After dinner, Mordred stood up and watched the night sky while standing beside the window.
Behind him, Vennesa was cleaning up the table.
While taking a sip of wine, Mordred saw something like a shadow moving in the darkness. It was almost unrecognizable, but because he had already seen someone highly capable of blending into the shadows, he managed to catch onto it.
Lifting his hand, he pointed in that direction. As he did, a part of his shadow separated from him and rushed toward the movement.
After taking another two sips, the shadow returned, and Mordred heard a whisper.
At that moment, Vennesa finished cleaning and prepared to leave.
"Vennesa, I do not like to be bothered by anything that happens tonight. I just need to rest—quietly and comfortably."
Vennesa looked back. Although Mordred's words appeared normal, she felt there was something hidden within them.
"As you wish, my lord," she replied. As a maid, she simply needed to obey her master's words.
Stepping out of Mordred's room, Vennesa instructed the knights to increase their guard. She and Negun also stepped out to stroll around the tavern.
"Shit."
"They're increasing the guards again. Do you think they noticed us?"
From a forested area near the tavern, whispers echoed in the darkness with different voices.
"I told you to stay quiet in one place. Now look at what you've done, you stupid idiot."
"Shhh!"
The darkness quickly fell silent as a patrolling knight came to investigate.
The more the knight searched the area, the more his eyes focused—like a wolf catching the scent of a rabbit.
Lighting up a fire lamp, the man threw it into the darkness of the forest. As the flame illuminated the shadows, it revealed a few men standing on the tree branches.
"What... the..."
The knight shouted, but among the group, someone released an arrow that pierced his neck directly.
The knight lost his life within seconds, falling to the ground. But as he fell, he was pulled into the darkness by the same arrow, which had a rope attached.
Clank! Clink!
The sound of armor shifting and being removed echoed from within the darkness.
After a few minutes, a knight stepped out.
Clank!
Still adjusting the armor to his body, the knight looked at the tavern, illuminated by lamps.
Picking up the spear the previous knight had dropped, he walked toward the tavern with a whistle.
He casually moved past the other guards. Because of the night, they couldn't clearly see his face, and even under the light, he skillfully hid his face from others.
The knight walked past the tavern to a certain area a bit farther away. Then, he stood there for a few seconds, looking back at the building.
"Heeelp!"
Suddenly, he screamed and his voice echoed loudly through the air.
The entire area fell into a tense atmosphere. The knights reacted quickly and ran toward the direction of the cry.
As they left, a group of masked individuals stepped out from the darkness. They moved without making a sound, leaving no trace on the ground.
"Hurry up."
The foremost man in the group looked at another man beside him, who held a bow with an arrow that had a rope attached.
Aiming at the top floor of the tavern, the man released the arrow, and it directly struck the roof.
Behind him stood another man, holding a tiny wand. After muttering a few unrecognizable words, he tapped the rope, which then began to move as if alive.
One by one, the group grabbed the rope, which magically pulled them up to the roof like a zipline.
Once they reached the top, they carefully jumped onto the roof of the tavern, moving silently while listening to the rooms below.
"Which room is it?"
One of them whispered to another.
"In the middle—the one with the chimney."
"Oh..."
The man lifted his head to look at the room with the chimney. But then, he saw an individual staring at him from a short distance away.
The figure wore somewhat loose clothes that waved in the night wind. And even though the moonlight shone, the figure appeared completely dark.
"Who the hell is it?"
The man hurriedly reacted, sending a knife at the individual.
Swish!
But just as the knife was about to leave his hand, he heard a sound and felt a pain in his neck.
Thud.
The man's head fell to the ground, and the others in the group became agitated.
"Who the fuck are you? If you're also here for the bounty to kidnap, why are you meddling with us?"
Said one man among the group. But while the man pleaded, drawing attention from the individual, another man from the group sent knives flying at the dark figure. But the figure caught the knives in mid-air.
Swish!
The next moment, the figure moved fast, arriving in front of one of the men in the group. He swung a sword at the individual, but lowering his head, the figure evaded the strike and slashed its sword upward, directly separating his head vertically.
"Kill this bastard!"
Losing two of their comrades truly angered the group, and they no longer cared about keeping silent. All together, they struck at the figure.
But unexpectedly, the figure was more skilled than they had thought. Halfway through the battle, they lost another comrade.
While the others fought at the front, the magician who could enchant objects stayed behind.
Holding a knife, he enchanted it and waited for the right moment.
Suddenly, as the figure dodged a strike from one of his comrades, the enchanting magician sent the knife he was holding, and it directly pierced the figure's hand.
"Ah!"
For the first time, they heard the voice of the figure, and it sounded… woman-like.
"A woman?"
Gaining a bit of information about their enemy, the enchanter grabbed another knife.
"Yeah, it's a woman,"
However, he suddenly heard a man's voice behind him. He reacted quickly, but before he could act, another figure struck his abdomen, forcing him to his knees. Then, the individual kicked him off the roof.
"Argh!"
With a scream, the enchanter fell to the ground and was surrounded by guards.
After a moment, an unknown individual appeared, and the situation on the rooftop changed. The group of assassins became overwhelmed by just two people. In the end, they tried to flee, only to be caught.
