As Rhode understood it, Ravenholdt Manor was a loosely organized alliance.
Unlike the pyramidal structure of most organizations, its structure resembled a spiderweb, with nodes connecting the vast web-the organization's members in the truest sense.
For a new assassin like Rhode, it was almost impossible to get to know anyone in the organization. His only connection to it was through the missions it assigned.
Even when large missions required assassins to divide up the work and cooperate, they addressed each other only by code names, never knowing one another's true identities.
This structure ensured that the Assassins Alliance could not easily be rooted out.
Throughout history, plenty of people had tried to destroy Ravenholdt Manor, but every one of them had failed. The way the Assassins Alliance was organized made it virtually impossible to wipe out completely.
Whenever a leader was killed, someone new immediately took his place; whenever a branch was destroyed, a new one soon emerged.
Ravenholdt Manor was like a hydra. Cut off one head, and another immediately grew back. To destroy it, you would have to sever all its heads at once-which was utterly impossible. A hydra only had nine heads, but no one could say how many people belonged to the Assassins Alliance...
Perhaps the powerful nobles of some kingdom and the beggars wandering its streets-two kinds of people who would ordinarily never cross paths-might find themselves working as colleagues once they arrived at the manor.
Of course, these characteristics were good news for Rhode as well. Joining Ravenholdt Manor would not interfere with his everyday life.
"Ah, so many words." Lilia stood on tiptoe to read the parchment scroll and asked curiously, "Why do we have to kill the Syndicate? They wouldn't give me a red mask because of them, either. Hmph!"
"Just remember