The two assassins were just waiting for the beasts to kill Clovis and the others.
"Oh, oh! There is so much ruckus over there," said one of the assassins while relaxingly leaning on the tree.
"It's going to be impossible to escape from that. Thanks to the sudden visit of Skylark's princess, we were unable to do anything to him for a while. However, we have to thank the mayor for chasing them away."
"Well, he's not chasing them away."
"He is simply too ignorant. He doesn't know that if he wants to protect them, he should have kept them close. Now that they are in a different city, they won't have anyone to help them. In addition, the shield bearer that they have recruited…"
"According to the investigation, that guardian is a leech, whose strength is subpar. He might be good enough to protect the people on the back, but he will become a burden in an emergency situation ."
"Yes. And we've prepared everything we can in order to create a situation where they are completely surrounded. I have seen the video of them fighting the Tier 3 beast during the expedition with that Skylark's princess. While the beasts here are not as strong, it'll be impossible for them to kill the Tier 3 beasts in an instant."
"So one Tier 3 beast stops them and the rest will kill them. There is even a Tier 4 beast in the mix… and a flying beast."
"Yes. No matter how abnormal they are, they won't be able to escape."
"What if they are able to escape?"
"It's impossible, but if they are able to do it…" The assassin fell silent for a moment. "We might have to inform the headquarter about it."
"We are going to retreat?"
"The opponent is that madman's grandson, you know."
There was an awkward agreement between them when they mentioned Clovis's grandfather.
However, that awkward atmosphere suddenly changed when they noticed something. The assassin who had been leaning on the tree suddenly pointed at the back with his thumb while nonchalantly saying, "Why do I feel like I'm hearing the ruckus coming toward us?"
The other assassin couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows and take a peek, only to realize it was too late.
What they found was Clovis and the others going down the hill at high speed, coincidentally running toward them.
The assassin straightened his body, pulled his dagger, and turned around, trying to figure out what was happening. At that moment, Jay had already slashed the tree, his blade was about to reach the assassin's body.
"!!!" The assassin tried to block this swing. However, because he didn't expect them to be able to escape the beasts' encirclement, his form was still unstable.
When the two blades clashed, the assassin was instantly losing. Jay's blade pushed the dagger back, almost reaching the assassin's body.
'What is this strength? Even though he had all that momentum and initiative, I'm still a Tier 5 human. How can I lose to a mere Tier 1 human?' The assassin gritted his teeth before noticing something important. 'Wait. This strength… Don't tell me…'
Seeing his friend getting pushed back, the other assassin planned to back him up. However, both assassins suddenly tilted their bodies and heads before several gunshots echoed.
Kanaria and Melody were there to provide some cover for Jay. Unfortunately, it seemed that normal guns wouldn't work against Tier 5 humans. Even if they didn't have the Brain Affinity, their bodies had evolved enough to develop the instinct to dodge bullets.
"Don't underestimate me!" The assassin roared and used all the strength he could muster to knock away Jay's sword.
Jay gritted his teeth. It seemed that no matter how much strength he put into his sword, it wasn't going to be enough to overwhelm a Tier 5 human. Still, Jay was glaring at the assassin as if he wasn't scared of him.
'I applaud your courage. While I can't kill Clovis Hacfield directly, it doesn't mean I can't kill you here. To think you would be able to use Muscle Augmentation while being a Tier 1 human… You are not a genius anymore, you're basically a monster for being able to use something that only a Tier 3 or even a Tier 4 human can barely use.
But if I let you get stronger, you will be a threat to our plan in killing Clovis,' the assassin muttered inwardly.
He tilted his hand, ready to impale Jay's head.
However, that was when Clovis suddenly appeared in front of Jay, sacrificing his own body. It wasn't a foolish move. He perfectly knew that the assassins wouldn't dare kill him. In fact, this might be what he was going to do if the assassins tried to attack them.
The assassin snapped back. He gritted his teeth while using the last bit of his strength to slightly change the trajectory of his dagger.
Although barely, the dagger missed Clovis. However, forcefully changing the trajectory required a lot of movement internally, causing some internal injuries to the assassin's body.
The other assassin tried to help his friend, but Kanaria and Melody shot at him again. Now that he knew about them, the assassin skillfully avoided the bullet while making his way to Clovis.
But this time, Ragna appeared in his way.
He couldn't help but remember the result of the investigation into Ragna. Without hesitation, he swung his hand as if trying to push Ragna away.
The hit was quite powerful, but the assassin was surprised because Ragna wasn't blown away. He only managed to push Ragna one meter back.
"Wha—!" His eyes were filled with disbelief. However, to reach his friend, he had to blow away Ragna. He didn't have time to think about why Ragna was different from their investigation. He hit Ragna's shield with all his strength this time.
As expected of a Tier 5 human, even Ragna couldn't withstand the second blow and was launched into a tree.
However, he managed to buy Clovis and the others two precious seconds.
After all, in those two seconds, Jay spun his body, looped around Clovis, and struck the assassin's side.