179 Death Trap Part 2 (1/2)
The three skeleton puppets that were disguised as skeleton riders were let out to roam around the village. The three magic beast skeletons laid down directly outside of Daniel’s room, almost as if they were showing off their might.
If a mage in the same grade as Saleen had seen this sight, they surely would have taken another way around. A mage that could summon six mid-grade death creatures had definitely reached the peak of grade-4.
Within the forest to the east of the village, a thin figure was peering through the leaves into the village. He immediately saw the skeleton riders walking about, and in shock, rapidly darted deep into the forest. He was dressed entirely in black clothes that stuck close to his body, a certain fluidity to his figure as though he possessed the tendons of a magic beast.
As he walked, it was practically as though he had eyes underneath his feet. He did not step on any broken branches and his clothes were not caught on the thorny vines. In the darkness, his eyes reflected no light, and they were pitch black like a bottomless hole. Looking at the face, one would only see a dark green mask that did not reflect any light.
A professional assassin!
His body was like a snake, moving about in the forest and silently arriving at the field behind it. There were mounds all over the empty field and a man dressed in black robes was sitting on the floor, a book in his hand. He was reading using the light of the moon.
A red flame pattern was stitched near the sleeves of his robes, and within the flames, one could vaguely make out the shape of a distorted human.
Hellfire represented the tribunal that was in charge of punishments. The assassin approached him and said softly, ”Deacon, I have found him.”
”Why haven’t you taken action?” The middle-aged man reading the book was the black deacon of the tribunal. He had been following Daniel for a few months and had a good understanding of the abilities of the death mage. He was also aware of Daniel’s predicament. He no longer had any magic nuclei and his combat abilities had been greatly reduced. He did not even have time to fix his winged skeleton.
A grade-3 mage like him was barely any match for a professional grade-4 assassin. His advantage as a mage was gone, and the assassin’s advantage was much more pronounced.
”Deacon, I saw skeleton riders.”
”Oh?” The black deacon was a little unconvinced.
”It’s true, Master. Those skeleton riders are wearing corrosive armor, and even the horses are clad in armor too. Daniel must have called upon new death creatures.”
”You did not alert him, did you?”
”No.”
”Good. Gather everyone and have them approach from here. This time, we cannot let Daniel escape again. Since the proclamation of the new laws, the tribunal has not caught any death mages. If we are the first ones to succeed, we may be promoted two grades.”
”Yes, Master.” The assassin could not hide the joy inside of him. Rising two grades within the tribunal would not just lead to an increase in authority, but one would gain higher level swordsmanship skills or divine skills. If their chief advanced another two grades, he would be equivalent to a local cardinal. Even though those within the tribunal who were at this grade could not join the pope in battle, they could gain higher level divine skills and even the gifts of god.
As for himself, he would become a deacon in two grades time, and just like his master, he would be able to bring a team out on missions. The amount of resources that he would be able to move around would be ten times what he was able to move now.
Those who devoted themselves to faith had urges too, and anyone who who was willing to enter the tribunal possessed a dark side to them. However, these people believed that their wickedness in falling was done to protect the light of god.
The assassin took out a miniature scroll and opened it. Light spilled out from within it, but it did not cause any disturbances in the night sky. The coordinates had been sent, and the deacons of the other two teams would be here soon with their teams.
Thirty-two people against a single death mage. Even if he was a grade-4 mage, it would be difficult for him to escape.
After nearly two hours, the teams that had been sent away gathered back together. The deacon nodded to the assassin and said, ”Describe what you saw to the others. Everyone, be prepared to move out in an hour.”
The black deacon tried to hide the joy in his heart. He had thought that they had lost their target, but they had managed to find Daniel again. If Daniel had escaped again and had run away from this mountainous region, they would not have dared to ambush him in such a big group like this.
Red Copper Fort was not far from the back of these mountains. The troops from Pompeii City would be here within a day, and if the death mage managed to make it to the main roads, he would be at a loss for a good plan of action.
The position of the black cardinal. An enticing role that shall soon be mine!
In addition to the black deacon, the remaining thirty-one of them were comprised of two grade-1 high priests, six grade-2 high priests, three assassins, three dark knights, and seventeen warriors of hell.
Since they had needed to enter the Qin Empire, the black deacon had not dared to bring along any zealots. However, the warriors of hell were able to channel life abilities, and when needed, they could forcefully increase their powers to the standards of a beginner swordmaster. The price, however, was to sacrifice some of their lifespan. This was a sacrifice for the gods.
Even if the death mage was lucky and advanced while escaping, he would only be a grade-4 mage and two grade-1 high priests would be able to defeat him. He had only gathered everyone together as he was afraid that Daniel would escape. Daniel possessed a winged skeleton, and if it regained its flying abilities, it would not be easy to pursue him in this mountainous region.
The more than thirty people confidently made their way through the forest and came to the east entrance of the village. Two skeleton riders in corrosive armor were roaming around freely.
”There is no one in this village.”