Hitman with a Badass System

(Several hours later)

Victoria, Edith, and Lailah were taking a stroll outside the castle. The thusians erupted a large field filled with dummies, archery targets, and small arenas to hone their skills. They were greeted by the soldiers with a respectful bow. Lailah couldn't care less about the war preparation. All she wanted was to keep Edith safe until Ghost and the Thusians settled their debts. In case she had met Ghost, she wanted to ask for an antidote for Edith.

"Your royal highness," a thusian soldier called out for Victoria. They turned around.

"What is it?" asked Victoria.

"We have received several crates addressed for you and his majesty,"

Victoria creased her brows. Neither she nor her father had ordered anything.

"Does it say where they came from?"

Victoria noticed the soldier's face turning grim.

"They are from Suven, Zulon, and Northguard,"  said the soldier.

"Who sent them?" asked Edith. For some strange reason, Edith had a bad feeling in her gut.

"Forgive us, Lady Edith. We didn't open the crates. Maybe there is something inside which could tell us who sent them to us,"

"Lead us to them," Ordered Victoria. With a bow, the soldier led the way to the crates. As per the protocol, the thusian soldiers kept the crates outside the castle in an area protected by various runes. The crates were kept in an open ground. When they arrived, Victoria noticed three wooden crates big enough to hold several people inside lying on the ground. Several dogs barked at the wooden crates while the mages adorned in crimson red robes remained a few meters away from the crates, ready to cast spells in case the wooden crates exploded.

"What is that smell?" asked Edith. Her nose twitched.

"Blood," Lailah answered her simply. The closer they got to the wooden crates, the more Lailah smelled the stench of blood. Victoria walked around the crates for a moment.

"Your royal highness, please don't get too close," one of the mages asked Victoria, only to get completely ignored.

"Open this one," Victoria pointed at one of the three wooden crates. One soldier nodded as he cautiously walked toward the crates. Several soldiers armed to the teeth clenched their swords, preparing themselves to jump in front of the princess as soon as if something jumped out of the crates. Edith slowly moved closer to Lailah. She even grabbed Lailah's hand.

The soldier took a deep breath before slowly pushing the wooden crate's top. As soon as he pushed it aside, they were all stunned by what they saw inside. The soldier who opened the crate felt a chill running down his spine.

"AH!" Edith squealed as her face turned pale. Several mutilated body parts showed together inside the wooden crate. The strong stench of blood and burnt flesh nauseated their senses.

"Maddox," among the mutilated body parts, a head was in the center. Victoria immediately recognized the head despite the blood on the face.

Edith shivered. His eyes and mouth were wide open. It was obvious he died of great pain and shock. Just the sight of the terror in Maddox's eyes was enough to drain the colors on Edith's face. Even the seasoned warriors felt a chill seeing mutilated bodies and one of their most powerful generals head.

"Who...who did this?" Edith stuttered.

To Edith's shock, Victoria put her finger inside Maddox's mouth. She pulled out a piece of paper shoved into his mouth. She slowly opened the paper. As soon as her eyes fell on the paper, she clenched her fist. Veins popped out on her face, and her eyes turned red.

"Ghost," She growled.

Edith's heart skipped a beat.

"Open the others," Victoria ordered. All the soldiers could sense the murderous aura from Victoria. After what they had seen, the soldiers could only imagine what the other two wooden crates contained. The soldiers opened the other wooden crate with caution.

The second wooden crate was no different than the first. Melted armors and charcoaled skeletons were neatly placed inside in the shape of the letter 'G'. Although the skeletons were far beyond recognizable, the crest of Thusia was still visible on the armors. The soldiers shivered, looking at the ash on the bottom of the crate.

Victoria trembled in anger. She never expected Ghost to kill her men and send their bodies to her like this. The Abras she knew couldn't have done this. He was kind and naive. Deep down in her heart, she felt remorse for killing him. But not anymore. Now, she only felt regret. Regret for not taking his head.

She turned her gaze to the last wooden crate. The soldiers slowly opened the crate. Unlike the other two crates, the third crate contained relatively fresh and less mutilated bodies. These soldiers all had holes in their heads. She knew these soldiers. In fact, she hand picked them to capture Prince Davarius in Northguard. Every single one of them was at the Soul Refining stage, yet they died the same as the rest.

Edith, on the other hand, shivered. She knew Ghost was ruthless but never in a million years had she thought him this brutal. He massacred these soldiers without a shred of mercy. Moreover, he mutilated their bodies, put them in wooden crates, and sent them to Thusia like gift baskets. He was sick. Even Lailah was surprised by the show of pure viciousness. It showed the extent of rage in Ghost's heart. She doubted anyone or anything could stop him from exacting his revenge against the Thusians.

