MTLNOVEL Chapter 9 - Assassination (2)
Where there are meetings, there are partings, and strategic separations exist as well.
In the forest where the foul smell and gloomy energy of demons were scattered, we finally had to bid farewell to each other. The hero, looking at me with a regretful and restless face, alternated his gaze between Lena and me, and said:
“Will you two be alright?”
“The mister is super quick, so we’ll be fine. He said he’d take me and run, abandoning the luggage if it gets dangerous.”
Lena said this while hitting my shoulder, and Ashuria spoke in a cool tone:
“Hero. Your role is also important in this operation. You should leave these two to their task and come with us in the other direction.”
The hero nodded, but his steps were slow as if reluctant. Lena waved her hand with a pleased smile like a mother sending her child on a picnic, and only after the hero’s figure disappeared beyond the vines did she sigh deeply and say to me:
“Shall we go too?”
“Yes. Understood.”
If you just raised your head a bit from the direction where the hero’s group disappeared, there was a cliff jutting out like an eagle’s beak on higher ground. We stared at the cliff and then turned our bodies toward the operation location. From the moment our group split left and right, the operation had essentially begun.
“It really is more comfortable with fewer people.”
As soon as the distance widened, Lena smiled and twirled her dagger like a toy. As the dagger moved, a sharp wind sound was heard, and I carefully increased my distance. Seeing me back away, Lena laughed even more softly and put her dagger back in its sheath.
“Did you not like traveling together?”
Lena shook her head. Since she was always smiling, it was hard to tell what she was thinking. Sometimes I wondered if the spider tattoo on her neck had more varied expressions than she did.
“No. I like it. It’s an extremely fun party.”
“I see.”
“More importantly, did you bring all the equipment? You brought the bag as is, right?”
There were items that Lena had prepared in advance for this operation in the bag. I opened the bag, pulled out the end of a rope, and said:
“Yes. The bag with the rope. This is it, right?”
Lena tilted her head at the rope I showed her, then pulled it out more to check its condition. She felt the surface, gauging something, then frowned and said to me:
“This seems a bit off. Did I buy this? The quality seems poor.”
“I brought it exactly as you said. The bag with the rope.”
Lena tilted her head this way and that, frowning, then shrugged and said:
“Well… it must be right? Ashuria wouldn’t be carrying rope.”
“Isn’t she the type who might carry it?”
“No way. What for? She’s someone who prefers punching.”
“That’s true.”
Lena put the rope back and closed the bag. Time was too tight to open the bag and further examine the contents now. Lena took out a small needle-like object from her pocket, then pointed to smoke on the horizon and said:
“We should go that way, right?”
“Yes. We’re almost there. How do you plan to infiltrate?”
Even from the forest, we could see soldiers standing on watchtowers and patrol guards walking around the outpost. They were casually wandering along our path, chatting, no different from the soldiers of the old empire.
“What will you do when your salary comes?”
“Party. Gather the guys and drink.”
“That sounds good.”
It was a horrifying sight that twisted my insides just looking at it. The very thought that they shared the same thought process as us and felt the same joys and sorrows seemed absurd. Demons had appeared, the empire had fallen, and they were moving mercilessly with the intention of swallowing the world.
They should have remained dirty and cruel killing machines, not living beings with blood and flesh.
Lena turned her head and surveyed the surroundings. There were a total of three guards. The soldier watching from the watchtower couldn’t see where we were, and the soldiers were carelessly swinging their spears. There were no following soldiers or signs of presence, and the forest and the outpost were far apart.
“Let’s kill them.”
Before I could nod, the grass broke and scattered. There was a sound like the wind blowing, and Lena’s body climbed onto a demon’s shoulders. She wrapped her thighs around the purple skin, raised her dagger, and before the soldiers could react, one’s head rose into the air.
“Wh-what!”
“Y-you…!”
Before blood droplets could spurt from the severed neck, another’s neck was cut off. Just as the remaining one was about to blow a whistle, my thrown stone accurately struck the demon’s philtrum, shattering the whistle.
Almost simultaneously, Lena moved behind the demon and repeatedly stabbed its back in different directions with a sharp needle-like object.
“Huaaaa..! Ah…!”
The demon inhaled and exhaled as if trying to scream, but only foam mixed with blood rose from its mouth, and blood poured out in all directions like a punctured water balloon. It couldn’t scream because its lungs were punctured. Lena turned her body sideways to avoid getting blood on her clothes, then pushed the corpse into the tree shade and said to me:
“Mister. Nice play.”
“I wonder if I just got in the way.”
“No. I’m trusting and relying on you because I know you can fight to some extent. We tested physical abilities when selecting a porter, and I know you overwhelmingly took first place.”
“It was a privately conducted test, how did you know?”
Lena smiled as she wiped the blood from her face. I couldn’t tell what thoughts she harbored beyond that bright smiling face.
