Chapter 116
LeBlanc, visibly relieved by the positive response, immediately added, "Now, please allow me to explain in more detail the path I've paved for you and—"
"No need," Chen Ce suddenly interrupted.
LeBlanc was still somewhat surprised, but he had already said slowly in an unyielding tone, "I already have my own plans."
"Um?"
"Following your plan will only lead me astray like a cunning woman. Now I'm going to rethink everything."
Chen Ce let out a sigh of relief, then smiled and looked directly into the other person's beautiful eyes.
"From now on, it's not me cooperating with you, but you cooperating with me, understand?"
A strange look flashed across LeBlanc's eyes, but she quickly regained her charming and submissive expression and posture.
"Of course, I'll do whatever you say!"
After a brief pause, she asked in a pitiful tone, "Then can you tell me about your plan?"
"No." Chen Ce refused decisively, but the smile on his face remained.
"I can only tell you one thing... While it's unwise to seize power by force without any preparation, I will use force to take what I want within reasonable limits."
Meanwhile, on the other side of Noxus's capital.
General Du Couteau's eldest daughter Katarina du Couteau, leaned against the wall, panting, her beautiful but pale face obscured by shadows.
It also concealed the blood seeping between her fingers.
She was injured. She had been stabbed in the abdomen.
Fortunately, she managed to escape.
In this moment of pain and confusion, she suddenly remembered a figure.
The man who humiliated her...
"Could it be... that he's telling the truth...?"
Chapter Six: Carter: Fame Comes from Heaven While Sitting at Home
Katarina dragged her injured body back home.
A few drops of blood stained the clean carpet and chair. Pale-faced, she took out medical supplies and gave the wound a quick treatment.
The injury wasn't serious, but it wasn't minor either. It wasn't fatal, but it would take her quite a while to recover.
She breathed a sigh of relief once the gauze was completely wrapped.
She leaned wearily against the back of the chair, the occasional sharp pains in her abdomen and the silence of the empty room making it difficult for her to fall asleep. Shadows lurked in the extinguished fire, and in the deep darkness, it seemed as if the scarlet eyes of a raven were flashing—she knew it was just her imagination.
She dared not close her eyes; the darkness was filled with the horrors of what had just transpired... The terrifying ravens were cawing, their scarlet eyes fixed on something... They awaited death, they craved carrion...
Jericho Swain, the new president... his laughter was as hoarse and shrill as the cawing of a raven...
He has demonic wings... his arms... that's a power no human could possibly possess...
He seemed to see everything... the eyes of the devil...
He knew everything; he was intimately familiar with all the secrets of the empire...
Assassination... impossible...
Katarina shook her head in anguish, trying to shake the horrific image from her mind for the time being—even though she knew it was absolutely wrong for a failed assassin.
Unfortunately, she couldn't shake him off no matter what she did.
The shadow of failure and the fear of death completely enveloped her; even looking at the clock hanging on the wall, she seemed to see the scarlet eyes of a raven.
Her assassination attempt failed completely.
She was absolutely certain that her timing was perfect... the angle, force, and method were all absolutely in line with the way of an assassin.
But she failed.
The instant she leaped from the shadows, the terrifying man turned around with a smile—he extended his left hand, rumored to have been severed in Ionia, from under his coat, gleaming with a scarlet Shimmer, ethereal and horrifying... it was the arm of a demon.
And then... he spread his wings... yes, wings...
How could humans possibly have wings?
Without a doubt, he was a demon... a terrible demon...
In a split second, the so-called assassination was over. It was like a game where children played the villains and righteous assassins.
He used his demonic power to shove her away and mocked her overestimation of her abilities, claiming that she might have chosen the wrong target.
She began to flee... but this rash and failed assassination attempt attracted all the guards in the palace... She fled desperately, but was ultimately stabbed by a sword...
She managed to escape back, but she didn't know how to face her father.
Marcus du Couteau, the legendary assassin of the Empire, the heroic general who led Noxus's expansion to Shurima... He surrendered to Swain long before the Trifarix Council was formed, yet his daughter went to assassinate the Grand Commander to whom he had pledged his loyalty?
This is an unacceptable choice and an unforgivable mistake.
It was her arrogance and vanity, her desire for honor, that drove all of this.
Her father was the leader of all the Assassin Guild, yet she accepted a commission that went unhandled by him and even against his wishes.
She will not regret any of the choices she has made, but now may not be the time for her to "bring the law to justice".
Anything is possible... Even if you fail this time, there will be another chance...
Now all she has to do is continue to hide it...
Before her father finds out...
"Damn it..."
Despite the sharp pain, Katarina stood up and then laboriously began tidying up the room.
Her father is not currently at the estate, and she must clean up all traces before he returns.
She quickly cleaned up the bloodstains on the floor, the used first-aid kit, and the cabinet that had obviously been disturbed. Then she took off her blood-stained coat and changed into a clean training uniform.
