Rathos quickly finds himself in another carriage, one which is similar to the size of the [Queen]’s own ride. The only difference is that the one he is entering right now is not floating and instead uses normal wheels.

Regardless, the size still boggles his mind.

“They’re in here.” Doreson gestures to him and leads the [General] to a large gathering room.

When Rathos enters, he is greeted with an interesting sight. The Gejan, if he remembers the name correctly, are relaxing around a table. They look bored to Rathos, but he can feel their anticipation, especially when they turn to look at Doreson when he enters the room. Even the largest of the Gejan, which had been dozing, abruptly wakes up.

“I’m sure you all have been informed,” Doreson begins as he moves into the room, “but we have a [General] now.”

Rathos steps forward and meets the eyes of all those present.

Immediately, they all jump to their feet. Their backs straighten and each and every one of them gives him a salute.

“Commander.” They greet him at once.

Rathos slowly nods at the immediate reaction. They show respect, which is good, but he would prefer it if they referred to him by his actual rank. A good army requires order, and that order must be present at the highest rank.

“Doreson, you said the Gejan are the army elites?”

“Yes. The average level of the Gejan is one hundred and thirty.”

“How many Gejan are we talking about?” he asks.

“About two thousand,” Doreson says.

The [General’s] facade slightly cracks. A typical central kingdom would have around fifty elites over level one hundred. Even [Emperor] Flavion could only ever field about five hundred.

“And what of the centaurs? How many do we have, and how strong are they??”

“There are currently twenty thousand centaur soldiers, with the majority of their levels averaging around seventy. About three hundred of them are in their second-tier class.”

Twenty-three hundred elites. No single kingdom can field an army of that strength. What has he even gotten himself into?

“What of the Minotaurs?” he finally asks.

“We only have about a thousand minotaur [Soldiers] with an average level of forty.”

“Those levels seem low. Do they not have elites?” The [General] asks curiously.

“Minotaurs level slowly, but they have a perk available to them that significantly increases their Strength and Endurance for each level they gain. As for elites, they only have one, and his name is Grognak.”

“I’ve met him. He seems… unique,” Rathos exclaims.

“Annoying, cocky, and ignorant are better ways to describe him,” grouses a female Gejan with red scales.

“Really fucking strong is another,” a Gejan with red scales standing next to her adds.

Doreson frowns at the duo that spoke. His ears flick in annoyance.

“Grognak is a [Scholar Archknight], and though annoying at times, is incredibly powerful and dangerous, as I’m sure many of you have learned first hand.”

Rathos watches the Gejan all shuffle where they stand. He raises an eyebrow but lets it slide.

“Does Grognak lead the Minotaurs?”

“No, well…” Doreson hesitates, “not exactly. He keeps them in check, but we have [Captains] to lead them. Minotaurs are generally not smart enough to follow complex orders, especially in a battle where they get hurt. Which is why most of them are treated as mobile siege engines. More than half of the Minotaurs are equipped with ballistas and the rest are equipped with heavy armor and warhammers.”

Rathos sighs. Insanity is the only adequate way he can describe this army.

“Very well. You will need to explain everything to me in more detail. For now, I believe introductions are in order.”

Doreson grunts and first points at the two Gejan with scarlet scales. “The large, red one with the huge sword on his back is Aldonis. The woman next to him is his daughter, Thorous. They lead our shock troopers.”

Doresons hand moves, pointing at a relaxed blue-scaled Gejan with a long lance attached to his back. “Orlan here leads our footman [Dragoon] squadron.”

He then moves to a petite white Gejan with a long tail that has a spiked ball the size of a horse.

“Lilly is our resident siege breaker. If we can get her to the enemy wall, then she can single handedly smash it apart, regardless of whether it is enchanted or not.”

Rathos frowns at what Doreson had said. One of the most difficult things in any siege is getting through defenses, especially if said defenses are enchanted and improved with skills. He doubts Lilly with whatever skills she has, could even dent an enchanted city wall, let alone even break it.

Doreson next points at another woman, this one is covered in a very form-fitting armor with a dozen daggers around her whole body.

“Tessa leads our [Scouts]. She is also the person you send as a [Messenger] to other armies or when you want to hunt someone down.”

Finally, Doreson moves his hand towards the last and largest Gejan. Said Gejan is breathing hard and writhing slightly. From his expression, it looks like he’s doing everything he possibly can to stay still.

“Darrow, what the hell is wrong with you?”

Darrow groans, “I have to pee really really bad.”

Doreson shakes his head and sighs. He then waves to Darrow, who quickly turns and runs into a bathroom.

Doreson shakes his head. “And that [General], is Darrow, our [Heavy Infantry] leader and arguably the most difficult person to actually defeat. He and his squad will be your best and most durable frontline.”

Moments after the introductions, a sound very reminiscent of a waterfall filters into the room.

________________________________________________________

[Assassins] are a class feared by almost all the leaders of a kingdom, and for good reason. Defenses that can properly handle a well prepared [Assassin] are few. They care little for the method of killing someone, so long as no one ever sees them coming. They are one of the few classes suited for killing those above their level. Tales have been told of [Kings] and [Emperors] getting murdered in their sleep, of [Merchants] slaughtered in daylight, and even high-level divers never returning from a dungeon.

Of course, [Assassins] have certain targets that they will refuse to even attempt. The first target is the [Empress] of sands, a woman who has lived and ruled far before even the demon wars had ever begun. The second target that they currently refuse to attack is anyone from the church of Odin. Not because they fear the god, but because their Shadowravens are a threat to the Assassins Guild. Even the [Assassin Guildmaster] is wary of them, especially when they are led by Umbra. The third target is a surprising one. The [Frost Jarl] of the north, a man who has the strength to obliterate any who come for his life. Two [Assassins] were dispatched and both were returned alive… in a box without appendages. The fourth target are any and all elves located at Elfheim. So far, an [Assassin] has never been able to infiltrate the city, let alone come out of the forest alive.

