pdf-ebookys 047: Assassination!
047: Assassination!
The newcomer stood quietly at the edge of the forest clearing, a dozen meters away from Dyson, and the gradually cooling deer.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns on him, but it did nothing to dispel the aura of alienation and coldness emanating from him that seemed so out of place with his surroundings.
Dyson demanded sharply, "Who are you? What do you want? Do you even know who I am?!"
"Zheng—!"
The response to Dyson's blustering but cowardly question was a resounding sword cry that tore through the air!
Without uttering a single word, Lin Qi drew the cross-shaped sword from his back, its blade flashing a cold, icy light in the dappled sunlight.
He exerted force with his feet, and his figure instantly changed from stillness to movement, like an arrow released from a bow, covering a distance of more than ten meters, and rushing towards Dyson on horseback!
"You're asking for it!" Dyson was both shocked and furious. He hadn't expected the other party to dare to attack so directly!
But he was, after all, an apprentice from the Gray Tower. He quickly raised his right hand, uttered a short syllable, and forcibly activated the not-so-powerful magic within his body.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Three semi-transparent wind arrows, formed from light blue wind elements, instantly materialized in front of him, shooting towards Lin Qi in a triangular formation with a sharp whooshing sound!
This is the most proficient and fastest low-level apprentice spell he can currently cast, powerful enough to pierce through iron armor!
However, the expected scene of carnage did not occur.
Despite the oncoming gusts of wind, Lynch's momentum did not diminish, and he did not even make any significant dodging maneuvers.
Just as the arrow was about to hit him, a patch of skin below his neck began to heat up slightly, and a layer of pale green skin with tiny scales instantly covered his entire body!
Giant Lizard Scales!
"Ding! Ding! Ding!"
Three crisp, metallic sounds rang out almost in unison! The wind arrows, powerful enough to pierce plate armor, struck the scales as if they had hit the hardest alloy, failing to even make Lin Qi pause for a moment!
"What?!" Dyson's pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints, and the arrogance and anger on his face were instantly replaced by unbelievable horror!
"You are... an extraordinary being!!!" He was taken aback.
At the same time, Lynch's attack came down like a storm!
The air rippled around his shoulder, and the pale blue phantom of the forest fairy flashed by. A crystal arrow, refined to its fullest extent, shot with perfect accuracy toward Dyson's exposed wrist, which was holding the reins, in an attempt to steady himself!
"Pfft!" The ice arrow pierced through flesh, and the biting cold spread instantly. Dyson's entire right arm went numb, the spell's formation was interrupted on the spot, and he let out a painful groan.
Meanwhile, Lynch's true form had already circled around to Dyson's left side like a ghost!
Knight Combat Technique - Arc Slash!
The cross-shaped sword drew a perfect yet deadly silver arc, carrying the terrifying power and speed of a mid-level knight, and ruthlessly slashed towards Dyson's ribs!
In a life-or-death moment, Dyson unleashed his full potential, letting out a strange cry as he desperately rolled to the right, narrowly escaping from the saddle.
"Snap!"
As the sword flashed, his expensive hunting attire was torn apart, and a long gash was cut into the lining of his chainmail below, causing blood to gush out, but thankfully, it avoided a fatal wound.
He fell heavily onto the ground covered with fallen leaves, looking utterly disheveled.
"You can't kill me! I'm a Gray Tower apprentice! I..." Dyson struggled to get up, shouting incoherently, trying to intimidate the other party with his identity.
Lynch's eyes behind the mask remained unwavering, as if he were looking at livestock awaiting slaughter. He stepped forward, easily pinning down Dyson's hand as he reached for his sword; the sound of bones cracking was clearly audible.
"Ah—!" Dyson let out a piercing scream.
Lynch, positioned high above, raised his cross-shaped sword once more, its tip locked onto Dyson's neck, contorted with pain and fear. No hesitation, no empty words, just the most concise and efficient killing.
Knight's Swift Swordsmanship - Decapitation!
The sword flashed and disappeared!
Dyson's roar abruptly ceased. In his wide-open eyes, the last thing he saw was the pale sunlight filtering through the branches and leaves, and the cold, icy figure holding a sword, wearing a white mask.
A head rolled to the ground, covered in dirt and withered leaves, its expression frozen in extreme terror and resentment.
The headless corpse twitched twice, and warm blood gushed out from the severed neck, quickly soaking the ground beneath it. Mixed with the blood of the deer, it emitted a strong, pungent stench of blood.
Lin Qi flicked away non-existent blood droplets from the tip of his sword and sheathed it.
He bent down and quickly searched Dyson's headless body, removing his personal pockets and some odds and ends that might have been identifying him.
He then took out a palm-sized leather bag from his pocket and poured a grayish-white powder with a faint, pungent, sour smell evenly onto Dyson's body and the rolled-off head.
This is "Bone Ash," a magical material that can only be bought through the grey channels of Treetown, specifically for dealing with "tricky waste"—an excellent way to destroy evidence.
He had made thorough preparations for this operation, specifically purchasing food containing ashes and phantom crystals to distract the noble entourage.
A crystal capable of generating illusions—those noble servants, not necessarily chasing Dyson's illusions, ran off to the other side of the forest, unaware that they were still hunting there.
Including the expenses incurred in investigating these two apprentices—
The investigation fee for Shadow Eye Nest is 600 magic stones. The fee depends on the strength and background of the person being investigated. Two apprentices are certainly not worth that much. The problem is that the starting price for Shadow Eye Nest is 300 magic stones.
Lin Qi has invested nearly a thousand magic stones in this operation.
For the sake of just two apprentices, many people thought it was not worth it, since the two of them together probably didn't even have more than two or three hundred magic stones.
However, Lin Qi did not think so.
Lynch's principle in dealing with enemies is either not to do it at all, or if he does, he must go all the way!
If they are enemies, they must be killed!
No matter the cost, no matter the price!
Magic stones can be earned back once they're gone.
Only when the enemy is gone can you safely start earning magic stones again.
The moment the powder came into contact with flesh and blood, it made a soft "puff...puff..." sound, and at the same time emitted a large amount of thick white smoke with a fishy, sweet and burnt smell.
The corpse collapsed and dissolved at a visible speed, as if being devoured by an invisible, greedy monster.
Clothing, leather, flesh, bones... all organic and inorganic matter rapidly decomposes and carbonizes under the action of the gray-white powder, eventually turning into a pool of dark gray, still-warm, fine ash, almost blending into the humus of the woodland.
The entire process was quiet and efficient. In less than a minute, the once arrogant Dyson apprentice was physically wiped out of the world, leaving only a small pile of inconspicuous ash.
Lynch carefully inspected the ashes to make sure he hadn't missed any large tissue or bone fragments, then used his foot to scatter the ashes, allowing them to mix more naturally with the surrounding environment.
He took out a small bottle, dripped a few drops of a liquid with a fresh herbal scent, and quickly neutralized and dissipated the lingering sour and burnt smells in the air.
Having done all this, he didn't look at the bloody scene again, and his figure quickly disappeared into the dense forest next to him, as if he had never been there.