"Your royal highness," At that time, another soldier descended from the sky. He sweated from head to toe. When he saw the wooden crates and their continent, words didn't come out of his mouth. Fear and shock choked his throat.

"What is it?" Victoria growled. The soldier took a step back when he noticed the pure killing intent in Victoria's eyes. His entire body trembled. It was not like he was bearing a piece of good news. He didn't want to upset the princess any more than she was already. But he managed to muster up his courage.

"Your royal highness, we..." The soldier's voice trailed off as he couldn't finish his words.

"We have lost Zulon and Suven. They had retaken the cities we conquered,"

The moment the soldiers heard these words, their hearts skipped a beat. Unlike Victoria, many of the soldiers didn't know Ghost sword to destroy their kingdom and reached the Half Immortal Stage. The last time they heard, they were winning the war. So they wondered how the hell did they lose Zulon and Suven.

"Our spies, they reported that a group of Zulon soldiers cut out soldiers' heads, stuck them in pikes, and paraded their mutilated corpses throughout the cities we conquered," The soldier swallowed a mouth full of saliva. Many gasped after hearing the soldier.

"They also said the sky itself rained down fire upon our men," The soldier stuttered.

"Your royal highness. Say the word, we will retake those cities in a few days," A loyal soldier stepped forward. After seeing his comrades' mutilated bodies, he wanted to avenge them. Not only him but many shared the same thought. They all stepped forward despite the show of terror.

"Fools," Lailah snickered inside. Suppose they met Ghost, he would kill them in a heartbeat. They stood no chance against a Half Immortal. To be honest, Lailah didn't think anyone in Thusia could defeat Ghost unless King Maxim Barnes still had something up his sleeves.

"No," Victoria snarled.

"Tell the entire kingdom Ghost, our former leader of the Thusian Alchemy Guild has waged war against Thusia. Show our people what he did to our men,"

It was a fine move by Victoria. Once the people had seen the brutality of Ghost, the people would brand Ghost as evil who must be gotten rid of. They would offer their undying support to the soldiers, and this would boost the army's morale by bounds. Many youngsters would sign up for the military to fight Ghost. If Ghost wanted a war, she would give him one.

"Ghost?" The soldier looked confused but ultimately nodded his head.

"Yes, your royal highness,"

"And," Victoria's gaze swept across the remaining soldiers.

"Bolster our defenses. Gather all the runemasters. I want our capital to be safe and secure. No one suspicious gets in or out of the gates. If you see anything out of the ordinary, report to me ASAP,"

"Yes, your royal highness," the soldiers bowed deeply before flying away in all directions. After issuing her orders, Victoria quickly entered the castle. She did not want Edith and Lailah to be in the open. It wasn't beneath Ghost to try to assassinate them in the open just to scare her soldiers.

"Vikki, what are we going to do?" asked Edith. Her voice stuttered because of the fear in her heart.

"We are going to do nothing. It's my fight. I will fight for Thusia. You stay with your sister," said Victoria.

To her surprise, Edith stomped the ground.

"No. You saw what he did to those poor souls. I won't let you face him alone. Let me help you,"

"Do you hear yourself, Edith?" Lailah interjected.

"He is a Half Immortal, and you just reached the Core Strengthening stage. How can you possibly fight him?"

Edith shook her head.

"I won't be alone. I have you, Vikki, and Noah,"

"You're out of your mind, Edith. This is my fight, and I will not put you in danger any more than I have already," Victoria disagreed with Edith.

"You don't have to fight. I can fix this,"

Edith's words stunned both Lailah and Victoria. She quickly turned her gaze from Victoria to Lailah.

"Lailah, do you remember you made me a promise to give me one thing, anything I ask?"

Lailah remained silent, but her silence was enough for Edith.

"I want to meet Ghost,"

"Are you crazy?" Victoria almost shouted.

"Listen to me. I can change his mind. I know I can. Lailah, you promised me. Now keep your promise," Edith sternly said. Lailah hesitated, as one would expect. How could she let her sister meet someone who's hell-bent on destroying Thusia and her best friend?

"Edith-"

"Shut up Victoria," Edith raised her voice, shocking Victoria.

"It's either you're setting up this meeting, or I can teleport to Zulon and meet him myself. Make your choice, Lailah," Edith gave an ultimatum to Lailah.

"But I will be with you all the time. If you agree to that, I will take you to meet him," said Lailah.

"Lailah, are you serious?" Victoria couldn't believe Lailah actually agreed to let Edith meet Ghost.

"She will be safe. Besides, she needs to learn somethings can't be settled peacefully,"