In the basement of a room at the Assassins' Order headquarters.
Sinister and dark, filthy and damp, with a suffocating stench!
This was the Lordaeron Royal Assassins' secret prison, where one person of considerable importance after another was held. Even the toughest warrior would become a useless dog here, sometimes preferring to kneel and beg for a quick death!
Here, death was a luxury!
Those without value had died long ago. Everyone still alive had some use left, and the Assassins' Order still wanted to pry useful information out of their mouths. How could they possibly let them die?
They were worth a fortune, all right?
There were nobles who had once stood high above others, undercover agents from other countries operating in Lordaeron, ogres from the Alterac Mountains, and even Orcs!
Now, there was another prisoner here.
A female rogue named Melva!
She lay collapsed on the floor, her hands and feet bound. A paralytic poison had also been smeared over her body-not much, just enough to keep her conscious but unable to muster any strength.
Miles interrogated her personally!
An assassination attempt on the most gifted rogue apprentice in the Assassins' Order's history was certainly no small matter, but what concerned him even more was Melva herself.
As His Majesty's most trusted oversight and intelligence agency, the Assassins' Order had always been his eyes and ears, the sharpest dagger in the darkness. Everyone who joined underwent rigorous screening, with corresponding checks at every rank. The Assassins' Order even had a very special long-term assignment: having one member secretly investigate the pasts of other members!
They monitored one another and guarded against each other!
Miles could not guarantee that the Assassins' Order had no agents of the nobility or even certain countries, because its screening of apprentices was not particularly strict.
But every full member of the Assassins' Order underwent rigorous screening. There should have been no agents of the nobility among them!
Yet now, one had appeared!
Without a doubt, Melva was Baron Soroson's agent. Of that, he was certain.
But no matter how he questioned her, exhausting every form of torture, this low-ranking female rogue simply would not talk. Even covered in blood and wounds from head to toe, she still refused.
With someone he had trained himself showing such toughness and such a strong ability to resist interrogation, Miles did not know whether to feel pleased or angry!
At that moment, Miles even wondered:
Just how many agents of the nobles were there in the assassins? Was Melva the only one?
After two full hours of interrogation, even Miles was struggling to keep going. He planned to return to his quarters to catch up on sleep. There was still a mountain of work waiting tomorrow.
Yet he had only just returned to his quarters when he suddenly became alert and cried out that something was wrong!
He hurried back to the secret prison and saw Melva lying on the floor, blood streaming from a deep wound across her neck.
Her throat had been slit!
An extremely professional assassination-a single fatal strike!
A chill ran through Miles's heart!
Someone had actually managed to infiltrate the secret prison, kill Melva, whom he had just interrogated, and then leave without a sound?
What did that mean?
It meant Melva really did have accomplices in the Assassins' Order!
Moreover, the killer's Stealth was extremely advanced. Even the rogues responsible for patrols and covert surveillance had failed to notice anything. This was at least an experienced mid-ranking Subtlety rogue!
"Soros! Well played!"
Baron Soroson's manor.
"The operation failed! Melva was captured! But I've already sent someone to kill her, leaving no loose ends!" a voice rang out from a shadow concealed in the darkness.
"Why didn't you simply kill Nicholas? Corno, you were careless!" Baron Soroson snorted coldly, reproaching him without restraint.
"Miles had Roand stand watch inside Nicholas's room, with two guards keeping a lookout.
"Even if I acted personally, it would be difficult to kill Nicholas without a sound. Soroson, weren't you unwilling to let me take risks? You care so much about me that I'm rather flattered!" The shadow's voice was full of mockery. Baron Soroson's brows drew tight, obvious disgust appearing on his face. "Forget it! Melva's exposure has already put Miles on his guard. The Cult of the Damned has few members in the Assassins' Order. We can't have anyone else sacrificed for nothing! Leave Nicholas alone for now. He isn't important, just a man about to die! Your task is to find a way to make Baron Rivendare one of us as soon as possible!"
"Rest assured, I'll take care of that! As for you, heh heh, you ought to consider when you'll send your precious son to Scholomance. Lord Ras Frostwhisper isn't particularly patient!" The shadow let out mocking laughs.
"That's none of your concern! I'll send Dudley there within three days! Now get out!" Baron Soroson's expression was extremely ugly.
When he woke again, it was already the next morning.
His head was still somewhat groggy. The effects of the potent paralytic poison had yet to wear off. You got what you paid for, after all-a bottle cost several gold coins!
Jiang Jie lay in bed, while the adorable little maid sat beside him, gazing at her with concern, her large eyes hazy and shimmering. Girls in this world developed rather early. At fifteen, this girl already had curves in all the right places, and she was so close. Are you sure you aren't tempting me into committing a crime?
If only there had not also been a middle-aged man of around thirty standing nearby.
The middle-aged man wore the standard uniform of the Lordaeron Royal Assassins, with two diagonally crossed daggers embroidered in green thread on the right side of his chest.
He was a mid-ranking rogue!
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Roand, and from now on, I'll be your class trainer. Incidentally, Daphne sold me the Blade of Cunning that Master Onias gave you." Roand's expression was icy. Even a three-year-old could have seen the displeasure written all over his face. He looked ready to devour Jiang Jie!
Seeing the little maid's faintly flushed face, Jiang Jie felt as though "ten thousand * had trampled across his heart":
So, could you use your brain the next time you sell something? Why sell it to someone from the Assassins' Order, of all people? Isn't that just asking for trouble?
"Where is Lord Miles? I think I saw him before I passed out." Jiang Jie hurriedly changed the subject, because this topic was far too heavy, far too... likely to get him beaten up!
Receiving a dagger from the goddess in the hearts of every member of the Assassins' Order already warranted thunderous warnings from the heavens. Now he had gone and sold it, too. That was practically asking to be struck by lightning!
Jiang Jie was a little worried now. Could the female rogue who had tried to assassinate him last night not have been sent by Baron Soroson at all, but simply disliked him and wanted to vent Master Onias's anger?
And this Roand standing before him was his class trainer?
Would he make things difficult for him during training because of his displeasure with him?
He definitely would, wouldn't he?
Was it still too late to go to Miles and ask for a different trainer?