Assassination (II)

For an instant, time seemed to stretch into eternity. The mine fell completely silent, without even a gasp of astonishment, as though all energy and emotion in the surrounding space had been sucked into a vacuum.

A second later, that fragile instant shattered like glass, and the beast horde immediately descended into chaos.

"Fuck!"

"The Overlord's dead!?"

"Whose gun went off... no! An assassin! Where's the assassin!"

"I saw you draw your gun just now, it was that bastard!"

Chaos erupted in an instant. The warlords at the front surged forward, knocking down the metal barricades and rolling like a wave toward the bewildered Court Guards.

Some raised their weapons, while even more stood frozen by what they had just witnessed.

"It worked!"

Driven by an inexplicable impulse, Aio leaped out of the mining cart where she had been hiding and hurried behind a collapsed building.

No one came to stop her. The shock was almost tangible, filling the area like smoke. The Orks had been scared senseless; no one paid attention to a faintly visible figure.

The massive Court Guards formed a circular defensive line around their Overlord's corpse, swinging their weapons from side to side as they continuously searched for the target.

Their discipline was admirable.

Aio thought that ordinary, lower-ranking Orks would surely have yielded to the fury in their hearts without hesitation—but she believed that would happen soon enough.

One of them shoved aside a comrade and flicked his wrist, tearing off his helmet.

In that brief instant, Aio saw the genuine emotion on the warrior's hard face. Such profound pain and grief could only come from a close friend or relative.

This Ork's face was crisscrossed with scars. From so close, the assassin could also see a medal pinned to his chest. It was the