Afterwards, Dastan returned to the cave mansion, his fury still simmering just beneath the surface.
Since his identity was already exposed, there was no point in keeping his disguise any longer.
After everything that had happened, he was no longer scared of any assassin. If he spotted any of them from now on, he would be the one to attack first.
Dastan felt a deep sense of gratitude toward Leyvi.
All the dangerous adventures they had experienced together, always running from one threat or another, constantly trying to compete, and the intense sparring sessions had no doubt sharpened his abilities tremendously.
He had become far more alert to danger, his movements smoother and swifter, his reaction time incredibly fast, and his overall battle sense had improved to a level he had never imagined before.
He was no longer the person who could not even run properly while being chased by a demonic caracal.
He was no longer the useless crown prince from years ago who relied entirely on his Royal Guards to intimidate others.
Now, he had become someone who could genuinely bully others with his own power.
From this moment on, he vowed to kill every assassin who dared cross his path.
One of the advantages of being a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator was the heightened ability to detect soul fluctuations. Every individual had a unique soul signature, but under certain conditions, those from similar backgrounds or training could exhibit very similar patterns.
His encounters with many assassins over the past week had allowed him to pick up on the subtle similarities between their soul fluctuations, likely molded by the way they had been raised and trained as killers.
Thanks to this, it would be much easier for him to spot an assassin if they drew near. Instead of waiting to be ambushed, he would be the one to strike first.
After Dastan returned to the cave mansion where everyone had gathered, he turned to Tamina and said, "Can you fix this hole, Tamina?" He pointed upward at the gaping opening left by the explosion.
Livana and Carla, who had never seen Dastan's real face before, were absolutely shocked. They had known he was wearing a disguise, but they never would have guessed he was the Crown Prince of the Howling Kingdom.
"Yes, but it would not look like a hill from the outside to cover our cave mansion anymore. Not to mention this hideout is already exposed. Maybe we should move. I can make another cave mansion inside another nearby hill," Tamina suggested thoughtfully.
"No need. We will stay here until Leyvi returns. If anyone wants to cause trouble, this prince will execute them first. We don't need to keep our disguises anymore. Acting cowardly would only embolden these troublemakers." Dastan's voice was firm and resolute.
Tamina and Tantan, perched on her shoulder, exchanged surprised glances.
Tamina felt that her royal fiancé had changed once again. Had this incident made him realize something deeper about his own strength and responsibility?
Meanwhile, Tantan was quietly worried. If my master becomes much braver, does that mean he might stop collecting more powerful metal beasts? Please don't stop, master. I need them to bully others.
"Hehe. Congratulations, Tamina. It looks like your future husband has finally grown some spine. We should celebrate this. Ah, too bad we ran out of heavenly dishes. We can only celebrate with some fruits for now." Anda chimed in cheerfully.
Dastan's face twitched slightly.
Why do you think this prince is doing this now? This prince promised your husband to take care of this place. But this cave mansion ended up half destroyed because this prince was too passive.
If this prince had gone out and hunted those assassins from the beginning, this hill would still be intact. It is a good thing none of you were injured, or this prince would be ashamed to face Leyvi.
"In any case, the fact that they had to use such a powerful explosive spirit artifact to harm us means that our cave mansion is incredibly well protected. Dozens of them perished while we all remain safe. I am delighted to see that our security was that effective. This has been a fun week. Hehe." Anda chuckled lightly.
Leyvi had been away for two months, and she had been quite bored without him.
Everyone except Bodo was left speechless. What do you mean you had fun? We have been anxious for the entire week. Those assassins kept using various methods to try to kill us in here, you know.
Only Bodo had mixed feelings about the situation. He was very eager to help fight the invading assassins, but his fighting style was too destructive to be used safely inside the cave mansion, so he was not allowed to join the fight. This left him feeling restless and bored.
He could only watch as Anda burned many of those assassins to crisps after first treating them like lab rats for testing her various alchemy products.
That was right. Most of the intruders were captured by traps and then subjected to experimental alchemical treatments by Anda before being incinerated. She held nothing back.
It was always like this with her. She would tone down her ruthlessness whenever Leyvi was around, but when he was not with her, nothing held her back, especially toward those she deemed enemies.
In this case, they were all assassins. There was absolutely no reason to be soft with them. She tested various dangerous alchemical concoctions on them until their bodies deformed hideously.
Even Victor was scared to witness this. As a fellow alchemist, he had performed many experiments to find ways to permanently alter his height, including at the genetic level. Most of his experiments had caused physical changes and deformations. But his subjects had always been animals. Seeing such procedures performed on humans made him deeply uncomfortable.
Anda chuckled softly, amused by their reactions.
Throughout all these events, what Anda found most intriguing were three particular assassins she had tried to interrogate. They could not say anything about themselves at all, let alone reveal anything about whoever was behind them.
She had used her hypnosis technique to make them talk, but they ended up dying suddenly, as if something had been planted inside them to prevent disclosure, whether they spoke voluntarily or not.
It was not that she had never heard of such safeguards in relation to assassins. She had simply found it fascinating to witness the mechanism firsthand.
It was too bad that the Cloud Continent strictly prohibited the establishment of any official assassin organization. Otherwise, she might have considered founding one herself. Anyone who messed with the Leyan Family would face an assassin's blade. But she knew Leyvi would strongly object to such methods, so the idea would remain a fantasy.
While everyone else was still processing everything, Anda turned toward Bodo with a gentle smile.
"Bodo, I have a task for you."
Bodo's eyes immediately brightened, his energy returning instantly. "Dohoho! What is it, Madam? I am so happy. I can finally do something!"
"While Tamina fixes our cave mansion, you can stay outside and guard this area. Actually, no wait. Since we are not hiding anymore, you do not have to stay inside from now on. Just guard outside. If anyone comes causing trouble, kill them if you feel like it." Anda instructed, her tone casual yet firm.
Since the crown prince had decided to stop acting timid and was willing to take action openly, there really was no need for them to stay cooped up inside the cave mansion all the time anymore.
She had also obtained some useful information about the factions in the shade from the captured assassins. While they could not speak about themselves or their employers, other kinds of information seemed fine to share.
It seemed that only a few people had arrived at the colossal tree lately, so most factions had stopped venturing out to capture newcomers. It simply was not worth the time and effort anymore.
Because of this, Anda felt the outside might not be as dangerous as she had previously assumed.
"Dohoho! Leave it to me, Madam!" Bodo immediately ran outside, his excitement palpable.
"This prince will stay outside as well," Dastan declared.
But as he turned to follow, his spiritual sense, which he had been maintaining around the area, suddenly detected a high-speed figure approaching the cave mansion.
"Huh? Is it another assassin? Hmph! This prince won't bother asking anything this time. Just die!" Dastan said coldly.
In the next moment, his Nascent Soul Body emerged, brimming with unleashed power. He dashed out of the cave mansion, leaving an afterimage in his wake.
The others inside were surprised. Another assassin so soon?
He passed by Bodo in a blur and blitzed straight toward the incoming figure.
The two closed the distance rapidly, and Dastan launched his attack without hesitation. A massive palm formed from dense Qi descended over a wide area, carrying immense destructive momentum.
"Oi! Damn clown prince! What are you doing, you bully!"
Dastan heard that familiar voice. Eh?
BOOM!
His attack slammed into the ground, blasting the land apart.