While Alfred carried the mesmerising beautiful Elizabeth, heading towards the royal district in the centre of the country, the guard leader was the only one that was still alive out of the guards and it wasn't looking good for Damian who hadn't managed to land a single arrow on any of the 3 assassins.
[At least we managed to hold them back a few minutes, which should be enough for them to get away] thought Damian to himself as he quickly prepared to retreat.
In that moment, the guard leader's head was sliced off, just like all the other guards' heads were, and all 3 of the assassins set their eyes on Damian.
"That little rascal has been a big nuisance and he deserves to die," said one of the 3 robed figures.
Damian's heart slumped as soon as he saw the guard leader's head be chopped off and he thought that maybe with his ranged support he would've had a chance, however that idea was completely removed from his mind.
Without thinking, Damian quickly changed his Fire Energy into Shadow Energy as he activated his Shadow Speed Technique and doubled his speed, dashing away from the building that he stood on.
With his doubled speed, his speed was similar to that of a peak rank 6 and he rushed away from the 3 figures, heading in the opposite direction to the direction that he had seen the old man carry the beautiful girl in.
"Should we go after him, or should we let him go and go after the target?" asked one of the figures to the one that seemed to be their leader.
"You go after that kid and quickly kill him, then we will meet up at the rendezvous point after we have taken out the target" ordered the leader of the trio.
The group of three were all numbered 1 to 3 for their current mission, not using actual names or anything that could reveal who they were or that would leave any traces, with 1 being the strongest and the leader and 3 being the weakest of the trio.
They were an assassin squad that was quite well known, and it wasn't their cultivation levels that made them so renowned and impressive, as their cultivation level was ordinary, but it was their Soul Spirits, that were all unique, rare and suited to killing.
Dashing from building to building, Damian didn't look back and enhanced his speed as much as he could, wanting to get as far away from the three robed figures as he could.
Nobody had come to intervene or help him and as he turned back, to see whether or not he was being pursued.
He was hoping that they would all head in the direction that he old man had headed in, but he saw the 3 figures split up, with one of them jumping up on the building that he was on and rushing after him.
Damian instantly felt that his life was in danger, but despite that, he did not regret his decision to assist the girl and the old man in the slightest, and he felt as though that was the right thing to do in that situation.
[Utsusu, is there any way for me to get away from him, without needing to enter the Shadow Form, which I am not confident in being able to use and control] asked Domain within his mind as he continued dashing from building to building at his top speed.
It was clear that, even with his Shadow Speed Technique being used to its maximum, the assassin would be able to catch up to him within a few minutes and he wouldn't be able to sustain the Shadow Speed Technique at its maximum for much longer anyway.
{You have no choice but to use the Shadow Form to attempt to find somewhere to hide and the only other way that you can survive this, will depend on the Soul Spirit of the assassin chasing after you and your ability to use the Copy Book} answered Utsusu within his mind.
It seemed to Damian that unless he was lucky and was able to surpass his limits, his death was almost guaranteed, as the assassin continued to get closer and closer to him.
'I thought this kid was only a rank 4, but now his speed is really high compared to the power he displayed previously. He also seems quite young, so must be one of the rising stars of this small country. But his life will end here' thought the assassin to himself.
"Kid you caused us a lot of trouble, and if the target gets away because of you, the death of you, your family and everybody remotely related to you, won't be enough to compensate for it" bellowed the assassin as he increased his speed to catch up to Damian.
Damian bursting off the edge of the building of a roof, suddenly lost his footing as he slipped on a loose tile and fell crashing down to the ground.
He landed in an alleyway that was between the building he was jumping from and the building he wanted to land on, and just as he was about to get back up and rush away, the assassin jumped down and landed before him.
"Hahahaha, did you really think you could get away from me. I was merely jogging, yet was able to catch up to you" mocked the assassin as he slowly approached Damian and released his powerful aura and killing intent that made it hard for Damian to breathe.
It was unprofessional for an assassin to play with the person he was going to kill before finishing them off, but Damian had been a nuisance to him and his companions, and the assassin didn't seem him as a threat to him in the slightest.
Damian was struggling to breathe under the pressure of the assassins aura and killing intent, but despite facing an opponent that had surapssed him by such a large amount, Damian was unwilling to give up and allow himself to be killed.