Chapter 7: Assassin, First Kill

A clear voice, a soft body… and seemingly easy to push over… Constantine’s gaze swept across this face, and for some reason, an inappropriate association suddenly popped into his mind.

However, the only discordant note so far was the girl’s current behavior… Although she looked as fragile as a blade of golden grass on the outside, her nerves were clearly as tough as old bamboo in winter. Not only were there no expected screams or struggles, but her faint tone was as cold as ice. Her clear, bright eyes, fixed on Constantine, seemed to radiate endless… disgust.

The boy was stunned for a moment. Then, his brain, snapping back to reality, finally registered some unusual electrical signals coming from his hand.

The situation just now had been quite dangerous. The girl’s dignified black dress had been torn into three pieces by two arrows… revealing the collapsed whalebone structure beneath. Because of this, the boy’s right hand had naturally bypassed those obstacles… and ended up holding onto that fair and delicate… crook of her leg.

“Haha… this, this… that was really dangerous just now. Can you still run?” The boy forced an awkward laugh but did not change his posture. Although they had temporarily left the dangerous spot, he knew the danger was far from over. Things had blown up so much; the other side wouldn’t give up the chase just because of a maze of complicated alleys. The current situation was actually still very grim. Before finding an absolutely safe place, the only thing that could increase their safety margin was hoping Walter could find him in time.

But clearly, the person being carried didn’t want to consider these things. The little girl pushed against the boy’s shoulder with her hand and nimbly leaped out of his embrace. Constantine had to stop in his tracks, letting her sweep her strange gaze over him up and down.

“Lord Kafan Degna? I think… you should have noticed… my clothes…” the girl hesitated, then spoke.

“Girls are so troublesome…” the boy muttered under his breath, so only he could hear. The girl’s tone, even with hesitation, still sounded like she was giving orders, which Constantine didn’t like. But what could he do? That was just the difference between men and women. When men trekked over mountains and rivers, women were always worrying about breaking a nail or getting their skirt dirty.

The current environment and situation were clearly not suitable for finding clothes or similar actions, and his own short vest wasn’t suitable for covering her either. The boy’s eyebrow twitched. Then he reached out. With a tearing sound, half of the dignified, lampshade-like skirt hem was ripped off by him. The collapsed whalebone structure underneath was also pulled out and tossed into a corner of the alley.

He wrapped the fabric part around slightly below the waist, tied a few knots, and then wrapped the remaining part around the top of his short boots.

“Not bad, right?” The boy’s hands and feet were very quick. In just a few breaths, everything was ready. He looked at his handiwork with some pride. Although he had never formally studied fashion design, he had done some research on basic structures. A temporary fix like this little task couldn’t stump him. With a few adjustments, the lampshade-like dress had become a style very suitable for movement. If you didn’t pay attention to the high-quality material, it looked almost like commoner clothing.

But then he noticed the petite body seemed to be trembling constantly. “Um, it must be a bit cold, but bear with it. Once we find your home…”

“Shut up!” An angry shout cut off his explanation. The boy looked up in surprise and noticed a trace of livid anger on her peach-colored face. Flames seemed to burn in her azure eyes, and the corner of her eye… was that a glistening tear?

Before Constantine could fully figure out the current situation, a glint of light flashed before him!

A sharp blade, still carrying a faint trace of blood, pressed tightly against the side of Constantine’s neck. The cold of the metal raised goosebumps on his skin. The boy stared dumbfounded at the owner of that blade… She was looking at him too. Her big eyes, with a tear at the corner, were narrowed into slits. The dangerous aura emanating from her made her seem like a provoked small beast… a cheetah or a lynx?

“What does this mean? Is this how nobles in Hayton City express their gratitude?”

