Chapter 4: The Assassin
On the fifth floor of the Healing Institute, inside a simply furnished ward, Su Xiao finished his breakfast and glanced at his new assistant, Alanna, who stood obediently to the side.
Compared to his previous assistant, the Dark Star Witch Felice, Alanna was a more competent aide. Moreover, she came from a declining wizard family that was a staunch supporter of the Moon Witch Serhelis.
If not for the Starry Sky Research Association interfering, the predetermined assistant would have been Alanna, who possessed peak ninth-rank strength. She ranked among the top five in this world in fields like Abyss studies and ancient philology. She was also well-versed in various folklore and ancient records, and possessed formidable survival abilities.
Whenever Alanna took a deep breath and entered a state of breath-holding, she would merge into the surrounding world. In this state, she was immune to any attack, and no one could drag her out.
However, this state placed a tremendous burden on Alanna's body. Her single longest breath-holding duration was five minutes, and she needed at least ten seconds of subsequent breathing to replenish the soul energy in her blood before she could re-enter this state.
This innate ability might seem to offer greater survivability than Bubu Wang's environment integration, but that wasn't the case. Bubu Wang's environment integration was more like a passive ability that could be actively activated, with no cost whatsoever. If it wanted, it could even take a pleasant nap while merged into the environment.
Alanna's talent was inherited through her family bloodline, and she was a relatively outstanding inheritor. Strangely enough, a family with such top-tier assassination talent had declined, with all related records completely erased. According to Bubu Wang's investigation, someone had deliberately done this recently. As for the general reason for the family's decline, there were rumors outside.
One of the most credible rumors was that one of the leaders of the Dark God Cult, the Dark Twins, originated from this family.
In his current campaign against the Dark God Cult, Su Xiao found it nearly impossible to directly locate the Archbishop of the Abyss. The current Archbishop of the Abyss would certainly not show himself unless absolutely necessary.
After escaping from the Eternal Light World, the Archbishop of the Abyss had paid a heavy price. When they met at the Gluttony Castle before, Su Xiao had sensed that the Archbishop of the Abyss, having been trapped in the Eternal Light World for nearly a hundred thousand years, had been constantly eroded by extreme elemental forces as an Abyss being. Even if he successfully escaped, it would be difficult for him to return to his former peak anytime soon.
Add to that the cost of using the ultimate backstabbing weapon "Spit," the consequences of the continuous depletion of primordial life force in the Eternal Light World, the "Lightless" curse curse inflicted by the Eternal Dark Lord as revenge before dying after being backstabbed, and the soul severing by Su Xiao — these five layers of weakening had reduced his strength to somewhere between Absolute Strength and Supreme. Although his former upper limit remained, it would take time to recover.
Using the [Old Hunter] title effect to directly track the Archbishop of the Abyss was unwise. Su Xiao had a feeling that his greatest enemy in this world might not be the Archbishop of the Abyss. This formidable foe would likely take a long time to deal with. His method of immortality was concept-based, making him the hardest type of world-destroying existence to kill.
Compared to directly dealing with the Archbishop of the Abyss himself, it was more effective to strike at the Dark God Cult as a whole in this world. At the very least, he should first eliminate several of the Dark God Cult's leaders. This brought the focus back to the Dark Twins.
The Moon Witch Serhelis sending Alanna to be Su Xiao's assistant was undoubtedly the best support. This little assistant was not only proficient in various occult studies but might also be blood-related to the Dark Twins.
Alanna wore a gray-white robe that, under the reflection of sunlight, appeared slightly silvery. When she put on her hood at night, the robe perfectly blended into the night. The black line marks on the back of her right hand looked like erosion marks but also revealed a hint of pattern, very fine and faint. Her purple pupils tried their best to show obedience, but she had many thoughts. Her nature was not without kindness, but she also had a bit of a dark side.
"How much do you know about the Dark Twins?"
Su Xiao's question snapped Alanna, whose gaze had been wandering, back to reality. She replied in a somewhat lively voice, "I can't remember clearly, but I'm sure I know the Dark Twins, and they should be my blood relatives. However, I don't have a single bit of memory about this."
Hearing this, Su Xiao frowned slightly. Alanna seemed to be suffering from amnesia, or perhaps her memories in this regard had been sealed. It was likely the work of the Dark Twins before they betrayed the family.
The fact that Alanna hadn't died because of this might have been the last shred of humanity in the Dark Twins, or perhaps Alanna held a unique significance for them.
