Chapter 132 – The Assassin and The Captain
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Translator: Kell | Editor: Weasalopes
The Assassin and The Captain
Magic security lamps illuminated the whole castle brightly, as though it was the middle of the day. Approximately eight minutes had passed since they discovered the King’s assassination. The structure might appear breathtaking with all the lights, but using this many magic lamps cost a lot of money. From outside, it was evident that something happened in the castle.
Clad from head to toe in a black robe clicked, the man clicked his tongue. Their quick response came as a surprise to him. He expected to have plenty of time to escape.
Sensing something odd coming from behind, he jumped to the side. A sword streaked past where the man was before, flashing, and cut a tree in half.
「I suppose that was too easy.」
「………」
A muscular man stood high on top of the wall surrounding the castle – Lawrence D. Falcon, Captain of the Order of the Knights.
The assassin could tell the man covered a straight route in pursuit of him. Of course, he himself could have chosen a path that went directly through the castle grounds, but magic traps were installed on the walls. He concluded that taking a bit of a detour would be much faster than going straight and deactivating the traps.
But Lawrence completely ignored them. The traps were not deactivated because of his authority. No, not at all. He stepped on them himself. The Captain stood calm and composed even after treading on the traps that would’ve rendered an ordinary man motionless. His clothes, dirty from the long-distance travel, looked battered, exposing his skin in places.
「Hmm? You’re…」
Lawrence jumped down from the wall and onto the street located between the castle and noble district. Something was not right. The assassin felt like a seasoned warrior. It’s not him, he thought.
「You’re not that boy.」
「Boy?」
The assassin reacted. As soon as Lawrence heard that the King was assassinated, the boy that gravely injured him came to mind first. If the boy repelled the special forces, then it would make sense for him to follow them back all the way to the castle.
Although killing the King out of nowhere didn’t feel like something that boy would do.
「Your voice sounds familiar.」the Captain said.
「………」
The assassin responding when Lawrence mentioned a boy was unexpected. The light from the magic lamps couldn’t reach this far. He must’ve taken that into consideration when he chose this route, the captain thought. I can’t underestimate this man. He just killed the King, after all.
「It doesn’t matter who you are. Surrender or your life is forfeit.」
「………」
Needless to say, even if he did surrender, he would no doubt receive the death penalty. Lawrence already had his sword drawn. A bit thin for the Captain, it would be plenty in the hands of an ordinary man. He mostly used it when training, and it was perfect for a fight with an assassin in the middle of a street.
His opponent, the man clad in black, held two daggers, their blades about 30 centimeters long. With a totter, he slowly vanished. Or at least that’s what he thought. The man dashed to his side without a sound.
「Over there.」
「?!」
Lawrence swung his sword down at him in a simple, yet extremely swift motion. A slash only commanding officers of the Order could produce.
Kicking the ground, the man jumped backwards. He did well in dodging the attack, but that was all. Lawrence had already closed the distance between them, swinging his sword down once more. A dull, metallic sound rang out. The clashing of two daggers crossed to block the captain’s sword. Lawrence’s eyes widened.
「I’m surprised you were able to block it.」
It wasn’t as though Lawrence took the man lightly. Not in the least. He simply didn’t expect the assassin to have this much power. Granted, Lawrence only used one hand, and the man used both to block. But he managed to catch the blow while holding his ground. No one, not even his enemies in the battle against Quinblad, was able to do that.
The assassin laughed.「I’m the one surprised.」
「I was lucky to have killed His Majesty before you arrived. But my luck ran out when you arrived right after.」
Did he just say “His Majesty”? It sounds like he serves the king.
「Wait, are you—」
「Even the Master Swordsman is still a child. Don’t show your surprise in the middle of a fight.」
「!!」
Three balls dropped at the assassin’s feet. The smoke coming out of them quickly filled the street.
Lawrence covered his mouth with his left hand. A black figure leaped away.
「I see. That one’s a decoy.」
「?!」
Lawrence jumped aside in a single bound and thrust his sword into the assassin running towards the wall, the force pushing the man into the barrier. The tip of the blade sunk into the wall.
When an enemy uses a smokescreen, one would normally expect them to run to the other direction. If they saw a black figure, they would surely chase after it. It must’ve been the assassin’s robe or something.
But his real plan was to go around Lawrence’s back. Whether it was to kill the Captain, or simply escape, he didn’t know.
Either way, the assassin failed to deceive Lawrence. Ever since he lost to that boy—Hikaru—Lawrence trained even harder. The battle against Quinbland made him stronger too—his soul rank had gone up.
【Soul Board】Lawrence D. Falcon
Age: 35 Rank: 50
0
【Vitality】
..【Natural Recovery】9
..【Stamina】11
..【Immunity】
….【Magic Resistance】2
….【Disease Immunity】2
….【Toxic Immunity】1
..【Perception】
….【Sight】3
….【Hearing】1
….【Taste】1
【Physical Strength】
..【Strength】16
..【Weapon Mastery】
….【Sword】3
….【Great Sword】6
……【Heaven Sword】1
….【Long Spear】1
….【Shield】5
….【Armor】5
【Willpower】
..【Mental Strength】4
..【Charisma】1
【Intuition】
..【Instinct】6
His rank went up by 2, giving him two points, one for Sight and one for Natural Recovery. The assassin’s Obfuscation Skills only had two points on them. Lawrence’s Sight captured Unken’s figure clearly.
「He’s dead…」
The blade severed the assassin’s spine. Without his robe, the man’s face was exposed. A cloth covered his mouth, but the long, white hair and the distinctive nose shape could only belong to one man. A Man Gnome and Pond’s Adventurers Guild’s guildmaster: Unken F. Balzack.
Lawrence had seen the man several times before. Unken was, after all, a noble.
「Why did you kill His Majesty?」
Right now, Lawrence didn’t know the reason. But there will come a time when his questions are answered.
With the king’s death, the Crown Prince, Austrin G. Ponsonia would surely take the throne. But Margrave Grugschilt expressed his objection. The kingdom would be split in half. No one wanted chaos to ensue.
What would Lawrence do when the time came?
In other words, Princess Kudyastoria is the descendant of both the current King and the old Poelnxinia royal family.
The Margrave said that Princess Kudyastoria, who was clearly more competent than Austrin, should take the throne.
「So the chaos will still continue…」
There was no doubt that the seeds of chaos were starting to be sown in the kingdom of Ponsonia.
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