"All clear!"
"The base of the mountain is also clear!"
"It's over." Luther said.
"Hmm." Asher nodded.
Despite having completed such a mission with a high risk while being greatly outnumbered, none of the mages were celebrating. The reason was simple; Asher prevented them from doing so.
To be honest, it wasn't as if he had strictly ordered them not to do so, but one statement from Asher had influenced their thinking.
"As guards of the Arnhaunt family, and most especially, men I've personally trained, defeating a ragtag group of bandits should be a walk in the park for you guys. I don't see any reason why you would fail or even be at risk of such."
It was this short speech of Asher's a while ago that had changed the thought process of the men subtly. Although the mission remained a risky one with a chance of death, to these mages, they began looking at it like an exercise; an opportunity to show the results of their months of training.
However, while they didn't celebrate over their victory and survival, their eyes showed that the men were invigorated. Not at the prospects of surviving, but the fact that they had finally completed the task of their young lord and were now deemed worthy to be part of the official unit.
"Is everyone here?" Asher asked.
"All the mages and team captains are present and accounted for. The only missing character is miss Isabella." Aaron answered.
"No. She's here." Asher said.
Just when Aaron was confused, he sensed a presence about thirty metres away.
"I was hoping to surprise you, young master, but you ruined it." Isabella pouted.
Although her facial expression at the moment could be described as cute, the faces of the mages were terrified and their blood was running cold. Rather than an adorable little girl, it felt as if they were staring at a demon.
Excluding her face, Isabella was covered in blood in various parts of her body. Her arms, clothing, and even her footwear had blood on them. Her black hair was still combed back properly and her bodysuit was still in good form, however, the gory tiny pieces of flesh and blood that were still on it made the blood of the mages run cold.
Aaron however, wasn't just stunned by her appearance but by her presence. The fact that he, a fourth-stage Guardian mage albeit suppressed, had failed to sense a peak second-stage Guardian coming in from behind until she had revealed her presence, said a lot about Isabella's skills. Maybe Aaron would have sensed her if she was ten metres away or closer after all her level was still a lot below his, but the fact that she was able to come within thirty metres wasn't something to laugh off.
Although he couldn't be sure, Aaron had this feeling that if Isabella was sent to assassinate him one day without his knowledge, she had a chance of getting a hit on him[1]; and this was considering the fact that she was more than a realm behind. If they were on the same level, the difference between them would be large such that Isabella would be able to take him down within ten blows.
'Is this the strength of the young master's disciple?' Aaron thought as a chill crept up his spine when he thought of Isabella's potential.
"Successful?" Asher asked.
"Yes, young master." Isabella lifted her blood-stained hand which held onto a bloody sack.
Isabella then used her free hand to extract the item inside the sack. It turned out to be a head and one belonging to someone the team was familiar with; Bayern, the leader of the last remaining mid-sized bandit group as well as the Arnhaunt informant in the bandit coalition in Panama road.
Isabella had joined the team on this mission but unlike the others, Asher had a different plan for her. His plan was for her to take down Bayern and the high-ranking characters of his bandit group at the same time that the main team took on Kieran and the remaining bandits.
"That's…" Aaron widened his eyes in shock and Luther too, who had just joined in, was similarly stunned.
Although they didn't meet Bayern with Asher, they knew who he was as Asher had shown them his picture to prevent a scenario where both parties would clash with each other before the finale.
"Well done. Get rid of that carefully and clean up. We leave in ten minutes." Asher said before walking towards the mountain's peak.
"Thank you, young master." Isabella bowed before departing.
"Young master, what was the meaning of that?" Luther couldn't help but ask.
"That? Bayern was a spy, not just for us but for the other side. He still had some uses so I let him be. But since the end of the battle would signify the end of banditry along Panama road, which meant that he would have no use any longer, I had Isabella end him. This would help keep the identity and existence of this troop a secret, and also prevent any valuable info from running into the enemy's hand." Asher explained.
