The next afternoon, Dan Feng and the others successfully arrived at the royal capital Ars of the Asura Kingdom.
Their target this time—Darius—was located in the royal capital Ars. To successfully complete the mission, they first needed to figure out Darius's schedule and find the right opportunity to assassinate him.
However, gathering intelligence on Darius in Ars was no easy task. After all, this place was a mix of all sorts—any slight carelessness could arouse suspicion.
If someone noticed that Dan Feng's group seemed suspicious and suspected they were spies sent by another country, reporting them to the knight order, the situation would become extremely troublesome.
In such a case, Dan Feng and the others would have no choice but to fall back on their contingency plan.
The so-called contingency plan was simply to rely on Dan Feng's overwhelming personal strength to forcibly kill Darius outright.
But the consequences of doing so would undoubtedly be severe—Dan Feng would very likely be wanted by the Asura Kingdom and become a public enemy.
However, with Dan Feng's current strength ranking second among the strong, he could single-handedly take on an entire nation if needed.
Honestly speaking, this contingency plan carried some risk of collateral damage. Unless absolutely necessary, Dan Feng would never lightly resort to such extreme measures.
So then—how could they avoid being captured by the knight order as spies while still successfully gathering intelligence on Darius?
...
"You mean... you want to kill Darius?" Bloody Kant sat with her legs crossed, looking at the two people across from her with a tone of some surprise.
"Yes, Sensei! We have reasons that make it absolutely necessary." Roxy said seriously.
Dan Feng nodded silently in agreement with Roxy's words.
"Tch, this isn't going to be easy. Killing him would mean opposing the entire Asura Kingdom." Bloody Kant said with a grave expression.
Dan Feng, however, remained calm. He replied indifferently, "Mm, we've considered that. But right now we have the strength to oppose the kingdom—we just won't do so unless absolutely forced."
Bloody Kant nodded, indicating she understood.
She knew Dan Feng and the others must have thought this through carefully before saying such things.
"I see. Alright, let me think about what major events are coming up in the Asura Kingdom..." Bloody Kant began to ponder.
To think that someone who could easily kill a red dragon had grown to this level in such a short time—it was truly astonishing.
But Dan Feng's strength couldn't be measured by ordinary standards—his growth rate was simply too fast.
Still, this also made Bloody Kant realize one thing: the intangible sense of pressure she felt from Dan Feng was no illusion.
After deep consideration, a thought suddenly flashed through Bloody Kant's mind: it wouldn't be long before the annual commemoration of the Hero Ars.
At that time, the entire Asura Kingdom would likely be immersed in remembrance and reverence for this great hero. The whole nation would join together to honor the heroic king who had accomplished legendary feats in founding the kingdom.
"I remember now—in a little while, the Asura Kingdom will hold its annual commemoration event for the Hero Ars." Bloody Kant said thoughtfully.
"At that time, the entire nation will be caught up in admiration and gratitude toward Hero Ars. That would undoubtedly be an excellent opportunity."
She paused briefly, then continued, "So, if you truly intend to eliminate Darius, that special day might present some openings. After all, in the atmosphere of nationwide celebration, people's attention may be distracted, and security measures might be relatively relaxed."
Bloody Kant spoke slowly and firmly. She clearly knew full well what Darius had done and strongly approved of removing him.
However, as a mere countess with relatively low status, she couldn't directly act against an upper minister like Darius.
After listening to Bloody Kant, Dan Feng showed no particular surprise.
"Commemoration of the Hero Ars? That does sound like a good opportunity." He replied calmly.
Since it was a commemoration for someone so important to the Asura Kingdom, undoubtedly every noble would attend in full.
In that case, the scene would surely be even more crowded than a royal banquet.
And that would provide perfect cover for him to kill Darius.
Dan Feng already had a plan in mind: he could cleverly use the chaotic crowd to assassinate Darius from a distance amid the confusion.
A person like Darius must have many enemies—so no matter how much suspicion arose, it was unlikely to fall on an ordinary commoner like Dan Feng.
Then why didn't Dan Feng use the invisibility of Cloud Chant techniques to sneak into Darius's residence?
After all, as an important figure in the kingdom, Darius's security measures would surely be extremely tight. Moreover, with Hitogami backing him, if Dan Feng couldn't see Darius's future, Hitogami would definitely inform him.
Furthermore, Dan Feng couldn't help but recall what Paul had once told him: when Darius was in Ars, he was guarded around the clock, and those guards might even be King-class or higher powerhouses.
Not only that, Darius's mansion was right next to the palace. If any major disturbance occurred, countless knights and mages would likely swarm in like a flood to protect this key figure of the kingdom.
"Let's not talk about that for now—let's discuss something else. For example..." Bloody Kant's gaze slowly shifted toward Shana, who was standing quietly in the corner. "...this beast race little girl."
Lately, this seemed to be the only opportunity to get close to Darius.
Shana had originally been quietly staying in the corner. When she heard they were going to talk about her, her body suddenly trembled.
She immediately straightened up, her hands unconsciously clenching as she looked nervously at Dan Feng, Roxy, and Bloody Kant.
"Where did this beast race little girl come from?" Bloody Kant asked Dan Feng and Roxy curiously.
Then Roxy recounted everything to Bloody Kant: how they had rescued a group of small girls from human traffickers and Shana's tragic story.
After listening, Bloody Kant fell into thought.
"Kidnapping so many small girls—only Darius would do something like that. Anyone else would kidnap just one child at a time." Bloody Kant said decisively—this was her way of praising Darius's reputation.
After all, though Bloody Kant was just an ordinary countess, she knew many things ordinary people did not.
"She's a pitiful child too. Since you want to teach her magic, you can look through my bookshelf for anything suitable for beginners. I think I wrote some myself."
"Thank you, Sensei. I plan to first try teaching her chantless magic, then let her read the magic books you wrote."
Roxy wanted to first test whether she had the talent to teach others chantless magic—after all, chantless still depended on one's understanding of mana.