“I infiltrated to see your face in advance. Mister, you were flying around? Like that time in the village too.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
In fact, I knew what she was talking about. But I pretended not to know what she meant. Lena tilted her head, looked at me, and smiled broadly, raising the corners of her mouth. Then she put her dagger in her pocket and said:
“Well, everyone has secrets. Even among teammates. I trust you, mister. Anyway, you’re a good person.”
And she pointed to the fence and said:
“Let’s go, mister. Leave the backpack under this tree, and let’s go in with just my luggage.”
We hid the large backpack so it wouldn’t be visible in the grass. Then we took out and carried only a small bag about the size of a human head. Lena pressed close to the fence wall, felt the wood grain, then closed her eyes and took out her dagger. She seemed to flick her wrist lightly, and one of the fence boards was cut off, creating a wide gap.
The gap in the fence, hidden by a large tent and bushes, gave the impression of a dog hole that had been there originally.
“Let’s go.”
Lena gestured to me, and I carefully followed her along the bushes.
Halifa.
She was anxious now. Despite using poison as a last resort, she had not completely gained the upper hand. To stand out in the grand campaign that bet on the continent’s fate, she needed to achieve more brilliant military exploits than she had now.
Stories about killing a few people with poison, or civilians calling her name in terror, did not help her promotion at all.
War was ultimately a game of competing for who could eat more land.
The only shortcut to success was to stab deep into enemy territory and proudly plant a flag to announce your achievement. For the commander she loved, for the superior who had shown faith in her, she had to do better.
But if solutions appeared just because one was desperate, the word “problem” wouldn’t exist in the world.
She was staring at a blank paper with a pen in hand, unable to solve anything.
Forcing herself to come up with tactics was only giving her a headache. Halifa scratched her red hair, got up from her seat, and turned around to look for water.
“Greetings.”
And there stood a handsome man with a grin. He was wearing equipment quite solidly, and he even had a sword at his waist, showing he was not an easy opponent. Halifa quickly assessed her opponent and was about to shout while pulling out a weapon from her pocket.
“Mmph…!”
“Shh-.”
But faster than she could shout, a hand emerged from behind, covered her mouth, and pierced holes along her spine with a sharp awl, as if weaving a fabric.
“Mmph…! Gmmph…! Ugh…!”
With the pain of the awl piercing through her flesh and accurately stabbing her pressure points, tears welled up in Halifa’s eyes, and her mouth gaped open, unable to even breathe properly. Her legs and arms went completely limp, making her unable to respond at all, and her sprawled body looked like a doll.
Lena twirled the awl that had severed all of Halifa’s nerves and said:
“Isn’t it fascinating that these creatures have a similar body structure to us? The spots that paralyze when stabbed are exactly the same.”
“Y-you people…! Wh-what…?”
Even trying to muster strength to shout, only a weak voice escaped her mouth. In a state of helplessness and fear, she glared at Lena and the porter.
Lena said:
“Don’t you know just by looking? I’m a robber. A robber. A robber who wants to strip demons like you and take a big share. Bloody Belles, that guy spilled that there’s treasure here.”
“Belles, that big-mouthed bastard…! Ugh…!”
Halifa’s face burned with hatred. It was the most enjoyable moment for Lena and the porter. The two didn’t even try to hide their smiles as they poked Halifa’s face with the needle and asked:
“So, where’s the treasure? Give us something valuable.”
Halifa writhed with betrayal and anger, but upon hearing the question, she snorted and said:
“Hmph. You stupid… fools have got… the wrong address. This isn’t… that kind of place. We are merely… soldiers. Treasures and such… are managed separately. The spoils we’ve already… looted have been… sent there long ago.”
“Where is ‘there’?”
Halifa, though sweating coldly, didn’t stop sneering.
“Do you think I’ll… tell you? Stupid… humans. I may be temporarily… paralyzed, but if you want to live…”
“No choice then. Let’s see how tight-lipped you are.”
Lena gestured. The porter nodded and took out the rope. As he pulled out the rope from the bag, handcuffs dangled out with it. Lena frowned at the rope the porter had taken out.
“What? I never bought handcuffs like those.”
“Must be a free gift.”
“No, I’m telling you I never put them in the bag. Take out something else.”
The porter took out more items from the bag as Lena said.
A whip and scented candles. A blindfold and a ball gag.
Halifa, Lena, and the porter all exchanged glances with bewildered faces. The porter looked at Lena as if asking what this was, and Lena protested with an aggrieved expression. Silence followed as they exchanged glances for a long time.
Even Lena hadn’t anticipated this situation, and her face was strangely contorted. Halifa, collapsed on the floor, trembled with humiliation and spat out curses.
“Y-you filthy bastards…! T-to try to bring shame to a warrior…!”