Chapter 12: Manor Defense Line
The female warrior bared her blood-stained teeth at Su Xiao. Although her strength was far inferior to his, she was undoubtedly a ruthless character and extremely loyal to Bloomer. Realizing the situation was hopeless, she immediately bit through her own tongue and the poison sac in her mouth, allowing the lethal toxin to rapidly enter her bloodstream.
Su Xiao stood up and gripped the hilt of Dragon-Slaying Flash. With a sweep of his long blade, he pierced the female warrior's heart. Perhaps his depleted luck had yet to recover; after killing ten assassins in a row, not a single treasure chest had dropped. However, the mana value permanently increased by his talent ability had reached the 200-point cap, which was a decent gain.
Through continuous accumulation, Su Xiao's mana had reached 8,226 points. Breaking 10,000 would still be somewhat difficult. He had two ways to increase his mana: first, through his talent ability, and second, by raising his True Intelligence attribute.
To accumulate mana to over 10,000 points as quickly as possible, awakening his talent ability was the best choice. However, his current 8,226 points of mana were already sufficient for combat.
Killing the ten assassins had earned him a total of 3.7% World Source. The three assassins who appeared last were around Rank Five in strength, slightly stronger than a Rank Five rookie contractor. This showed how difficult it was to gain World Source in this world.
Clearly, Bloomer was still somewhat restrained. It wasn't that he was soft-hearted or unwilling to send stronger assassins, nor that he couldn't find such people. Rather, those kinds of individuals were very difficult to control. If they failed, they might implicate Bloomer himself, unlike the female warrior and her companions, who immediately committed suicide upon failure.
Just as Su Xiao reached the base of the castle, a third-floor window was pushed open, and the old priest tossed three corpses out one by one.
"Bloomer's people?"
Su Xiao didn't bother looking at the bodies on the ground. The manor had been exceptionally lively tonight. Thirteen assassins had come to visit. Whether more would follow was still unknown for now.
"Unclear. These are three foreign mercenaries, not barbarians from the Western or Northern Territories. They should be from the Kulodo tribe outside the Southern Territory. Their black skin is easy to identify. They probably aren't death warriors. They said their employer was a wandering poet named Bo, which sounds like a fake name."
"Kulodo?"
Su Xiao kicked one of the corpses beside his foot, flipping it face-up. This foreign mercenary had pitch-black skin all over. For assassination work, this was a racial advantage. In the dark of night, as long as they didn't smile and show their teeth, the darkness served as perfect camouflage.
Northern Territory foreigners (barbarian death warriors), Southern Territory foreigners (Kulodo tribe), professionally trained female warriors, an official transcendent who could manipulate blood (high-level death warrior), a fake maid (wild transcendent), and several death warriors—these miscellaneous assassins mixed together gave Su Xiao a sense of irregularity.
Although he hadn't had much contact with Bloomer, that old fox was unlikely to send foreign mercenaries. Moreover, these mercenaries weren't tight-lipped; they had actually revealed their employer's identity.
More importantly, the likelihood of Bloomer sending assassins to kill Princess Pedeira was very low. That old fox had already seen that Pedeira was Su Xiao's puppet and suspected plaything. Risking an assassination on such a princess was meaningless.
Lost in thought, Su Xiao went up to the third floor. When he pushed open the door to Pedeira's bedroom, the princess was curled up under the covers, huddled in the corner of the bed. The Ahoge King sat at the foot of the bed, while the old divine stick stood by the window.
Pfft!
A lightning-fast slash—the long blade pierced through a patch of air, its tip stained with blood.
The old divine stick and the Ahoge King were both startled. They hadn't sensed anyone else in the room at all. There wasn't even a trace of aura.
Su Xiao had detected this person not through his Instinct ability. The Instinct ability also hadn't sensed the other party's presence. The target likely had some kind of racial talent.
The reason Su Xiao had judged someone was there was entirely due to Bubu Wang. Bubu Wang was top-tier in stealth and also extremely skilled at counter-stealth. Over time, Su Xiao had naturally become proficient in this area as well. It was the same with Bubu Wang, Amu, and Beini all knowing a bit about blade techniques—unfortunately, those techniques weren't suited for them, given their different combat styles and body structures.