The sudden killing intent left Constantine baffled. Had he done something wrong? In this situation, even if his earlier actions were a bit rash, it shouldn’t warrant such intensity, right? Besides… The boy’s gaze swept over her exposed calves. He shook his head, puzzled. The skirt was a bit short, but it didn’t reveal anything, did it? And she was just a half-grown kid; there didn’t seem to be anything to be shy about…

“If anything I did earlier was improper, then I offer my sincere apologies… But, young lady, please note, my actions were to save your life. Secondly, we are currently in danger, and your behavior is wasting time…”

Having a sharp blade pressed against his neck wasn’t a pleasant feeling. After enduring it for a moment, Constantine began to feel somewhat annoyed. “Even if you really can’t find it in you to forgive, please find another place… Right now, could you move this thing away?”

“You… you rude, despicable scoundrel! Get away from me right now!” The little girl stared at Constantine’s face and spoke word by word. “Now, you get out of my way. And you’d better pray you don’t appear before me again… because if I see you again, I will kill you! Definitely!”

“Out of the way?… That’s the direction we came from!” The incredulous boy stood rooted to the spot. Then he noticed she had made a simple mistake. “If you want to leave, just go through this alley…”

“I’m not so stupid I can’t tell directions!” The girl’s anger surged even more. “I am going back!”

“Back?” Constantine frowned. That wasn’t a good idea. “Did someone arrange to meet you there?”

“No. But, as a… I absolutely cannot let my subordinates lie exposed like this. I must save them!”

“Are you crazy? Do you think they have any chance of surviving now?” Constantine was stunned. Any fool could see those Household Knights had little chance of survival. That group dressed like thugs, though not looking very professional, would absolutely finish the job of killing and silencing witnesses.

“They can be revived if sent to the Temple! The sooner they receive treatment, the higher the chance of revival!” The girl stopped and threw a disdainful glance at the boy. “I don’t expect a coward like you to be of any help. Of course, if you can, go notify the idiots in the City Guard. Hopefully, they can get here quickly.”

Constantine was now utterly speechless. As far as he knew, reviving a person was indeed a normal concept in this world — as long as it wasn’t a natural death, a Cleric of a Deity could pray for divine favor to pull someone back from the hands of the God of Death… But… if the boy’s memory served him right, that required at least a high-ranking Cleric expending a great deal of Mental Power, along with a substantial offering to the Deity to accomplish.

Even for a Deity, its generosity had limits.

Due to the low success rate, usually, to achieve the goal, a lot of manpower was needed to compensate. Because it caused significant depletion of Mental Power, having money alone wasn’t enough. Therefore, for the Resurrection spell, Clerics of any Deity set a rather high standard with strict limitations. In the boy’s understanding, even for important figures like state ministers who met with misfortune, the church rarely performed resurrection Magic.

This girl’s head must have problems… otherwise, how could she think any church would waste divine favor on a few Household Knights?

Whatever, whatever. His own life was more important. Though it was a bit of a pity, such a scatterbrained person might as well be handed over to the troublemakers. He had done his part, hadn’t he? He had been very magnanimous… Constantine didn’t insist any further. He stepped aside, clearing the path, and let the girl run toward that dangerous direction.

Unfortunately, wanting to avoid trouble now was clearly a bit too late.

Before the poor boy could turn to leave, a situation suddenly made his pupils contract violently — not far in his line of sight, the air in space actually rippled in layers! Then, a faint shadow abruptly revealed itself, solidifying into two short figures holding daggers!

Then one after another, two more figures materialized!

Constantine was shocked, then inwardly groaned. Forget about the magical action of suddenly appearing from thin air; just the black-coated short swords in their hands and their agile, swift steps were enough to indicate their identity — real assassins. They weren’t those thugs; they were so-called assassins… one of the existences in this world known as professionals, among Rogues specializing in killing. Those who had a Main Deity also had their own unique skills, like making their figures vanish into thin air or dealing lethal blows in sneak attacks.

Clearly, the earlier armed thugs were just bait. These people were the real killing move!

His thoughts ground to a halt… The other side clearly had no intention of letting him think more — the moment they appeared, a dagger in one assassin’s hand drew a black arc through the air, stabbing straight toward him! Clearly, Constantine had unavoidably been identified as being with the girl, and these assassins’ judgment method was exceptionally simple, without any hesitation.

