Karen was already facing the second wave of assassins.
This time, dozens poured through the front door, while several others climbed in through the windows.
Karen frowned slightly, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes.
These bastards are going straight for the target. Councilman Graff is no match for professional assassins like them.
Karen might have slaughtered them as easily as chickens, but they were not weak. They had simply chosen an opponent far stronger than themselves.
Ordinary people stood no chance against them. If they actually reached Graff, Karen's mission would probably be over in two seconds.
Although these assassins used more sophisticated methods than the previous group, they still posed no threat to him.
Then let me show you-the true "Black Nightmare"!
He quickly made up his mind and decided to exploit his advantage.
He rushed to the villa's control room and destroyed the entire electrical system.
In an instant, the whole villa plunged into darkness.
The assassins immediately fell into disarray. They were unfamiliar with the layout and had only given the villa's floor plan a cursory glance.
Not everyone could remember the location of every structure as precisely as Twilight.
Although the assassins had trained at night and had some ability to see in the dark, the sudden loss of light still left them floundering like ordinary people. They scurried around like headless chickens, unable to see anything clearly or know where to strike.
But in the darkness, Karen's eyes could make out every corner.
His eyes glowed red in the dark, and every flash of red was accompanied by a piercing scream.
He moved through the darkness like a ghost, his Cane Sword striking the assassins with deadly precision.
His movements were swift and powerful, each attack cutting through the air with a sharp whistle.
The assassins hid wherever they could in terror, unaware that death had already crept up on them.
All they could hear were their own frantic breaths and pounding hearts, along with Karen's faint breathing drawing ever closer.
One assassin tried to escape through a window, but Karen caught up in an instant. He picked up a dagger from the floor and hurled it straight at the fleeing assassin.
The dagger gleamed coldly in the darkness and pierced straight through the assassin.
The assassin screamed, tumbled out of the window, and slammed into the ground.
Another assassin finally managed to adjust to the darkness and tried to shoot Karen, only for him to dodge easily.
Karen's Cane Sword followed like a shadow, plunging into the assassin's chest and pinning the victim to the wall.
The assassin's body twitched a few times. Then Karen pulled out his Cane Sword, and the corpse slowly slid down.
Karen slaughtered his way through the darkness, eliminating the assassins one by one before throwing their bodies outside.
The other assassins outside were terrified by the sight. They backed away, no longer daring to approach.
Yet the battle was not over.
When the assassin organization's boss saw his subordinates reduced to dead dogs and tossed outside by the enemy, his face twisted as though he had eaten shit.
He waved to the people behind him again, but five seconds passed without anyone daring to take a single step forward. Instead, they all quietly backed away.
"A bunch of useless trash! I'll have to handle this myself!"
The boss decided to take matters into his own hands. He flung his sunglasses onto the lawn, sent two lackeys flying with a single punch, and stormed inside alone.
Karen stood in the middle of the hall, surrounded by candles he had just lit, his gaze fixed on the newcomer.
He recognized this man: Kugraif Mc, the "Heaven-Shaking Hammer," the twentieth-ranked assassin in the world.
Mike was enormous, standing over two meters thirty tall, with absurdly bulging muscles. He carried a heavy iron hammer, and the floor trembled slightly with every step he took.
He approached like a moving mountain, radiating an oppressive presence.
"No wonder all my men went down. The Black Nightmare is here. That explains it."
Karen narrowed his eyes at the man looming before him like a city wall and said evenly, "You actually dared to enter Ostania again? The Garden put a bounty on you, yet you still showed your face. Have you lived long enough?"
Mike had once come to Ostania to assassinate a top-ranking politician. The Garden hunted him for twenty straight days before he finally escaped, barely clinging to life.
After that, he had never shown his face in Ostania again.
At the mention of the Garden, Mike's massive frame shuddered in fear. But he quickly composed himself and snorted. "Heh, heh, heh. The price was simply too high. How could I resist?"
"I may have fled with my tail between my legs, but didn't you do the same?"
"I heard you ran away while fighting the Thorn Princess. What a disgrace to your reputation as the world's number two!"
Karen did not deny running away from Yor. After all, who would dare fight her at close range?
Twilight was plenty strong and had shown some impressive feats, but his combat power was only 100.
Yor's was a full 10,000, though that was a little exaggerated.
She might not be able to take on ten Twilights, but three to five seemed well within her capabilities.
Karen estimated that his own combat power was probably only between 1,000 and 2,000, still nowhere near enough to face Yor.
"Heh, heh, heh. Still better than you, getting chased around by a few nobodies!"
"Enough talk, Black Nightmare. I hear you're very good. I just wonder whether your fighting can keep up with your mouth!"
"Today, I'll end your life with my own hands!" Mike's voice was low, his eyes brimming with murderous intent.
Having his humiliating past exposed infuriated him.
Karen smiled faintly. There was not a trace of fear in his eyes, only excitement and amusement.
His opponent's weapon was a huge iron hammer that looked terribly cumbersome. Wasn't that practically a walking target?
"Is that so? Then let's see whether you have what it takes."
Karen's voice trembled slightly with excitement. It had been a long time since he had fought to his heart's content.
The last time he fought Yor, he had been focused entirely on getting away and had barely shown his true strength.
Karen spun his Cane Sword twice, then held it horizontally before him. He leaned forward slightly, ready to strike at any moment.
Mike swung his massive iron hammer, bringing it crashing toward Karen with tremendous force.
The hammer roared through the air.
Karen dipped into a slight crouch, deftly evading the blow.
The hammer smashed into the floor, sending dust flying and leaving a deep crater.
"Hmph. You're too slow." Karen snorted coldly, then suddenly lunged forward, deftly thrusting his Cane Sword toward Mike's flank.
Although Mike was immensely strong, his weapon was far too cumbersome, making his movements comparatively sluggish.
He could only hastily pull his hammer back, but Karen's attack was swift. The Cane Sword sliced across Mike's wrist guard, leaving a bloody cut.
An agile assassin fighting a lumbering tank, with powerful armor penetration to boot, could naturally keep the opponent under constant pressure.
Mike roared in fury and swung his hammer at Karen again.
Karen darted nimbly through the hammer's reach, using his agility to keep searching for openings in Mike's defenses. His Cane Sword traced streaks of cold light in the faint candlelight, every strike landing precisely on Mike's body.
None of the wounds were fatal, but the accumulated damage was substantial.
"You goddamn bastard!" Mike bellowed as his hammer came crashing down again. This time, he tried to overwhelm Karen with sheer strength.
Karen smiled faintly and suddenly dodged to one side, simultaneously slashing his Cane Sword viciously toward Mike's knee.
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