The Moon Witch was reliable. She had not only sent a beautiful and capable assistant but also provided an entry point for dealing with the Dark God Cult. As for how to help Alanna recover her memories, that was up to Su Xiao to figure out.
Mixing potions and treating deep injuries were Su Xiao's specialties, but restoring memories or unlocking sealed memories was a relatively unfamiliar field. After some thought, Su Xiao had a conjecture. He asked, "What we're about to do is extremely dangerous. How brave are you?"
Su Xiao put down his utensils. Today's breakfast was good, except for a cup of fresh milk that contained a deadly poison. He set the cup of fresh milk aside.
"My bravery? Lord Bai Ye, rest assured. I might not be able to help much in combat, but I'm definitely not a coward."
"Really?"
"Of course, I'm a witch, after all."
"Alright. I'll test your bravery later."
"H-How... how will you test it?"
Alanna felt a bit uneasy. She actually had a deep-seated secret. Despite her high proficiency in occult studies, she was absolutely terrified of ghosts, spirits, and the like. It wasn't a fear of death that caused this, but an inexplicable character flaw. However, the more afraid she was, the more she felt a small sense of anticipation. It was like seeing a ghost — her heart would be panicking, but she couldn't help wanting to take another look.
If Alanna and Bubu Wang were to team up and arrive at a haunted place, the scene would be hilarious. Before encountering any spirits, they'd both say, "Don't be afraid, I'm here." After encountering them, it wouldn't be a horror game anymore, but a running race.
"Lord Bai Ye, you don't like fresh milk? Then I won't prepare this kind of breakfast for you tomorrow. I'll switch to other delicacies."
Alanna was about to take the cup of fresh milk to the food cart, but Su Xiao stopped her. He picked up a sugar cube and dropped it into the milk. The milk in the cup began to solidify into a pudding-like state, then foamed and overflowed.
Seeing this, Alanna, though she didn't recognize it as the sugar-induced reaction of biological virulent poison, realized there was something wrong with the breakfast.
"I'll go investigate immediately..."
"No need."
Su Xiao, who had been sitting on the hospital bed, stood up. He took his long leather coat from the hanger, put it on, and walked out of the Healing Institute. Arriving at the scenic backyard, he sat by a fish pond and fed the long-whiskered fish inside. He had already guessed who had poisoned today's breakfast — more than ninety percent likely it was the Ero family, to which the Dark Star Witch Felice belonged.
Having lost their newly promoted Absolute Strength powerhouse, who had been cultivated with massive resources, the Ero family was furious. Knowing that Su Xiao was a master alchemist, they still chose to poison him. More than having any practical effect, this was a statement that they would make Su Xiao pay.
In truth, Su Xiao hadn't planned to kill the Dark Star Witch Felice so soon. If she had only been secretly causing trouble and hindering him, Su Xiao had plenty of ways to control her and make her, despite wanting to be a hindrance, play a major role in the plan.
The problem was that all of this was based on the premise that the Dark Star Witch Felice would remain in a state of secretly causing trouble. Instead, not long after they met, she already gave off the feeling of wanting to draw a knife and backstab him. This definitely couldn't be allowed to continue. She had to be dealt with immediately, or she might actually succeed in backstabbing him.
Every subsequent move of the Dark Star Witch Felice far exceeded Su Xiao's expectations. The speed at which she revealed her malice was too fast. Even for a witch who had been promoted to Absolute Strength through resources, such foolish behavior was inexplicable.
Even if the Dark Star Witch Felice lacked strategic acumen, her family — one that had survived for centuries amidst various power struggles and, without any major advantages, had managed to latch onto the Starry Sky Research Association — would such a family make stupid decisions? Would such a family, living in the cracks between major powers, invest massive resources to cultivate a clan member with little strategic sense until she reached Absolute Strength? This didn't make sense.
Following this logic, the sudden decline in the Dark Star Witch Felice's strategic acumen needed to be clarified. According to Alanna, Felice was three years her senior at the Wizard Academy and was already a skilled player in factional struggles there.
When Alanna was at the Wizard Academy, she had to respectfully greet Felice as "Senior Sister." Whether Felice acknowledged her or not was entirely up to her mood. Even if she didn't, Alanna could only secretly fume, feel wronged for a few hours, and then forget about it.
Therefore, the Dark Star Witch Felice was not stupid at all. Her words and actions reminded Su Xiao of someone — the violator Spirit Demon he had encountered in the Eternal Light World.
