Crown Prince Hiram Corvus dragged his fingers into his hair as he sat at the edge of his bed. He wanted to sleep, close his eyes, and relax yet he couldn\'t. Not when he lost contact with the other survivors of the four great clans inside the forest. Not when his people couldn\'t confirm their deaths.

First was Cassandra and how the assassins whom he sent to kill Cassandra and Hunter seemed to disappear. And now, those four people to survive the attack of over twenty fire elemental users!

"Your Highness…"

"What is it?" he got up and immediately opened his tent.

"Sir, we have movements."

Hiram immediately followed one of his men towards the next tent that was connected to his sleeping quarters. "What is it?" he asked.

"Sir, while we lost the trackers that we put towards the heirs, the ones that were on the assassins were still active. We could track their movements and just now, they surrounded a small area just near the borders separating the zones."

Hiram squinted. Did the assassins found the target? "When was the last time that they reported?"

"Three hours ago, we receive a report that the wounds that the heirs suffered were fatal. Even if they ran outside of the safe zone, they won\'t be able to survive the beasts and demons."

"General Chao!"

"Sir?"

"A wounded person… can no longer fight against demons, right? What are the chances of them running back to the safe zone after they encounter a demon?"

"The chances are very big, sir. Even if the four of them experienced fighting in the front lines, they weren\'t as skilled as Sir Carmichael from the La Roche Family. Moreover, their fighting techniques were traditional. Given their wounds, they could sacrifice one of them and maybe give an attack or two. That would give them time to run back into the safe zone."

Hiram gave a sinister smile when he heard the old general\'s words. It seems that this would be the end of those younger heirs. While those people might not believe that the La Roche Family were the ones who sent assassins to kill their young lords, they won\'t have any choice but to investigate the matter once they discover that fire wielders killed them. After all, only the La Roche Family would be capable of training a lot of fire wielders.

And even if they suspect the crown, what can they do about it? Hiram was already planning on putting an act to pressure the La Roche Family for an explanation. And once that happened, the four great clans would surely destroy each other.

"Sir, the people from our side…." The person who was in front of the computer said as he pointed at the blinking signals, who seemed to have vanished. "A few of them died."

"It seems that they are indeed fighting," Hiram uttered. "But what could four wounded people do against an army of healthy fire elementalists?

Meanwhile, inside the forest, the once green and lush area was now covered by a lot of burnt ground and vegetation.

"Did you really think you could escape us?" the person who spoke had a huge scar on his face. "Naive. This is why I hate people from the capital. They are too arrogant."

"Captain, what are we going to do now? It seems that those four could still kill a few of our people."

"Death is only natural. Us mercenaries, live and die on the battlefield." Someone from the right said. "I say, we kill these rich sons of b*thes! Burn them!"

"F*ck! Kill them!"

Hearing the loud chants of the people wearing black, Jude let out a silent curse. "Who the f*ck are you! Why are you trying to kill us!"

"We will tell you once we finally kill you!"

"…"

"Let\'s do it now!" Lord Ymir said. With that, he raised both of his arms and chanted a few words.

*BOOM!*

The Earth started shaking, the sound of roots being uprooted and trees falling echoed.

"F*uck! An Earthquake!?"

Seeing this, Lord Cygnus, from the Wind clan, struggled to stand and forced himself to stay next to Lord Ymir\'s side. He, despite being wounded in his leg, also chanted a spell — his strongest one.

"We only have one shot. We need to succeed or we will die!" Jude said. He released few water spears and intercepted the ball of flames that was aimed at them. Right now, the four of them were in the middle of a group of people wearing black. With their current state, one could say that Jude and the rest were not only outnumbered, but were akin to pigs that were only waiting for their deaths.

"BOOM"

The ground didn\'t stop shaking. Soon, the Earth surrounding the four of them, raised, forming into a thick wall.

"What? Is that an Earth Wall?"

"Don\'t let them use an Earth wall!"

"What the hell? Even if they use an Earth wall, they won\'t be able to run! They are just waiting for their deaths!"

However, just as they tried to send their fire towards the wall, a violent rotating wind followed by water spears would intercept their attacks.

"F*ck! Captain, they are combining their abilities!"

The captain, the one who was standing a few tens of meters away from the Earth wall that now looked like a small room, frowned. However, he couldn\'t understand this action. A wall of earth is practically useless right now. It was such a powerful spell that could alter the terrains but after that; the user is practically done. They wouldn\'t be able to do any minor spells anymore.

Moreover, all the attacks that the other members of the party just now, the tornado and the large water spears were both powerful. Meaning, they wouldn\'t be able to protect themselves from here on. This… This is such a stupid mistake that newbies make.

But these four are not newbies. No. Judging from their techniques and the level of their cooperation, they are skilled warriors who must have already killed demons in the past. So, why make such a mistake?

Slowly, realization hit him.

A thick wall, surrounded by water and air…. It was as if they were trying to protect themselves from a huge… and powerful attack.

His eyes widened just as he turned at his back. "EVERYBODY! RU— "

*BOOM!*

*BOOM!*

*BOOM!*