356 Chapter 356: Assassin’s Pride (1/2)

”The Veneneum Sect Leader is currently the Grand Master of Assassins,” Redfield explained, even as we trekked through the treacherous terrain of the forest while keeping track of the Veneneum Sect Assassins' location. ”That means he holds overall command over the Assassins Guild, and is currently one of the High Lords of Terra.”

”…High Lords of Terra,” I repeated incredulously. ”Really? Are you sure you're not in the wrong universe?”

”Uh, sorry. I mean he's one of the most powerful men in the underworld.” Redfield quickly amended his slip of the tongue (though I doubted it was a slip – he definitely made that reference on purpose). ”And also one of the most dangerous and lethal killers in the Federation…perhaps even the world.”

”Okay…”

I had no reason to argue against Redfield's explanation. That sounded about right. More importantly, we had to follow the Assassins while searching for Anastasia at the same time. Even though I could still find no trace of Ana in the vicinity, the fact that the Assassins were searching for her in this area meant that it was likely that she was close by. Either that, or the Assassins sucked at locating their target. Given how Anastasia told me that they learned at least the basic tracking spells, I highly doubt that it was the latter scenario.

Still, given how these were professional Assassins that we were following, I was surprised that we were able to track them for this long without being noticed. As much as Redfield and I were trying our best to be as stealthy as possible, I honestly doubted that we succeeded. I certainly lacked the training required to conceal my tracks and stay as silent as humanly possible. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't stop breaking twigs under my feet as I trampled through the dense foliage. The only small mercy was that my relatively small silhouette was mostly hidden under the tall grass and closely packed trees, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Assassins heard me.

For now, they either hadn't detected my presence, or they assumed I was just another monster running about in the undergrowth. Glancing at Redfield, who was moving a lot stealthier and quieter than me, I was sure that he was annoyed at my amateurish attempts to follow. Another small mercy was that the both of us were quite some distance away from the Assassins – normally we would be beyond the visual or hearing range of ordinary humans. Whether the Assassins had enhanced senses or not, I didn't know, but I was only able to keep visual track of them through the eyes of my Corvus.

Luckily, the Assassins could very easily dismiss my Corvus as another monster that inhabit the forest, so they paid the little crows no attention at all. Fortune was on our side…for now. I could only hope we wouldn't run out of it so soon.

”Something's not right.”

After almost thirty minutes of tailing the band of professional killers, I noticed something amiss. They were moving to quickly and fixatedly, without any pause. In other words, they didn't seem to be tracking anything or looking for any sort of clues. Instead, it was obvious that they already had a specific destination in mind.

When I voiced that out to Redfield, he stroked his chin and pondered, even as we continued to run. Tilting his head to the side, he frowned in puzzlement.

”Well…they might already know the precise location of Anastasia. If that's the case, I had best warn the others to expect hostile encounters.”

I nodded distractedly, focusing my attention on the Assassins even as Redfield tapped on his com bead to report. As he did so, I registered a new change. The Assassins had stopped atop a cluster of trees, perching atop their respective branches.

”They stopped,” I informed Redfield. ”But…they don't look like they are searching for clues or trails. It's like they are waiting for something.”

”Waiting for what?”

How would I know? Did you want me to walk up to them and ask?

”I don't know…eh?” pushing my glasses, I watched as the leader bring his hand to his lips and whistled. It was a low, cryptic whistle that pulsed against my Corvus's senses, disorientating them for a bit. I blinked, realizing there was some sort of…provocative spell mixed into the sound. If my Corvus weren't so tightly bound to me mentally, they might have gone berserk.

”What's going on?”

”They just cast a spell. To provoke the monsters in the forest.”

A few snarls and roars punctuated my explanation. The Assassins cocked their heads, listening for something, and then they almost disappeared, leaping off from their branches and rushing into the distance.

”!!!”

Their movements were so quick and sudden that I almost lost track of them. Fortunately, Corvus could fly, so I sent the majority of them soaring after the fleeing ninja wannabes. Out of curiosity, I left one Corvus behind to monitor the site where the dude cast his weird sonic spell. There had to be some reason why he instigated whatever monster that was in the vicinity.

As my Corvus pursued the jumping Assassins, a few of them suddenly whirled about and threw something. Even though I desperately sent a telepathic order to my Corvus to dodge, as expected of professional killers, their weapons struck true. I had a brief flare of psychostigmatic feedback that lashed out at me when my Corvus all blinked out of existence.

”Ugh!”

”What happened? Are you all right?!”

”The bastards…they knew I was watching all along. They just took out my flock of Corvus! We have to hurry! Based on the direction they were going, they should be heading that way…”

Before I could take off in the direction where I last saw the Assassins, I halted abruptly, almost causing Redfield to collide to me. He stared at me quizzically.

”What is it this time?”

”…the spell. It's bringing a few monsters to the vicinity. But that's not all. There are…other people there.”

”Our people?” Redfield asked dismissively. ”I guess we must have gotten close to one of the other sectors without realizing. Good thing they just missed the Veneneum Assassins, or they would be forced to engage in combat.”

”No. It's not Silver Wolves. It's…”

I had a sense of déjà vu when I spotted the newcomers bursting from a bush and staggering into a clearing. They were too young to be mercenaries. They weren't even old enough to be high school students, seeming to be about fourteen or so. Close to Adrian's age.

…actually, Adrian Stuart was among them.