She controlled her facial expressions in front of the mirror and used some makeup to cover her pale complexion.
Right now, she looks like she's just finished her daily training; apart from being a little out of breath, there's nothing else wrong with her.
She sat down again and let out a long sigh.
But just then, a gentle knocking sounded on the door.
Katarina tensed up instantly.
She wasn't sure if the person knocking was her father or someone else—the former was unlikely, since no one knocks on their own door before entering. But at this point, she was extremely nervous, and any sound would make her incredibly anxious.
She approached the door cautiously, without making a sound.
The knocking stopped just then.
But instead, a man's voice spoke, "General Du Couteau, I would like to discuss something with you."
Katarina was taken aback at first, then suddenly remembered the owner of the voice—the strange man wearing the fox mask, Swain's henchman...
Without the slightest hesitation, she began to hold her breath, intending to drive the other person away with silence—after all, her father was indeed not home.
Furthermore, the entire manor was teeming with guards, servants, and gardeners, yet the other party knocked on the door without any accompaniment, clearly indicating they had sneaked in...
It's even possible they've already killed all the guards.
Clearly, the visitor has ill intentions.
Katarina waited quietly through the door.
But she waited for a long time and no footsteps sounded.
Just as she was hesitating, the voice outside rang out again:
"I know you're inside, General Du Couteau."
Then, the door was pushed open—even though it was locked.
The sturdy mithril lock proved incredibly fragile to those outside, gradually breaking open with a series of terrifying metallic cracking sounds.
Bang! The door was pushed open completely.
A familiar figure came into view, and Katarina immediately assumed a fighting stance—even though she was currently extremely weak.
The other person's sudden intrusion surprised and unsettled her.
But what made her even more uneasy was...
The other person was not wearing a mask.
The first rule an assassin must follow is this: [Never reveal your true identity during an assassination; if you are accidentally exposed, ensure that no one is left alive.]
So, this man in front of me...
The fact that he wasn't wearing a mask meant...
He came here to kill everyone...
"Hmm? Is this Miss Katarina?" The newcomer—who was naturally Chen Ce —smiled kindly.
"Damn it..." Katarina cursed under her breath, immediately retreating while pulling a sharp dagger from under the table.
However, because of her excessive movements, the wound that had just been treated reopened, and fresh blood continued to flow out.
"You told me to come find you... but you came to me yourself... So you still want to kill me to silence me...?"
Faced with the red-haired girl's "accusation," Chen Ce only maintained his smile. "No, you misunderstand. I'm not here to see you—as I said when I knocked, I'm here to see General Du Couteau, not our lovely Miss Katarina du Couteau."
"You came here because of Swain, didn't you..." Katarina seemed not to hear him, her beautiful eyes filled with murderous intent and unease. "I failed... He ordered you to eliminate him completely..."
"No, no, no... you don't seem to have understood me?"
"This matter has nothing to do with my father or family... They were all unaware of it... I will take full responsibility for my actions; don't even think about implicating them with the charge of guilt by association..."
"Are my words really that profound?" Chen Ce sighed helplessly, then strode into the house—he was certain that Marcus du Couteau was there.
LeBlanc's information is accurate.
The general simply hid on purpose.
Just as he was about to bypass Katarina and go directly to General Du Couteau, this hot-tempered and strong-willed female assassin made her move.
Despite her injuries, she forced herself to swing the knife, but her speed and power were less than half of what they were used to.
Chen Ce didn't bother wasting time on her and knocked the sharp dagger away with a wave of his hand.
Then, he cast the [Deceive], and his figure vanished instantly.
Only that mocking voice echoed in the spacious, luxurious house:
"So our great General Du Couteau is just a coward? He watched his eldest daughter suffer without coming forward? Or... have you been planning to harm this good daughter who admires you for a long time?"
"Poor Miss Katarina ... She was so determined not to involve her father and family, and this is how you treat her?"
"Oh, so you truly are a hero of the Noxus Empire, devoted to the cause... For the sake of the nation, you'd even sacrifice your own daughter so casually? In your eyes, she's nothing more than a killing machine for the Empire?"
"I feel sorry for her, and I find you ridiculous."
"Perhaps a partner like you is not trustworthy."
After he finished speaking, General Du Couteau, who was hiding in the shadows, was not in a hurry, but Katarina was the first to get anxious.
She would never allow anyone to tarnish her father's honor.
"Don't even think about sowing discord...!"
She picked up the dagger and started slashing wildly in the direction the sound came from—although she couldn't see the invisible Chen Ce, her extremely keen senses allowed her to roughly deduce his location from the sound and the movement of objects.
Unfortunately, she missed everything in her several attacks.
The figure appeared on its own several seconds later.
Right in front of her.
Snap! Her wrist was grabbed again, and she couldn't move.
She tried to resist with her other hand, but her father's voice suddenly rang out from the other end of the stairwell:
"Stop, Katarina."