Ronan had originally just been standing there, not attracting any attention from the assassins. After all, in their eyes he was only a child; no one would bother to notice him.
However, the moment Ronan started to leave with Beth and Alicia at his side, the surrounding assassins immediately locked onto them.
When they saw Ronan being shielded in the middle, Beth on one side and Alicia on the other, they instantly realized his identity was anything but simple. The assassins who had still been tangled up with the guards abruptly abandoned them and rushed in Ronan's direction.
The guards, seeing the assassins' sudden change of target—and especially realizing that their goal was Ronan—hesitated.
They clearly had no desire to risk their lives for a prince no one liked. So in that instant, the guards near the platform glanced at one another, came to a tacit understanding, and all turned to withdraw toward the royal palace.
None of the assassins moved to block them. After all, their target was the royal family.
The fact that the guards didn't even try to intervene took the assassins by surprise, but they had no time to think about it. Ronan and his two escorts were already almost upon them.
Just as the assassins were about to close in, Alicia, on Ronan's right, moved.
Her movement was so fast that it left only an afterimage. No one saw how she drew her sword. They only felt their vision blur as a bright silver arc like a new moon swept through the air.
"Schlick—!"
A faint sound rang out, the sound of a blade slicing through flesh.
The three assassins at the very front froze mid-charge, bodies suddenly rigid. Then, maintaining their lunging posture, their upper halves slid down along smooth diagonal lines. Blood gushed out like a fountain, and their internal organs spilled wetly across the ground.
Even as their bodies hit the ground, the expressions on their faces were still twisted in the ferocity of the charge, mixed with a trace of bewilderment that had yet to fade.
One strike.
Three instant kills.
Fast. Precise. Ruthless.
Not a single wasted motion, like the most finely tuned killing machine.
Everything on the platform happened in a heartbeat.
The guards who hadn't yet left saw this scene and all sucked in a cold breath.
Even the other assassins who had been charging toward Ronan came to an abrupt halt, not daring to rush in recklessly. None of them had seen how Alicia swung her sword.
This kind of terrifying strength was completely beyond anything in their understanding.
"How can she be this strong?"
These assassins were merely ordinary people who had received some training. They could barely handle standard guards.
But facing a Claymore warrior like Alicia, they were completely out of their depth.
In the world of Claymore, Beth and Alicia could fight even awakened Abyssal Ones. Compared to them, these ordinary assassins were not worth mentioning.
Beth remained quietly at Ronan's left, as if nothing had happened. Only her gaze had grown sharper as it swept the surroundings with greater vigilance.
Alicia had already returned her sword to its sheath and resumed her icy, statuesque guarding posture, as if she had merely swatted a few flies.
"So, are you all still planning to block my path?"
Ronan watched the assassins around them with a light chuckle, completely unconcerned about whether they would attack again.
None of the assassins answered.
The hands gripping their blades were slick with sweat.
As assassins, they had long since accepted the possibility of death.
But seeing how easily Alicia had taken lives, it was as if life under her blade were no more than vegetables being chopped. None of them wanted to die in such a pointless way.
Ronan had never really expected them to respond. He simply continued forward, leading Beth and Alicia as they walked off the platform.
"What are you all hesitating for? He's definitely a member of the royal family—maybe even a prince! You don't get many chances to meet a prince!"
A voice suddenly rang out from among the assassins. It was their leader. Seeing Ronan walk away as if nothing had happened, he couldn't help roaring to snap the stunned assassins back to their senses.
The leader was also afraid of dying under Alicia's sword.
However, if everyone surged forward together, they might still be able to rely on their numbers to overwhelm her. Dying to pile bodies onto her—this was the only method he could think of.
He had no intention of giving up the chance to assassinate a member of the royal family.
Hearing the leader's words, the assassins were still terrified, but when they thought about what would happen if they disobeyed orders, they gritted their teeth.
Hearts hardening, they all rushed toward Ronan and the two sisters.
"They really aren't afraid of death, huh."
Ronan noticed their movement and watched them surge forward again. He was no saint.
If people were trying to kill him, then they needed to be prepared to be killed in turn.
"Alicia, do it. No need to hold back." Ronan said calmly.
At his command, Alicia's eyes immediately sharpened.
Cold killing intent spread out from her like a wave.
She charged forward.
She didn't even release her yoki. Faced with such ordinary opponents, she had no need to fight seriously. Relying solely on her inhuman physical abilities and flawless grasp of timing in battle, she easily cut down every assassin on the field.
Even when the last few assassins turned to flee, Alicia showed no mercy.
If they had attacked her and her charge, then they needed to be ready to die.
When the leader finally fell beneath Alicia's sword, there was no longer a single assassin left standing.
As for the ordinary civilians, they had already scattered and fled long ago.
Now, only the surviving soldiers around the plaza and the royal guards who had yet to leave remained.
At this moment, all of them were staring blankly at Alicia.
One could say that almost all of the assassins in the plaza had died under her blade.
None of them could believe that the woman in black armor possessed such overwhelming strength.
"Your Highness."
Alicia ignored their gazes and calmly returned to Ronan's side.
Ronan gave a slight nod, then led Beth and Alicia as they headed back toward the royal palace.
The power Alicia had shown today would definitely leave the people in the palace deeply shaken.
Ronan could already picture their expressions.
Moreover, with the level of strength Alicia had displayed today, at least within the royal palace, she could be considered an absolutely invincible existence. No one there would be able to threaten her.
This was something Ronan had slowly come to understand after living in this world for so many years.
In the original story, there were indeed many powerful figures—great pirates, Marine Headquarters rear admirals, vice admirals, even admirals.
But when measured against the world's total population, such powerhouses were very, very few.
In a World Government member nation like Lulusia, the strongest person in the palace was probably only around the level of a Marine commander.
After all, in the first half of the Grand Line, pirates with bounties over one hundred million berries were rare to begin with.
Even in the era called "the Worst Generation," counting the Straw Hat crew, there were only thirteen pirates in total with bounties over one hundred million.
So with Alicia and Beth's strength, Ronan could basically walk sideways through the Lulusia Kingdom.
The problem was, he had no intention of drawing attention this early.
Especially not from the person behind the Gorosei.
Ronan definitely did not want to end up in that one's sights.
(End of Chapter)
If I see that this fanfic has support, I will upload 20+ chapters to Patreon!!
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]