NOVPUBThe bright ceiling lights were already shattered by the tremors, while others flickered on and off, occasionally sparking a few embers that cast an eerie play of shadows across the car, making the whole carriage seem ghostly. A number of guard corpses were sprawled haphazardly on the floor.
The empire’s guards aboard the train had almost all been killed with a single blow, their crimson blood gushed from their wounds and pooled on the ground in a terrifying lake of blood.
However, what surprised Lanci the most was the body lying next to the pile of corpses, particularly the familiar dark cyan coat. The person’s head had been severed, and more than a dozen semi-transparent Magic Cards flickered with a purplish-pink glow emanating from the corpse.
The disturbance from the recent combat, no doubt, had come from Mr. Landry’s Spell.
But had he already died so quickly? How powerful was the enemy?
Before Lanci could ponder further, he already had the answer.
At the other end of car four, an additional figure emerged amidst the smoke.
To be precise, it was a woman standing next to Landry’s body. Tall and dressed in black, her curvy figure was accentuated by her attire; her long, dark hair cascaded down like a waterfall, making the porcelain-like mask on her face look even more sinister.
The masked woman’s gaze was icy, expressionless, and her short blade dripped with dark red blood.
The female assassin’s gaze turned to Lanci, who had just rushed out.
Or rather, to his compartment 404.
"Cat Boss, use the black gas."
Lanci instructed Cat Boss at once.
Ever since he had bound the Original Slabs’ Seal, instead of the usual Sun used for blocking vision, which would now forcibly carry the Divine Light of the God Era’s obsidian effect due to the Sealed-attribute, he had supplied Cat Boss with cheaper substitute cards.
Instantly, the thick smog within the carriage was enveloped by a black mist that obscured visibility.
If Lanci ever had to act out of absolute necessity, he could not allow the other passengers to witness him making his move.
The sudden appearance of the female assassin on this train, her identity and motives shrouded in mystery, Lanci couldn’t yet deduce the reason.
After all, the inherent conflicts within the Cerryti Empire were significant. Due to the unrest years ago, a segment of the commoners and nobility held considerable animosity toward each other, leading to some extreme factions.
But now, the only thing Lanci could be sure of was that the so-called "dangerous elements" probably referred to this female assassin.
And his disguise was still impenetrable.
Regardless of the faction, he couldn’t stand by and allow innocent people to die, not when there were elderly and children on board who were defenseless civilians.
The best strategy now was to continue playing his role as a person from the Empire, resolve this unrest, then safely head to the Capital Bulerida.
"Mr. Landry should be a Sixth-order of the Magic System profession, albeit leaning towards a research-type person. But for him to be killed so quickly by this female assassin indicates that her strength is formidable, and she’s a well-trained veteran," Talia commented in Lanci’s mind.
"Very well, there’s not much difference, theoretically Mr. Landry could have had a chance to win."
Lanci had settled on his strategy.
He planned to fabricate a scene where both Mr. Landry and the female assassin perished together—though she succeeded in killing the young teacher Landry, she also succumbed to the grave injuries he inflicted upon her.
Afterwards, Lanci could continue to lay low, proceeding to infiltrate the imperial capital of Bulerida.
As the female assassin raised her dagger, a bitter killing intent struck head-on. She clearly had no intention of sparing the old Empire man in the same compartment as Landry.
Without a word, she started her assault.
The dagger traced a vicious cold gleam through the air, flashing towards Lanci’s face in a brutal strike.
Lanci, possessed by Talia, barely sidestepped in a flash, narrowly avoiding the deadly attack of the female assassin.
"Lanci, be careful." 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝒸ℴ𝓶
Talia warned.
This female assassin must be close to Seventh-order; no wonder Landry was decapitated so quickly.
Apart from Enon, Talia had not encountered such a strong Sixth-order competitor before in the Holy Silver Vine Arena.
Or more to the point, it would indeed take a professional assassin of this caliber to dare carry out an attack en route to the capital Bulerida, ensuring a flawless execution.
The female assassin appeared equally astonished.
This old man, who did not seem to have the slightest hint of a Martial Artist’s aura, could evade her attack.
Lanci had no time for contemplation as her follow-up attack was already in pursuit.
Dragging a fearsome cold gleam behind it, her next blow aimed directly for Lanci’s vital spots.
Realizing a direct confrontation wasn’t the answer, Lanci leapt back to create distance. A small vortex of Wind Magic formed in front of him, the spiraling gust rushed towards the female assassin, stirring up the dust and debris from the ground along the way, briefly repelling her.
Cat Boss’s Wind Magic was clearly not powerful enough to upset this fierce opponent by two orders.
But that was just to confuse her.
In the next moment, dozens of strands of Spiritual Magic Power followed in succession, forming an impenetrable net, shooting towards the female assassin’s direction.
The female assassin seemed to sense this unusual Magic Power and had to take it seriously.
She had clearly misjudged the old man’s strength.
Beginning to lose control over her own body, it was as if all her nerves were locked down. She let out a painful roar, exploding with power in a struggle.
The entire carriage shook violently, as if it could be torn apart by her tremendous force at any moment.
Countless fragments and debris flew through the air, but she gradually calmed down, and as the dust settled, everything fell into an eerie silence.
