Chapter 56 : Searching For Douglas (1)

The Penumbra Clan is an underworld group made of diverse beastmen tribes, who specialize in spying and high-value target assassination. Each of their members has been trained to kill since their earliest age, and only the most promising young talents from the eastern beastmen tribes have a chance to be admitted into this secretive clan to become a Penumbra assassin.

They master stealth, guerilla tactics, assassination, poison arts, complex traps, and even face-shifting magic close to perfection. They are quick, silent, and incredibly lethal. Hiring the Penumbra Clan is expensive, but their service is definitely worth the money.

What distinguishes them from other assassin organizations is their capacity to relentlessly pursue a target throughout the whole continent once a commission has been accepted. They will not hesitate to dispatch all of their members to complete a single contract if necessary. Furthermore, beastmen are born hunters ; they have inherently sharp senses and greater physical strength than other species.

The Penumbra hitmen never work alone, as other assassins do. Instead, their clan commits a significant proportion of their members and resources to fulfil each of their contract, from assassinating a minor local nobleman to ambushing a powerful King. This is why their success rate was so high and requiring their services was so costly.

One week ago, they accepted a contract from an elven Kingdom close to the central continent ; the contractor was none other than the Aliomeri Queen herself.

She was one of their most regular clients when she was younger, and she has a close relation with their current Clan Patriarch ; getting the support of Penumbra assassins when she was still a Princess was one of the reasons she has been able to ascend to the throne so fast.

Because of her frequent patronage, she maintained close ties with the Penumbra clan and even assisted their assassins with information, refuge, or a new identity when necessary. The Queen understood better than anyone else how important it was for her royal family to maintain good relations with them. Despite their high prices, the Penumbra clan is a valuable asset to have on hand for the ruler of a powerful elven kingdom.

They are one of the top ten assassin groups on the continent, and while they usually operate on the Outer Continent, they recently received demands from Central Continent nobles, which is proof of how reputed they are.

The Queen granted the First Prince complete command of the main army, but she also entrusted the Second Prince with requesting assistance from the different beastmen tribes loyal to her kingdom, in order to attack the Forest of Death... and the Penumbra clan was one of them.

The Penumbra elders quickly accepted the request from Aliomeri after carefully examining it and receiving the full payment in advance. After all, it was a well-paying and simple job from one of their best clients. The only condition was for the contract to be completed as fast as possible, which was not a problem for a group of their caliber.

Thus, the same day they received the request, the Elders assigned a third of their men to this mission. Their assassins arrived in the forest just two days after accepting the payment.

Their mission was simple : they had to investigate an unexplored region, eliminate a human King who was rumored to be inside the forest, and gather information about a meteor that had recently crashed nearby. They may even receive an extra payment if they were successful in kidnapping the leaders of a renegade elf clan from Aliomeri who were hiding within this same forest.

They silently followed behind the main army led by the First Prince without being noticed for a day. When they saw how many soldiers the Aliomeri Queen dispatched, they expected to face formidable foes... yet, they didn't meet anyone for an entire day.

They only encountered a few local beasts and a pack of injured Volcanic Wolves that had apparently been forced out of their territory not long ago.

When the captain in charge of the first group of Penumbra was about to report to the Second Prince that it was safe for him to enter the forest with the other beastmen tribes he had brought as reinforcement, an unexpected event occurred.

A conflict erupted between the First Prince and the Second Princess shortly after they entered the inner part of the forest.

At first, the Penumbras didn't care much since they had no reason to deal with any of these royals' quarrels. Their contractor, the Queen, had specifically instructed them to report only to the Second Prince.

So they just observed, lurking in the shadows.

The Princess was apparently attempting to stir a rebellion among the half-bloods, but strangely enough, she didn't appear to care whether she succeeded or not. She just burnt several carts, murdered some high-ranking elf officers, and then left the place in a hurry with her loyal half-bloods.

No matter how the Penumbras thought about it, the Second Princess' actions made no sense at all. After being ordered to scout the area by the First Prince, she came back out of nowhere a few hours later just to cause a ruckus.

The Penumbra captain in charge of this operation was experienced, and he was well aware of how those haughty nobles acted when they weren't pleased with something.

