Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: Bloodied New Moon (3)
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Even as his breath was cut off and his head spun, Fifth Moon instinctively tried to resist.
Shick!
Whether warrior, mercenary, or assassin, those who had reached the Silver realm were elite fighters who had undergone grueling training to the point where they could swing a sword even in their sleep.
Even if attacked suddenly from outside their perception range, a reflexive counterattack would spring forth.
Of course, whether that counter was meaningful was another matter entirely.
Lilia calmly seized Fifth Moon's arm thrusting the dagger at her at the shortest distance with the hand not gripping his throat.
Crack!
Lilia's grip strength was so immense that Fifth Moon's arm bone snapped outright. With his throat crushed, he couldn't even scream, his eyes bulging wide.
But even the pain that should have jolted him awake was futile; his consciousness rapidly blurred.
When the carotid artery was seized, blocking blood flow to the brain, no amount of willpower could prevent the body from blacking out due to its physiology.
The last thing Fifth Moon's fading eyes caught sight of was Lilia's clothing.
The pristine white priestly robes, symbol of a cleric.
Yet even clerics didn't sleep in their robes. There was no reason to wear garments meant to signal their status to others in the privacy of their personal bedroom.
The fact that she was wearing them meant she hadn't been asleep to begin with.
Realizing it had been a planned lure from the start, Fifth Moon plummeted into despair as his consciousness sank into darkness.
Lilia casually tossed the limp Fifth Moon aside.
Right behind him, another assassin was charging in. He was already upon her.
Smack!
But Lilia's kick landed before the dagger at her nose could pierce her body.
Krunch!
The kicked assassin smashed through the bedroom door with his body and flew backward.
"Kuh!"
"Where do you think you're going!"
Spotting another startled assassin hesitating and trying to flee toward the front door, Lilia immediately launched herself at him.
That was the trap the assassins had laid.
Assassins hidden on either side of the outer bedroom wall, suppressing their presence, pounced on her the moment she stepped out.
But they didn't know Lilia had already detected their stealth on both flanks.
Above all, they hadn't accounted for Lilia's speed at all.
"Huh?!"
The flanking assassins' attacks futilely sliced through empty space where Lilia had already passed.
The one at the front door didn't even have time to react before Lilia struck him like a bolt of lightning, sending him crashing down.
"Guards! Guards!"
Having reached the front door, Lilia bellowed at the top of her lungs.
It was a thunderous shout that would wake not just the clueless, dazed guards but every guest in the inn as well.
As Lilia turned back after her resounding cry, the two assassins who had missed her were nowhere to be seen.
With the door blocked by Lilia and the windows too small for a person to fit through, escape was impossible.
They must have resorted to their final measure: grabbing a hostage from those left in the bedroom.
Thud thud crash!
The woman known as a priest wasn't one, and the man known as a Bronze warrior might not be either—a possibility they hadn't considered in their haste.
"I was starting to think they wouldn't show up even by today,"
Galen grumbled as he stepped out from the bedroom. The assassins who had targeted him were, naturally, smashed to pieces.
"You have to be reasonably cautious, you know."
Caution was indeed a virtue of assassins. In two main ways: caution in selecting targets, and caution in assassinating chosen ones.
The former had been resolved thanks to Lilia volunteering as bait. No one would suspect a priest as bait, thus no suspicion of a trap.
Once they didn't doubt the contract details, the latter naturally followed. Hadn't they been informed of the targets' levels through Terti? A Bronze warrior and a priest.
Knowing they were safe to touch and easy to handle left no reason to hesitate.
So they'd expected them to come quickly and had prepared thoroughly... but nothing happened for so long.
It had been so quiet they'd even considered switching locations, and only then did they finally crawl out.
"Maybe they instinctively sensed something fishy. Useless in the end, though."
"Well, we caught them in the end, so it's fine. But these cowards calling themselves the reapers of the southeast."
"Still, in terms of raw power, it's not entirely wrong."
Lilia shrugged.
"Five Silvers, and the first woman we took down was top-tier among them. Mobilizing this much just to take out one priest makes them pretty impressive in their own right."
"True. Even if they over-invested out of excessive caution, this can't be all of them."
Galen paused briefly as he said that, then grinned.
"Precisely, it's not five, but six."
"Just as expected."
Lilia smiled back.
"You okay chasing after?"
"We won't be spotted."
Galen lightly shook his left hand.
His left wrist, always wrapped in a spirit, was now empty.
Third Moon had been assigned rear surveillance for this contract.
It was a crucial role in high-difficulty jobs requiring pre-secured escape routes, but for an easy one where Fifth Moon bragged he could handle it alone, it was basically just slacking off in the back—hardly arrogance.
A sort of privilege, since he'd brought in the contract himself.
When Fifth Moon entered first and the other four followed, Third Moon stayed outside watching the guards' movements. Pitiful guys who didn't even seem motivated to patrol.
But then.
Krunch!
A loud noise erupted from inside the house.
His sharp assassin's hearing caught the screams mixed in the din.
Third Moon snapped alert and leaped onto the wall, flattening himself.
"Guards! Guards!"
Soon the priestess's voice pierced the night air.
Third Moon realized things had gone wrong.
Personally, he and Fifth Moon didn't get along at all, but her skills were undeniably top-notch. First Moon was just an outlier monster; Fifth Moon was elite among first-rates.
