain of this team was a man in his mid 30s, wearing high-quality leather armor and with a beautiful spear and round spear at his back, he walked towards them with indifference.

"And he's still as stoic as ever." Joel muttered before he greeted. "Captain Cid!"

The others repeated, "Captain!"

Standing taller than everyone, Cid glanced at his four team members. Then his eyes settled on Jules longer, his brows twitching lightly.

Jules noticed this and shivered a bit. "A f-fine morning today, right Captain?"

"Right," Cid replied, his voice deep. "I hope yesterday's battle has inspired you rather than scared you."

"Haha! Captain, the young master is looking ready to crush it. That's inspiration to me!" Joel remarked.

"You could say that…" Jules added, his expression concealing thoughts. 'This man...'

"Alright then." Cid's voice cut through like a blade. "This is our third of six scouting missions. Today, it'll be the North East borders. We'll return before Dusk. You know the formations. Let's move."

Trailing behind the group, Jules calmed himself as he walked into danger on his own accord.

'To survive.'

After walking a distance from the Clan's main territory, the team picked up their pace towards the North-east of the massive island.

The mission they were assigned by the Clan elders was to conduct a deep scout at the borders. Recent intel spoke of enemy infiltration.

Each member of this squad—aside from Jules—had been chosen for a reason.

The person who most deeply influences this mission is Ryan, who is known to have senses that surpass the average in this world.

Because of Ryan's concentration during their scouting, Jules was left alone, with Joel occasionally initiating conversations.

The North-East region neared the edge of the island—where wild beasts roamed and even the air felt hostile.

Compared to their last mission in the East, this area had more strays. Though they avoided most, Cid insisted they engage when necessary.

Jules stayed silent, observing. He studied the terrain, watched his teammates' movements, looking for anything suspicious.

He also fought—from the rear, alongside Joel—testing out low-tier water magic in real combat.

After seven hours of trekking and minor battles, they stopped at a wide forest clearing, having lured a beast there.

Joel and Ryan were slicing through its corpse under Mark's gaze. Cid leaned under a tree nearby, spear and shield in hand.

"Man, there's no signs here either," Joel said, cleaning his hands. "Mark was spot on."

Facing Joel, Mark explained in a pragmatic tone, "This area's too close to the squads stationed at the Edge, meaning less chance of enemy activity."

"I believe you're just more insightful than us."

"Of course he is. He has spent years at the Edge!" 

Ryan praised and Joel chipped in a comment.

Watching them, Jules's thoughts turned grim. 'I wonder... did they all die originally?'

Suddenly, Ryan froze, his face darkening. 

His sharp senses picked up something the others hadn't noticed yet. "Something's off."

Cid reacted to this instantly. "Stay alert!"

Jules turned to Ryan, who already had his eyes closed, following instructions.

The team gathered in a spot, circling around the corpse.

"It is not beasts…" Ryan stated, his voice shaking slightly. "But something is around us!"

Surrounding Ryan, Mark stretched out his sword, while Joel seemed to curse at the idea of engaging in another battle.

Jules suddenly had the feeling of being watched, giving him shivers.

'Is this it?'

He gripped his bag tighter and stepped slightly away from the group.

The stillness stretched on, and the quiet seemed to grow heavier with every passing second. 

The others sensed it before Jules did.

Mark's fingers twitched over his hilt. Ryan's eyes narrowed.

Finally, in a defeated tone, Ryan said, "Intruders… We're surrounded."

And like shadows melting into shape, twenty figures in dark green cloaks revealed themselves—perched in trees or crouched by trunks.

They were skilled. No signs were there prior to now!

"Fuck." Joel said instinctively.

Jules bit his lip. His eyes darted around, panic rising.

All the fear he had buried deep within him surged as he took in the overwhelming number of enemies blocking his escape.

'This place particularly is meant to have tight security. How did they infiltrate?!' 

He already knew. The corruption inside the Clan ran deeper than they thought.

Only an insider could've let this many assassins in.

"They are assassins not suited for direct combat. Don't fret!"

Cid's command cracked through his panic. Jules blinked, grounding himself.

The assassins were more focused on Cid, so their best escape route was in the opposite direction—toward Jules.

Cid surged forward, his spear glowing with mana.

The assassins moved in response.

Cid suddenly hurled his spear at one of the assassins with astonishing speed.

The assassin managed to dodge by a hair's breadth, but the spear's impact tore into his side, spilling blood.

Before the man could recover, Cid yanked the spear back with a hidden thread and impaled him from behind.

Displaying strength, the enemies were taken aback a bit and Cid's allies were motivated.

"They're nothing! Move! Prioritize the young master's safety!" Cid shouted, already facing the next threat.

Mark and Joel, both experienced, were already engaging some assassins at Cid's flank.

Meanwhile, Ryan quickly regained his footing and blocked a knife thrown at Jules.

"Snap out of it!" Ryan yelled, "Follow me! We'll retreat!"

Jules hesitated, reaching for the bomb in his bag. "What?"

Still keeping his eyes on the assassins, Ryan said, "Don't do anything crazy! Just trust me!"

Jules's eyes narrowed, his mind racing to make a decision.

'The attacks aimed at us... they're weaker than the ones targeting the others. Why?

'Where is Ryan trying to take me? Could he be one of them?'

Skeptical, Jules thought of attacking, but with Ryan better at short range, he dropped the idea and ran closer to Joel who had better positioning.

"Fuck! Don't go!" Ryan yelled, unable to follow as the battle intensified.

Ignoring him, Jules drew his shortsword, putting the bomb aside for now.

Sensing his presence, Joel said, "Young master, you need to hold them for a bit. The Captain needs me!"

"What?! Isn't my safety the priority?" Jules replied, fear concealed in his eyes. 

Before Joel replied, an arrow shot at him, but with a grunt, he blocked, raising his sword to his chest level.

Then he heard Joel say, "You see. You'll be fine," before leaving Jules.

"Damn it!" Jules mumbled bitterly, forced to engage.

Jules was pushed back by the duo dagger wielders, small cuts increasing on his body while he prepared a counter.

Multiple small blue magic circles appeared around Jules, shooting water bullets at the assassins in close range and pushing them back.

Jules also jumped back, dodging a few arrow shot at him and throwing a hastily charge bomb.

The blast forced distance between them, giving him breathing room.

He didn't let up. More water bullets rained down as he moved, using instinct and peripheral senses to track their silhouettes.

At that moment, a surge of mana erupted behind him pulling his attention.

Turning back where dust also kicked up, he saw Captain Cid become larger as his skin turned boiling red, seemingly activating a skill.

"No…" Jules muttered as the dust settled revealing a clearer scene.

From behind Captain Cid, a sword and a dagger was stabbed into him.

Jules's stomach twisted. His brain struggled to accept the current situation. 

Mark and Joel… They had betrayed them.