He initially assumed that this elven Princess was simply making a fuss to upset her elder brother like a capricious and arrogant young lady because she was mad at him for sending her into a dangerous location.

However, the Captain noticed that not only did she return without her escort, but the young Third Prince who accompanied her also disappeared. Based on his previous experience, the captain suspected that the Third Prince had been kidnapped and the Second Princess was being used as bait by the enemy hidden deep within the forest.

Just to be sure, he dispatched a handful of his men to track her down. Perhaps she might bring them to the enemy base.

'Cicada squad, follow her.'

'Yes.'

The captain decided it was better to report what had happened to the Second Prince. When he was about to leave the camp, five out of the twenty blueish bracelets he wore on his left arm got severed and dropped to the ground : the men from the Cicada squad he just sent out all died at the same time.

"What the ?..."

These bracelets were enchanted with special magic that allowed him to keep an eye on his men's conditions. If his men were injured, the bracelets would lose their color and tend to a darker tint. If they died, they would turn pitch black and cut themselves. If they got captured, he could also cut the bracelets himself to kill his men and prevent any leak of information. These bracelets were directly linked to his men's souls and only his clan knew how to use them, so it was impossible to be manipulated by a third party.

Five of his men died at the same time, yet nobody would have known if he didn't have the magical bracelets on him.

'We have been discovered, everyone be careful. Mantis squad, follow me.'

Without waiting, he called another squad through his magic device and rushed toward where the Cicada squad had died to find out what had happened. After jumping from tree to tree for a few minutes, he finally reached his destination.

Five bodies were laying on the ground in a bath of blood, each with a perfectly circular hole in the head. Just next to them, a short woman clad in black armor was looking at him while wiping out the blood on her hands, before vanishing into thin air.

"Who the hell is she ?..."

The ominous feeling he felt in his guts since he entered the inner forest suddenly became unbearable. The beastmen have excellent instincts due to their genetic similitude to magical beasts. Like the animals that can anticipate earthquakes in advance, the beastmen can also sense impending disaster.

'Everyone, retreat immediatly !'

He didn't know what was about to happen, but his heightened senses as an experienced assassin were screaming at him to quickly run away and leave this damned forest as fast as possible.

All the penumbra who felt the same disturbing omen also left in a hurry when they heard their captain's orders through their magical earbud...

Unfortunately for them, it was already too late.

When he looked behind him, the captain vaguely distinguished something speeding toward the Army camp. Even with his significantly greater eyesight, the captain could only discern a fuzzy image of what appeared to be a big metal arrow piercing the sky before hitting the ground at full speed.

Almost instantly, a bright flash of light covered the entire forest and a violent shockwave passed through the captain and his squad.

*BOOOOOOM!*

The force of the impact shook the ground as fiercely as an earthquake, and the tremendous explosion that followed the flash of light completely shattered his eardrums.

Despite profusely bleeding from every hole of his body and being on the verge of losing consciousness, the Penumbra captain still gave his all to run for his life. He used every tiny bit of mana he could muster to cast multiple【Haste】on his broken legs, hoping he would escape in time the burst of extreme heat that started to burn his fur through the clothes and melt the skin on his back.

In his last struggle to survive, he plunged into a close-by river and completely immersed himself in the cold water, putting his hands on his head while prying Arthemil to not reclaim his soul yet.

Even as a trained and experienced assassin who had spent his whole life surrounded by death, he was terrified by this destruction magic.

What should have been an easy mission turned into a hellish nightmare.

'These elves fuckers stepped on the devil's tail...'

The beastman captain cursed the Queen of Aliomeri for messing with someone who could cause such horrible devastation, before closing his eyes beneath the clear water now dyed red by his blood

___

Dancing among the shadow, a ferocious warrior clad in black was smashing his way through the numerous enemies surrounding him.

"Who are these guys ?! Ahhh!..."

*pulch!*

He was wielding his weapon with no fear. His heart was filled with rage, and anger could be felt through each movement of his blade. Tearing apart anyone who dared face him, he had no mercy for the weak.

"Ahh!... Help m..."

*sproch!*

This once gentle soul was now stained by an unquenchable thirst for blood. He wielded his longsword like a righteous knight, yet he killed like a vengeful demon.

