It was late at night. Most of Nafu City had already drifted into dreamland. Claire put the Magic Book in her hands back on the shelf and returned to her bedroom to rest.
Outside the Baronial Manor, however, a pair of eyes was fixed tightly on Claire's room. Only after the lights had been out for nearly an hour did the figure make a move, nimbly vaulting over the manor walls.
Keeping close to the castle wall, the figure climbed it like a gecko, silently making his way from the ground floor to outside Claire's bedroom on the sixth floor. Yet he did not immediately open the window. Instead, he pressed his ear against it and waited until he heard steady breathing. Only then did he use a lockpick to pry open the window lock and slip into Claire's bedroom like an agile cat, making not the slightest sound.
Crouching low as he crept to the bedside, he confirmed that Claire was indeed asleep before slowly pulling a dagger from his clothes and drawing it from its sheath.
Watching Claire sleep soundly, the assassin chuckled inwardly. Hmph, these five hundred Gold Coins are practically mine.
Whoosh!
The dagger tore through the air, streaking toward Claire's head at incredible speed.
Crack! A dull sound rang out.
The assassin's eyes widened. His wrist had actually been caught by one of her hands.
Claire looked at him and chuckled. "Didn't you investigate my strength before coming to assassinate me?"
She was a mage, and an intermediate mage at that. Even while asleep, her spiritual power would unconsciously spread outward. The instant he entered her room, Claire had already sensed his presence.
"Die!" the assassin shouted. He brought up his other hand and added more force, trying to use brute strength to drive the dagger into Claire's eye.
But the dagger trapped in her grip did not move in the slightest. It showed no sign of advancing at all.
"How is this possible?" The assassin's voice was filled with disbelief. He knew his target was a mage, but how could a mage possibly be stronger than an assassin like him who specialized in Battle Aura?
"There's nothing strange about it." Claire slapped one hand against the bed, launching herself into the air. She twisted midair and kicked him in the neck, sending the assassin stumbling back several steps.
Claire used the opening to flip upright. A flash of light flickered in her hand, and a dagger encrusted with gemstones appeared in her grasp.
The assassin rubbed his neck and charged forward again, unwilling to accept it. "I refuse to believe you're stronger than me!"
Then try it. Claire pressed forward first, releasing her spiritual power to carefully observe his movements and reacting the instant he did.
Instead of leaving several wounds on Claire, the assassin was cut by her several times, blood marks appearing across his body.
"This is impossible!" The assassin looked nearly crazed. He had spent close to ten years cultivating his current strength. How could someone who had never cultivated Battle Aura possess greater strength than him?
Claire smiled slightly without explaining. Could I possibly tell you that this was the Great Strength Pill I got from my first trade, and it could increase my strength by up to ten times?
Then she crooked a finger at him. "Come on, then!"
"Just you wait!" the assassin roared. A faint red Battle Aura surged around him, and his entire presence rose by more than double.
Bronze Rank? Claire thought. An assassin capable of releasing Battle Aura externally had reached Bronze Rank.
She simply lowered her fighting stance. If he used Battle Aura, his strength would surely rise drastically. Even after taking the Great Strength Pill, she would not be his match in close combat. She was a mage, after all, but she was not Gandalf.
"Die!" the assassin shouted. He forcefully threw the dagger in his hand, its sharp point aimed directly at Claire's forehead. Then he rapidly closed the distance between them. According to his intelligence, the target possessed a long-range Magic Weapon, so he had to get close enough that she could not use it.
Claire stood still, showing no intention of dodging, while rapidly chanting a string of obscure incantations.
"Wind Shield!"
A transparent, mysterious shield appeared before Claire, blocking the dagger. It fell to the floor with a crisp clang.
A flicker of surprise crossed the assassin's eyes, but he quickly pulled another dagger from his clothes, leaped high into the air, and thrust it down at Claire.
"Wind Wall!"
With a wave of Claire's hand, a transparent yet violent wall of wind appeared before her. She gently pushed forward, and the wind wall surged ahead, sweeping the airborne assassin away and slamming him violently into the wall.
Claire rolled her wrist. She was an intermediate mage, after all. Sending a Silver Rank assassin would have made sense, but what did it mean to send a Bronze Rank assassin to kill her? Were they looking down on her?
"Ugh!" The assassin groaned as intense pain shot through his back. He had only just forced himself upright through the pain.
"Wind Blade!"
