CHAPTER 135: ASSASSINATION [2]

Lilith’s face was brimming with glee as she watched her blade inch forward toward Scarlet’s heart.

"Die, you annoying bit—"

Suddenly, a pair of light blue eyes snapped open.

"Huh!" Lilith’s eyes widened behind her blindfold, and before she could react, Scarlet’s arm shot upward and slammed into her wrist, causing the blade to fly out of her hand.

When this happened, Lilith quickly jumped back a few steps and retrieved her blade once more.

Scarlet calmly rose from the bed and summoned her sword, which glistened fiercely in the night.

"I’ve been expecting you for a while now," she said calmly. "Didn’t know you’d take this long to strike."

Lilith was shocked, but she played it cool and took a fighting stance instead. "So you knew?"

"For someone with the Silent Whisper title, you’re pretty easy to detect," Scarlet said.

A visible red vein throbbed in Lilith’s temple.

Scarlet wasn’t the type to mock her opponent or trash talk before a fight. She was simply stating a fact—as she had indeed noticed Lilith’s presence during the battle with the ogres.

Ever since then, she had been actively waiting for her to make a move.

Earlier, she had feigned sleep to bait her out. And as expected, she had—

"You tricked me?" Lilith’s chest rose and fell rapidly.

In this world, the five guilds weren’t friends. They were all rivals. Cases of rival guild members killing one another were not rare.

Even the king of the Kingdom usually didn’t interfere when it came to guild matters.

With those thoughts at the back of her mind, Lilith charged in. She teleported mid-charge.

Scarlet’s eyes narrowed as she gracefully slashed to her side. A loud clang, followed by sparks, exploded out.

A frown appeared on Lilith’s face as she quickly followed up with another slash.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The two clashed repeatedly, and each one of Lilith’s attacks was effortlessly parried. It almost felt as if the vice leader of the Adventurer Guild had an extra eye that allowed her to see through Lilith’s invisibility.

And all this while, Scarlet had not even made a single counterattack.

Lilith began to feel slightly anxious as she realized she had greatly underestimated Scarlet Voss.

’I can’t even go all out. If I do, it would be no different from alerting the rest of the guild members,’ she thought while targeting her opponent’s midsection.

"I expected more from the leader of the Crimson Star Guild," Scarlet commented, sounding disappointed.

"Shut up!" Lilith shouted as she quickly put away her thin sword.

Scarlet was a master swordswoman. She had been training with her blade since birth.

Lilith realized fighting Scarlet with a sword was no different from shooting herself in the leg.

’I have other treasures. However, bringing them out would only draw attention here.’ It was at that moment Lilith noticed something.

"Why aren’t you calling the others?" she asked. "Are you that confident in yourself?"

"I don’t need others to deal with you," Scarlet coldly replied and suddenly charged forward. "Now, my turn!"

---

[Ding! You have been poisoned.]

When these glaring red words flashed across Gabriel’s retina, he briefly paused as he felt his body grow weak all of a sudden and his HP begin to drop slowly.

"Master!" Anna shouted with a look of concern on her face.

"I’m fine," Gabriel shrugged it off.

The moment he spoke, his eyes darted to the side—and he caught the glint of a metallic needle flying at his neck!

FWISH! SWISH!

"Too slow."

He tilted his head, and the needle barely missed him.

Pew!

It stuck into one of the tent poles behind him and released a faint green mist.

’Definitely poison.’

The second assassin didn’t speak. He was calm—unlike the first. Professional. Cold-blooded. He knew Gabriel was dangerous and was treating him like a genuine threat.

Moreover, Gabriel could also sense that this assassin was at least Level 50—far stronger than the first.

Although he didn’t know the exact level of the first assassin, based on the damage bars he had seen, he was able to tell the assassin was below Level 50.

Suddenly, there was a flicker of movement.

However, Gabriel didn’t rely on sight. He trusted his instincts now.

He leapt backward and grabbed the air beside him—and this time, he managed to partially grab a wrist.

"Ack—!"

It was faint, but there was resistance.

Before the figure could slip free, Gabriel surged mana through his hand and activated [Dark Flame Orb].

The orb didn’t shoot out this time—it exploded right in his palm!

BOOM!

The tent partially collapsed from the pressure.

Anna backed off, shielding her face from the heat as flames surged and lit up the night.

From within the smoke, a figure rolled out—his invisibility now completely undone. The man wore all-black gear with light armor and dual blades. His body was covered in burn marks.

Despite the injuries, he coughed and stood.

"Damn monster," he muttered. "You knew I was there the whole time."

Gabriel stepped out of the tent, speaking calmly. "You should’ve escaped when your friend fell."

"Tsk."The assassin clicked his tongue and flung five silver needles straight at Anna!

Gabriel reacted instantly—his feet slammed into the ground as he pushed off with brutal force.

BANG!

He appeared in front of Anna and activated [Iron Body].

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Each one of the silver needles bounced off his body. And when the rain of needles stopped, Gabriel coldly turned his gaze toward the assassin.

The assassin suddenly felt his body freeze.

’Killing intent?!’

Before he could even blink, Gabriel was already in front of him.

"Wha—?!"

CRACK!

A knee smashed into his ribs, sending him flying several meters backward.

(Critical Hit)

He crashed into a stack of crates, coughing violently.

Gabriel followed without giving him a chance to recover. The assassin tried to roll and counter, but Gabriel stomped on his leg.

"GAHHH—!"

Crunch!

The leg broke in an instant.

Gabriel didn’t need to ask this one any questions. He already knew who they were and quickly killed him off.

By now, the other members of the Adventurer Guild had arrived at the scene. However, Gabriel’s attention was on Scarlet’s tent—where he could see two shadows locked in a deadly fight.