Assassinating the Garrison Captain

After three work cycles, Nimrod decided to launch a new round of offensives.

Thierry and Szczesny needed time to organize their regiments, and Bukayo was still in the preparation phase.

Nimrod decided to take only the 1st Regiment to conquer Szczecin and Mazov.

He set out with his repaired heavy halberd in hand, leaving Wojciech behind to continue the research and development of waterproof weapons.

Yelena hurried over to join the ranks; she had not expected King Nimrod to conquer the formidable Lukpo Hive City in such a short time.

Mazov, Upper Hive, ventilation shaft.

Maria Kornikova, standing two meters and one centimeter tall, applied tubular machine oil to her scimitar.

Another woman, with a shaved head, was maintaining her lasgun when she glanced at the time on her tactical watch and whispered.

"Maria, the agreed rendezvous time has passed by thirteen standard minutes. Pironkova must be dead."

The six of them were divided into two teams to carry out assassination missions, acting independently after infiltrating the Hive City to conduct their hunt.

"Tsvetana, she isn't coming. She assassinated Baron Bereszynski and triggered a pursuit by the security forces; with her abilities, it is impossible for her to have escaped."

"So it was her doing? I thought it was you."

Tsvetana exclaimed. Among the six, the other five each had their own specialties, but only Maria surpassed the others in every aspect.

"My target is the captain of the guard. Pironkova created the opportunity for me."

Maria said, wiping her blade with a yellow silk cloth.

"Follow me."

Tsvetana hesitated for a few seconds. If anyone else had attempted an assassination while the target was on high alert, she would have thought them insane, but Maria had the ability to exploit every opportunity.

Walukiewicz, the captain of the guard in Mazov, felt like he was going insane. His communicator kept beeping incessantly, and he didn't even want to check the messages.

"Walukiewicz, the heir to our House Skorupski has been dead for two work cycles. Have you still not caught the murderer?"

"Walukiewicz, I am the new patriarch of House Dragowski. My father, Bereszynski, died in the last work cycle. You must hand the murderer over to me."

"..."

Walukiewicz, whose hairline was visibly receding, dealt with the pressure from the various houses with exhaustion before deciding to vent his rage on his subordinates.

He switched to the command channel and roared angrily at all the squad leaders.

"You bunch of trash, you can't even lock down the location of one assassin."

"Damn it, if you don't find them today, don't even think about standing down."

After hanging up the comms, he gulped down a glass of water, finally feeling slightly better.

Just then, the communicator beeped again. Walukiewicz's body shuddered, and he answered listlessly.

"Captain, we found them. The assassin has been found. She is hiding in Chemical Plant B-118."

Walukiewicz's spirits lifted, and he shouted loudly.

"Keep your eyes on them, I'm coming right now."

The captain of the guard stood up immediately and gathered his men.

"Follow me. Today, we must catch that idiot who's been causing me so much trouble."

He boarded an open-top command vehicle, and as the engine roared to life, it sped down the street.

Two kilometers from the target point, a blinding flash of light suddenly flickered, striking the high-speed wheel.

The command vehicle immediately lost its balance, spinning until it crashed into a wall.

"Assassin!"

Walukiewicz drew his las-pistol. He hadn't expected the assassin to be so bold, nor had he expected to be ambushed before even entering the factory zone.

Those trash subordinates didn't report the assassin breaking through. Could there be more than one?

Walukiewicz didn't issue orders aloud; he didn't want to become the assassin's target. He crouched low and jogged to the side of a building wall to observe his surroundings.

He discovered that the lasgun had been fitted with a silencer, making it soundless when fired.

The assassin's marksmanship was precise; every shot resulted in one of his men falling.

After observing for a dozen seconds, he finally identified the assassin's position on the water tower by the light beams.

An experienced assassin. That water tower supplies water to fifteen nearby factories; there are too many escape routes.

The captain of the guard pulled out his communicator to contact his squad leaders, whispering.

"You idiots..."

As he spoke, he did not notice a figure silently and rapidly approaching from the shadows.

"Water Tower B-138, repeat..."

"B...", a cold light flashed, the scimitar swept past, and the head fell to the ground.

Blood splattered onto her face, but there was not a ripple of emotion in Maria's heart, nor even a shred of satisfaction from completing the mission.

After conquering Szczecin, Nimrod dispatched the 7th Company to seize the destroyer Termalica at the spaceport, while the other destroyer, Sandecja Nowy Sacz, was sent to participate in the war against the alien pirates.

In the royal palace, besides finding a set of Sequence 9 Reader potion ingredients, he also harvested the main ingredient for the Sequence 8 Midnight Poet, which corresponds to the Sequence 9 Sleepless—a collection of poems passed down for a thousand years.

The Magadan people are the outcasts most rejected by the mainstream culture among the Vostonians; they value the very knowledge that Tech-Priests despise most: culture.

The Szczecin royal palace houses two poetry collections from ancient Terra: Musa Jalil's The Nightingale and the Spring, and Herbert's Harmony of Light.

Nimrod left the Third and Ninth Companies to hold the rear and immediately led his troops to attack Mazov.

He had just breached the Upper Hive when he immediately noticed something different; the security forces that had been the first to respond and block him in the previous three Hive Cities did not appear.

The resistance Nimrod encountered came from the regular army of Mazov, and after he crushed the defenders with overwhelming force, Yelena arrived with two assassins to report.

As he listened to the briefing, he recalled that Maria was the only one among the six who had held his gaze for a moment.

[Her will exceeds that of ordinary people.]

Nimrod evaluated her in his heart, while Maria's cold, clear voice reached the final part of the briefing.

"As I expected, after the captain of the guard died, the major families immediately began fighting over the position of security captain, completely forgetting to hunt for assassins; they were still bickering even when you breached the Hive City."

Nimrod nodded, saying with appreciation.

"Well done, it exceeded my expectations."

He then said to Yelena, "The three who are still alive have passed my test."

In addition to Maria and Tsvetana of Mazov, one assassin also survived in Szczecin, where the results had been smaller.

"Mazov and Szczecin are yours; accelerate the reconstruction speed according to the methods of Tezwork."

In the palace of Mazov, Nimrod similarly found a set of Reader potion ingredients, and once again, he only found two potion materials—still two poetry collections from ancient Terra.

One was Anna Andreyevna Akhmatova's Evening, and the other was Adam Zagajewski's Shock.

Nimrod dispatched the First Company to raid the spaceport and seize the destroyer Vistula.

It was only after he returned to Tezwork and met Kaminski that he understood just how much the Magadan people were ostracized.

Upon seeing him, the Sage immediately spoke.

"King Nimrod, you have meted out punishment to the Magadan people, and the God of All Machines is greatly pleased; before I came, the Omnissiah bell rang three times."

Nimrod did not respond, for he believed that art also had its value.

The Sage continued.

"Rosicky has forged armor for you; please fulfill the agreement as soon as possible and deal with the xenos pirates."

"Sage, I will depart before the Nightfall Troupe; I shall set foot on the starport in the next work cycle."

"Please take Rosicky with you; he will provide you with assistance."