"What are you gonna do? Try it, bitch! We'll say nothing!" one of the captured men screamed and cursed as the guards tied him up, but the two individuals had already disappeared.
Originally, there had been at least ten men in the group, and now only three remained. While they showed resistance, their mouths were forced shut, and their heads were covered with masks, plunging them into darkness.
. . . . . .
Thud! Thud! Thud!
What felt like an eternity in the dark after being blindfolded, the leader of the group of assassins finally heard the sound of footsteps approaching on the wooden floor.
"Shit, all the information provided to us was wrong. If I had known there would be really skilled guards beside him, we wouldn't have ended up in this situation. I should have been more careful. Alas, I don't think I could survive after trying to kidnap the second son of the Arclore family."
As the man pondered, he noticed that the sound of footsteps had stopped.
And then came the sound of plates and silverware.
Someone was eating—right in front of them.
"Get those things off."
After the command of a young man, the masks darkening their vision were pulled off.
The three remaining assassins from the group saw the light of the sun. It seemed they had been tied up and blinded until morning came.
Then, they looked at the young man who was eating in front of them.
"Didn't go as you planned, right?"
Mordred looked at one of the men and smirked.
"What do you want, boy? I already said it—we weren't hired by anyone," one of the men among the three spoke.
"Oh, I know that. I just want something to watch while I finish my breakfast. Something unique. Like something nobody's ever going to see again."
Tip!
Finishing his meal, Mordred placed the silverware on the table. Vanessa cleared the table and soon brought him dessert.
The three assassins watched until he finished all of it. One among them noticed that the maid serving Mordred had an injured hand.
After his meal, Mordred simply stood up and left,
"Since they are trained assassins, I don't think they would spill anything even if we tortured them. Although there should be a limit to their loyalty, I don't have time to test someone else's limit when I have an easy way."
Mordred stepped outside of the tavern. At the moment, in one of the places surrounding a tree, a group of knights stood guard.
In the tree, the enchanter hung, half-naked, shivering in the cold. From time to time, a bucket of ice-cold water was splashed on him by the guards.
As Mordred gazed at the man, Vanessa handed him the equipment he had—his rope, knives, cap, and wand.
"Are they enchanted?" Mordred pondered after inspecting them.
"It seems so, my lord," Vanessa, who had firsthand experience with the items, answered.
Taking the bow, Mordred placed an arrow in it and aimed at a nearby tree before releasing it.
Swish!
Not even close—Mordred was not skilled in archery.
"I suppose the bow and the arrow are not items owned by the enchanter."
"Indeed, my lord."
Placing the items back, Mordred walked toward the man hanging from the tree.
In Destiny Quest, enchanters were a rare class. And it was a useful class if one had the right mindset for it.
"Let him down, and give him something to eat, warm clothes, and shoes. After that, bring him to meet me," Mordred commanded after observing the man for a few seconds before leaving.
As he ordered, the guards took down the enchanter, first warming him by placing him beside the fire. Then they gave him comfortable clothes and food.
After all that, they brought him in front of Mordred's room.
"Young master."
After Vanessa got permission, she opened the door and stood in with the enchanter by his side.
"You can leave."
Bowing her head, Vanessa stepped out.
"Enchanters are really hard to find. There are magicians who use all elements, which is ultra-rare, and there are magicians who use trickery and one element, which is... very common.
How is it that you ended up being a thief with a rare class like that?"
The man lifted his head after Mordred's words.
"Can't say no to habits, and the profit I'm getting from these things is quite high compared to other hard jobs."
"If you prove valuable to me, I'll give you a profit you never imagined."
Thud!
Mordred said as he threw a knife onto the table.
"Enchant this."
At Mordred's words, the enchanter picked up the knife and examined it.
"This is... unusually high-quality knife."
"Try enchanting..."
Before Mordred finished speaking, the man lunged forward and stabbed at him. However, from somewhere, a long tongue came out and landed on the man's forehead, instantly freezing him like a statue.
"How rude. He didn't even let me finish."
Mordred took the knife from the man's grasp.
"Even a sharp knife will rust in the hands of an fool. Shame."
"I kinda hate seeing men like you."
At his words, with a burst of fire, the two hellhounds jumped out and rushed into the man.
Sitting in his seat, Mordred observed as the wolves tore apart the unmoving man.
However, the hounds didn't eat the man's brain. After they were done, Mordred ordered Vanessa to safely keep the brain in a jar.
"Rinadle should be able to access the memory with the brain."
After taking care of all the other assassins, Mordred got back into his carriage and started the journey again.
. . . . . . .
In the forest, a knight was running fast. From time to time, he looked over his shoulder and slightly saw a shadowy figure following behind him.
"Argh!"
"Get away from me!"
The man screamed, but when he looked forward again, he was hit by a tree branch and fell down.
"Argh!"
Getting up again from the ground, he looked around in fear. He had a small knife in his hand, which he pointed in the direction where he saw a shadow moving.
"It was the mistress—the fifth mistress of the family that gave us the information. Now let me go, please!"
He screamed. And as a result, he noticed that the movement of the shadow had stopped.
The knight calmed down after observing for a few seconds. The knife in his hand lowered.
"Did he rea..."
Chis!
A sharp sword pierced through his chest, coming right from his back, then the sword moved up through his body, separating him into two.