LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 25
Chapter 25: Grabbing the Tail (1)
The leader of the Blood Sword Guild, Zard, ground his teeth in frustration.
His face was hidden behind a mask, so no one could see his expression, but he couldn’t stop the anger boiling within him.
-Disappointing, truly disappointing, Captain.-
On the translucent screen in front of him, Valdemar von Rustal appeared completely indifferent to Zard’s feelings. With a mocking smile, he continued to say whatever he wanted.
-The Blood Sword Guild is one of the top assassination organizations in the Altaria Empire, yet you couldn’t even handle a man with a terminal illness.-
“Are your eyes just for show, Valdemar von Rustal? To you, a 7th Circle warrior looks like a mere patient?”
Zard’s voice was cold as he shot back.
News had spread quickly that Martin had reached the 7th Circle and had even fought evenly with Vincent von Igreet, an 8th Circle warrior.
This revelation had left the nobility of the Altaria Empire in shock.
After the sudden death of the previous head of the Adalbert family, many had assumed that the family would fall into decline.
But this? No one had expected this turn of events.
Not only had Martin awakened his innate abilities, but he had also displayed a level of power that made it no surprise if he took the position of head of the family right then and there.
Those who had underestimated him were left scrambling, including Zard, who had tried to assassinate him. He now felt an overwhelming sense of crisis.
“If you had provided the right information from the start, we would have taken a different approach. But now, you’re trying to shift the blame onto us? There’s a limit to your shamelessness,” Zard retorted.
-I admit that I didn’t properly verify the young master’s abilities. But since when do assassination organizations rely solely on the client’s information? Isn’t gathering intelligence part of your job?-
Valdemar smiled smugly.
As Zard watched him, he imagined ripping the man to shreds in his mind. But that was just a fantasy. There was nothing Zard could do.
-Regardless of the reason, the fact remains that the Blood Sword Guild failed to complete the contract. Now, you have two choices. One: pay the penalty. Two: continue with the contract. The decision is yours.-
“…”
Zard couldn’t answer right away.
Until now, the Blood Sword Guild had always completed their assignments. They had built a fearsome reputation in the shadows, and to back down now would severely damage their standing.
However, continuing to target Martin wasn’t easy either.
The 7th Circle was a realm recognized across the Cracian Continent, and in the Empire, there were only about a hundred warriors who had reached that level.
Martin had achieved that at the young age of 18, a feat that defied all logic.
To take him down, Zard would have to commit the full force of the Blood Sword Guild.
That was serious enough, but there was an even bigger problem.
‘He’s not alone anymore.’
Not long ago, Martin had been nothing more than a powerless, terminally ill man. But now, he was the undisputed heir of the Adalbert family.
Although the branch family heads, including Valdemar, opposed him, that no longer mattered.
Through his duel with Vincent, Martin had secured a solid foothold within the family. To try and assassinate him now?
It was impossible.
Zard quickly came to a decision.
“I’ll pay the penalty…”
-One more thing you should know. Once it’s confirmed that the contract wasn’t fulfilled, the knights of my family will be dispatched. They’ll head straight for Mount cassio.-
Grit.
Valdemar’s open threat caused Zard to clench his teeth.
But he forced down his anger and continued, “Do you have the courage for that, Valdemar von Rustal? The Blood Sword Guild has received substantial support from the heads of the Rustal family over the years. If I reveal that, the Rustal family will be finished.”
-Oh? So, you’re not going down alone?-
“No. Only you will die. Don’t forget that we can disappear into the shadows whenever we need to.”
-Ha ha ha! The dog I’ve raised is baring its fangs at its master. You’ve got some nerve, Zard.-
“If you understand, stop with the pointless threats. I’ll pay the penalty, and the contract will be void.”
-No need for that.-
“…What do you mean?”
-The Green Dragon Knights are already on their way. They should be arriving at Mount cassio around now.-
Thud!
At the mention of the Green Dragon Knights, Zard shot to his feet without thinking.
The knights of the Rustal family arriving at Mount cassio could only mean one thing.
They intended to wipe out the Blood Sword Guild.
“You bastard!”
-Spatial abilities are truly convenient. They eliminate the limitations of distance. Now, do you think you can escape from the Green Dragon Knights? You could, of course, if you’re willing to abandon everything you’ve built. But if you’ve made up your mind to run, there’s nothing more I can do.-
Zard seethed with rage, but he couldn’t bring himself to answer right away.
Even if he tried to escape and rebuild, he would need assassins and resources to start again.
If he ran now, he would lose everything and be unable to continue his work as an assassin.
On top of that, he would become a target for other organizations.
Killing the leader of the Blood Sword Guild would boost anyone’s reputation.
Even if he did manage to flee, there was another problem.
Valdemar von Rustal wasn’t just ruthless—he was also persistent.