It seemed this was the method of devouring fate after being assimilated by the Platinum Apostle. The concealment was incredibly strong, making it hard to guard against. Under the remote influence of the Platinum Apostle, the Dark Star Witch Felice's original plan to "secretly cause trouble" was amplified to "find a chance to kill Su Xiao." As time passed, this idea was further amplified to "find a chance to backstab Su Xiao," and the occasional glances she gave gradually revealed a fierce intent.
Earlier, on the pedestrian street in front of the beverage shop, the Dark Star Witch Felice had almost lost her composure due to a few taunts from Baha. How could a skilled player in factional struggles break down so easily? It indicated that, by that time, the Dark Star Witch Felice had already had a significant portion of her fate devoured.
Previously, Su Xiao had thought the Platinum Apostle's ability was an enhanced version of the Gray Gentleman. Now it seemed they were different types. The Gray Gentleman had many avatars, while the Platinum Apostle operated in a way where you never knew where he was, or whether the people around you had already been influenced by him, having a large portion of their fate devoured and starting to court death.
The Platinum Apostle's move had undoubtedly succeeded, causing Su Xiao, who was in Moon Ring City, to completely offend the Ero family and sour relations with the Starry Sky Research Association, one of the four major wizard powers.
All of this required a large amount of intelligence as support. As a violator, the Platinum Apostle couldn't possibly have such intelligence channels in the Witch Realm, but the Dark God Cult certainly did.
In that case, it was safe to assume that the Platinum Apostle and the Archbishop of the Abyss were in cahoots. Moreover, Su Xiao sensed the handiwork of an old friend in this plan. The Father had a similar feel when setting people up. So it was the Father + Platinum Apostle + Archbishop of the Abyss. This enemy camp was simply too strong.
On his side, the Moon Witch Serhelis was capable but was tied down by internal strife within the wizard camp. The president of the Starry Sky Research Association was a wizard no less powerful than Serhelis, but his thoughts were not on dealing with the Dark God Cult.
On the contrary, the president did not want the Dark God Cult to be weakened. If Serhelis freed up her hands, the next target would definitely be the president, followed by the increasingly eerie Sky City, and finally the Ancient King City.
In other words, Su Xiao's two teammates, the Moon Witch and the president, couldn't help him much. They first had to settle their own scores, ensuring their own positions as leaders were secure before they could fully assist Su Xiao.
Don't think his side was at a disadvantage. The enemy camp wasn't united either. Would the Father, the Platinum Apostle, and the Archbishop of the Abyss — three super old schemers — trust each other wholeheartedly?
Dealing with these three old schemers required a step-by-step approach. For now, finding intelligence on the Dark Twins was more important. Of course, there was also the matter of activating the three faction stores of the wizard camp. Su Xiao currently had 6,820 reputation points.
By the fish pond, Su Xiao took out a bottle of recovery potion and gave it to Alanna. Alanna looked at it suspiciously and asked, "This potion has such a strong life force... I'm not injured... Is this... a welcome gift?"
"Drink it."
Hearing this, Alanna knew it wasn't a welcome gift. She hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Can I drink it later? I've been having some... indigestion lately."
"That's fine. Keep it safe. Step back a few paces."
Su Xiao drew the Dragon-Slaying Flash, scabbard and all, from his waist and tossed it to Amu.
"Like this?"
Alanna stepped back a few paces.
"A bit more."
"Oh~"
Although Alanna couldn't guess what Su Xiao was going to do, she complied. With her predecessor as a reference, she naturally wanted to be an obedient little assistant. If she could get through this, her future would be bright, and she would definitely become a trusted aide of Lady Moon Witch. Thinking of this, Alanna's mood improved.
"Lord Bai Ye, what exactly are we going to do?"
"Help you cure your amnesia."
"Huh?"
Alanna was even more confused, but in the next moment, she felt a gust of wind rushing toward her. Her hair, which had been tied into a beautiful fishbone braid, was blown loose by the wind pressure, scattering and flying up. At this moment, Alanna had a certain ethereal beauty. Unfortunately, Alanna herself had no time to appreciate her own beauty, because the Lord Bai Ye opposite her had already launched a straight kick.
An intense aura of death rushed toward her. No, Alanna felt that she was already enveloped by a cold death. The death aura was so strong it felt liquid. Her rapidly contracting pupils and overloaded brain made everything around her seem to freeze. She saw the view from the moment she was born, her eyes just opening. In her swaddling clothes, she saw the smiling faces of her mother and father, and when she had just learned to crawl, her family's big dog came up to her, looking at her affectionately.
