The Mysterious Black Magician

"What?!" A person in a ninja outfit uttered in surprise. Unexpectedly, his sneak attack failed. He was about to behead this insolent human after the useless prince signaled to him. But his sneak attack was blocked!

The impact of their weapons produced a high-pitched sound that caught their attention. Gath and the others stared dumbfounded at the two figures who suddenly materialized beside the young human.

Gath had already expected that invisible people were hiding in the room, but Gath was surprised when one of them came out to slash the human.

Based on what he said a while ago, it seemed like he had no appointment with the useless prince. Gath admired this young man's guts for intruding the prince's chamber.

The more that made Gath surprised was the other person who showed up without a warning and blocked the ninja guard's attack.

The one who blocked the ninja guard's attack is a person in dark blue clothing.. However, his face could not be seen as his back was facing Gath and the others. Weirdly, it came out from the shadow of that human, who called himself Chad. Aside from that, it was giving off a pungent smell, like the smell of a dead person.

"The heck, who is this presumptuous bastard?!" Scar muttered angrily. 

"I beg your pardon, your highness. I came here not to be an antagonist against you but to offer a friendly relationship with you," the human, Chad, spoke calmly, disregarding the current situation.

After hearing his casual tone, the useless prince's face darkened. "Heh, do you think you have the right to--!!"

"Eh?!" 

Ten ninjas came out of hiding, then one of them bellowed. "You bastard!" 

"Stop!"

They all froze on the spot. The useless prince wasn't able to finish his words because another person in dark blue clothing appeared behind him and pointed a blade on his throat. He then shouted at his guards to stop their attack.

Gulp!

The useless prince swallowed his saliva while beads of sweat were noticeable on his face.

"I apologize for my misbehavior, your highness. But I need to defend myself."

After hearing him. The useless prince sighed. But deep inside he was fuming with anger while insulting his useless guards. These fools were careless on their job!

The useless Prince beckoned on his ninja guards to retreat. Though hesitant, they followed the prince without more talks.

Their figure disappeared in an instance like fusing into the thin air.

Fang wondered what kind of spell that was. But he guessed it was a high-level [Hide] skill. He could also use a [Hide] skill, though a low-level only.

Most people who specialized in assassination would end up learning this kind of skill as it was a useful skill in this kind of profession.

After the ninja guards disappeared, Chad's mouth curved upward, then he snapped his fingers. After the clicking sound, the figures in dark blue clothing sunk back into the shadow. "As I said a while ago, I came here not to become your highness's enemy, but to extend a cooperative relationship," Chad repeated his words a while ago, though he altered it a little. Without waiting for the prince to open his mouth, he produced something from out of thin air.

Everyone saw him holding a small crystal ball. He presented it respectfully, still in a knee, to the prince. The useless prince signaled, then one shadow guard materialized and warily took the crystal from Chad's open hands. Then he handed it to the prince.

The prince took the crystal and observed it for a couple of seconds. It was a mixture of purple and black. And inside was like the night itself. 'Magic Cryst?' His initial thought. But then, the prince's eyes suddenly opened wide. "This is!"

After the prince's exclamation, Chad slowly smiled. "Yes, Your Highness, it was the valuable item, known as… The Eye Of The Midnight!"

"Eh? What is that?!" Scar and the others had no idea about this item. Gath, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes. 

The useless prince grinned.

[Eye of the Midnight] was a mysterious item found inside the Margareth Ruins.

The Margareth Ruins could be found in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Amazon, northwest of the Encantasia empire.

This [Eye of the Midnight] contains a magical aura inside. If could be researched well, he might find good use of it.

And if he was right, the value of this item was so high in the market and even in the auction houses. Although none was able to prove a better use of it, the useless prince was so happy to get it for free. He must study this well. No, apparently, he already had an idea on how he used it. Actually, there were only 3 known [Eye of the Midnight] that were discovered in the Margareth Ruins. But only a few knew about it.

Gath felt uneasy about the item in the prince's hand.

The prince smiled from ear to ear. He needed to check if it was genuine.

Later on, a friendly connection between the useless prince and Chad was formed. 

On the other hand, Scar, Fang, and Gath were able to avoid getting killed. The prince gave them another chance. But before that, they needed to gather more men.

No matter what, he needed to get the princess of Mangrove Kingdom.

Scar and the others were so happy when they left the palace. Then, without wasting time, they immediately went to a pub to recruit new members.

...

One day before Yman and Rea visit the Encantasia palace.

Empress Elleanna Encanta received a report from her spy. Stated in the report that he successfully invaded the enemy's territory. Then, about the situation in the Nara Kingdom. That it was in a mess. Not only that, in the letter, a warning was written in bold letters. It was a warning of another possible abduction attempt on Princess Merea Ella.

Then at the lower part of the letter, the name [Eye of the Midnight] was written in bold and italic letters.

The empress grimaced after seeing it. Currently, she was in her chamber, sitting on her personal chair. Around her, the Royal Knights were standing closely, lead by Royal Knight-Captain Borge Bergal.

The empress immediately took a blank parchment and a quill pen, then wrote hastily on it. A moment later, she rolled the parchment and tied it with a yellow ribbon before handing it to one of the royal knights.

"Pass this to the messenger," said the empress.

"Yes, your majesty!" After the royal knight bowed, he went out to find their trusted messenger.

"No matter what… we needed to tighten our guard on the border," said the empress in a tone full of worry.

"Uhm, your majesty, is something wrong?" The Royal Knight-Captain Borge Bergal asked the empress curiously.

The empress looked at the faraway distance. "Sooner or later, the blood of the neighbors will flood in the backyard."

"....."

The Knight Captain fell silent but he got the gist of the empress' meaning.

"A war huh…"