It was just like he had said. Bayern was indeed a double agent. Not only did he work as a spy for the Arnhaunts against the bandits but he also worked as a spy for the Terreans. It should be recalled that the Panama road extended from Red Maple province into the land of the Terreans and so, it was a valuable passage since there were few like it. In order to profit the most and also assure security for his group, Bayern had struck a deal with both sides.
By utilizing the pieces of information he got from both parties, Bayern had been capable of not only extorting resources but also preventing the annihilation of his bandit group.
Nonetheless, one could say that his luck had run out as instead of the originally planned force, it was Asher's group that had arrived and they did so without prior information. Only Ol' Fang knew about their actions and no one else.
Apart from that, Asher had a sceptical view[*] about Bayern and had Isabella conduct a secret investigation on him. It was then that Asher found out about this information and sentenced him to death.
Truthfully, Asher had been looking for a reason to kill Bayern from the start, after all, he didn't want the number, strength, and identity of this secret force of his to be known by anyone, including the enemy by the border and the family executives. Asher had already planned on either kidnapping or silencing Bayern, but for the latter, he needed a sufficient reason to do so. 'Luckily', there was enough evidence to prove his relationship with the enemy and this was the justification Asher used to silence him.
With Asher's explanation, Luther and Aaron were a bit calm but still surprised. This was because only Isabella knew about this and only she was sent to handle the traitor.
"Young master, although I have no doubts regarding your commands, please consider the safety of your men more." Luther said.
In the entire platoon of mages, only Luther could talk back to Asher like this. It wasn't a sign of disrespect but simply his personality.
It should be recalled that Bayern's group was a mid-sized bandit group with roughly fifty men and about three second-stage Guardian mages. Isabella was only a peak second-stage Guardian mage and this was even thanks to Asher's mentoring and the resources provided for her. For a peak second-stage Guardian mage to handle such a force alone and still face the boss of the bandit group, Bayern, who was a mid-rank third-stage Guardian mage, was nothing short of suicide. But someone who had done so and survived had appeared before them.
Even so, Luther felt that such a decision to send Isabella on that mission was unsafe. Since she was the one chosen by the duke to assist Asher, Luther believed that she should be placed out of danger when and if possible.
"Luther," Asher glanced at him once before turning around.
"Do you trust me?"
Luther was surprised by the question but didn't hesitate to answer with a bow.
"With my life, young master."
"Then why question my decision?"
As if expecting that, Luther answered right away.
"I'm not. I just hope that the young master could consider the duke's arrangement seriously."
Asher smiled in response before replying,
"I do. In fact, all this is a part of my consideration of my father's arrangements. My path won't end here, and neither would it be a peaceful walk in the park. If you plan to follow me along the way, you will need to achieve the prerequisite strength and skill to do so. Right now is the best time to do so.
"Also, I think you're underestimating Isabella a bit too much." Asher smirked.
"Did you check her state and what stage she's at?"
Luther froze and even Aaron was surprised. They simultaneously turned towards Isabella who hadn't gone far yet and scanned her.
"This…"
Both section leaders widened their eyes in shock.
Unlike themselves and the mages, Isabella's mana wasn't suppressed but that wasn't what shocked them. What did was the fact that Isabella wasn't a peak second-stage Guardian mage as they knew before; she was now a third-stage Guardian mage.
"Incredible."
Just a few months ago, she was only a human stage mage, but now, Isabella was a Guardian mage of the third-stage.
"Rather than worrying about her, you should worry about yourselves. Your growth has been stagnant for a while and if this keeps up, Isabella would catch up. Don't bring shame to your teacher." Asher said before walking away.
Luther and Aaron gritted their teeth and tightened their fists, a mix of shame and determination flashing in their eyes.
In truth, their growth was already quite impressive for people their age with slightly above-average physiques and average elemental affinities and constitutions. However, when placed against Asher and Isabella, it was slow.
But mages knew that their young master's goal was high and dangerous, and to remain by his side, depending on them alone wouldn't be enough. If they wanted to, they needed to work harder, whether twice, thrice, or more times than anyone else; they had to.
"Young lord, a messenger from the city has arrived along with the main force."
[*] British English, for those who might feel it's wrong.