Viper lead his three subordinates through the capital's streets. Fang, the beefiest of the bunch, was right by his side to act as a shield if the necessity arose. Poison and Blood followed close behind. The pair of women put on smiling faces as they followed the two men through the crowd.

Their job was the most important, they were responsible for removing all possible traces of their presence. It needed to be like they were never there, leaves on the wind. Ghosts.

They used trace removal skills over and over again, watching their mana deplete at a steady pace. They needed to try and save their mana for the palace infiltration as it would be the hardest part of their entire mission. It WAS the mission.

Viper currently looked like a short, brown-haired man in his early 40's with forgettable facial features. His eyes were a standard dark brown and there was no mystery behind them, only averageness. This was all completely by design.

All three followed in a similar vein as he did, forgettable face and normal eyes. They needed to change up their hair colors a tiny bit, otherwise, the natural variance in color between people would be a dead giveaway. Blood's head was long and slightly blond. Poison had black streaks that went through her hair, tired into a braid. Fang broke the mold with a shining bald head.

They would look like an adventurer's party if they didn't look like mere city folk that hunted in the woods. The people surrounding them would steal glances at their faces, but immediately forget them when they saw the next person.

The crowds flowed around them like water as they went with the flow. They would need to get through the inner city walls in order to make their way to the palace. As such, that was their current target.

It was currently complicated by the fact that there was a public execution happening right now. The stage was built right in the center of the capital's south square. Right now, there was seven more execution happening in other squares, all at the remaining compass rose coordinates.

Regardless of where they went, they would run into crows and crowds of people as they tried to make it to the inner walls. They would need to make their way through without disrupting the ceremony or giving themselves away as outsiders.

It is not optimal that they decided to hold an execution today. But it is to be expected from the Empire's capital.

Public executions were carried out at LEAST once a week, so while it was unfortunate they had run into one, it was highly likely anyway. Now, they needed a plan. Citizens were required to attend the events; if not...they would be the next ones on the execution block.

Viper lead his people through the crowds. The new plan was to attend the execution and then leave with the rest of the people. Too many men and women and children were already standing around stationary, waiting for it to start. They had missed their chance to look normal while shifting through the crowd.

Viper signaled to the others that they would just halt for the 30 minutes the event took. They would be cutting it close, but they had enough time to make it out alive, probably. It was a calculated risk that he was willing to make for the viability of the mission.

More and more people gathered into the square until they were all packed in like a can of sardines. The only open space that remained was the stage that rose above their view. It was mainly wood and steel, with a block of red-stained wood bolted to the center.

A woman in a yellow helmet and yellow armor stood on the stage. It was light armor, made for someone quick and decisive at attacking. She held a sword on one hip and a whip on the other.

The King's Enforcer Pulle. That bitch.

Out of all the 8 enforcers, she was the most bloodthirsty. She would lick the axe after its use, just to savor the taste of it, while the crowd would stare at her in fear.

That was the whole point of this demonstration, fear.

It kept the people of the Empire in line. On more than one occasion, they didn't have criminals to execute, so they picked random people off the street and labeled them a traitor; the punishment: death. The bonus for them was that the entire family of a traitor was also given the death sentence. With a single piece of paperwork, they got a half dozen volunteers for the event.

Along with Pulle, there was also the executioner. The man was wearing tight black leather, showing off his admittedly impressive musculature. Even with the Almighty System, this man was a freak when it came to size. He was a hulking mass of muscles, barely passible as a person.

He carried with him a rusted axe that glowed with the power of blood. After thousands of executions, it was imbued by the energy of the System to give it power. It was one of the tools that made the Empire a worthy opponent. The System rarely enchanted items for free, yet the empire had 8 copies of the Axe Of Fallen Man.

The axes were not tools of war, but tools of control. They made all who witnessed executions more resigned to the will of the Empire. It planted the seed of subservience, making it grow with each subsequent execution. Without a high enough level, the people of the Empire will forever be under its control.

Viper and his subordinates were not high enough level to resists the axe's effects, but paired with their mental resistance skill passives, they were able to remain sane of mind; loyal to their own cause.

A man with a black cloth bag was brought up on stage. He had shackles around his limbs that were weighed down by a heavy iron ball. None could see his expression, but they could see the cuts and bruises he was covered in. He had clearly suffered greatly under the hands of his captors.

Pulle stepped forward the moment the sun was directly overhead. Her blood-red hair reflected the sunlight, showing a glowing brilliance. The radiance of her beauty didn't fool anyone into believing that she was kind.

"Citizens of the Empire! This man --- she gestured to the man with a cloth on his head --- has committed petty treason. He supplied our enemies with valuable materials that could have spelled our doom."

Viper and co were tense. They did have a mole in the Empire; had they caught him? The moles of the Empire remained loyal only for as long as they were not captured. The moment they were about to kick the bucket, they would spill everything.

Pulle removed the bag and Viper was able to get a good look at his battered face. His shaggy hair was long and knotted into annoying knots. His left eye was red from the damages to his blood vessels. His face was generally puffy from having a mild poison sent shooting through his veins.

That's not him. Good.

The mole didn't know any vital information, but the Empire was smart enough to extrapolate. The items the Harbingers acquired from him were things like blasting squares and mana batteries. A half-decent enchanter would realize that they had built some kind of detonation device.

