Vacuse’s life in his previous one was a life filled with caution. As a weak person, he had to rely on everything to keep himself alive, like observing things and making quick calculations and choices.
So when Vacuse saw the Knights earlier, he noticed some things about them and knew things were not that simple.
The first thing he noticed was that all the Knights were a bit harried, as if they wore their clothes at the last moment. Some even had bits of leaves and splinters on them.
They also had mud on their shoes, thick mud that coated them as if they had to move out of the standard road into somewhere a bit muddier.
But what sent Vacuse into high alert was the concealed blood he saw on them, little splashes that were hidden.
Vacuse’s face tightened. "They must not be from Father. They must have killed the original Knights that were sent, but why? Why do they want to hijack this carriage?"
"What’s so important that they have to go to such lengths?"
Vacuse knew the answer was him. Out of all the candidates in the carriage, he was the only one who was a bastard and likely heir of the Vorrakyn.
But he still did not understand.
"Why me specifically? Unless you have already killed Lyra or Drenvar, there is no use since the family Head would just make more children."
"Or do they feel threatened by me and want to cut me off already? What a cruel thing to do!"
Vacuse smiled faintly to himself. Of course, there were different things that his death could cause depending on who was doing the killing.
"I need to know who is trying to kill me," Vacuse thought. "Or who they want me and Vorrakyn to think is doing the killing."
Vacuse’s blood lit up, and his eyes glowed sharper. His heart began to beat faster as realization came upon him. "There is no way to get out of this place alive."
But he was not scared. In fact, his mouth was turned up in a smile. What he decided he needed to be above in his new life, he had already accepted the risk and danger that came with it.
"Now I have to find a way to get out of this situation without harming myself."
He looked out and did a head count of the Knights. There were four of them, and he suspected they were in the second stage of the Advancement Stage of a Soulbearer, the Syncer Soullinked, where one would already have an aspect of their beast.
"There is absolutely no way for me, as a Force user, to kill a Soulbearer. The difference in strength is just too much. Then how?"
Vacuse’s eyes turned inward as he began to think of every scrap of knowledge he knew. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he released a long breath.
The long breath came out with a subtle flow of Force energy so faint that nobody noticed it.
Vacuse could say confidently that there were few in the whole world who could match his manipulation of the Force energy, especially in the subtle way.
His Force filled the small carriage, and like small threads, it began to drill into the bodies of the other candidates.
Vacuse sighed softly, then closed his eyes and leaned back on his seat.
To all of them, he appeared as if he was sleeping, but inwardly Vacuse was on his toes like a person walking on a thin rope. His head was active.
To inject one’s energy into another person without them knowing is a skill that even Vacuse was always careful of using. And then using it on eight people?
His back was sweating, and it was with all his power that he kept his face from frowning in concentration.
The carriage continued for a while at a steady pace, and then it suddenly sped up. It jolted Vacuse to open his eyes, and he stared outside with narrowed eyes.
"It is starting already, but I am not ready!"
The carriage suddenly whirled to the side and left the road, plunging into the forest.
The other candidates also noticed the abnormalities, and they sat upright.
"Why are we leaving the road?"
"Is there a problem?"
None answered as they ran in the forest, narrowly missing smashing into trees, the monster horses growling and snarling wildly.
Vacuse gritted his teeth. "I need more time."
Suddenly, the carriage slowed and then came to a stop.
The door was opened, ripped free from the hinges with a force that almost took the rest of the wall with it in a shower of splinters.
A Knight stood at the door and sneered. "Get out if you do not want to die."
The candidates were startled for an instant before most of them began to shout in indignation.
"We are under the Dragon Lord’s protection! How dare you!"
The Knight seemed bemused even though his eyes were cold, and he immediately set an example. His hand reached forward and gripped one of the candidates on the face, a boy who screamed and struggled.
The Knight pulled him out of the carriage as if he weighed nothing and lifted him up into the air.
The other candidates could only watch in horrified expressions.
As the hand of the Knight glowed a slight green, a jet of green acid blasted out of his hand and into the boy’s face.
The boy screamed for three seconds before the acid melted through his flesh and bones into a fleshy mush, and he was dropped to the ground.
Acid still dripped from the Knight’s hand and hissed as it touched the ground, blackening the earth and plants.
The smell of burnt meat entered the carriage, and all the candidates swallowed.
The Knight said again, "Come down or die."
They all came down so fast some of them tripped and fell, causing the Knight to snicker.
Only Vacuse remained in his carriage, and he had a troubled look on his face.
"Eh? Do you feel angry and sad on behalf of your fellow?" the Knight asked with a cold smile.