Another sharp gust cut through the air. The next second, agony exploded from his right wrist, making him instinctively fling away the dagger in his hand.
"Stop! I'm willing to surrender," the assassin pleaded. Yet his left hand reached behind his back, intending to deal Claire a fatal blow the moment she lowered her guard.
Claire really did pause her attack. The assassin was delighted. It worked again. He had used this trick to kill quite a few people before.
But the next second, Claire said, "Sorry, but I never accept anyone's surrender, especially not the surrender of someone like you who can still fight back."
The assassin's eyes widened slightly. He abruptly looked up at Claire, who stood less than ten meters away. Could such words really come from an underage child?
Claire met his gaze and gave him a friendly smile. "Earth Spike Technique!"
Riiip!
Sharp earth spikes burst through the floor tiles, piercing straight through both of the assassin's feet. Flesh and blood became a mangled mess as blood continuously flowed down his legs and dripped from his pant cuffs onto the floor. The assassin, who had only just managed to stand, dropped to his knees with a thud.
"Hurricane Technique!"
"Wait..." the assassin weakly reached toward Claire, trying to stop her.
But Claire had already completed her spell. She slapped at the empty air, and a hurricane immediately appeared before her, sweeping the kneeling assassin into the air before some invisible force seemed to smash him from midair into the wall to the left.
Smack!
The assassin collapsed onto the floor. He was barely recognizable now, only barely clinging to life.
Seeing that he had lost even the ability to move, Claire slowly walked over and apologized, "Sorry, the wind was too loud just now, so I didn't hear you. Go on."
The assassin nearly died of rage. "Spare me, and I'll tell you who was behind this."
"Oh?" Claire looked somewhat surprised. "By the rules of your assassin trade, shouldn't a client's information be more important than your own life?"
"Cough, cough. I don't belong to any organization, so it doesn't matter if I reveal it," the assassin said weakly.
When the administrator Frank hired someone, he had not chosen a well-known assassin affiliated with an organization. Otherwise, assassinating a baron like Claire—even one whose territory had fallen to such a state—would have cost at least three thousand Gold Coins.
At that moment, Regan's anxious shout came from outside the door. "Young Master! Are you all right?" Claire's battle with the assassin sounded lengthy, but it had taken less than a minute in total, so Regan was not actually late.
Regan pushed open the door. When he saw the bedroom transformed into a "storage room," he nearly had a heart attack. But he quickly spotted the young master still standing, while an unfamiliar person lay on the floor. Only then did Regan's hanging heart settle.
Yet what followed was an intense wave of fear. His young master, the heir of the Griffin Family, had been assassinated inside his own Baronial Manor. Whoever had planned this had to receive the cruelest punishment in the world!
"I'm fine," Claire replied.
The assassin lying on the floor continued pleading with Claire. "Really, as long as you spare me, I'll tell you who ordered me to do it."
Claire laughed directly. "Even if you don't tell me, I already know who did this."
The assassin froze. "So then..."
Bang!
A gunshot rang out in the room!
Blood splattered across Claire's body. Then she walked to the window, raised her pistol toward the sky, and fired five shots in succession!
Bang! Bang! Bang...
The gunshots echoed through Nafu City in the night, terrifying those who had not yet fallen asleep.
After firing, Claire turned around. The faint blue moonlight happened to fall over her body, forming a stark contrast with the scattered bloodstains on her clothes. The smile on her face, paired with the blood she had yet to wipe away, was especially striking.
Regan stared blankly from the side. He had never seen the young master possess such extraordinary bearing before.
"Regan..." Claire called, and only then did Regan snap out of it.
"Young Master!"
"Go issue an announcement: I was attacked by an assassin tonight. I wasn't seriously hurt, but the assassin escaped. I hope the people of Nafu City will remain vigilant."
Regan glanced at the assassin's corpse on the floor, dead beyond all doubt. He did not ask any questions and simply replied, "Yes, Young Master!"
Claire waved a hand. "Nothing else. Go back and rest."
"As you command, Young Master!" Regan was a qualified butler. He knew when to speak and when to stay silent.
After Regan left, Claire reached up and touched her cheek, rubbing the blood on her hand between her fingers before turning her gaze toward Nafu City beyond the window.
She murmured, "I originally wanted to take things slowly, but it seems I was wrong. You're even more impatient than I am. Since you're so unafraid of death, then come on."
Thanks to "Lord Farming" for the two monthly tickets!!!! And thanks to myself for rewarding myself with six hundred Qidian Coins!!!
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