Until he confirmed Zard’s corpse, he would pursue him relentlessly.
-Now, Zard, this is your last chance. What will you choose?-
“You… will not die easily,” Zard growled.
-It doesn’t matter. As long as I achieve my goal, this body’s life is of no consequence.-
“Hah… Continue with the contract…”
Boom!
At that moment, a deafening explosion echoed throughout the building.
The shockwave rattled the entire structure.
“Valdemar von Rustal!” Zard shouted, enraged.
-…Don’t misunderstand. That wasn’t me.-
Valdemar’s voice was calm, but his expression was one of surprise.
“If it wasn’t you, then who…”
Bang!
Before Zard could finish, the door to his office swung open.
One of his subordinates rushed in, shouting, “We’re under attack, leader!”
“Who is it?!”
“It’s Martin! Martin Adalbert has invaded!”
“What?!”
Zard’s cry was almost a scream, disbelief written all over his face.
‘How did he find us?’
The only noble who knew the location of the Blood Sword Guild’s base was Valdemar von Rustal.
Even then, it was because the Blood Sword Guild had been established with the Rustal family’s support.
Only the heads of the Rustal family were privy to the truth about the organization.
Yet Martin, who had only just become the young master of the Adalbert family, had somehow found their base. It was incomprehensible.
-You really are sloppy with your subordinates, Zard. Isn’t discretion a basic requirement for assassins?-
Zard turned his head to glare at Valdemar.
He wanted to lash out, but he couldn’t.
He had had countless conversations with Valdemar before, and he thought he knew the man well. But that was a mistake.
Valdemar was smiling like a demon, and Zard was utterly overwhelmed.
In the end, Zard turned his gaze back to his subordinate.
“How many enemies?”
“Two, sir! Only Martin Adalbert and Sien Igreet have been confirmed!”
“Just two?”
Zard’s expression changed.
If an entire knight order from the Adalbert family had come, they would have no chance of survival.
But two people? That was a different story.
Valdemar came to the same conclusion.
-I was wondering why the young master’s movements hadn’t been reported. So it’s just the two of them. Now that he’s manifested Spatial Domination, moving in secret would be simple. Either way, this is good for you. With just two people, you should have no trouble handling them.-
“…What will you do?”
-I’ll just watch. But I do hope you finish the job this time.-
“And if I fail?”
-To think the leader of the Blood Sword Guild would even consider the possibility of failure. Well, if it looks like failure is inevitable…-
Valdemar paused for a moment, his smile widening.
Zard shivered involuntarily.
– “Die, bearing it all.” –
Though his lips smiled, his eyes were cold.
It was an order given with unwavering determination.
There was no refusal in Zard’s options.
* * *
The day after my duel with Vincent.
Martin left the mansion with Sien.
They headed straight towards Mount Cassio.
Even if a knight with superior physical abilities were to run at full speed, it would take at least two days to cover the distance.
However, both of them had the ability to use spatial teleportation.
By relentlessly gulping down potions as they moved, they managed to reach Mount Cassio in just half a day.
“Finally, I can beat the crap out of those bastards.”
Sien grinned menacingly.
Since the ambush in the dungeon, she had vowed to herself.
She would root out the Blood Sword Clan, no matter what.
She was thrilled that the opportunity had come much sooner than expected.
“And we’ll probably find out who hired them.”
“Honestly, I hope it’s Lord Rustal. He’s the weakest among the branch family heads, yet he’s incredibly noisy. On top of that, he’s sneaky and vile.”
“Jumping to conclusions without evidence isn’t wise, but yeah, I agree. I’d prefer it to be him too.”
“Because then we can tie it to treason and take him down for good?”
“Exactly. But before that, we need to deal with these guys first.”
As Martin conversed with Sien, he turned his head.
Having killed several assassins on the way, it was obvious that their presence had been noticed.
Perhaps that was why the air around them was thick with killing intent.
It felt as though the entire mountain was alive, the intent so palpable that there wasn’t a single sound or sign of birds or other wildlife.
“The real fight hasn’t even started, and it’s already like this… this is going to be a tough one.”
“How about you change that expression first before lying, Martin?”
“Hmm, was it that obvious?”
“Of course. Do you really think a 7th Circle mage would be afraid of these clowns?”
“Well, the real problem for them isn’t that I’m a 7th Circle mage, it’s that we both have spatial abilities. Their assassination stealth is meaningless against us.”
Martin’s face was filled with calm confidence as he stared ahead.
The moment they stepped onto Mount Cassio, he activated Distortion of Matter.
It was to detect any vibrations in the space around them.
As the detection net spread out, all kinds of information began flowing to him.
Midway up Mount Cassio, there was a small village.
But that was just the surface—he sensed several underground facilities below. Around those, he detected nearly a hundred people.