She also saw the swing her father had made for her in the courtyard when she was just beginning to understand things, and a dark, bloody night without a moon when she was ten years old. It was from that night onward that her family moved out of their ancestral home and began their decline. In the end, only her family of three remained, along with her stern, rigid grandfather, who, in her memory, had never spoken a single word to her.
[Melee Grandmaster: Lv.85 (Technique · Passive)...
Lv.80 Ultimate Ability · Power Penetration · Kick Sevenfold Enhancement (Ultimate · Passive): Kick attack judgment is upgraded to "Flight Grade," and has a high probability of triggering the "Death Flashback" effect on the enemy, thereby reducing the enemy's evasion probability.
...
Alanna's memories of the Dark Twins were sealed by an unknown force? No problem. Let Alanna break through the seal through "Death Flashback." No one said that the "Death Flashback" effect attached to a straight kick could only be triggered during combat.
The scorching afternoon sun made the ward, where a gentle breeze was blowing, feel exceptionally comfortable. Alanna's eyelids twitched, then gradually opened. She was dazed for a few seconds before gradually realizing what had happened.
Alanna's hidden dark side was about to emerge. She sat up with a mix of shock and anger, just about to say something, when a bottle of potion was placed on the food cart beside the bed. The delicacies on the cart couldn't attract Alanna's attention at all. The "Wizard Potion" with its captivating purple color had already made her heart flutter.
This caused Alanna's emotions to fluctuate, with anger decreasing by 10 points, then anger decreasing by another 10 points.
"Is this... for me?"
Alanna spoke with a somewhat complex expression. She didn't know whether to be happy or worried about the other dangers that might follow.
"Yes, all of this is yours."
Su Xiao pointed to the bedside table beside him. Alanna looked in the direction he indicated and saw a set of potions, a total of nine bottles, standing in a holder. Adding the one on the food cart, that made ten bottles in total.
In the Witch Realm, "Wizard Potions" were highly sought-after permanent enhancement potions. They were exclusive to wizards. After drinking one, over the next thirty natural days, the growth of a wizard's mental strength and soul energy would increase by five to eight times the original rate. More importantly, this potion could be consumed multiple times. As long as one didn't drink more than ten bottles within a year, there were no issues.
The best "Wizard Potion" Alanna had ever seen was at an auction. That bottle had light purple particles in the liquid. But the bottle before her, with its liquid exuding a captivating deep purple, was the first of its kind she had ever seen.
The surprise came too suddenly, but recalling the "Death Flashback" from earlier, Alanna felt a bit angry. After cycling between happiness and anger for a while, she let out a long sigh and said, "Lord Bai Ye, if you need me to do something dangerous in the future, please inform me in advance. You don't want such a cute assistant to die, right? Right?"
"Oh."
"So perfunctory. But business is business. Lord Bai Ye, the life flashback I just experienced showed me some images. It was from ten years ago, when I was still young..."
Based on Alanna's description, Su Xiao learned some intelligence about the Dark Twins. In Alanna's family, the Dark Twins were very special clan members. Whether it was Alanna's father, grandfather, or even great-grandfather, they all held the Dark Twins in high esteem. In Alanna's memory, her father had even said that he had grown up watching the Twin Lords.
Therefore, Alanna didn't know exactly how old the Dark Twins were. They seemed to be her two ancestors who had accompanied the family until ten years ago. On that night ten years ago, Alanna's family had planned an assassination. On that moonless night, they attempted to assassinate the Moon Witch Serhelis.
The assassination undoubtedly failed. Strangely enough, after this incident, Alanna's family became staunch supporters of the Moon Witch Serhelis. On the other hand, the Dark Twins joined the Dark God Cult, becoming one of the three major sect leaders.
The three major sects of the Dark God Cult in this world were: Extreme Darkness, Black Hole, and Primordial.
Strangely enough, it was also after the moonless night assassination that the wizard camp began to produce talents in abundance. The president of the Starry Sky Research Association, who had been traveling abroad, returned, and the Wizard Academy also produced three outstanding heirs.
Carefully examining this matter, it seemed that the assassination itself had left the Moon Witch Serhelis unharmed. However, over a dozen senior wizards from the wizard camp's upper echelons, who had been discussing with Serhelis how to deal with the Ancient King City, were all caught in the crossfire. Only one old witch survived, but she later died in the Healing Institute despite rescue efforts.
