"Assassin—!!!"
With an angry roar, General Bud leaped into the air and pounced toward Fang Zheng. Fang Zheng merely sneered, then turned and walked into the house.
"Stop right there, assassin!!"
General Bud was consumed by rage. He launched himself like a cannonball straight onto the balcony, but when he smashed through the door and entered the corridor, he found nothing there but corpses.
"Damn it...!!"
Seeing this, General Bud clenched his fists and roared.
"I'll kill you!!!"
"That depends on whether you have the ability."
Standing atop a tower some distance away, Fang Zheng listened to the roar that pierced the clouds and tugged at his hood.
"I've delivered my challenge. Now, how will you respond?"
Just as Fang Zheng had expected, Duke Croatia's public death caused enormous panic throughout the Imperial Capital's noble district. In broad daylight, before countless witnesses, and right in front of General Bud—one of the Empire's twin pillars—the other party had killed a member of the royal family, Duke Croatia, then shoved his corpse to the ground. This was utter contempt for the supreme imperial authority, and the most pointed threat and challenge imaginable against the Emperor!
The Imperial Capital had now completely descended into panic.
The enemy had dared to murder someone openly before General Bud, acting with complete impunity. More importantly, Bud had failed to capture him. That meant everyone else living in the noble district was in danger as well!
The nobles could no longer sit still. When trouble had first erupted in the outer city, they had not cared much. In their eyes, they lived in the heavily guarded noble district of the inner city, protected by high walls and strict security. Those assassins and killers could only skulk around the outskirts anyway. What did it matter to them how