And now, there may very well be another target, one which has survived thirteen [Rogues], five [Killers], a [Murderer], and seven [Assassins], none of which have survived. If the sum that was being paid to the Assassins Guild wasn’t astronomical, they would have stopped after the second or maybe third attempt. Now, Qi-shin is the next and final member to attempt what those before have failed to do. As a [Master Assassin], it falls on him to try where the rest have failed. If he falls here, then the guild will no longer accept the contract.

Qi-shin had staked out the man’s mansion and had found it rather undefended. Low level [Guards] patrol the perimeter and the only defensive enchantments are those against scrying. The only notable factor is the bodyguard. Aferous Dextrous, a [Flashfoot Duelist] and an undefeated champion of hundreds of coliseums and tournaments. In a one-on-one fight, the man is undefeated. It would not surprise Qi-shin if the [Assassins] had died to the man’s blade.

Still, it doesn’t add up, especially since it would be simple to kill the target and run away from Aferous before the man could react. Hell, considering how far the target is from Aferous, even a [Rogue] could kill and run.

Which begs the question: Why have they all failed?

Qi-shin frowns, finding the situation unsettling. There must be some trap that he just cannot see. The target has no combat classes, nor should he have any skills to stop an [Assassin] from attempting to take the man’s life. The target shouldn’t even have any enchanted items to help him. The only item he carries is a ring to stop the [Analyze] skill, and even that has limitations against [Advanced Analyze].

Qi-shin sighs. The [Master Assassin] waits, perched atop a four-story building overlooking the mansion. He is hidden, his aura is concealed and all skills are active. To any who look in his direction, they would see nothing out of the ordinary.

Only when the sun rises does Qi-shin move. Skills activate, allowing him to see walls. His high-level stealth abilities are even active during the daylight, a time when [Assassins] are known to never strike at.

With his Aura suppressed, his body flickers into the mansion, the [Guards] not even noticing a thing. [Silent Step] alongside [Muffled Movement] keeps his sound to a minimum while he travels past [Maids] and [Servants]. Qi-shin smiles as he nears the master bedroom. A [Maid] opens the door, revealing the man as he puts on the last of his clothes.

[Shadow Step], [Penetrating Blade], [Critical Seeker], [Great Assassination]

Qi-shins body shifts, teleporting instantly to the man’s shadow. A blade appears in his hand as it blurs towards the target’s stomach with enough power to easily penetrate adamantine reinforced steel. The dagger makes contact and Qi-shin understands why they have all failed.

The dagger smacks into the stomach and pushes the target in the air without penetrating the man’s skin.

Before Qi-shin can react, he feels the man’s arms and legs quickly wrapping around him.

“You fucked up, Mate.”

The [Maid] screams and Qi-shin curses as daggers appear in his hand. He quickly slashes and stabs the target while trying to push the man away, all of which is for naught. His dagger doesn’t even scratch the man’s skin to allow the poison to even work.

“Oy, oy, ya really think that’d do anything?” the target says with a giggle.

Qi-shin struggles but can’t break the man’s grip. With a quick look, he finds a shadow and silently activates [Shadow Step]. His body disappears from the target’s grasp, reappearing near a shadow created by the window.

Upon getting free, the [Master Assassin] turns towards the window to escape.

“[Champion’s Mark].”

Qi-shin hears the skill and curses as he breaks through the window and lands on the grass. He turns to run and only narrowly dodges a thrust aimed at his throat.

He jumps back and looks at Aferous. Qi-shin feels a shiver go down his spine as he observes the blind man. He uses no powerful items to aid himself, just a simple robe and a blindfold to cover his eyes. The only thing dangerous about him is his enchanted mithril rapier.

Even so, Qi-shin knows he can no longer escape. [Champion’s Mark] was activated and Aferous will know exactly where he is for the next ten minutes. Either he survives, kills him, or dies.

With a flick of a finger, he uses [Dagger Swarm], which removes a dozen daggers from his coat and launches them towards Aferous. Before the daggers even make contact, Qi-shin activates another skill, [Triplicate Shadow]. His shadow rises into the air, splits apart, and creates two humanoid figures that begin running towards Aferous.

Before the daggers make contact, Qi-shin casts [Shadow Step] once again, his stamina now starting to actually dip. Regardless, he teleports to a shadow behind Aferous… and then finds a rapier sticking out of his throat.

“Slow…”

Aferous says boredly, and the light in the [Master Assassin]’s eyes leave him.

The [Flashfoot Duelist] retracts his blade and then flicks it to the side. The enchanted mithril allows not even a drop of blood to stick, instantly cleaning it with only a simple movement.

“Mate, if you were a girl, I’d have a stiffy right now.”

Aferous looks up and finds the tall man leaning over the windowsill with a pleased smile on his face.

Aferous takes a step forward, appearing instantly behind the man.

“Aodean Alun, don’t you have a meeting to go to?”

The tall young man turns around with a shout.

“You cunt! Do you have to do that every single time? Like, mate, I’ve been up for ten minutes. I’m not ready for your shit.”

Aferous sighs at the smiling young man.

“You currently hold the council’s ear. Should you not at least offer them the barest modicum of respect?”

The black-haired man shrugs nonchalantly.

“[Prime Minister] Aodean, breakfast is ready,” a [Maid] calls out at the entrance to the master bedroom.

Aodean turns to her,” Brekky?”

“Brekky,” she responds.

“Brekky!” he replies with a yell and a raise of his fist.

Aferous sighs again.