Chapter 9 : Intelligence

Intelligence

Another ten minutes passed, and Serea, who had been walking along the trail, finally arrived at the spot where the convoy had been ambushed. Through the gaps between the dense trees, she could see several luxurious carriages on the path.

On those carriages were treasures, food, and equipment—all essential supplies for her own development.

Beside the convoy, the corpses of Otto Kingdom's warriors were piled up. They had armor and sharp swords that could be used to equip skeletons, and their bodies could provide blood crystals and materials to create skeleton warriors. These were exactly what she had come here for.

Although those mercenaries might have taken some of the supplies, there was a secret treasure they could never find. Only she knew where it was.

But just as Serea was preparing to move forward, something unusual occurred.

Swoosh!

Pia!

A signal flare shot up into the sky. Watching the red light, Serea immediately had her accompanying skeletons hide.

Concealed in the forest, Serea looked from afar and saw more than a dozen ragged mercenaries moving box after box of treasure from the convoy onto their carriages.

So it was those mercenaries—they hadn't left yet?

Seeing this, a question popped up in Serea's mind.

Logically, these guys should have grabbed what they wanted and fled quickly after robbing the convoy. But their unhurried demeanor suggested they weren't at all afraid of the Ailera Empire sending troops here.

"This is the first time I've seen such bold bandits. After robbing, they even take their time to tidy up before running. But that said, what did they mean by that signal flare just now?"

Serea contemplated, and combining these strange behaviors, a bold guess appeared in her mind.

To dare ambushing and slaughtering the Otto Kingdom's convoy in the territory of the Ailera Empire—either these guys were fools, or they were being directed by someone.

The former could be ruled out; there was some evidence for the latter.

Normally, bandits would make off with treasures after hitting a convoy, but not these ones—they even pursued the escaping Second Princess of the Otto Kingdom and tried to control her with some kind of mental ring.

Going to such lengths—were they really not afraid that Ailera's army would come for them?

Perhaps they truly weren't, because it was highly likely they were hired by the war faction of the Ailera Empire.

To prevent the marriage alliance, they aimed to strike at the Second Princess Serea, either to control or to kill her, thus continuing a war they were determined to win against the Otto Kingdom.

Of course, this was only Serea's conjecture; she would have to verify the truth herself.

As for how to verify it...

Wouldn't capturing someone alive and asking do the trick?

With this in mind, Serea looked toward the convoy. She could see fifteen enemies, while she had seven skeletons. With her own assassination skills, she could handle a few mercenaries, and her skeletal warriors could easily massacre these weaklings.

After weighing the pros and cons, Serea finally chose...

To fight them—after all, it's not like she couldn't win!

With the convoy's supplies and all those corpses, it would be enough for her to establish a small undead force, and that would be the capital she needed to secure her foothold in this world.

Having decided, Serea set her sights on several sentry mercenaries stationed in the forest.

Turning her eyes, Serea came up with a plan. Although she could win in a frontal assault, as an assassin, why risk it when she could stealthily kill her targets? Besides, she also wanted to know their real motive for ambushing the Otto Kingdom's convoy.

"You all wait here. Don't come out without my orders!"

After Serea gave the command, the skeletal warrior known as Little Black responded immediately.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Shhh, quietly! Don't give us away."

Little Black nodded. Its slightly enhanced intelligence helped it understand that its queen was about to play her stealth games again.

"Hold your weapons, and don't move!"

Afraid these mindless skeletons would ruin her plan, Serea reminded them once more.

The skeletons all nodded in perfect unison, which finally put Serea's mind at ease.

She wasn't nagging for no reason—after all, these skeletons did have an intelligence problem. Controlling them took effort and care.

System: Undead warriors are not controlled through human language. The host only needs to establish spiritual communication with them.

At that moment, the system popped up again, stunning Serea for a moment.

"Spiritual communication?"

System: Would you like guidance to complete spiritual communication?

"No kidding, go ahead."

System: Guidance complete.

As the system's voice fell, Serea's vision blurred a bit, and then she entered a very peculiar state.

In this state, she could sense the presence of every skeleton and inject her commands directly into their minds.

Raise your hand!

Serea issued this command—without saying a word.

Then, something amazing happened—the skeleton archer who received the command actually raised its hand.

"Not bad. That's really convenient."

Serea smiled happily. Now, she didn't have to worry about them not understanding her orders.

But thinking back, the system hadn't mentioned this ability earlier. She shot the unscrupulous system a glare and opened her mouth to complain. But then she thought: what was the point of complaining to that idiot system anyway?

"Fine. Next time something like this comes up, tell me sooner. Save yourself trouble, and save me trouble too."

System: Suggestion noted, pending discussion.

"Sure, take your time discussing. I don't care."

With that, Serea gave her skeletons the order to squat and stand guard in place. The skeletons immediately crouched motionless in the bushes.

"Perfect. Wait here, I'll go scout ahead."

After saying this, Serea grabbed a short dagger she'd picked up earlier and crept toward the two guards on the convoy's perimeter under cover of trees and bushes.

Rustling.

A burst of movement in the grass followed.

"Who's there!"

Sensing something nearby, the two men gripped their swords and stared at a patch of brush not far ahead. Since this was Corrupted Forest, where monsters often appeared, they remained tense, not daring to let their guard down.

Taking advantage of their turned heads, Serea picked up a palm-sized stone from the ground and hurled it at one of them.

Bang!

The man was struck and fell to the ground, dazed.

Seeing this, the other man quickly reacted and turned to look behind him—only to find a dagger already pressed to his throat.

Puchi!

His throat was cut in a single stroke, blood spurting out. With his windpipe filling with blood, he had no chance to cry out. He clutched his throat and fell.

With that, Serea supported his body, propping him gently against a tree so the other sentries would notice nothing unusual.

Having executed the assassination with practiced ease, Serea used the trees for cover, straddled the fallen man, and then pressed a piece of pre-prepared cloth over his mouth.

(To be continued...)