Elsewhere, Orson had also left the Imperial Academy that morning and secretly made his way to the forest where Litte and Mudrick were supposed to et, hiding himself.
Then, he noticed sothing amiss.
In an area he clearly hadn’t been to, he saw fallen leaves pressed into the mud and several broken twigs on the ground.
Orson’s senses imdiately went on high alert.
Following the trail of leaves and twigs, he concealed his presence and moved stealthily forward.
The further he went, the stronger his sense of unease grew.
“Was trying to catch a small fish, but didn’t expect the big one to bite.” At that mont, a sinister voice ca from a nearby tree.
“Young Master Orson, appearing here at this ti doesn’t seem very safe, does it?”
Orson looked up and saw a figure standing on a branch, watching him.
The person was clad entirely in black, with a black mask covering their face.
Looking at the person’s attire, Orson, for so reason, burst out laughing.
The figure was taken aback by Orson’s reaction, then glared at him, asking fiercely, “What are you laughing at?”
“I’m laughing at how idiotic you look. It’s broad daylight, and you’re wearing ninja gear. Are you afraid people won’t recognize you as an assassin?”
“...” The black-clad figure looked at Orson. For so reason, he felt Orson had a point.
But being mocked by Orson still angered him greatly. He drew his dagger and pointed it at Orson.
“Since you figured it out, you should know what I’m here for!”
Saying this, he leaped down, landing in front of Orson.
“Tier 7, right?” Orson said, looking at the figure.
“Looks like you’re sowhat perceptive.”
“You’re the one sent to assassinate ?” Orson asked gravely.
“You could say that.” The assassin nodded. “Soone hired to take both your life and Litte’s.”
The reason he appeared so boldly before Orson was, of course, because he was extrely confident in dealing with him.
You see, the news that Orson had reached Tier 7 was only known to Litte, Marvin (the president of the Antica Adventurers’ Guild), and Therese. Orson hadn’t told anyone else.
And those three hadn’t spread the word either. Therefore, others still believed Orson was at the sa Tier 6 level as he was a year ago.
After all, progressing from Tier 6 to Tier 7 was a significant leap. Back then, Prince Arthas, hailed as the Empire’s top genius, even with the aid of countless precious resources, still took two to three years at the Imperial Academy to reach Tier 7.
Orson lacked Arthas’s resources. Although his talent was arguably superior, his rate of strength increase shouldn’t have been faster than Prince Arthas’s.
Therefore, when arranging this assassination mission, the client deliberately chose a Tier 7 assassin.
As for Tier 8 assassins, while they existed in the Empire, such master-level assassins rarely took missions anymore, and their fees were astronomical.
The client believed using a Tier 8 assassin would be overkill, and besides, they couldn’t afford one anyway, so they settled for the next best option.
In short, completing the mission was all that mattered.
“Well then, before I die, can you tell who wants dead?” Orson asked sincerely.
“Heh, trying to get information?” The assassin chuckled. “Don’t take for a fool.”
Subsequently, his figure vanished on the spot.
Mist Concealnt Technique?
The so-called Mist Concealnt Technique was the bread and butter skill for assassins.
By creating a hallucinogenic gas, it made the enemy unable to see the assassin’s figure.
Against opponents much weaker than oneself, this technique was devastatingly effective, allowing the assassin to kill unseen—truly terrifying.
However, against opponents of comparable strength, the assassin had to limit their movents to maintain concealnt.
If the assassin prepared to attack or got too close, they would definitely be detected.
Of course, this didn’t an the technique was useless. As an assassin’s core skill, it could still be used against sa-tier enemies by reducing activity and launching a surprise attack from an unexpected location when the enemy was unfamiliar with them.
The key was surprise.
Orson frowned, then used his magic to probe outwards from his position, searching for any signs of movent.
Soon enough, he locked onto an aura.
As a mage, he naturally countered the Mist Concealnt Technique. After all, it was a form of magic, and assassins consud their own magic power when using it.
Any mage of the sa tier could pinpoint the assassin’s location by tracking the magic they released.
However, conversely, if the assassin was already prepared to face a mage, the mage’s disadvantage in close combat would beco apparent. In such a situation, if the assassin closed the distance, the battle would essentially be decided.
Yet, the opponent seed to have forgotten that Orson, despite frequently using swordsmanship in battle, was rated by the Adventurers’ Guild as proficient in both physical combat and magic—a warrior and mage of equal rank.
Orson simply hadn’t encountered an opponent who required him to use both his warrior and mage skills simultaneously.
After pinpointing the assassin’s location, Orson suddenly thrust his sword forward.
The assassin was just looking for an opening in Orson’s defense, not expecting Orson to have located him. Although assassins prioritized agility, Orson’s sudden attack caught him off guard. He had no ti to dodge and could only raise his dagger defensively in front of his chest to block the incoming longsword.
The imnse force sent the assassin flying backward.
He wasn’t known for his strength, but the power behind Orson’s blow gave him a sinking feeling.
He crashed against a tree, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
“You...” The assassin looked at Orson, his expression filled with astonishnt.
“Curious, aren’t you? Why? Right?”
“Just a Tier 6, yet I could send you flying so far with a casual strike?”
“It’s because I reached Tier 7 long ago,” Orson stated.
The assassin’s heart plumted.
He had been acting cocky for so long, only for Orson to nearly cripple him with a single counter-attack.
The assassin wiped the blood from his mouth, then used the Mist Concealnt Technique again.
However, this ti, he had no intention of attacking. Seeing the situation was unfavorable, he prepared to flee.
A Tier 7 Orson—he couldn’t possibly win.
Because he had been showing off, he lost the elent of surprise from a sneak attack. Now, injured by the opponent’s sudden counter, his only option was escape.
In fact, the assassin suspected that even the earlier openings Orson had shown were deliberate bait.
Thinking this, he quickly used his magic to create several “clones” within the Mist Concealnt.
As ntioned before, mages could locate assassins by tracking the magic emanating from the Mist Concealnt. To counter this, assassins developed a technique using magic to create “clones” or “decoys” in specific locations that mimicked their own magical signature.
This way, whether attacking or retreating, interfering with the opponent’s tracking would benefit their next move.
But Orson wasn’t fooled. He closed his eyes, carefully sensing the subtle differences between each magical signature. Then, opening his eyes, he cast a spell towards the front right.
Countless vines erupted from the ground, converging rapidly towards one spot.
A few seconds later, the Mist Concealnt dissipated, revealing the assassin ensnared by the vines.
Now, his limbs were bound, leaving only his head exposed.
Orson walked up to the assassin with a smile.
“Now, can you tell who sent you?”
Reviews
All reviews (0)