The Repulsed Assassin

Hicks desperately tried to create distance, but Yexi clung to him like a shadow, a relentless, silver-haired specter of death he could not shake.

His face was a dark mask of frustration. His black robes were shredded, and a fine web of shallow cuts crisscrossed his skin, each one stinging with a cold fire. In stark, maddening contrast, Yexi’s standard maid uniform remained pristine, untouched by even a single drop of blood or speck of dust.

This is bad. Hicks knew he was at a severe disadvantage. His Hawkeye allowed him to track his opponent’s movements and position flawlessly during stealth and high-speed maneuvers. It was a perfect match for his assassination style, giving him a success rate far higher than that of his peers, whether in long-range sniping or silent, close-quarters ambushes.

But it seemed the maid before him had seen through it all. She stuck to him, engaging in brutal, relentless close-quarters combat, giving him no opportunity to melt back into the shadows where he held the advantage. And in a direct confrontation, a brawl of pure skill and speed, he was clearly weaker than this silver-haired woman. Her attacks were strange, otherworldly, appearing and disappearing like phantoms, making them impossible to defend against.

Yexi, on the attack, kept her golden eyes locked on her enemy. Her silver blade wove a brilliant, deadly tapestry of death, continuously inflicting damage. Although she was an assassin, she made no attempt to use the natural advantages of the dark forest. Instead, she had forced a direct confrontation, a style she was less practiced in than stealth.

It was a strategy born from her cold, lightning-fast analysis of Hicks’s abilities. She had noticed something strange earlier. Even when she had suppressed her aura and killing intent, moving only within his blind spots, he had seemed to track her movements with an unnatural ease. His Blessing had to be some form of enhanced surveillance. In that case, in a dark, quiet forest like this, he held an overwhelming advantage. Her movements would be completely exposed, while his remained unknown. As much as she hated to admit it, her proudest skill—assassination—was inferior to his in this situation.

If that was the case, then she had to abandon her own strengths and force him to fight on her terms, using his own weakness against him. It was a gamble on who was the lesser of two evils in a straight, bloody fight.

And Yexi felt she had bet correctly. A person’s focus is finite. To achieve mastery in one area inevitably means having deficiencies in others. And Yexi’s own Blessing, a secret she held close to her heart, was far more useful in direct combat than Hawkeye, allowing her to suppress Hicks completely.

Gritting his teeth, Hicks desperately tried to find a way to break free, but Yexi’s blade only grew faster, a blur of silver death, and he found himself struggling to parry her relentless assault.

No! It’s not that she’s getting faster… I’m getting slower!

Hicks immediately realized what was wrong. The illusion of his enemy’s increasing speed was a product of his own weakening, sluggish body. Her blade… it’s poisoned!

His eyes turned savage. He wasn’t completely unprepared. Assassins who valued efficiency, like them, often coated their weapons in potent toxins to ensure a single strike was fatal. Many enchanted weapons also came with curses or poisons. As such, they would often use Ki or magic to shield themselves from these effects. But this method required constant concentration and energy, and it couldn’t nullify every poison or curse.

As a veteran assassin, Hicks had naturally taken precautions. But the crucial point was—and he would bet his entire career on this—the first wounds Yexi had inflicted on him were definitely not poisoned. Because of that, he had let his guard down and dropped the Ki-based poison filter, as maintaining it was draining his already taxed reserves.

Did she apply it later? No, I would have noticed. She’s been attacking at such a high frequency, she wouldn’t have had time to poison her weapon.

Sssshk!

Another cut opened on his arm. No, I can’t waste any more thought on these meaningless details. That moment of distraction had almost cost him his head. His body was weakening, and that was a fact. There was no way to remedy it now.

A ruthless, desperate glint appeared in Hicks’s eyes. He shot one hand out, ignoring the blade, and grabbed for Yexi’s weapon.

Is he trying to disarm me by sacrificing a hand? Yexi instantly deduced his intent. A cornered beast’s last struggle. She wouldn’t give him the chance. The silver trajectory of her blade shifted slightly. With a clean, fluid, almost beautiful motion, she severed Hicks’s outstretched arm at the elbow. A fountain of hot, dark blood erupted from the stump.

But despite gaining such a massive advantage, Yexi did not press her attack. Instead, she covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve and retreated with incredible speed.

The severed arm exploded, and along with the spray of blood, it turned into a toxic, crimson mist. The flowers and grass around them withered and corroded the instant the mist touched them, turning to black sludge. It was a terrifyingly potent poison.

The blood mist obscured Yexi’s vision and movement. By the time she had circled around it, Hicks was gone. Following the trail of blood, she could roughly tell his escape direction but did not pursue. That cultist was highly skilled, his techniques strange and unpredictable. Yexi had no intention of recklessly chasing a wounded, cornered foe into the darkness. Her top priority was to ensure the safety of the Lady and the others.

With that thought, Yexi turned and headed back toward the town.

