Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Only Method
....
"What are you doing here?!"
Eren already expected the Prince to have a guard, but the Prince did not. He was really shocked.
During their coming of age ceremony, they were sent on their first hunt. And during the hunt, they were supposed to be alone. In the hunt, there was no commoner and no prince.
That's why, the Royal Guard was not supposed to be with him at all.
"Did my sister send you?!" he asked.
There was only one person who could bend the rules of the Empire as per her will. It was his Eldest Sister, who was also the Empress of the Sea Dragon Empire.
"I apologize for following you without permission. However, it was not according to the instruction of Her Majesty. After I return, I will accept my punishment for unauthorized trailing. But for now, I must protect you!"
The Guard respectfully stated. He also did not want to show himself if possible. He was only supposed to hide and protect the Prince. But now that he was discovered, he could only accept his punishment in the future.
"So my second sister sent you."
The Sea Dragon Prince understood everything. His Eldest Sister was the Empress. Although she could create her own rules, it made sense for her to not bother about him, especially when the task was only to hunt the Sea Serpents.
On the other hand, his second sister cared more about her. She was always worried about him. She even told him to not take part in the hunt.
He was stubborn and did not listen to his second sister. At the end, he took part in the coming of age ceremony and came out for a hunt.
Although his Second Sister did not have control of the Empire, she was still a Royal and had a few subordinates. Without letting the Empress know, she sent a Royal Guard to secretly protect her brother.
"Second Sister really thinks of me as a child. But this time, I am glad that she did. Because that woman... She is dangerous."
Usually, the Prince would have been furious about being trailed and looked down on. But this time, he realized that he needed help.
He could feel that Xiu Ying was too much for him to handle alone. And he did not want to run away like a coward.
....
Just as Xiu Ying was about to attack the young prince, a person appeared between them.
She quickly retreated and appeared next to Eren. Although Eren told her to attack the Prince, he had also signaled her to not actually do it.
She understood what he wanted, and did accordingly to draw out the guards that were hiding.
'Only one...?' Eren had expected at least two or more guards but only one appeared.
He was not sure if there was only one guard that came with the Prince or there were more that were in the hiding.
He used Identification skill on the guard as well.
[Name: Neim]
[Level: 42]
[Identity: Royal Guard of the Sea Dragon Empire]
[Bloodline: Sea Dragon Bloodline]
[Age: 485]
[Traits: Loyal]
[Stats]
[Strength: 690]
[Agility: 903]
[Stamina: 970]
[Intelligence :21]
[Mana: 1005]
[Cultivation: None]
[Hero Grade: None]
[Goddess Protection: None]
[Unique items in possession: None]
'I... See.'
Looking at the stars, Eren understood everything. It was clear why the system did not prevent him from using help.
The guard was eight levels lower than Xiu Ying, but his stats were comparable, thanks to his species advantage. His speed was slightly lower than Xiu Ying, but his strength was higher.
If he was alone, this Sea Dragon would be able to easily crush him.
If the Prince was a youngling who had just started walking the path of a warrior, then the Guard was an experienced Sea Dragon who had experienced a lot of battles.
As the Charm of Xiu Ying only worked on humans, it became useless in front of the Sea Dragons. She could only rely on her strength and her skills.
'I don't know if there are any more guards hiding, but there seems to be a high chance that this is it. In that case, it is still doable.'
Eren was constantly modifying and changing the plan in his mind. He was doing a lot of calculations to find the shortest route of success, but only one method appeared the most effective.
He had to have Xiu Ying fight the Guard while he tried to kill the Prince.
He could try it the other way around. He could fight the Guard and use his Pendant of Protection to survive to buy Xiu Ying enough time to kill the Prince.
Unfortunately, this plan would have only worked if the Prince did not have the Escape Bracelet. If the Prince was made to fight Xiu Ying, he would have to be a fool to not understand that his victory was impossible.
In that case, the Prince was going to run away. On the other hand, if he was fighting the Prince, then the Prince had enough of a chance of victory.
With his Impulsive Trait as mentioned in his status screen, if he had even a decent chance of victory, he was not going to run away.
It allowed Eren to take advantage of the situation to kill the Prince.
There was another method. The two of them could fight the guard and kill him. All they needed was to kill a Sea Dragon to use the Memory Fragment. But none of the options included that.
He could also see why that was the case. Allowing the Prince to leave came under the second option.
Even if they killed the Sea Dragon and the Prince was able to escape, it was a disaster. The Prince could return with more Sea Dragons from the Empire and cover the entire ocean, even cutting their escape.
If that happened, he was only going to receive the second reward, a coffin, and for good reason.
'In that case, I have to stick to my choice. I have to kill the Prince. And devouring the Royal Sea Dragon Bloodline does not look like waste either…'