Startled birds burst from the forest, wings flapping wildly as chaos erupted among the trees. Branches shook, leaves whispered, and in the moonlight, it looked like a scene straight out of hell—a chaotic spectacle. At that moment, black-clad assassins sprang from both sides of the path.
"Kill!" The black-clad men wasted no words. As soon as they leaped from the grass, they swung their blades straight at the horses' legs without hesitation.
"Protect the master!" Seven elite guards quickly formed a shield around Prince Nolan and Serena Feng. Nolan's guards were well-trained; faced with such an ambush, they showed no panic. After calming their horses, they drew their blades and engaged the assassins.
Seven guards against more than thirty assassins—not only did they hold their ground, they even seemed to gain the upper hand.
Nolan's guards truly were extraordinary. Serena Feng let out a breath of relief, but kept her left hand on her sleeve darts, remaining highly alert.
"Don't be afraid. I'm here." Prince Nolan rode his horse closer to Serena Feng.
"I'm not afraid." She wasn't afraid—she was just defending herself. In a fight, staying alert was only natural; in situations like this, you couldn't count on others to protect you forever.
Once Nolan was sure Serena Feng truly wasn't afraid, he said no more. He rode ahead, shielding her behind him. The assassins attacked for a long time but failed to break Prince Nolan's defense, growing impatient.
"Archers, step forward!" The assassin leader gave the order, and just as the grass had settled, it rustled again—another wave of black-clad men surged toward them.
Watching the shadows moving in the grass, Serena Feng couldn't help but wonder—just how many assassins were there? This was an outrageous setup. How much did they hate Nolan to spend so much to kill him?
"Send the signal." Prince Nolan hadn't planned on calling for backup, but seeing how well-prepared the enemy was, he had no choice but to request reinforcements.
"Yes, sir." The guard closest to Nolan pulled out a signal flare. With a sharp whoosh, a streak of light shot into the sky and burst into white smoke.
Serena Feng could only sigh—no phones, no radios, nothing. In moments like this, being cut off was a nightmare. That signal flare might bring help, but it could just as easily bring more enemies.
"Loose!" The assassins showed no mercy. As soon as the archers were ready, their leader gave the order.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Sharp arrows sliced through the night sky, their black tips gleaming with a chilling cold light as they shot toward Serena Feng and Nolan.
Clang, clang, clang... Nolan swung his sword, knocking each arrow away from his side.
The first wave was manageable—not too many arrows. But when the second wave came, there were twice as many. No sooner had they blocked the first barrage than more came flying. The assassins had split their archers into three groups, firing in seamless succession. Even if the arrows missed, they'd wear their targets down eventually.
Serena Feng knew she couldn't help in this kind of fight. Determined not to make things worse, she flattened herself against her horse, staying low to avoid becoming an easy target.
Thud—a guard failed to dodge in time and took an arrow to the left shoulder. He immediately swung his blade, cut the shaft off, and kept fighting.
Thud, thud—the number of wounded guards kept rising, but reinforcements still hadn't arrived.
Prince Nolan's expression grew grim. With his strength, he could easily leap out and slaughter those archers, but he couldn't leave—Serena Feng was behind him, needing his protection, and he couldn't trust anyone else with her safety.
"Master, we failed to protect you. Please, escape while you still can." The seven guards were covered in blood, several suffering serious wounds.
"They can hold out for maybe fifteen minutes at best." Serena Feng was a doctor—she knew these guards were barely hanging on. She wanted to help, but...
The enemy archers were too far away. Her sleeve darts didn't have that kind of range, and in the darkness, she couldn't aim for their vital points at all.
"Ser—" Nolan tried to tell Serena Feng to run, but she cut him off: "I can handle myself. You don't need to worry about me."
She knew Nolan was skilled in martial arts, though she wasn't sure exactly how strong.
Nolan gave Serena Feng a long, searching look. He knew she could defend herself, but against this relentless barrage of arrows, her skills weren't enough.
Serena Feng didn't explain. Truth was, she couldn't fight back against the arrows at all. But in this situation, there was no room for weakness—she couldn't drag others down. On the battlefield, you didn't have to kill the enemy, but you absolutely couldn't be a burden to your team.
It's not the wolf-like enemy you should fear, but the pig-like teammate. That's the real lesson here.
"Take care of yourself." Prince Nolan didn't press the issue. He rode forward, snatched a weapon from an assassin, and tossed it to Serena Feng: "Take this. Defend yourself." Then he ordered the guards, "Protect her with your lives!"
"Yes, sir." The seven guards were injured and weak, their voices low, but their determination was unmistakable.
Prince Nolan nodded slightly, then leaped into the darkness.
Why did that movement look so familiar?
Serena Feng's eyes widened. She was just wondering who Nolan's movement reminded her of when an assassin broke through the guards' defense and charged at her. Serena snapped back to attention, not daring to get distracted.
