Blaidd tracked the Black Knife Assassin into the underground world.
By this time, Zhao Si had returned to the camp and found many places in disarray, as though bandits had looted them. It had not been like this when he left. How had everything changed so much by the time he returned? His heart tightened, and he hurried to Helena's tent to check on her. He found Malenia with Helena, both of them unharmed.
Only then did Zhao Si relax. "As long as you're both all right. Where's Thops?"
The main reason he did not worry about Malenia was that there really was nothing to worry about. In Caelid, who could possibly beat her unless Radahn took action himself?
"He's fine too. He's already resting in his own tent," Malenia said.
Zhao Si breathed a full sigh of relief. He had never expected to have to worry about his friends' safety every moment in the Lands Between.
"What happened? Were we attacked?" Zhao Si was baffled. "This is Radahn's territory. Who could be that blind?"
Malenia sat beside Helena's bed. "I suppose you could call it an attack, but it wasn't by outsiders. And the main targets were those of you taking part in the Combat Festival."
"Huh?" Zhao Si scratched his head. "Fighter and his people surrounded me outside earlier too. They said someone had paid to have me crippled. I thought one of the other contestants who advanced had done it."
"It's possible another contestant hired them. But tonight, everyone was attacked, whether they advanced or were eliminated." Malenia was puzzled too. "It's a little too strange. Surely whoever hired them didn't want to beat up everyone."
"Maybe they wanted to cover their tracks?" Zhao Si suggested offhandedly.
It was like poisoning the food while eating at the