Needless to say, the Moon Witch Serhelis had orchestrated this assassination. However, the assassination had caused heavy casualties in Alanna's family. The Dark Twins, as the two ancestors of this family, nearly fell out with the Moon Witch, subsequently throwing themselves into the Abyss and joining the Dark God Cult.
Alanna's family had committed the crime of attempting to assassinate the Moon Witch and should have been purged. Yet, they were not. It wasn't that the Moon Witch's subordinates lacked ruthlessness, but that they dared not act. The Dark Twins were watching from the Dark God Cult's side. If they really made a move, the subsequent losses for the wizard camp would be severe.
Was Alanna's family stupid for choosing to carry out this assassination? Not really. In truth, the family head at the time had no choice. The over a dozen powerful and influential senior wizards had been constantly pressuring them, worried that this family with its assassination lineage would serve the Moon Witch. The result was a situation where both sides would be destroyed.
In the beginning, the Dark Twins joined the Dark God Cult for the sake of their family. But before long, they became immersed in it, forgetting their original intentions. They became beings to be feared. The most horrifying incident was when they drained the life force of over ten million living beings in a large city. This was just one of their many horrifying acts. For the sake of power and immortality, the Dark Twins would do anything and bear any cost.
"We should go take a look at my family's ancestral home. We might find something there."
Alanna stretched. She was in good condition, after all, she hadn't actually taken the straight kick. If she had, she would have already left this beautiful world.
"Location."
"Near the Sigor River... that dead city that became a place of silence because of the Dark Twins."
Having said that, Alanna looked out the window.
Su Xiao took out the city guide he had bought earlier. Flipping to the page on Silence City, he saw that the city had regained some vitality. At least there was a teleportation tower there. However, taking the teleportation array from Moon Ring City to Silence City would cost 500 Soul Coins. If traveling by land, it would take at least five days.
Bubu Wang took out four sticky notes, rolled them into balls. Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Alanna drew lots. This left Alanna a bit confused. In the end, Baha drew the winning lot.
"Hahaha, my luck is unbeatable! I'll go to Silence City first and set up the coordinates."
Baha flew off. The reason for the lottery was to decide who would take the coordinates to Silence City. Otherwise, with five passengers including Su Xiao, each costing 500 Soul Coins, that would be a total expense of 2,500 Soul Coins. The teleportation tower business was a benefit that the wizards had ceded to the local Artisans' Guild, so this expense was unavoidable.
However, if Baha spent 500 Soul Coins to take the space tower to Silence City and set up the coordinates there, Su Xiao could then use the "Law-Destroying Teleportation Array" to get there. His Law-Destroying Teleportation Array, as developed to date, cost no more than 30 Soul Coins per use.
"Alanna, can you handle long-distance spatial teleportation?"
Su Xiao's question pulled Alanna back from her thoughts.
"Of course, Lord Bai Ye. I'm not the kind of delicate witch you think I am. A mere long-distance teleportation is absolutely no problem."
Alanna smiled, looking very confident.
That was, until Alanna found herself inside the defensive armor. Her smile completely disappeared. Her little expression indicated that she had realized the gravity of the situation.
Boom!
The teleportation array activated.
"A proper teleportation array would never emit a booming sound like that. Stay away from those teleportation arrays that make terrifying booming sounds. They are advanced disguises for space railguns. — Alanna's Diary, Page 150."
...
Ancient King City, Back Street, inside the branch of the neutral faction Hunter's Guild.
The one-eyed old man behind the wooden counter processed the commission document and handed it out through the counter. Out of personal acquaintance, he warned the black wizard outside the counter, "Casper, are you sure you want to hunt the Law Destroyer Bai Ye? Even if you are an assassin second only to the Owl..."
"I know what I'm doing."
The black wizard Casper spoke. The dark golden vertical pupils under his black hood exuded an exceptionally powerful pressure.
The black wizard Casper turned and left the Hunter's Guild branch. The sky was covered with dark clouds, but this didn't affect his mood. He was constantly challenging himself. Choosing the Law Destroyer as his prey this time, he naturally had a trump card.
The black wizard Casper pulled out an ancient wooden mask. With this artifact, which could be called an assassination-system divine tool, he was confident of success. However, every time he used this thing, he had to pay eighty percent of the reward he received to avoid being eroded by this artifact, which had the characteristics of a primordial sin object.
At this moment, the item in the black wizard Casper's hand was called... the Primordial Mask.
It could only be said that, while it was thought that the Speed Violator had reached an astonishing height in courting death, this black wizard had completely surpassed the Speed Violator. This one was going to wear the Primordial Mask to assassinate Su Xiao.