Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: Blood-Red New Moon (4)
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Though not quite on the coast, Luata's position—not too far inland—meant it often endured visits from typhoons sweeping up from the southeast.
In severe cases—thankfully those weren't frequent—the gales alone could send people flying and rip trees out by the roots, heavy rain aside.
It was as if that scene were compressed into a single point and put on display.
"What the hell..."
One of the first-class assassins groaned despite himself. But no one called him out for it.
Screeeeeech!
The wind encircling the entire mansion wall howled viciously as it spun.
Shards from the shattered wall were flung about by the gusts, smashing into other sections and breaking apart, only for the fresh debris to get hurled around again in an endless cycle.
Even without the debris, the winds were ferocious enough to sap anyone's courage to approach. Mixed with flying shrapnel, stepping into it would turn a person into mincemeat.
No way in hell that was a natural phenomenon.
At minimum, the work of a Gold-rank wind mage.
"...How long has it been?"
Ilwol, the first to regain his composure, asked the subordinate who'd knocked on the conference room door. The man bowed his head low.
"Not long, sir. At first, I thought it was just a strong autumn gust, but it ballooned in scale in an instant, and before we could react..."
"Any warning signs?"
"None detected."
The inside of the wall was plastered with deadly traps, but security facing outward wasn't airtight.
To outward appearances, this mansion belonged to an ordinary merchant—overdo the guards, and it would draw suspicion.
Still, they'd been quietly monitoring external movements, of course.
Not that intruders would announce themselves with fanfare in the dead of night, but the assassins watching the perimeter hadn't sensed anything unusual.
"..."
Ilwol didn't reprimand his men.
He wasn't a mage himself, but he knew plenty about magic.
How were they supposed to detect and block a Gold mage casually casting from a hidden spot?
The only puzzling part was...
"...No idea what their game is."
The storm was undeniably powerful, blocking them from breaking out—and their foes from breaking in.
Magic couldn't be sustained forever, so what was the point of a temporary blockade?
"Maybe obscuring vision with it to complete a encirclement in the meantime..."
"Why not redirect that mana expenditure to offense and shift encirclement forces to cleanup?"
"...Fair point."
Samwol racked his brain for a suggestion, but Ilwol shot it down immediately.
They knew mages weren't the type to squander mana recklessly, which made answers even harder to come by.
"Not that we need to figure it out."
Getting their base exposed was bad enough; remaining oblivious right up to the brink of attack was shocking and humiliating.
But separately from that, if the enemy was playing it loose, whatever the reason, they could only be grateful.
"We're pulling out now. Shutting this place down."
"Yes, sir!"
They'd never expected to actually use them, but contingency protocols were all in place.
Escape tunnels, rally points post-evac, safehouses, emergency comms networks.
The assassins responded in thunderous unison before scattering to their tasks. Ilwol and the first-class operatives headed back to the conference room.
Boom!
This time, a massive explosion rocked the mansion from within.
Ilwol's face hardened as he pinpointed the source.
The assassins sprinting down the hall halted in unison.
A man and a woman emerged calmly from what should have been an empty conference room.
"Y-You bastards?!"
Samwol blurted out in shock first.
Impossible not to be startled when their tailing targets popped up out of nowhere.
"No need to rush."
Galen grinned.
"The tunnels are sealed anyway."
"W-What?"
"Think about how we got in here."
With the gates and walls blocked by the storm, the only external link was the hidden basement tunnel under the conference room floor.
If the enemy had turned their escape route into an entry point, retreat was truly off the table.
Assassins might seem cold-blooded, but they were human. They stayed calm when in total control—not when the tables turned.
Amid the rattled group, the steadiest was still the boss.
"Who the hell are you people?"
Ilwol spat with icy fury.
"How did you pull this off?"
Priests as bait? Mobilizing a Gold mage? Fine, a major faction could manage that.
Base exposed? Whatever, a second-rate or higher traitor could leak it.
But the secret tunnels—guessing their existence was one thing; only a handful knew the precise entrances and exits.
Hard to believe a traitor from New Moon's mid-to-high ranks. What would they gain? Defecting didn't wash away sins, core organization or not.
Torture to extract info? No one had been captured.
"Too long a story for details, but short version: your side gave us the tour."
"Me?"
"Nah, not you. The old guy next to you."
"W-What?!"
Suddenly singled out by Galen, Samwol recoiled in genuine horror. He whipped toward Ilwol with frantic denials.
"No way! I had nothing to do with this!"
"Yeah, you were clueless. Thanks to that."
Galen smirked and crooked a finger at Samwol.
A sudden weight on his back and shoulder made Samwol glance over instinctively—and he jolted.
"Gah?!"
A small, transparent cat figurine perched on his shoulder.
How? Samwol flailed his hand at the mystery thing.
Splat!
It burst apart with a pop. His hand felt damp.
The scattered water didn't splatter to the floor—instead, it swirled toward Galen's left hand.
"Heard somewhere that assassins kill people fine but spare animals."
The cat reformed atop Galen's palm, clinging to his wrist. It wriggled, shrinking and simplifying into a bracelet.
"A spirit...!"
Samwol finally recalled a rumor he'd overheard, grinding his teeth.
"We knew six assassins were coming, one hanging back. Spotted it ages ago."
