Assassination

On the road back to the camp, an extremely faint tremor suddenly came through the air.

[Unknown heat sources detected. Number: three.]

The Chip's alert made Green's expression turn grave, but he showed no sign of it and continued steadily toward the camp.

[Syncing thermal vision. Activating Biological Field Scan. Analyzing enemy vital signs.]

With the Chip's aid, Green's right eye had transformed into something akin to infrared vision. The enemies' situation was laid bare before him. In his eyes, the group was buried beneath the sand, and with the cover of night, they would indeed have been difficult to spot. Unfortunately for them, such camouflage was meaningless against Green, who could detect heat sources. Several massive red heat sources stood out clearly against the blue ground.

[Thermal vision synchronization complete. Biological Field Scan concluded. Evaluating current enemy status.]

[Unknown heat source one.]

[Strength: 3.2.]

[Speed: 3.1.]

[Constitution: 3.3.]

...

[Final assessment: all three are Knight Level. Probability of posing a threat to the host: extremely low.]

Only this much? They aren't even qualified to test my strength.

Three people had ambushed Green on his way back to camp. Green's expression grew heavier. They had clearly come prepared. Only Old Green knew that he had left the camp. Unless they had been watching Green all along, there was no way they could have known the direction in which he had left and set up such a precise ambush.

There's a mole in the camp. Green had already reached his conclusion. It was highly unlikely that the caravan's original members had betrayed him. The only possibility was Baron Candia's newly joined caravan. Even if Candia himself was not involved, someone from his caravan was surely connected to it.

Slowly mobilizing the energy within his body, Green walked into the encirclement the three men had prepared.

Whoosh.

The three attackers were extremely decisive. The instant Green stepped into their encirclement, they attacked from directly ahead and from both sides. The man in front even kicked up a large amount of gravel and dust, aiming straight for Green's eyes in an attempt to block his vision. Their coordination was flawless. If an ordinary Knight Level fighter fell into such a trap, it would likely have been a hopeless situation.

Unfortunately, they were facing me!

In Green's eyes, the three attackers' movements were like slow motion, completely devoid of threat. He glanced at the assassins closing in from both sides, stretched out his hands, and casually slapped at the daggers thrust toward him.

With that single casual strike from Green, the hands gripping the daggers seemed to have been hit by iron hammers and burst apart instantly. Their bodies were slammed hard into the ground by the tremendous force. After dealing with the men on either side, Green slightly turned his body and drove a whip kick directly into the chest of the assassin in front of him.

Crack.

A crisp sound rang out. The assassin's bones were as though they had been run over by several heavy trucks, shattered into countless pieces. By the time he hit the ground, he had become a mangled heap of flesh.

"Aah!"

Heart-rending screams rang out. The two assassins whose palms had exploded from Green's casual slap were already sprawled on the ground, crying out in agony. The injuries Green had inflicted on them were not merely from the impact. He had infused energy into his hands and sent a trace of it into their bodies when he struck them.

Given the destructive nature of that energy, it was likely as though a massive iron hammer was smashing every organ inside their bodies.

Looking at the two assassins dressed in black, Green tore off their face coverings. Both appeared to be in their forties or fifties, one large and one small.

"Tell me. Who sent you?" Green lifted the two men and placed them together, controlling the energy he had injected into their bodies and temporarily stopping its rampage.

With the energy ravaging their bodies temporarily halted, the two assassins seemed to have survived a disaster. They gulped down air, their eyes filled with terror as they looked at Green standing beside them. They looked at him as though he were a monster.

In that brief instant, all three of them had been defeated. Two were seriously injured, while one had died on the spot. As for how they knew one of them was dead, the man lying on the ground had his chest and back pressed together, having been kicked flat like a sheet of paper by the monster before them.

[Chip, activate microexpression capture.]

