Kai's clone was also walking silently towards the village where Bob and his father lived. He too slowed down and stopped moving, experiencing the same emotions that Kai was going through.
Yet, the clone only paused for a few minutes before continuing on its journey. Unlike Kai, who was experiencing this first-hand, the clone was experiencing this through a rather strange connection between Kai and itself, making it feel as though it was watching an incredibly immersive movie, yet not real life.
…
Kai remained silent and unmoving for a good 20 minutes until his clone reminded him that Pops was likely in danger before he was brought back to his senses, and he slowly stood up.
Kai looked over at the direction of the village he was headed towards, hoping nothing had happened to Pops.
'Sh*t! I need to get there quickly!' Kai cursed in his head as he began walking hurriedly. He could not enter a full sprint since the dagger he was carrying was rather heavy, and the cold winter air would make him out of breath in no time. Therefore, a brisk walk was the best he could do and was also what the clone was doing.
Just a few minutes into his journey, Kai encountered two soldiers in leather armour; clearly not belonging to Baron Dread. In fact, Kai recognised them as the same leather armour worn by the assassins who ambushed him and tried to kill him before.
Clearly, that attack was not just a one-off incident, and the organisation behind them was very powerful to be able to attack the Baron and take over the castle, killing everyone in it.
This was the conclusion Kai had come up with after putting everything he had learnt. Based on his assumptions, the enemy had somehow lured the Baron and his heavy-armoured cavalry out of the castle then ambushed them and were currently surrounding them.
In the meantime, they sent over people to take over the Dread castle and kill everyone in it. Thankfully, no one other than the baron and himself knew about the exact location of the training grounds. Furthermore, the door of the training grounds actually looked like a stone wall, which further meant that the people just ignored it.
One of the two leather-armoured soldiers nudged the other using the hilt of his now unsheathe sword before pointing at Kai.
A moment later, the second soldier also unsheathed his sword.
Kai looked at the stance the two took before carefully approaching them.
"Hello, Mr. soldier. Have you seen my father? He went this to stretch out his legs but he has not returned. It has been more than a few hours at least. Please help me find my father." He said, his face already having turned red from the cold weather, making the soldiers pity him.
"Look at his left hip." One of the soldiers pointed out, as the other also noticed the sword at Kai's hip.
Although it was not a proper sword, it was definitely in between a dagger and a short sword, the perfect length for a child like him. Furthermore, the rather high-quality clothes the child was wearing made it impossible to mistake him for a commoner child.
"We can subdue him first, then ask questions." The soldier said as he charged at Kai with his sword drawn.
"What?" Kai was utterly baffled at this outcome. Within just a few seconds, the soldier who had charged at him was only a meter away from him, and within one more step, the soldier would be right in front of him.
Panicking, Kai asked the only person he could.
'What do I do system?'
[Establishing Task]
[Time until completion: 1s]
[1]
[0]
[Task complete]
[Take a step to the right and bend forward in 1 second. Then unsheathe your dagger and stab to the left. Please attempt another task at this point to accurately predict the enemy's next movements.]
Kai flinched for a second after reading the words but instantly followed through as the soldier had already swung his sword down onto Kai.
He leapt to the right but stumbled upon taking the step and fell to the ground. Thankfully, he had successfully avoided the soldier's large sword.
'Now what?' Kai exclaimed in his mind, panic slowly taking over his mind after having just avoided death by a hair's breadth.
[Establishing Task]
[Time until completion: 1s]
[1]
[0]
[Task complete]
[Immediately unsheathe your dagger, and in two seconds, take a step towards the enemy soldier with the dagger raised above your head. As soon as the enemy's attack is deflected, let go of your sword and poke the enemy's eye with your thumb before retreating to your thrown dagger. Please attempt another task at this point to accurately predict the enemy's next movements]
With panic almost completely taking over Kai, he unconsciously followed the slightly authoritarian words of the system, unsheathed his dagger, and raised it above his head, before taking a step forward.
*Clang*
A shock reverberated through the dagger into his arms as Kai's grip over the sword loosened considerably. Recalling that he had to let go of the short dagger, Kai decided to do something no swordsman would ever do in a battle, and let his dagger as it fell to the ground behind him.
The enemy soldier who had launched an attack straight for Kai's head from above to make use of the height difference was stunned at the child's ability to block his attack, and at the fact that after that, the child let go of his weapon.
'He is a child after all' the soldier thought. Yet, a moment later his thoughts froze as he noticed the child extend both his hands straight towards his face, the thumbs extending towards his eyes.
After having his attack deflected upwards, the swordsman was stuck with his arms in the air, holding onto his sword, and his face and body completely unguarded.
*Squish*
Although the soldier had tried to retreat, Kai's hands were faster as both his thumbs were inserted into the eyes, blood and other liquids spewing out to make way for the tiny thumbs of the child who had jumped up to reach the soldier's eyes.