Three days later, Marcus and Lucian crouched on a rooftop overlooking the mercenary compound in the military district. Below them, "Iron" Garrett was conducting weapon training with five of his most trusted men—all Bronze Peak Stage veterans who'd survived countless battles.
Garrett himself was an imposing figure: scarred, muscular, with iron-gray hair and cold eyes that had seen too much death. His Silver Rank - Mid Stage aura was battle-hardened, refined through actual combat rather than safe cultivation. He moved through sword forms with brutal efficiency, barking orders at his men.
"He's stronger than I expected," Lucian whispered, his amber eyes tracking Garrett's movements. "That's not just Silver Rank cultivation—that's decades of killing experience."
"You wanted to lead this contract," Marcus reminded him. "Still confident?"
"Yes." Lucian's voice was steady. "I've been planning this for two weeks. Watch."
He pulled out a small vial of clear liquid. "Odorless, tasteless mana-disruption poison. I brewed it using your alchemy notes and my own research. It won't kill him, but it'll suppress his Silver Rank cultivation down to Bronze Peak temporarily. Level the playing field."
Marcus was impressed. "When did you learn to brew that?"
"I've been studying alchemy on the side. You're not the only one who can be multi-talented." Lucian smiled. "Garrett drinks from a specific canteen during training—always the same one, kept by his training dummy. I poisoned it this morning while scouting. By now, he should be starting to feel the effects."
As if on cue, Garrett stumbled slightly during a sword form. He frowned, shaking his head, then drank from his canteen to steady himself—ingesting more poison.
"Clever," Marcus admitted. "But even at Bronze Peak, he's still a veteran warrior against a student. How do you plan to fight him?"
"I don't plan to fight fair." Lucian drew his sword—a new blade he'd commissioned from Victor, the artificer from Ascending Circle. The metal shimmered with embedded enchantments. "This sword stores three spell matrices: lightning strike, earth bind, and force blast. I'll use them to create openings, then finish him with your techniques. The ones you've been teaching me."
"You've been busy."
"I told you—I'm tired of being the talented bastard who can't finish what he starts. This time, I prove I can."
Lucian stood, pulling his black face covering into place. "Are you ready?"
Marcus donned his Phantom mask, becoming the feared assassin. "I'll handle the five guards. You focus on Garrett. Don't get killed."
"Don't get killed yourself."
They moved.
Phantom dropped from the rooftop first, his new Phantom's Cloak bending reality itself to make him effectively invisible. He landed among the five guards before they registered his presence.
His Dragon-Steel Daggers, coated with Legendary-grade poison, flashed through the air. The first guard fell with a cut across his arm—shallow, barely bleeding, but the poison was already working. The second guard managed to draw his sword before Phantom's dagger found his leg.
The third, fourth, and fifth guards reacted quickly, forming a defensive triangle and attacking in coordination. These were professionals, not academy students. They moved with practiced efficiency, covering each other's blind spots.
But Phantom had trained against actual assassins, fought for his life dozens of times, and had equipment worth more than some noble estates. He flowed between their strikes like water, his enhanced Bronze Peak Stage cultivation making him faster than they expected.
A feint left, strike right. Block high, counter low. Use one guard as a shield against another's attack, then poison them both in the confusion.
Within ninety seconds, all five guards were down—paralyzed by poison, still alive but helpless.
Meanwhile, Lucian approached Garrett directly, no stealth, challenging him openly.
"Iron Garrett," Lucian called out. "You're guilty of war crimes. Three villages burned. Four hundred civilians murdered. Today, you pay for those deaths."
Garrett turned, his expression shifting from surprise to cruel amusement. "A student? In a mask, pretending to be dangerous?" He laughed. "Boy, I've killed more people than you've met. You think you can—"
His words cut off as he felt his cultivation. The poison had reduced his Silver Rank - Mid Stage power to Bronze Peak, barely stronger than Lucian.
"What did you do?" Garrett's amusement vanished, replaced by calculating wariness.
"Leveled the playing field." Lucian raised his enchanted sword. "Now fight me properly.