Behind this tall warrior was another monster of the same kind. He was not as tall and muscular, but he was much more ruthless and terrifying. He did not use a blade, as his right hand alone was enough to squash skulls, smash bones and dislocate limbs.

"Retreat!...bleurgh!"

Striding through the flood of gore, the scarlet red lines sprinkled throughout his body became more and more dazzling with each life he took.

Like reapers collecting souls, these two warriors left behind them nothing but a wake of entrails and lifeless carcasses.

"D-DEMON! D-DO NOT C-COME CLOSER!"

These two persons bathed in blood were followed by a legion of their strange underlings ; metallic war golems that had magic cannons on their shoulders and chainsaws on their arms.

"FALL BACK! FALL BACK!"

The proud beastmen who always considered their Penumbra clan as the elite of the underworld were now getting slaughtered mercilessly by those demons. Some tried to escape and others begged for their life, yet none of those who fought back were able to kill a single of these dark warriors.

"I detected traces of Douglas' elite-drones closeby. I'll go first, finish the job here Jerome."

"Yes, Leader. I won't take long..."

The tall rifter removed his long【Dark Sword】stuck inside the thoracic cavity of a lifeless beastman, before turning his head and slowly walking toward the remaining enemies.

Those who were watching him couldn't see his face through the dark visor of his helmet, yet when they felt his gaze land on them... despite being experienced assassins, they all froze in fear.

Death was coming for them. Their bestial instinct couldn't be wrong : he was the predator, and they were the prey.

It was hard to believe that the people being rag-dolled and butchered like sheep were the vicious Penumbra assassins feared throughout the Continent.

Their captain was right... the Queen of Aliomeri sent them straight to the devil's lair.

___

Alice was on her way to the flagship when she felt the synaptic link with Douglas getting suddenly cut off. Like all the other members of her squad, a mix of anger and worry filled her heart.

Except for Jun who somehow didn't get affected by the Scylla mind control, all the other rifters have been deprived of their human emotions for a very long time. They started to feel back their human emotions just recently, so they obviously still had trouble managing them.

For these rifters who developed a fusional relationship with each other in order to survive the harsh environment inside the Singularity, losing the link to one of their companions was akin to losing a part of themselves.

They are more than just a squad or a family to each other : they are the only ones on whom they can rely.

They may be five, but they are One.

After receiving her leader's instruction via Gladia's message, Alice chose to fulfill her mission first before looking for Douglas.

She hurried back, and only when she successfully took the second princess and her loyal troops back to the flagship did she decide to group up with her Leader.

Because Katarina, a few regiments of drones, and the natives her Leader had brought earlier were all there, Alice's presence wasn't required to protect the Lance of Kar'goth.

When Alice went to check on Kat, she felt a chill down her spine. The aura Kat was passively emitting was frightening. Kat also wanted to look for Douglas, but she couldn't disobey her Leader's instructions.

Katarina was well aware of the importance of the Lance of Kar'goth, which is why she chose not to leave the flagship despite her strong desire to join her Leader and make those responsible for Douglas' disappearance pay with their blood.

Soon after departing from the lake, Alice arrived at the devastated site where the proton warhead exploded. After walking for a few minutes through the radiated area, she saw traces of combats and a lot of corpses scattered all over the place.

The battlefield was filled with a disgusting stench, and the ground was covered in a paste-like mixture of bloody guts and organs. Alice could tell Jerome and her Leader were not in a good mood after looking at the state of the corpses they left behind.

She quickly examined what remained of their torn-up bodies, before resuming her march.

She followed the faint particles of Void Energy and the traces of bloody mist that tainted the vegetation in red her Leader left behind, when a sudden message startled her.

'Alice, where are you right now ?'

If her Leader detected her presence, it meant that she wasn't far from them.

'Closeby, I'm following the traces you left behind.'

'How was Kat ?'

'She... seemed enraged.'

'I see... Did she come with you ?'

'No, she stayed in the flagship.'

'Good.'

Her leader took a small pause, before giving her a new mission.

'I just sent Alpha Zero to your position, he will explain to you your next mission.'

'Leader... What about Douglas ?'

This time, Jun took a little longer before responding.

'We've tracked him until a cave leading to a network of deep underground tunnels... We are going to explore them.'