No choice, he had to fight for his life.

Constantine narrowed his eyes slightly and suddenly jumped to one side, letting the short knife slash past in front of him. The boy’s move made his opponent pause slightly. He originally hadn’t taken this child seriously, only aiming to create an opportunity for his companion… So he openly assumed this kid had dodged the strike by luck. But in that brief moment, a low metallic friction sound rang out. A sharp, intense pain spread through the assassin’s lower abdomen without any warning. The sensation made his eyes bulge, and a scream carried over three hundred meters away.

A short crossbow bolt was deeply embedded in his lower abdomen. The tail of the bolt was spurting a thin stream of blood! Specially crafted crossbow bolts had hollow shafts and uniquely designed blood grooves and barbs. The pain upon penetrating a human body was much greater than ordinary ones!

But this hoarse sound immediately could no longer cause noise pollution — with Constantine’s spinning motion, a dark scimitar slid out of its scabbard with a sharp, friction-filled sound and an unstoppable momentum. The Adamantine blade tore through the Rogue’s thin clothing without hindrance, drowning his scream in the gushing blood!

The unlucky assassin dropped his dagger, frantically trying to press down on the long wound that had appeared on his body. The force was so great the skin on the back of his hand turned pale — but it was futile. The pressure within the abdominal cavity, through that two-foot-long opening that had nearly sliced him in half, constantly forced the fluids out. Crimson liquid formed a swift, continuous columnar stream, then scattered like rain.

Within seconds, the bloody rain took away his remaining strength. The assassin slumped forward onto his knees. He looked young, with a quite handsome face now completely contorted. Only his bulging eyes were still fixed on Constantine, who was staggering back before him, filled with some confusion, some unwillingness, some Curse…

“Damn it all…”

The smell of blood was enough to stimulate the boy’s nerves, making him curse inwardly. The feeling of killing for the first time was clearly absolutely not as wonderful as described in novels…

At this moment, Constantine felt cold sweat soaking through his back. The other’s still-staring eyes seemed to carry some kind of magic, causing a slight blankness in his mind… Although his various senses weren’t greatly affected, his arms had begun to tremble slightly involuntarily — perhaps the weight of the Adamantine Scimitar was definitely not light for a child in his teens. The effect of his earlier draw-and-strike, though impressive, had used all his strength. A human’s chest and abdomen were surprisingly tough. Even muscles trained since childhood struggled to support such a sudden exertion.

At this moment, he deeply missed the cyanide-based drugs from his memory — if the earlier bolt had carried just a tiny bit, even a few milligrams, this guy before him would have caused no trouble at all. But those mysterious poisons in this world weren’t things he could easily get his hands on.

The unlucky assassin’s body fell into the dust the next moment. However, thanks to that sharp scream, the other assassin’s attention was drawn to Constantine, whose face was now pale. The scene actually experienced a brief pause — a proper assassin’s death wasn’t news, but the fact that the killer was a boy who looked at most eleven or twelve was surprising enough.

The other assassin clearly hadn’t expected his companion to fail under such circumstances. But obviously, this guy still lived up to the title of professional — he reacted before anyone else. The dagger in his hand slashed across the boy’s wrist holding the scimitar the next second. Intense pain made Constantine’s scimitar fly out of his grip. Before he could turn the arm equipped with the Sleeve Crossbow, the assassin’s following kick struck the boy’s chest like a thunderbolt. Constantine was practically sent flying sideways. With a sweet taste rising in his throat, he felt as if his internal organs were churning uncontrollably.

But clearly, the assassin before him had no intention of letting him off. The blade, painted dark gray, spun in the air and once again stabbed toward the boy’s ribs.

“Am I going to die?” The boy instinctively wanted to dodge, but the pain near his internal organs made him completely lose control of his body. He stumbled back a step, knocking over a dilapidated table that had been discarded here who knows when. He could only watch as that dim blade grew larger and larger in his vision.

“Raise your hand, aim at his face, then focus your attention! Imagine a force emerging from there to attack him!” In that instant, a voice suddenly rang out.