Galen drawled casually.
"Stuck a spirit on him and played dumb. Sure enough, he gave us the friendly guided tour here."
"Damn it, this petty trick!"
"Should've checked more thoroughly, then."
Galen's tone dripped mockery, but Samwol hadn't been especially careless.
Minimized to bead-size and tucked cleverly behind the hood fold, spotting the spirit would've required stripping off the robe and searching every inch.
No reason to even imagine a spirit's presence.
Thanks to that ignorance, Galen and Lilia had shadowed Samwol's clueless return to Luata from a safe distance.
They watched him hole up all day, then he led them right to the base at night.
Knowing the location made uncovering the secret tunnel child's play.
They'd done it before raiding the black market in the northeast.
Difference this time: excavating straight into the tunnel instead of from above.
The mansion was sizable, so breaching from inside seemed smarter.
"Anyway... nice to meet you. You're the New Moon boss, right? Been wanting to see your face."
"Why?"
"Curious who ordered my hit."
"...When you fell into that trap, I explicitly said spare you. Kill the woman."
"Nah, way before that."
"...No record of a contract on a spirit user."
"I remember it. Though I didn't have spirits then."
Ilwol couldn't fully parse Galen's words. Sounded like collateral damage from some job—happened all the time. Not enough to glean anything.
One clear takeaway: despite the casual vibe, they weren't hiding their hostility.
Whether feast or famine, they had to drop these two first to do anything else.
"Everyone, listen up."
Ilwol barked curtly.
Fear-based rule was rule all the same. His voice, which had always led New Moon with overwhelming charisma, jolted the assassins alert.
"We're not done yet. Eliminate the targets in front of us, then push forward. Annihilate!"
"Yes, sir!"
They snapped to attention, hanging on his words—until the final order dropped.
The assassins bellowed back and flung themselves full-tilt...
Backward. Ilwol included.
"Huh?"
Lilia, who'd been eyeing the assassins while Galen handled talk, blinked in confusion.
After that do-or-die rallying cry, they all retreated in sync?
"Chase them?"
"Nah, just stroll after slow-like. They can't escape outside anyway."
The spiraling water barrier he'd set before entering the tunnel wasn't sky-mirror deep-sea relic level, but plenty strong now.
Lilia could weather it unscathed, but not break it—let alone some assassins.
Like herding rats in a trap, the pair ambled down the hall leisurely.
Dong-dong-dong-dong!
Sudden bell tolls rang out.
Puzzled, the two tilted their heads in unison.
Clank!
A metallic grind echoed as part of the hallway wall rotated open.
Shwick-shwick-shwick!
Arrows poured from mechanisms in the spun wall.
Galen didn't flinch. Lilia chuckled and stepped forward lightly.
Whoom!
The flail in her hand cleaved the air— the one Radica had gifted her in the earth spirit's domain.
Arrows caught in its arc bounced away; the rest veered wildly from the brutal wind pressure.
"Assassin pads come stocked with all sorts of tricks."
"Last resort against intruders, probably."
The ceiling split open, raining spear tips.
Galen grabbed Lilia's arm as she reflexively leaped. Couldn't let her do all the work.
Boom-boom-boom!
Vanity Explosion blasts, power dialed back, detonated midair in sequence.
The spears—dropped via mechanism, not warrior-flung—shattered and scattered harmlessly.
"Must've cost a fortune to install."
"Honestly, with that money—"
Mid-sentence, the floor dropped out. Lilia wrapped Galen's waist instinctively and vaulted forward.
The pit bristled with obviously poisoned spikes.
Sure, Galen earth-bound would've crushed them on landing without a scratch.
Still, better not to fall at all—looked cooler.
"Thanks."
"No problem!"
"Anyway, that cash might've been better spent hiring Silver mercs long-term."
"Can't run an assassin guild like that."
"True enough."
Chatting, Lilia's brow furrowed faintly. She flicked her hand casually.
Fwoosh!
Holy light lanced in all directions. She shrugged at Galen's quizzical look.
"Smelled poison prepping. Kinda gross."
"Ah."
And that was that. A newly ordained deacon with Purification Miracle might struggle, but poison was useless against a high bishop.
Hidden assassins threw every mansion trap at them.
Nothing landed. They couldn't even slow their steps, much less inflict damage.
Finally, Ilwol played his last card.
"Huh?"
Lilia sniffed faint oil first.
Roar!
Flames erupted everywhere.
Pre-soaked fires spread through the mansion at terrifying speed.
"Burn the whole house down with us in it?"
"Dunno if this kills us, but..."
"Buys some panic, maybe. Window for an assassination attempt?"
Lilia said it without a trace of worry.
Galen felt the same.
A spirit burst from the hallway window outward.
Moments later.
Whoosh!
Rain poured.
Soaking only the mansion grounds.
The briefly raging flames sputtered out powerlessly under the downpour.
"Wish they'd surrender already."
A hint of irritation mixed into the refreshing damp air that lifted Galen's mood.
His gaze flicked to the wall. Lilia followed and swung her flail without hesitation.
Crunch!
Wall and hidden assassin behind it pulverized alike. Blood oozed thickly.
"Take this one?"
Lilia asked calmly, retrieving her flail.
Galen shrugged.
"Nah."