The four assassins stared ahead at Imina, who was watching them with a cold expression, then glanced at the figure behind her shrouded in a black robe, Lyle, whose form was indiscernible.
The air seemed to solidify at this moment.
Bang! Bang!
The four assassins, who had originally been spread out, moved simultaneously; two rushed toward Imina, and two rushed toward Lyle.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Treating us like prey... who do you two idiots think we are?"
As the two assassins ran, their footsteps remained extremely light and soft. Their agile movements overlapped, making the two of them, one behind the other, appear as if they were a single person.
!
The assassin in the lead suddenly leaped from his spot into mid-air. A flash of silver light glinted from his sleeve—it was a small hand crossbow strapped to his arm.
With a faint *boing* sound of the trigger being pulled, a silver speck of light shot from the hand crossbow, making a whistling sound in the air so faint it was almost imperceptible.
Aside from that, the most surprising thing was that the other assassin, who had been following behind, had actually vanished.
"Stealth techniques aren't meant to be used like that."
Lyle spoke indifferently as his feet shifted. His figure had already left its original position, easily dodging the thin bolt fired from the other's arm.
He raised his left foot.
A single kick landed squarely within a patch of shadow to his front-left.
"Ah!"
A scream of intense agony instantly rang through the night sky.
The vanished assassin recoiled from the shadows, his body doubled over as he coughed up mouthfuls of blood.
His chest had completely collapsed.
"Assassination techniques like this are only effective for sneak attacks; to think you'd use them out in the open." Lyle lowered his left foot and turned his head toward the other assassin, who was landing from the air with a look of shock in his eyes.
"Argh!"
"Argh!"
At the same time, the two assassins rushing toward Imina followed suit with screams of their own.
"Should we leave one alive?" Imina's cold voice came as she stepped over the two corpses.
This caused the only surviving assassin to tremble all over.
*Gulp!*
The assassin's throat moved as he swallowed. His forehead was drenched in cold sweat, yet his tone remained forceful as he spoke with a sharp, trembling voice: "You probably have no idea who you've offended!"
"Come with me, and maybe you two can survive. Otherwise, you'll all die here—no one can save you!"
Swoosh!
An arrow shot from behind, piercing through the assassin's thigh.
"Ah!" the assassin screamed in pain.
"What a load of nonsense."
Imina strode over and kicked the assassin to the ground. She raised her brown-booted foot and stepped hard onto the wound on his thigh.
A shrill scream rang out once more.
However, even with such a large commotion, no one in the vicinity noticed anything unusual.
"I'll trouble you to find out where their base is."
Lyle stowed away the "Silence" wand in his hand and spoke.
The magic charges that had been depleted were replenished by a caster who knew the spell. In addition to this "Silence" wand, he had purchased two more: one for "Cure Poison" and one for "Cure Disease."
They were all auxiliary type magic.
Similar to magic scrolls, the wands that could be manufactured in this different world only contained spells of the first or second tier.
The two wands plus the magic replenishment cost him 600 gold coins. Fortunately, the amount of gold coins he currently held had reached about 9,000.
Following a series of screams...
Imina walked up to Lyle, dragging the unconscious assassin. She arched a slender eyebrow and said, "I've found it out. This guy is one of the assassination members trained by 'Thousand Kills' of the Six Arms within 'Eight Fingers'."
"Their current base is at a manor outside the Royal Capital."
A look of surprise appeared on Lyle's face.
"Thousand Kills? I thought I'd lured out people from the Eight Fingers' slave division, but I didn't expect them to be subordinates of Six Arms from the Security Division. I've really caught a big fish." Lyle felt a bit of unexpected pleasant surprise.
"Are you really sure you want to look for trouble with them?" Imina's tone carried a hint of worry.
Before coming to the Kingdom, her understanding of Eight Fingers was indeed limited. But now, based on the simple intelligence she had gathered, Imina could feel just how massive an organization Eight Fingers was.
For a power of this level to exist in the Kingdom for so long, it inherently meant they had countless ties to the Kingdom's nobility.
"Leave the rest to me."
"Don't worry."
Lyle reached out to take the unconscious assassin, then looked up at Imina and said, "Who knows, there might be a surprise tomorrow."
After saying that...
Lyle's figure vanished into the dark night.
"That guy..." Imina bit her lip, her eyes filled with deep concern.
From Renners's attitude toward Lyle, she vaguely guessed that Lyle's strength was probably not as simple as it appeared on the surface.
But no matter how she looked at it, breaking into the enemy's lair alone was not a wise choice.
The Brambus Manor.
It was one of the few large manors outside the Royal Capital, famous for brewing a wine with a rich, heavy flavor called "Blood Red."
A single bottle cost over 15 silver coins, and it was said there were even "Blood Red" vintages worth dozens of gold coins. In short, in the eyes of most people, it was a fine wine they absolutely could not afford.
In reality, however...
This manor was the base for the Security Division of Eight Fingers, and the so-called "Blood Red" wine didn't just represent a fine beverage.
Within the vast manor...
Lyle, completely wrapped in a black robe, stood on a rock, gazing at the brightly lit mansion located in the center of the manor.
"For a Security Division, I didn't expect the security forces to be this poor. Consider this a greeting gift." Lyle waved his hand.
Behind him...
One black figure after another swayed as they passed in front of Lyle, approaching the mansion in the center.
These people were the corpses Lyle had killed along the way, now controlled via the "Undead Control" magic.
The people of Eight Fingers probably never imagined that someone would dare to invade their base—especially the base of the Security Division, the strongest among the eight divisions—to the point that their defenses were unimaginably lax.
Being able to directly find the lair of the Eight Fingers' Security Division...
For Lyle, it was indeed a pleasant surprise.
His purpose in coming to the Royal Capital wasn't just to prepare his layout in advance. There were also two classes he was quite interested in.
One was naturally the high-tier class "Ninja," held by the Ninja sisters of Azure Rose.
The other class was "Shamanic Tutor," possessed by the head of the Eight Fingers' Security Division, Zero the "Battle Demon."
In the animation, there were two people who left a deep impression on Lyle.
One was Brain the "Nail Clipper," and the other was Zero the "Battle Demon."
Both were representatives of individuals who, despite their low levels, could unleash attacks with power far exceeding their own level. However, what Brain the "Nail Clipper" relied on was his own Talent.
Whereas Zero the "Battle Demon" relied on his own class abilities!
At this moment...
Inside the manor, the rich aroma of wine permeated the air.
The soft light emitted by the crystal chandeliers illuminated the entire hall. The rectangular dining table was covered with various delicacies and exquisite tableware.
But there were only six people in the entire hall.
Malmvist, "Thousand Kills."
Devenoc, the "Undead King."
Succulent, the "Phantom Demon."
Edström, the "Blood-Moon Scimitar."
Peshurian, the "Spatial Slash."
Zero, the "Battle Demon."
These six were known as the "Six Arms." They were the strongest within the Security Division and even within all of Eight Fingers, each possessing the strength of an Adamantite-rank adventurer.