To be precise, it wasn’t even a sound. No sound could convey meaning so swiftly. It was more like a will directly poured into Constantine’s mind. In that split second, the boy had received a large chunk of information. He felt his will was a bit hazy. Involuntarily, he raised a hand toward his opponent. Then, a huge surge of heat rushed from the tattoo on his back into his body!

The instantaneous scalding heat almost made the boy shout out loud, but he couldn’t make a sound now. He could only watch as multicolored light abruptly coalesced from his fingertips, forming a sphere that sprayed forward, crashing directly into the assassin’s face!

The assassin’s steps halted immediately. That sphere made a squelch sound on his face, like a brick hitting mud. With blood spurting from his nose and mouth, he staggered backward, about to fall! Before he could regain his balance, another faint, muffled sound was heard. A short crossbow bolt had already embedded itself in the side of his lower abdomen!

Like his companion, this guy reflexively tried to clutch the wound, but it was futile — the finely crafted hollow metal rod channeled blood and liver fragments out of his body in one go.

The boy who caused all this had no time to rejoice. The rainbow-like light at his fingertips dispersed, but the heat flow on his back turned into a piercing, bone-deep agony! In an instant, it felt like all the strength in the boy’s body had been drained. He could no longer support himself, swayed, and fell against the wall. But the next moment, a force several times greater surged madly into his body, swelling him with unbearable pain. The intense agony made his whole body convulse. His small form almost curled into a ball!

But the bad situation didn’t improve… Not far away, the third assassin’s dagger was clashing with the girl’s Rapier, sending out sparks. Yet another two figures leaped over the roof of a nearby low house into the battlefield with shouts. Although these two were dressed like ruffians and lacked professional skills, the weapons in their hands were no worse than those black daggers — with whooshing sounds, one longsword and one short axe were already swinging down toward Constantine’s head!

“What kind of situation is this? After rescuing the beauty, shouldn’t it be…”

The boy muttered curses, seemingly unconcerned about the two lethal weapons now right before him.

He wasn’t facing death with equanimity. The reason for his composure was simply that, in the periphery of his vision, a familiar figure had flashed from a corner.

The lightning-fast dagger suddenly stopped! Countless thin threads whirled and danced in the air. The assassin retreated in panic, trying to hide in the Shadow that offered the most cover. But before his feet could fully move, some irregular bloodstains appeared on his body. Then, the human body seemed like toppled building blocks. Flesh chunks scattered in all directions amid splattering blood!

This was the last scene Constantine saw… Greater pain shot up his spinal nerves into his brain. The boy finally lost consciousness.

“If I were to die here, perhaps it would be easier…”

An aged arm slowly lifted the unconscious boy. A voice sounded, low as a sigh.

…

Far away, beyond distant lands, atop an immensely majestic snow-capped peak.

In the sky beyond human sight, within the boundless azure, a figure clad in a white robe floated quietly.

The robe reflected arcs of light in the sunlight, seemingly made from that kind of light but smooth silk from the distant East. Only the high-altitude airflow swirled wildly around, but that robe didn’t ripple in the slightest. Only faint, shimmering points of golden light flowed, forming profound, elusive Magic Runes floating around.

Snowflakes abruptly formed around the magical symbols, then drifted away lightly, vanishing into the high-altitude gale in the blink of an eye.

The smooth silk robe rippled slightly. Although the deep hood’s shadow completely shrouded her face in mystery, the subtle curves of the body revealed by the robe hinted at some of its secrets… Obviously, this was a woman, and a woman with an excellent figure.

“Finally… appeared, huh…” From within the hood’s shadow, a faint golden glimmer flashed. A low murmur was heard.

At the farthest reach of her gaze, howling mountain winds swept over the peaks, pulling out a magnificent and fierce banner cloud on the leeward side. Below those snow-capped peaks, mountain ranges stretched on and on, extending for who knows how many thousands of miles. The sky was as blue as if washed, extremely high and distant. Only at the far horizon was there a wisp of cloud so faint it was almost invisible.