Of course, he also succeeded in tracking their movements and hiding spots in real time.
“The first Guild approaching us consists of about 40 men. They’re spread out to form an encirclement, but they’re all heading in our direction.”
“That’s not all of them, is it, Martin?”
“Nope. Counting those scattered all over, the total is more than 200.”
“Isn’t this just an assassin organization? Why are there so many people?”
“What can you do? The world’s big, and it’s full of idiots.”
“Well, it’s a noble’s duty to help such fools repent for their sins, isn’t it?”
Sien stepped forward as she said this, hoisting her zweihander onto her left shoulder.
Despite knowing they were vastly outnumbered, she felt no fear.
These assassins couldn’t even launch their signature stealth ambushes.
No matter how many there were, there was no reason to be scared.
“The ones coming from the 11 o’clock direction will get here first.”
“How many?”
“Fourteen. Three of them can use aura.”
“That’s ridiculous. You’d think they’d be packed with higher-ranked assassins, given the situation.”
“Well, someone I know only just learned aura this year…”
“You wanna die?”
“Sorry!”
Sien raised her left fist. Martin quickly bowed his head. Life was precious, after all.
“Sigh. Anyway, I’ll handle this Guild. You’ve exhausted yourself by focusing on detection, haven’t you?”
“To be honest, this is nothing to me now.”
“It’s just that I can’t stay idle any longer.”
Sien grinned a warlike smile and gripped her zweihander’s hilt with both hands.
Swish.
The silver aura wrapped around the blade, aimed directly toward the 11 o’clock direction.
She then activated her unique ability, Spatial Recoil.
Rooarrr!
In response to her will, the silver aura swirled fiercely around the blade.
“Oh? You’ve finally learned to unleash it on your own, huh?”
“Do you think I’m stupid? Once I’ve succeeded in learning a technique, why would I fail at it?”
“Funny, coming from someone who failed several times during practice…”
“Great. Once this fight is over, I’ll make sure to smack you.”
“…Please spare me.”
“No.”
With a cold answer, Sien continued to channel more power into her zweihander.
Creaaak!
The sword trembled under the enormous strain, but she didn’t seem to care.
“There they are! It’s Martin Adalbert and Sien Igreet!”
“Kill them all!”
Finally, the assassins of the Blood Sword Clan appeared.
All of them were dressed in red, their faces covered, and their blades, stained a deep crimson, exuded murderous energy.
But Sien snorted lightly.
“Kill me? You’ve got to be kidding.”
Sien swung her zweihander with full force.
At the same time, the power contained in the blade was unleashed, rushing towards the assassins in the 11 o’clock direction.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The white torrent shredded everything in its path—trees, rocks, and even grass.
The three assassins at the front infused their swords with aura and swung with all their might.
But their efforts were futile.
Despite pouring everything into their attack, their aura was shattered first, then their swords broke. The torrent didn’t stop there—it swallowed their arms and then their entire bodies.
The three higher-ranking assassins vanished without leaving a trace.
“Evade it!”
“Scatter!”
The assassins who had been fortunate enough to be in the back scattered in all directions in panic.
But Sien sneered at them.
“You think you can escape?”
Before she even finished speaking, she raised her zweihander high.
An amazing thing happened.
The white torrent split into three streams, chasing down the fleeing assassins.
Though the overall power was reduced, Sien didn’t care.
The assassins left were nowhere near the level of those first high-ranking ones. None of them could stop this attack.
Boom!
In an instant, the targeted assassins were ripped apart.
The first wave was annihilated in a single strike.
“Martin, how about the others?”
“The second and third Guilds are coming from the 7 o’clock and 2 o’clock directions. They’re about the same in number and composition as the first.”
“Then I’ll head for the 7 o’clock Guild. Once I’m done, I’ll head straight for the middle.”
“Okay. I’ll be waiting there.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll finish first.”
Sien chuckled and moved forward.
Martin, too, turned towards the 2 o’clock direction.
He stepped forward, but not onto the ground.
With each step, Martin’s body lifted off the ground, floating into the air.
It was the manifestation of a 7th Circle mage’s symbol, flight.
Using this, Martin quickly moved and soon came face to face with the next Guild.
This Guild also had fourteen men, three of whom could use aura, just like the previous one.
“Hey there.”
Martin greeted them in a relaxed tone.
But none of the Blood Sword Clan assassins could respond.
The moment they laid eyes on Martin, their entire bodies shivered with goosebumps.
They couldn’t even move.
The sudden paralysis filled them with intense fear and dread.
“Does anyone here know where your leader is? If you tell me, I’ll grant you a painless death.”
Martin smiled brightly.
He was convinced that he was offering them mercy.
After all, dying without pain was a blessing, wasn’t it?
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