“Hey, why are you trying to kill me?” I asked, looking at the trembling, gray-haired youth sprawled on the ground before me.
‘Honestly, you’re a disgrace to all assassins,’ I thought. Everyone present seemed to share a similar sentiment.
Hidden within the forest, Yin, who had come to investigate the commotion, covered his face in exasperation. ‘Is this the assassin I trained?’ he mused, a wave of shame washing over him at the very word “assassin.”
The gray-haired youth frantically shook his head. “I cannot say,” he declared, his voice earnest. “It’s our professional code of conduct not to reveal our employer’s information.”
Deep in the woods, Yin felt a slight relief and nodded subtly. Though the youth was somewhat unreliable, at least he remembered this fundamental rule. ‘It’s not a complete failure yet,’ he conceded.
I raised an eyebrow. ‘Tsk. This fellow actually has some backbone…’ I thought. ‘This could be a bit troublesome.’
“What’s there to be afraid of?” Liu Han said, a sweet smile gracing her lips as she watched the gray-haired youth from inside the carriage. “You can’t die anyway. Let’s just beat him up first, then revive him when he’s almost dead, and beat him up again. A single divine art spell will erase all scars afterwards. It’s perfect!”
The gray-haired youth shuddered again. ‘Backbone? To hell with backbone!’ he mentally screamed.
“Actually, actually,” he stammered, his voice trembling and words spilling out incoherently, “This is because I… I accepted someone’s… someone’s mission… Specifically, his… his information, I don’t know it clearly. I just… I just know he’s a High God, with golden hair…”
Yin gripped the tree trunk so tightly that his fingers gouged deep marks into the bark. ‘This fool…’
Hearing his answer, a sense of trepidation settled in my heart. Why would someone want to kill me? Had I done something wrong? I was beginning to suspect that becoming a god was far from simple.
“Hmm… do you have any other companions?” I inquired.
“Yes, there are, just…” Before he could finish, an arrow whizzed towards me, startling me greatly. The gray-haired youth seized the moment, pulling a dagger from his robes and throwing it in my direction.
Then… he bolted.
I narrowly avoided the arrow. As for the dagger… in his haste, he had thrown it still wrapped in cloth. Frankly, it still stung a little, though the cloth offered some cushioning.
But seriously, was there any need to panic *that* much?
From the hillside ahead, two groups of figures suddenly emerged. Arrows rained down upon us like a sudden storm, their sheer volume creating a palpable sense of intimidation.
Leixar glanced forward, pursed their lips, and scoffed. “A disorganized rabble,” they muttered.
Then, turning to Ryan, they added, “Could you be a dear and block these armor-piercing arrows for these little ones?”
Ryan nodded. A colossal rectangular shield, ten meters wide and five meters tall, shimmered into existence with a brilliant golden sheen, intercepting the incoming volley of arrows.
Leixar extended their hand forward, and a torrent of fierce flames erupted. A crimson greatsword, roughly two meters long, materialized in their grasp.
Vibrant purple runes coalesced along its blade, glowing brilliantly before gradually fading from sight.
‘An Epic Divine Artifact!?’ I gasped inwardly. I was now somewhat familiar with how to discern the grade of divine artifacts.
If no runes appeared during its summoning, it was an ordinary artifact. Blue runes signified a High-tier artifact, purple indicated an Epic, and a Legendary artifact would manifest its own inherent will.
However, Leixar’s weapon was an Epic Divine Artifact? In the Divine Realm, divine artifacts rarely changed owners.
According to the maid, the strings of the zither were mine, and the zither’s body being a gift from the God of Music was a complete surprise. So, Leixar’s sword must be an artifact that appeared in heroic epics.
Just who exactly was Leixar?
“Bang!” A sonic boom ripped through the air. Leixar, wielding the greatsword, erupted with a speed utterly incongruous with such a weapon, closing the distance to the “assassins” and “knights” in an instant.
Leixar did not intend to kill. They merely struck with the flat of the blade. Despite not using the sharp edge, each powerful blow sent an enemy tumbling to the ground.
I stared, utterly captivated, as Leixar displayed such divine might. A pang of envy struck me. I, too, wished to become an Archmage, a God of War, capable of such effortless power…
Just then, beside the carriage, in a shadowed corner, a golden figure slowly distorted.
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind swept past me from behind. A chill ran down my spine, and though I tried to react, I found my body utterly paralyzed!
“Clang—” The sound of steel colliding echoed. The anticipated pain never came.
I felt my body regain its mobility. Turning around, I saw a greatsword plunged into the ground right behind me.
In the distance, a golden-haired youth stood poised, a long rapier clutched in their hand.
At that moment, a middle-aged man emerged from the forest. It was Yin.
“Hoh, tsk tsk tsk,” Yin remarked, a playful smirk on his face as he regarded the golden-haired man. “How interesting. To kill a mere girl, you actually deployed a God-Slaying Artifact.”
“It’s always better to be cautious,” the golden-haired man replied, his tone flat and devoid of any embarrassment. He had recognized the middle-aged man as the one from the tavern entrance earlier, and a pang of regret struck him for not having eliminated him on the spot.
I simply watched their standoff. However, it was abundantly clear to me that the dignified-looking middle-aged man had just saved my life.
At this point, Ryan, Lavishly Karafar, and the others also reacted, swiftly rushing to my side to shield me.