Chapter 69

There were two enemies monitoring the lodging facility.

Both of them were standing very still. Like statues.

We Shadows had already climbed over the wall on the other side of the facility.

Our plan went like this.

First, I would approach them while melting into the shadows, and eliminate the enemy magician.

I knew I could handle one of them. With the other, it would probably turn into a fight.

The other Shadows would be waiting behind the building.

I just needed to survive long enough for them to arrive.

“Still, I’m not sure. They look very professional.”

I had a decent amount of experience, but I was nothing compared to my father.

What if they were as strong as him?

I had an idea of how the fight might go down, but who knew how it would be.

Well, there was no point in thinking about it.

And so I sank into the shadows and slid towards the grove.

One of them was lying on his stomach near the roots of a tree. But his eyes were fixed on the lodging facility.

The other was crouching in a dense thicket a short distance away. He was scanning the area to see if anything unusual was happening.

“It will be a pain if he sees me and calls out for help. I guess I’ll take that one down first.”

The one in the thicket turned wide eyes towards the sky and up ahead, but didn’t seem too wary about anything being behind him.

Perhaps that meant there was a detection barrier.

I moved behind him and came out of the shadows while still erasing my presence.

The enemy still hadn’t noticed me.

My dagger was already in my hand as I took a step forward and cut open his throat.

Blood burst from his neck. But before he could do anything, I quickly moved away.

He would die if I just left him there. I needed to prepare for the other… It was when I was thinking this. I saw that the other one was no longer there.

“He escaped?”

That was a quick decision. He hadn’t even hesitated for a second.

Then there was a sound. So, he had escaped into the part of the grove that was the densest with trees.

The sounds of grass underfoot grew farther away.

When had he run?

Probably as soon as he saw me.

And just when I was thinking that this was easier than expected and that I could do it all on my own.

I had assumed that he would attack me. But now that I thought about it, there were also people guarding the rocky mountain.

He probably went to alert them.

“If he gets out of the grove, then our ambush will be exposed.”

If there is even a small chance that they could lose, they won’t even try to fight.

It was the kind of quick decision a professional would make.

If I let him go, our plan would be ruined.

As for the Shadows who were supposed to support me, they wouldn’t reach us in time.

“I’ll have to chase after him then.”

And so I melted into the shadows.

The enemy was much faster than I expected.

I couldn’t hesitate.

I needed to stop him before he was out of the grove…

And it wouldn’t be enough just to stop or slow him down. I had to kill him.

I rushed through the shadows and came out in front of him.

The enemy was so startled that he stopped in his tracks.

Without a word, we held our swords up in front of us.

I didn’t want to have to fight a professional. But I had no choice.

I just hoped he wasn’t as strong as my father.

I lowered my stance and moved closer.

Just before our swords were in range of each other, I prepared to throw a knife with my hidden left hand.

But then the enemy jumped to the left as if to dodge it.

Did he know?

There were too many trees now, and I couldn’t throw the knife.

I should just put it away and fight with my sword.

As I considered this, the enemy took a few steps back to gain some distance and turned to run away.

“You almost had me there.”

I had been watching carefully to see what he would do next. And it was almost too late.

The enemy was running, and I could see that the grove ended just up ahead.

“At this distance, the people watching from the mountains will see him immediately.”

The enemy was running at full speed and had already put quite a bit of distance between us. And I had let it happen in spite of knowing his intention! I had to end this here no matter what.

But the trees were still in the way, and so I couldn’t use my knife.

I could still try to throw it at his legs. But he would get away if I missed.

“Hmm. No, I can’t do it.”

He knew how to run and be a difficult target.

Then how about this?

I activated Shadow Blade at the running enemy.

My right hand melted into the shadows and then reappeared in front of him.

“…!?”

Frantic, he swung his sword in front of him, but it was too late.

I could feel the sensation of something being cut.

“Did I get him?”

I had to swing based on my prediction of where he would be. But it was really just a gamble.

The enemy fell to the ground.

It seemed that I had cut him shoulder to chest, and when I caught up with him, he was already dead.

“…Phew. I need more training.”

I almost ruined everything by allowing him to escape.

After a short while, Christan and the others arrived.

“So, you killed both of them.”

“He started to run suddenly, so I became frantic.”

“Well, you did a good job. Especially since you did it within the grove.”

“Yeah. Now there are eight of them left. If possible, I want to do something about the two that are guarding the mountain.”

“That won’t be possible since they have magic barriers. You can’t expect everything to go so smoothly.”

The entire mountain was surrounded by a detection barrier.

It was especially dangerous because it covered the surface of the ground. It would detect you no matter which direction you moved in.

And there was no point in deactivating it because the person who set it would be alerted immediately.

“Sorry to keep you busy, but could you go and monitor the rocky mountain as well?”

“If it’s just me.”

Apparently, no one else here was able to get past the detection barrier.

In any case, as the enemy were also watching with their eyes, they would see anyone who got close, even if they could get past the barrier.

“That’s fine. The best we can hope for is to take one of them down before getting caught.”

The enemy was watching without moving at all.

So it would be easy to come up behind them.

“I think I can do it.”

However, I would be caught immediately. And if the Shadows took too long to arrive, then I would be in trouble.

“The rest of us will charge in as soon as we confirm that the first guard is down. Though, there is also a possibility that the enemy will all scatter and run away again.”

I nodded at Christan’s suggestion.

“That’s true.”

If that happens, we’ll have to send the Dragon Masters after them. But I would prefer it if our group could handle it. Got it?”

The other Shadows nodded. It seemed like Christan was their leader.

Was he actually pretty high-ranking?

It seemed very unlikely that some countryside Right Foot would have any authority over Shadows from the royal capital.

Well, it was a good time to ask.

“About this plan, it was you who brought the order, right?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Are you also commanding this operation then? Why would they let you do that?”

‘Ah, that’s what you mean.’ He said with a satisfied expression and then patted me on the head.

“Well, since I was already put on the Grim Reaper, who has complete absolution, I assume it was only natural to be put me in charge of Shadow Crosser as well. Besides, it’s your powers that are the backbone of this operation. Considering all the facts, it makes sense to put me in charge, as I know the most about you.”

Because I had an alias while being so young, people saw me as being quite capable.

Not only that, but it seemed like my father was quite well known as well.

So, for ordinary Shadows, perhaps it was like going on a mission with the elite.

No wonder I was mostly made to move on my own.

“I’m really not that strong.”

“…You. Are you being serious?”

“Yeah?”

I had only been working for a little over three years. You could call me a rookie.

“Very well, my ‘not-that-strong’ brother-in-law. If you could just go out and get rid of the guards now. We’ll follow you in full force as soon as we see movement.”

“Understood.”

And then I melted into the shadows.

Hope everyone is staying safe!

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