42 Assassin

Swiftly, out of the shadows sprung several figures cloaked in black, swarming the carriage ahead in waves, their blades cleanly drawn.

Fear was immediately instilled in the carriage coachman's eyes, and the two horses tugging ahead of him let out a piercing nay that rang throughout the entire forest as they came to a complete and abrupt halt.

The man leading them was clearly identified by his attire, the only man wearing a purple cloak, and with a flame in hand, he grinned from beneath his hood and made his demands.

"Listen here! We've got you surrounded! We won't hesitate to burn you down! Now Come—"

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH—"

That was when suddenly, his speech was interrupted by a deafening, banshee-like shriek that appeared out of the forest, and their attentions were immediately drawn, a hint of concern appearing in their previously assured eyes.

"What was that? Do you think it's a beast?"

"No way! We scouted the area for miles! There shou—"

All of a sudden, from the darkness, something was thrown at them like a hurling stone, skitting beneath their feet from where that scream was initially heard.

The smell of sizzling meat was the first thing they recognized, and the next was the state of the figure beneath them… It was the remains of one of their comrades, his ashy, dry body was burned and sucked dry with patches of what seemed like molten rock for what he now had as skin. His bald, shrivelled face was burnt beyond recognition and If it were not for his attire, they may not have realized that it was indeed one of their own.

"What?" One of them mumbled trying to understand what and how this all just happened.

"A-AHHHHHHHH!!"

That was when a similar cry was heard, but only this one was far closer. When they looked to their side, they noticed a man caught completely on fire squirming on the ground and begging for his life, and not too long after did several shards of ice blast at them from the same direction like spears, leaving many more of them hurting or even dead on the ground.

"MY EYE! MY EYE!"

"WHAT IS THIS!? AHHH!!"

Many of them squealed in pain, and the slight hints of confusion and disunity amongst the previously organized unit were made more than clear.

"What the hell are you doing men! We've only lost a few of us! We're still thirty strong! Stop being such pussies! It's only a single man! STOP BEING DISTRACTED AND FIRRREEEEE!!" Their leader's angered roar brought them back to their senses.

The mages amongst the group brought out their hands and all at once blasted their various magical and elemental spells towards where those projectiles arrived, leaving a massive wave of destruction in their wake. If anything had lived there before, it was certainly dead now.

However, what was odd was that there was no human scream that arose, and their sense of relief was short-lived as several blasts of fire and shards of ice were once again hurled at them from another direction. However, this time most of the damage was able to be blocked by their swords and shields due to their alertness, yet some attacks still managed to break through their defences and cause major damage.

"Spread out! Stop being so clumped! He can afford to just carelessly aim because of how big of a target we are! Ten of you! Move out into the forest and find him! We're in a lit road so he has easy vision on us! Go into the forest! NOW!" Their leader once again ordered, and the men promptly did as they were told.

Ten men spread out into the forest with torches and magic lights in hand while the other twenty remained.

'Shit…' Alucard inwardly thought.

At first, he was delighted to hear that the enemy was going to enter his domain of darkness, but after realizing that the magic lights the magicians possessed were strong enough to shed light on most of what was around them, he began to reconsider.

He expected there to be many bandits, but never did he think it would be this many.

The bandits were in groups of three or four scouting around the perimeter rather carefully, each group possessing at least one magician who knew how to cast a magic light.

Alucard had already killed many of them and injured many more, he had gained enough XP to level up twice from the endeavour, and the first bandit he had killed had more than filled his blood reserves. He had already done what he had set out to do and more, anything further would be nothing short of reckless suicide with no merit.

Their movements were slow, and Alucard felt more than comfortable with his ability to run away.

'Good hunting…' He inwardly thought to himself with a sigh as he looked behind him towards the direction of the city, ready to abandon the carriage and all who was in it.

However, that was when he heard a scream come from behind him which was followed up by an even greater ensuing chaos, and he could not help but turn around and be once again drawn.

'What the hell?' His eyes shot out wide.

There he witnessed battle when at first he expected a massacre from the bandits killing the carriage and all who were in it. Spells blasted left and right, and the sound of metal clacking filled the air, mixed with the screams of battle.

And through the mayhem, outside in the well-lit road, he witnessed that the carriage now possessed a translucent green barrier surrounding it like a dome, but more importantly, he noticed four new figures all armoured in their own distinct attire.

A man wielding a greatsword over half his size, swinging it with relative ease cleaving his opponents in two, another man dressed in a robe with a staff in hand bearing a green glow, An archer meticulously jumping from tree to tree, shooting many arrows all at once from a single volley, and lastly was a man of relatively small and meagre stature, yet the same could not be said about the swift use of his lightning-quick rapier that made quick work of his foes.

"WHOEVER IS IN THE FOREST COME BACK NOW!! THAT IS AN ORDER!!!" The leader's screams rang out once more, and the search parties sent for Alucard immediately did as they were told, yet the calmness in their hearts no longer remained hearing the distressed state of their leader and the mayhem behind as they frantically ran back to their comrades.

But as they did, they were met by a masked man creeping from behind them like a shadow, and with swift, calculated movements, a dagger was shoved through each of their necks as they dropped lifeless on the ground. They had been eliminated without even a chance to react.

Splashes of blood dirtied his mask, yet blood was the last thing on his mind now as he released his dagger from his last victim's neck before looking up at the carnage ahead.

[Level Up!]

[ Congratulations! You have reached the requirements to unlock the "Assassin" class! Would you like to unlock it? ]

[ Yes ] [ Not Now ]

'Well… I guess I can stay a little bit longer…'