Chapter 1553 (2/2)

Yet it earned him an over-the-shoulder glare from DiOrtho. “What the hell are you doing? The longer we have to get in and out the better. Just carry them with us if we have to keep them alive. If we just leave them under a bush, what if they wake up and start making trouble?”

“You dare imply that I should-” Raymund began, thoroughly tired of DiOrtho’s disrespect, but of course DiOrtho was already loping quietly across the gardens. Cursing quietly to himself, Raymund hefted the two guards over his shoulders and hurried to follow. They couldn’t unleash their full speed with leaving very obvious tears in the ground when they planted their feet, but just a light jog to the two recruits made them as fleeting and hard to catch as the wind.

They wound their way past the stable and the kitchens, attracting the attention of only a few chickens which squawked in displeasure at the rush of air the two left in their wake. Their completely nonexistent understanding of the layout of the compound should have made the process difficult, but architecture helped them quite a bit. They quickly identified the three sprawling manors at the back of the compound as the houses for the king, queen, and crown princess.

Each had a golden statue in the owner’s likeness, giving even the cautious Raymund confidence in their conclusions.

Of the three, the princess’ home was the smallest, which meant that it was the size of Raymund’s entire home village as compared to being as large as the entire fertile river valley where he was raised. Plus, it was the only home of the three which pressed directly up against the edge of the lake, which formed one border of the compound.

Which was for the best, because when they made to cut between the king and queen’s manor in order to reach their target more quickly, DiOrtho pulled sharply up and raised his hand. “Wait. Hey idiot, you…”

“Yea, my touch will be lighter by far than yours,” Raymund answered shortly. He immediately understood what DiOrtho was saying; the ram demon sensed something up ahead but didn’t have much natural Perception without the aid of Skills. So Raymund paused in the lieu of a massive fountain and closed his eyes.

The sensation of this planet possesses a bit of extra… Raymund’s tongue flicked out. Spiciness was the word that came to mind, but it didn’t cover the whole of it. There was simply a broader range of energies in the air. The images and emotions were especially rich… but the Nether that was present behaved differently than normal Nether, too.

Somehow, the Nether here genuinely seemed to belong to this world.

But Raymund put those thoughts to the side and carefully listened to the air. His ears flicked forward. The effect was small, but individuals at a certain power tended to subconsciously buzz. The amount of energy contained within their body was never truly inert. It was simply waiting to be used. If he listened and slowly turned...

After a few seconds, Raymund released a quiet growl. “You’re right. Two powerful individuals near the king’s house… and someone weaker around the queen’s.”

“So we go the long way. Why the hell are we unable to use images or Skills again…?” DiOrtho grimaced. Then he turned and beckoned to Raymund. “Well, fuck it. Make sure you bring the trash.”

They had to take a wider circle back around through the servant’s quarters and now the sun had risen enough that most people were waking up. Still, Raymund and DiOrtho could easily rush up the side of the servant apartments and pad quietly across the roof toward their destination. They paused at the edge of the lawn around the princess’s house and Raymund closed his eyes once more. Then he snorted and pointed toward the veranda, where the powerful guardian of the princess was located.

An elderly woman was sitting there, bold as brass, drinking a cup of tea and looking out at the water. She was perhaps twenty meters from the small outbuilding where Raymund and DiOrtho were crouching. Although they could only see her in profile, the relaxed smile on her face was obvious. She was completely unprepared for an attack.

Raymund lowered the two guards he had been carrying, one under each arm, to the ground. “As long as we take her by surprise-”

Again, DiOrtho moved before he finished speaking. Like a bolt of greased lightning, he streaked across the yard and hopped lightly over the railing of the veranda. At the last moment, the old woman seemed to understand something was happening and twisted to look at the charging form of DiOrtho. She flicked her cup of tea to the side and raised her hands just as the ram demon slammed his fist into her diaphragm. As her eyes bulged, he spun sideways and smashed his elbow into the woman’s temple.

Raymund’s eyelids twitched as he watched the old woman drop like a bag of potatoes. He hefted the two unconscious guards once more and rushed forward. His ears strained the entire time, so he could give a report when he arrived next to DiOrtho. “...there has been no alarm raised. As we likely have a few spare moments to gather ourselves, then we should-”

There was a crash above them, drawing both their gazes upward. A split second later, a large and shadowy figure burst out onto the lawn and started sprinting toward the lake. DiOrtho and Raymund exchanged a glance.

“Do we…?” Raymund began, but DiOrtho shook his head.

“Looks like someone noticed us. Hopefully, that wasn’t the princess fleeing. Fuck, we don’t even know what she looks like, do we? I guess we saw the statue... Let’s just brute force it then,” The ram demon growled. Then he exploded upward, ripping a hole into the mansion. After a brief hesitation, Raymund draped the two guards across the old woman’s body and followed his partner.

With their limits on their speed removed, they quickly ripped through the long hallways and found the princess’ quarters. The golden doors and sparkling chandeliers were a dead giveaway. But when they looked around the room...

“What the hell…?” DiOrtho blinked.

Raymund’s breath hissed out through his nose as he streaked across the already destroyed room and to the wide balcony. The vaulted windowed doors to the outside patio had been shattered, scattering broken glass across the spacious overlook. Raymund stopped at the edge of the balcony and stared intently after the disappearing figures. Behind him, the bed had been ripped to shreds and several end tables had been overturned. There was a few drops of blood on the ground, leading from the bed to the broken doors. In front of him...

“Another party is currently kidnapping the princess,” Raymund said slowly as he looked at the fleeing figure. One individual was carrying another.

Just as DiOrtho made to respond, a bell began to ring in the central portion of the royal compound. A booming voice echoed across the surrounding area. “Intruders!!!!”