The long blade slashed forward. A man clutching his neck appeared. His skin was pitch black. After having his throat slit open, he lunged toward Pedeira, intending to take a hostage.
Bang!
Su Xiao kicked the foreign mercenary's head into the wall, a crisp cracking sound coming from under his foot.
"Fourteen in total, but these four are a bit strange."
Su Xiao picked up the foreign mercenary's corpse and tossed it out the window.
"I... what should we do?"
Princess Pedeira's voice trembled. This was the first time she had seen so many people die.
"Tired. Going back to sleep."
Su Xiao flexed his slightly sore left forearm, pushed open the door, and left the bedroom. The old divine stick closed the window, smiled at Princess Pedeira, and also left the room.
Princess Pedeira felt like crying. She looked at the Ahoge King with hopeful eyes. The Ahoge King gently placed a hand on her head.
"It's alright. I'm here. I won't leave."
"Mm!"
Pedeira nodded vigorously. Clearly, she would be sleepless tonight.
……
The next morning, as the first rays of dawn climbed over the horizon, the courtyard was already guarded by a large group of soldiers. These soldiers had sharp eyes and strict discipline. They were clearly veterans just withdrawn from the border fortresses. Although some had physical disabilities, their combat experience was even richer.
"Search all suspicious persons in the surrounding area. Blockade all entrances and exits. If it's alive, even if it's a rat, drag it out!"
Woof roared at the top of his lungs. He had just led his troops to the manor this morning when he saw the slash marks and large pits in the courtyard, along with several corpses.
Through the old divine stick, Commander Woof learned that Su Xiao had been assassinated the previous night. Woof was so furious he nearly died on the spot. He had finally met a royal who didn't embezzle military funds, but the moment he turned his back, the other party was attacked.
Woof was absolutely livid. If Su Xiao hadn't forbidden him from conducting a large-scale manhunt, he would have dug up the entire area three feet deep.
Half of Woof's anger was genuine, the other half was an act. As for who had sent the assassins, Woof knew full well, but he couldn't say it outright. That person was someone he couldn't afford to provoke.
Within half an hour, the courtyard was completely sealed off. Except for a few specific individuals, no one was allowed to enter or leave freely. Three checkpoints were set up at the front. Twenty elite soldiers stood at the gate, while nearly a hundred soldiers formed a defensive line inside, in case the first line was breached. As for the third line of defense, that consisted of two war beasts, each larger than a house.
Even if someone could break through these three lines, the rear path had hidden sentries on both sides. Mechanical crossbows were concealed in the grass on either side. Above the castle, four war hawks perched, occasionally circling in the sky.
The benefits of throwing money at the military were now evident. With this kind of defensive formation, Su Xiao felt that even if Amu cooperated with him, he might not be able to break in—unless Bubu Wang had pre-set explosives, giving them a chance to enter the courtyard. As for storming the castle, the heavy shield charging soldiers ambushed on the first floor were no joke.
The front defenses were manageable, but as for the back door—anyone trying to sneak in from there would be poking a hornet's nest. Over five hundred elite soldiers were all stationed in the backyard.
At this point, the manor was practically a military camp. If someone planted a flag at the entrance, no one would doubt it was a barracks.
……
In the Senate's council chamber, Bloomer was gently rubbing his forehead.
"You're saying Woof led 1,200 elite soldiers into the Right Imperial Manor?"
Bloomer clearly hadn't slept well the night before. Dark circles were visible under his eyes.
"That's correct. He also brought two war beasts from the camp outside the city, which even alarmed the city guard. Those 1,200 soldiers are all elites withdrawn from the border."
A servant in gray robes spoke in a low voice. Bloomer raised his hand to indicate he had heard enough.
"Is Woof trying to sever ties with me? How much of the military funds did Kukulin give him?"
"Reportedly... all of it."
"What?"
Bloomer was stunned. The elders around the council table all looked up, equally surprised.
"So that's how it is. Woof has been fully fed and is now busy wagging his tail in front of his new master. No wonder he didn't reply to my secret letter. I let my guard down, and that guy actually climbed up. Since that's the case, let him climb higher."
Bloomer's implication was clear: the higher you climb, the harder you fall.