———

“Hah… hah… hah…”

Hicks, having escaped with the loss of an arm, fled frantically deeper into the Beast Forest. Blood still poured from his wound, but strangely, the beasts of the forest were not drawn to the scent. Instead, they seemed terrified, fleeing from his presence as if he were a plague.

“I can’t complete the mission in this state.” Hicks looked at his severed left arm, his face grim. This was the first time he had ever been forced into such a desperate, humiliating situation. Who in the blazes was that maid?

He shook his head, casting aside the distracting thoughts. First, he had to rendezvous with Taylor.

­———

“This should be close enough.”

Reiss and Seleu, riding their drakes, arrived at the outskirts of Pekoin City. Ard was not with them, having deliberately lagged behind. They reined in their mounts. They could go no further. For the heretical cult to so brazenly attack Pekoin and use the Dark Moon Sacrifice, they must have come prepared. Rushing in blindly would be suicide. Their greatest contribution was not to become cannon fodder.

Reiss took the blue crystal from his robes, a nostalgic look on his face. “To think I’d have the chance to use the Sanctum’s mass teleportation crystal in my lifetime.”

Seleu said coldly, “That’s enough reminiscing for the elderly. You’ll have plenty of time to waste later. Use it now.”

“Honestly, I think Yexi-chan learned her attitude from you. Though, she was always a little adult, even as a child.”

Reiss opened his hand, and the blue crystal floated above his palm. Streams of Ki flowed from his hand into it. The blue light of the crystal grew brighter and brighter, as if it were about to bloom into a star.

However, at that critical moment, Reiss felt a bone-chilling premonition of death. He dodged instinctively, and saw an arrow graze past his face. A moment later and he would have been shot through the head.

Though Reiss had escaped, the blue crystal was knocked from his hand.

“Who’s there?!”

Seleu drew her chain-sword and took a defensive stance, simultaneously giving Reiss a sharp glance, urging him to retrieve the crystal. Reiss didn’t hesitate and rushed toward it.

Several more arrows shot through the air toward him, but Seleu managed to block them all. It wasn’t an easy defense; the arrows changed trajectory mid-flight, and only with the whip-like flexibility of her chain-sword was she able to frantically deflect them.

Reiss’s side wasn’t going smoothly either. Just as he was about to reach the fallen blue crystal, another obstacle appeared. The one-armed Hicks emerged from the shadows, his sword stabbing at Reiss’s back. Protected by his Ki, Reiss wasn’t pierced, but the sheer impact sent him flying.

Seeing this, Hicks didn’t pursue. He turned his attention to the blue crystal, preparing to grab it. But just as his right hand reached out, he immediately retracted it. A domineering blade of Ki shot past, sending the blue crystal flying again.

“Don’t even think about it.”

That blade of Ki had been swung from Reiss’s axe mid-air. He now stood up, brushing the dust from his clothes, his eyes fixed on the emblem on Hicks’s chest. “A Cardinal?”

“Hicks, what are you doing here? Your arm? Did you fail?”

Taylor emerged from the darkness. The arrows had been fired from the small, powerful crossbow in his hand. Seeing Hicks’s injury, he knew the hostage plan was a bust.

“Forget it. Just hold them off. If we kill them, the Sanctum’s reinforcements probably won’t arrive until tomorrow.” Taylor directed his attention to Reiss and Seleu. Hicks just gave a cold, bloody nod.

Caught between two Cardinals, Reiss grew anxious. They needed to use the blue crystal quickly to help Pekoin. But the two Cardinals had no intention of considering his feelings and immediately attacked.

Amidst the chaotic, desperate battle, no one noticed a hidden figure crawling on the ground, inching toward the blue crystal like a worm in the dirt.

It was Ard, who had arrived just in time. He had seen the situation from a high vantage point and knew that with his current strength, he would just be cannon fodder if he joined the fight. So he hadn’t revealed himself immediately. He waited until Reiss and the others were engaged, then began to slowly make his way forward. It was clear that the blue crystal was the key to saving Pekoin. With both sides locked in a fierce battle, no one was paying attention to a small fry like him. His past life had taught him how to hide, how to use his own weakness as a disguise, just as he had when he obtained the Reality Crystal.

Quietly, he got his hands on the crystal. Ard was now faced with a new problem: how in the world was he supposed to use this thing?

After fumbling with it for a moment with no success, Ard decided to retreat. At least he could get the crystal to a safe place.

But fate had other plans. Before he could get away, a body fell from the sky and landed right in front of him with a sickening thud. It was Reiss.

His face was pointed right at Ard. The two of them stared at each other, their eyes wide.

Reiss’s eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of the caught-red-handed Ard. He almost cried out. Ard quickly clamped a hand over his mouth, but it was too late.

Taylor and Hicks were top-tier masters. Their night vision was as good as their day vision. They might not have noticed the lone, crawling figure of Ard before, but to not see him now, they would have to be blind.