Viper cursed under his breath when he realized he couldn't contact Yual to clarify. IF the mole had been captured, their plan was bust. The Empire had the resources and the know-how to suppress a detonation such as the cores.

Viper told himself to calm down and believe in the forethought of their leader. He must have already taken that into account and planned accordingly. He focused on the execution, acting like he was nervous and scared, just like every other person there.

The man was brought to the block of wood and had his head placed on it like a chicken.

"This man was disloyal to the kingdom, openly admitting that he was participating in such illegal activities. The Empire's law is clear; enemies are enemies for a reason. They are not to be trusted. Only the glorious Empire is able to protect you and give you safety."

The aura of the axe was already seeping into their minds, making every word she spoke more influential. The power behind it was mysterious, but not any more mysterious than skills. Eyes in the audience glazed over, forcing Viper and his team to pretend their eyes glazed over too. Acting like mortals was easy.

"This marks another end to a rouge Empire citizen. The future is prosperous for us; a bottomless well of great fortunes. We cannot let scum like him poison that well, corrupt the greatness that will rise."

She nodded her head to the black leather man. He had the man's entire back held down with his palm, making him truly look like a chicken before the axe of a farmer. His muscles bulged as he lifted the tool high above his head, letting the sunlight glint off of the blade and imprint itself into the minds of the citizens once again.

The axe came down swifter than Viper could see. One moment it was above the man's head, and the next moment it was wedged into the wooden block. The cut was so clean that the head slid off the body instead of fell. The man's body spasmed one more time before going completely limp, but it was the head that was horrifying.

The twisted face of fear that the head showed as Pulle lifted it by its shaggy hair terrified people.

"Do not let the words of the enemy sway you. Do not let them worm their way into your mind and make them question our resolve. They will find it is more firm than they could possibly imagine. For the Empire!"

*Cheering* 'FOR THE EMPIRE!'

Pulle incinerated the head with a skill and walked over to her leather-wrapped servent. The man presented the axe before her, letting her drag her finger across it and picking up a decent glob of blood. She put it in her mouth and had to hold back a moan of pleasure. This was always her favorite part about executions, the bloody treat at the end.

The whole thing was only about 10 minutes, but paired with the ten to get everyone here and ten to clear everyone out, it ended up being 30 solid minutes. Viper could only worry about how much time they had left. The mission would need to be done by the time the sun hit the horizon, or else the army would not have its distraction when they retreated.

Blood was the first one who could find an open alleyway headed in the right direction. All the alleys were designed to lead away from the center, making it harder for nefarious elements to use them to their advantage, though there were a few strategic ones placed so the Empire could have its own assassins move about undetected.

The other three quickly followed behind her, moving with an increasingly small flow of people. The closer they got to the castle, the more guards there were. Citizens weren't allowed to get too close or else they would be attending the next execution on the wooden block of honor.

Viper, Blood, Fang, and Poison donned their cloaks once again. Their citizen identities wouldn't get them any closer. They needed to either become a guard or use some skills to get past an unknown number of anti-assassin countermeasures.

They went with the skill option as subduing a guard this close to the castle was impossible. Every guard was watching another, creating a web of information that allowed intruders to be swarmed in moments after they were spotted.

Poison and Fang worked in tandem as the best duo for the task. They used a cooperative combination of [Anti-Heat], [Anti-Reflective], [Anti-Smell], [Anti-Mana], and [Anti-True Sight]. This combination allowed Blood to just use a simple [Invisibility] group skill to make them all invisible, along with each individual member using a personal [Invisibility].

They were now undetectable, so even if there were traps, the traps would be none the wiser that they were there. Using so many skills in combination took decades of practice, especially between two people. The Empire was good, but not as good as they were.

They snuck through the castle, passing right past guards and detecting gates. They didn't even create wind, passing by some curtains and not causing them to rustle even a bit. One Gaurd was completely unaware that a whole group of assassins had followed him through a restricted door to the throne room.

The throne room was intricately decorated, worthy of such a wealthy world super-power. The majesty was useless on the group as they walked behind the throne and activated the skill [Wall-Ray]. It allowed them to look right through one layer of wall and see what was on the other side.

What they saw was a vertical shaft that lead down to the Empires Vault, the wealthiest and most central place they could go; a perfect place to detonate the cores.

Viper pulled out a sphere wrapped in what looked like aluminum foil. It was a special-made foil to block the mana that emanated off the object. The storage cubes were also wrapped in it, but this sphere was special.

They all placed their hands on it and activated it.

Their bodies became ethereal, slightly floating off the ground. They quickly moved to the wall and passed right through it. They were indistinguishable from ghosts right then. Once they turned off the orb, they regained their solidness and started to plummet down the vertical shaft.

What they were supposed to do was break into the King's grand bedroom and find the secret elevator down to the vault, but that was too dangerous. Better to just skip a few steps while directly passing GO and collecting 200 dollars.

The four assassins slid down the walls of the elevator shaft. It was made of a perfectly smooth stone and made it very difficult to grab onto. The only way they could stick to it was by using skills every few meters.

They needed to be careful once they made it to the bottom of the shaft since there was a security system there as well. If the elevator was there, you wouldn't even notice the pit filled with laser sharks that tried to jump up and eat them in one bite and fry their bodies.

They slipped past the sharks using rad ninja skillz and landed gracefully in front of the vault door. They all high-fived each other and grinned.

"Good work guys, now for the hard part."

Minus that earlier hiccup, everything is going according to plan.