Martial research master

The convoy was ready to leave after three days. After the necessary preparation was made the journey started. Within the first checkpoint and the royal capital, there were three critical points where ambush can take place. The first point was just the outskirts of the royal city. The reason for this being the frequented route for merchants, which bares the soldiers to have proper barricades and check posts in this location. This one was overly crowded and the enemy can assume disguise to attack the princess. The strategy was quite simple. Long Tao asked the princess to allow the strongest people within the convoy to sit with her in the wagon for some time. The princess readily agreed after hearing the plan of action.

The next check post was a village. The reason for this place being a potential location of danger was the deserted situation of this place. The village was hit by serious disease some years back and all the people were killed with a small gap of time. The military didn't hold this place as being important after the investigation was concluded. It was said that this was the location of two big groups of robbers. If the enemy dared to attack with synchronization with the robbers, it will be a grave situation. Long Tao had a battle plan for that.

The last point was the mountain range between Tamar and the next city. The mountain range by default was a difficult terrain to travel in. Add the large vegetation and snow-covered capes, it provided the perfect heaven for ambushes to be planned. This terrain was the location where Long Tao expected an attack to come for sure. The other areas are on the plain ground and would require a large number of people to ambush the party. But in this terrain, a natural phenomenon such as a landslide could be caused by a single person. Long Tao employed the decoy tactics for this place. The set of plans were given to the leaders of each group. The convoy formally set out for the journey.

In the palace-

The head minister was currently residing within a dark room. He was saying something, but no other figure was visible insight." Have you got the pathway they are going to follow and the timings? ". "I do. This time tide seems to be in our favor. The one accompanying the princess is more concerned about his group of people. He made it clear that he will choose his group over the princess given the situation occurred. The convoy is made up of 30 people at the moment. 10 are from the black-buck squad, 10 from the royal academy, and 10 from royal court and guards. You need to plan the ambush properly. The information will reach you today." Long Tao's battle plans were properly recorded by the minister. "You will get your son back by today. It was a pleasure doing business with you head minister."

The convoy-

The first checkpoint was already behind the group and Long Tao was quite relieved from this outcome. The group was a bit relieved upon crossing it. But Long Tao's gut gave out a different signal to him. Although they have managed to cross the first checkpoint, which was a matter of gladness, the path in front was too peaceful. This was like the silence before the storm. The night gradually arrived and the camp was set to rest for the day. The meal was cooked and dinner served. Long Tao drank up the meal and the group went to rest.

"Did you administer the drug carefully?" Somewhere near the camping site, two people were conversing. "I am sure about the dosage. The soldier under my control did pour it proportionally. They should be unconscious by now. We can ask our men to attack. Even those with resistance to the poison would be unable to move for at least 1 incense stick. That is enough for us to carry out the assassination." The group of people gradually proceeded and reached near the campsite. They were about to attack when they saw three figures proceeding towards them." SO, the plan was to attack us by administering poison."

The group was surprised at hearing these words, but the attack arrived suddenly. These people were not having high cultivation levels and were killed instantly. Long Tao's avatar made sure to scourge their souls before letting them go. The information collected was tits and bits. Finally, only two people were remaining, being surrounded by the 3 figures. These were the two people who were conversing earlier. They were shocked about the brutality of the killing in front of them. The enemy didn't give them a chance to negotiate. The two were killed and their memory searched.

"So, the news was provided by someone from the royal clan. The only people who were aware of the plan were the top ministers and the king himself. They may have talked about it with someone else, but this was unprecedented. The antidote was available in the storage ring of the two people. Long Tao came back to the camp to find himself lying, unconscious. Even after multiple occasions, how could he be so careless? The avatars returned to the camp after administering it to the main boy. Long Tao woke up with the memory and then gave the antidote to the rest of the people.

The group gained consciousness after some time and when they heard what went through due to their carelessness, they were ashamed. The trip was instantly resumed in the night and Long Tao gave the order to not stop until they reached Tamar. Inside the main convoy of the princess" Someone from the royal court gave the information of the spot and the plan. I want the princess to list out a group of potential candidates who could be responsible for this." The princess tried her hardest, but couldn't gather anyone in particular who could have betrayed them." We would know once I catch the mastermind behind the attacks." The bodies of the attackers were burnt and their possession collected.

The next spot arrived after some time. Long Tao asked the group to wait, and send a message through the tablet. Soon enough three figures appeared in the view. They came near the convoy and bowed to Long Tao. 'Have you gathered the information I requested?". The men handed a set of booklets to Long Tao. "As you predicted, there was a group of people present here too. I took us some time, but we managed to kill 3/4th of them before some managed to escape. These are the possession we collected from the corpses. The badge might attract your attention". A half-moon badge was presented to Long Tao. The princess was shocked on seeing it.

"I presume that the princess knows which group this badge belongs to.". The princess sipped a glass of water and said with a serious tone." I belong to the shadow moon hall." The name reverberated, giving chills to the people from riyal guards and court." They are an infamous group of assassins who have killed many of the court officials and army before. They must have been contracted to take my head." Long Tao revised the position." We need a new plan." The new plan was discussed shortly, after which the group of people standing there was dismissed.

The journey resumed once again. The convoy didn't face any difficulty until they reached the mountain range. The terrain was steep. long Tao proposed a three-set convoy division. Now the three divisions were made, but no one knew which convoy the princess was in. The three convoys maintained a good distance between them and an enemy could only attack one at a time. "I will get the results now. We will know whether there is a mole in the convoy or not. "The three convoys were proceeding and just when the princess's convoy was about to pass, and attack arrived. The group of people, attacking were quite large and it was a gruesome battle. The royal guard lost three of its soldier, but they managed to hold up

The convoy managed to pass the mountain range with some causalities but was able to kill most of the enemies. It was because of the back-up provided by the other 10 new members of the Black-buck squad.

Tamar-

The group entered the military city and the princess was accompanied to the dwelling of the Black-buck squad. The venue was set and soon, Long Tao called up a meeting of all the participants in the convoy. The princess, her maids, the royal courtiers, guards, black-buck squad members, and finally the people of the royal military academy were present. "I will say this only once. I already know who the mole in the convoy is. You have a chance to step up and agree to your crimes. If you give us the information regarding the attacks, I will spare your life. But if you dare hide, I will kill you. You have ten breathes of time." Long Tao unsheathed his sword.

"one, two, three" just as seventh counting was reached, one of the maids took out a knife and attacked the princess. But before she could reach her target, her body was cleaved into half by Long Tao. The princess was shocked. The mole was an assassin hiding as her maid.