She was good with firearms and knives, but other cold weapons were beyond her. The broadsword was too heavy—Serena Feng couldn't even swing it. So she hurled the blade at the assassin and pressed her sleeve dart trigger...
Whoosh, whoosh—two darts shot out, striking the assassin right between the brows.
Serena Feng curled her lips in satisfaction. Sleeve darts didn't have much range, but their killing power was strong. Plus, her aim was always good—these darts suited her perfectly.
The guards relaxed when they saw Serena Feng unharmed. With Nolan gone, they struggled to hold off the assassins, but even as their strength failed, they did their best to keep Serena at the center.
Luckily, after Nolan disappeared into the grass, the number of archers dropped sharply, and the arrow volleys eased up. The three most seriously wounded guards focused on blocking arrows, two with lighter injuries dealt with nearby assassins, and the last two lay motionless across their horses.
There were too many assassins. Serena Feng knew the five remaining guards couldn't hold out until help arrived. She immediately activated her Smart Med-Pack and pulled out a syringe filled with sulfuric acid.
(Skip: This line is a webnovel system prompt, not part of the story.)
"Protect yourselves. Don't worry about me—and don't make a sound, or you'll distract your master." Ignoring the guards' worried looks, Serena Feng dismounted and used her sleeve darts to take down several attackers nearby.
"Mi—" One guard started to speak, but remembered Serena Feng's warning and immediately shut his mouth, though worry and unease showed in his eyes.
If anything happened to Serena Feng, they'd all be doomed. But what happened next let them breathe easier—she used some strange device to shoot at the assassins' eyes and hands. As they cried out in pain, Serena closed in, either throwing them down or kicking their legs out from under them.
They watched as a seemingly delicate woman fought like a warrior, taking down one skilled fighter after another.
"Did I see that right?" The less-injured guards found a moment to rub their eyes in disbelief.
Thud—while the enemy was covering his eyes, Serena Feng closed in, drove her elbow into his abdomen, and pierced his heart with a sleeve dart.
As the assassin collapsed, Serena used his back to flip herself over, locking her legs around another attacker's neck and twisting hard—crack, his neck broke. At the same time, she fired a sleeve dart and killed another assassin to her left.
After all this, the unlucky man who'd served as her springboard was left sprawled on the ground. Serena leapt off first, and when he hit the earth, she retreated, stepping on him to jump again.
Bang—she tackled another assassin head-on, pressed a sleeve dart to his throat and fired, killing him instantly, then rolled into the nearby grass.
She moved in one smooth, decisive chain—so crisp and efficient it left everyone stunned.
"Such quick moves, such clean technique—what kind of martial art is that?" One of the guards, dodging arrows, caught sight of Serena Feng in action. His eyes lit up as he searched for her, but she'd already vanished into the grass and couldn't be seen.
Hiss—Serena Feng collapsed in the grass, gasping in pain.
Sulfuric acid was effective—hit the enemy and the pain would cripple them, but...
In close combat, it was impossible not to get splashed. Serena Feng had avoided getting acid on her hands, but her body and legs weren't so lucky.
No one understood how terrifying pure sulfuric acid could be better than Serena Feng. She didn't dare keep fighting, so she took the chance to hide in the grass and started cleaning and treating her wounds.
The area touched by acid wasn't large, but the wound was deep—whole chunks of flesh were gone, and the pain made Serena Feng grit her teeth, wishing she could just cut it out herself.
Gritting her teeth, Serena Feng took clean cotton from her Smart Med-Pack and pressed it to the acid-burned area.
She was deeply relieved the acid hadn't hit her directly—she'd only gotten a little on her.
After draining the blood and remaining acid from the burn, Serena Feng flushed the wound thoroughly with saline solution.
No matter how careful she was, the sound of running water caught the assassins' attention. Knowing she couldn't hide, Serena leaned against a tree, sulfuric acid syringe in hand. As footsteps drew closer, her breathing slowed.
Nervous—of course she was. Serena Feng kept rinsing her wound with her right hand, left hand poised on the syringe. As soon as the enemy was in range, she'd strike.
But just then, the sound of hoofbeats approached, followed by the unmistakable noise of a blade cleaving heads and blood spraying from bodies.
"Reinforcements are here."
Serena Feng let out a breath. The assassins searching for her in the grass quickly retreated when they received the order to withdraw.
"Kill them all—leave no survivors!" Prince Nolan's order rang out; he clearly had no intention of interrogating any assassins.
In an instant, the tables turned. The assassins who'd been doing the killing now became the hunted.
Serena Feng didn't care about any of that. She only knew she was safe now—and needed to treat her own wounds, because there were other injured people outside waiting for her help.
That's what it means to be a doctor.