There was only one reason she'd let the target scream like that.
She was already dead or subdued.
"Wh-what's happening!"
The incompetent guard came rushing in late, panicking, and lights flicked on in the inn's main building.
Grinding his teeth, Third Moon rolled silently. His body lightly dropped outside the wall.
He had to get out fast.
Pilgrim or not, civilians didn't care; a cleric would have the ignorant masses in an uproar.
If the whole village swarmed, the innkeeper—where they'd stayed briefly before nightfall—would recognize the five faces and testify there were six in the group.
That would complicate things. Better to slip away while it was still quiet.
Leaving the annex as it began to grow noisy, Third Moon returned to their inn. The commotion hadn't reached here yet.
He swiftly packed the remaining few members' belongings and quietly exited the village.
Walking the moonlit road eastward, a surge of fury suddenly boiled up.
"Damn it."
What the hell had happened? Third Moon couldn't comprehend it.
Did that idiot Fifth Moon bitch get too careless?
But the other four who went in were first-rate assassins too. Five of them slacking simultaneously was impossible.
Even if careless, unless their heads rolled off in that instant, Silvers recovered quickly.
For all five to fall meant the opponent's skill was leagues above.
Whether the woman wasn't a priest, the man no Bronze warrior, or they had hidden allies inside.
Whatever the truth, one thing was certain.
"That filthy bastard...!"
The contract issuer was behind it. Third Moon gnashed his teeth.
"Daring to play us?"
He'd interrogate him immediately upon return. They'd already exchanged contact methods for handing over the kidnapped target.
Given this mess, the rendezvous might be another trap... but knowing made it no trap at all.
Grinding his teeth relentlessly, Third Moon walked and walked.
By sunrise, he reached a village, grabbed a quick breakfast, and bought a horse.
Riding hard, he made it back to Ruata by lunchtime, effort rewarded.
Upon arrival, he immediately summoned a subordinate.
"Call a muster. Tonight."
"Y-yes?"
"All second-rates and up."
The menacing aura made the subordinate shrink without further questions.
After resting at the hideout, Third Moon headed to the main base as dusk fell.
Unlike the gathering days ago, he'd summoned every second-rate too, so shadows scaling the mansion walls numbered several times more.
Only first-rates could enter the meeting room, though.
The already sparse room felt even emptier with five seats vacant.
One of the six on the job had returned and called a muster. Anyone with a brain knew it was serious. The mood was already foul.
"Third Moon."
First Moon, at the head, unusually spoke first.
"A failure?"
"My shame."
Without excuses, Third Moon bowed deeply.
He briefly explained the situation. It was straightforward, no need for elaboration.
"It was a trap. The five, including Fifth Moon who entered the annex first, didn't come out."
"The targets?"
"Confirmed they entered alone, but didn't witness inside."
"Unexpected strength, or pre-planted allies. Shame we can't confirm which."
"My fault."
"Enough. Better than losing our sole witness."
First Moon murmured lowly.
The ominous feeling he'd dismissed as paranoia had materialized, deepening his unease.
"The priest threw off our judgment. Too noble a bait for a trap."
"Yes. I figured no sane priest would volunteer... but."
As Third Moon trailed off, Sixth Moon and Ninth Moon looked guilty. They'd vehemently denied it was a trap in the prior meeting.
Luckily, everyone had thought so then, and First Moon had no intent to rebuke them now.
"We underestimated fanatic clerics. Or the church sacrificed her deliberately. Either way, irrelevant now."
All nodded at First Moon's closing words.
With five first-rate losses to the trap, details no longer mattered.
Letting it slide would end the New Moon assassin guild.
They had to repay in kind—root out and crush the backer.
Heavy losses already, more in revenge, but afterward, New Moon's infamy would spread wider.
"Third Moon, contact the issuer. Say we captured the targets alive."
"Yes."
"If he truly targeted us, he'll play along."
"Authorize full second-rate mobilization. He won't escape if he shows."
Second-rates weren't first-rates, but no pushovers.
Weaker head-on since not Silver, but assassins avoided direct fights anyway.
They wielded poisons and hidden weapons masterfully, making first- or second-rates equally tricky.
"Approved."
First Moon nodded, continuing.
"And everyone here goes. Myself included."
"...!"
Eyes widened around the room.
First Moon rarely moved; his personal involvement signaled utmost gravity.
No one took it lightly, but tension ratcheted up.
First Moon emphasized in a chilled voice.
"No new contracts until we expose the backer. Current ops finish and—"
Then.
Thud thud thud!
Fierce knocking rattled the meeting room door.
First Moon's icy gaze turned to it; others followed, inwardly flustered.
No subordinate had ever dared interrupt a meeting. What devilry today?
"Enter."
First Moon commanded, chill radiating.
The door flew open; a second-rate assassin prostrated instantly, shouting.
"Forgive me, Guild Master! But I couldn't not report—"
"What's the commotion!"
Third Moon barked instead.
But the subordinate, fearing something worse than superiors, cried out trembling.
"St-storm!"
"...What?"
The non sequitur stunned everyone. Even First Moon.
"What nonsense!"
"It's true! You must see!"
His desperation—knowing the man's character—cooled First Moon instead.
"Lead."
The New Moon leadership emerged to this sight:
A raging vortex of wind encircling the entire mansion.