"We'll talk! We'll talk!" Assassins like them were nothing like those portrayed in movies, with unwavering convictions that kept them from betraying their organization even unto death. Assassins who lived by the blade and worked only for money would sell out their organization the first chance they got after being captured. If they refused to talk, they would suffer endless torture, and their organization might not even avenge them. If they confessed, perhaps the man before them would be in a good mood and spare their lives. As for whether they would be held accountable afterward—if they died now, there would be no afterward at all.

"We are assassins from the Shadow Organization. We specialize in accepting assassination missions. Your bounty was issued by the Saladin Kingdom. The Saladin Kingdom lacked the resources to pursue you, so they entrusted the Shadow Organization to send assassins after you." The assassin answered with remarkable clarity, immediately betraying both his organization and the client.

The Saladin Kingdom? That makes sense. Five Knight Level fighters died at my hands, and one of them even had the potential to break through to Grand Knight. It's only natural that they would issue such a bounty. Having learned who his enemy was, Green continued questioning the assassins.

"How did you know I left the camp?" Green pressed on.

"It was Baron Candia. You stayed inside the caravan the entire time, so we had no opportunity to assassinate you. We bribed Baron Candia and had him deliberately join your group so he could watch your movements. When you left the camp, he came to us and told us which direction you had gone. That was why we lay in ambush here."

As Green listened to the two men, a dangerous gleam flashed in his eyes. According to the Chip's analysis, their microexpressions had not changed at all. In other words, they were telling the truth and had not deceived him.

The two of them also sensed the killing intent emanating from Green. The killing intent released by Green's powerful life essence was like a biting cold wind. The two men lying on the ground began trembling uncontrollably. It was the hierarchical suppression of higher life upon ordinary life.

Green quickly withdrew his killing intent. Seeing that the two men had wet themselves, he could not help revealing a look of disgust.

Green crouched before them and patted their faces. "Do you want to die or live?"

"Live! We want to live! What does my lord need us to do?" Hearing that Green was willing to spare them, their faces, pale from blood loss, suddenly regained some color. Their bodies, which had been sprawled on the ground, hurriedly crawled up as they knelt before Green and kowtowed repeatedly.

"What are your names?"

"My lord, I'm Wade. The one beside me is Dila." The smaller man hurriedly answered Green.

"What kind of structure is this Shadow Organization of yours? After this assassination fails, will they continue causing trouble for me?" Green asked the crucial question. If the Shadow Organization continued harassing him in the future, he would have to consider how to wipe it out.

"No, no, my lord. The Shadow Organization is only a platform responsible for posting bounties. Assassins choose missions themselves. If they succeed, the Shadow Organization takes a portion as an introduction fee. If they fail, the Shadow Organization reposts the bounty. An assassination force like ours, with three Knight Level fighters, is already top-tier. Beyond that, there would only be more Knight Level fighters. Even Grand Knights would be no problem for someone as strong as you, my lord!" Wade immediately answered Green's question, wearing a fawning smile as he praised Green's strength.

Green nodded as he listened to Wade's explanation. Since they were unlikely to send more assassins, there was no need to deal with them for now. Besides, the Shadow Organization was merely a loosely structured platform. Even if he destroyed it, a new Shadow Organization would emerge, and once the bounty was posted again, he would still face assassins. To resolve this issue at its root, he would have to make the Saladin Kingdom withdraw the assassination order.

"I have a task for you. When we return to the camp, identify Baron Candia for me. Once you complete it, you may leave."

"Yes, yes, yes, my lord." After seeing the two agree, Green turned and continued toward the camp.

Watching Green expose his back, Wade and Dila exchanged glances. Then they silently took out medicinal powder from their clothes and sprinkled it over their wounds. Despite the enormous opening Green had exposed, they did not choose to attack.

Green was simply too terrifying. The two had completely lost the courage to resist. All they wanted now was to complete Green's task, leave this dreadful place, and stay far away from him.

Naturally, Green would not casually expose his back. With the Chip, he could scan the surrounding environment in all directions. The moment the two attacked, death would be their only outcome.