Captain – Chapter 255 – Request for an Audience

After her tough talk, Roy gathered her scattered emotions and continued advancing toward the mansion.

Shortly after she descended the hillside and entered the paulownia forest, accompanied by Black Raven’s eerie low cry, a figure completely shrouded in black clothing—nearly imperceptible without careful observation—silently emerged from the tree shadows nearby and came to the young woman’s side.

Catching the black raven that flew down from the treetop, the black-clothed person pressed a hand to their chest and bowed slightly: “Captain Roy.”

He was clearly an assassin deliberately left at the outskirts of the dense forest by the organization, waiting for her arrival.

“How’s the situation?”

Nodding slightly to him, Roy walked toward the depths of the forest while questioning the black-clothed man who had straightened up and followed her.

“Everything is normal.”

The black-clothed man made several hand gestures to the raven perched on his hand, indicating it should convey the news of the young woman’s arrival to the others, then gently released it. Meanwhile, he respectfully answered: “The Governor has not gone out in these three days, hasn’t received any guests, and has not detected our arrival.”

Pushing aside the obstructing bushes, the captain nodded with satisfaction and then asked: “Have you reconnoitered the situation inside the mansion?”

“To avoid alarming our target, we only roughly investigated the situation.”

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The black-clothed man reported in a low voice: “Based on the patrol and living arrangements, there are at least three hundred and twenty soldiers guarding this mansion, with about eighty people in each patrol rotation.”

“Most are distributed around the main building, with only a small portion passing through the courtyard and outer walls. The soldiers stationed near the residence located behind the main building are estimated to be no more than fifteen. This means that during rest periods, the defensive force around the Governor is relatively weak.”

At this point, the black-clothed man paused, then added gravely: “But the problem is that the Governor’s residence is located at the very back of the entire mansion, protected by the main building and military quarters on both sides in a triangular formation. With our current strength, a frontal breakthrough is simply impossible.”

“The walls behind the residence are built on steep cliffs, below which is the Loyce Canal—a natural defense line. Therefore, approaching from the rear is basically impossible.”

As they spoke, the paulownia trees gradually thinned out, revealing a spacious avenue.

The road was paved with grayish-white marble, starting from the mansion and extending along neatly arranged paulownia trees on both sides, disappearing into the layered tree shadows.

That was clearly a carriageway connecting to the outside of the forest, facilitating carriage travel.

Having ridden in a carriage with Robert before, Roy knew clearly that this road would pass through Loriton, and its endpoint was precisely that dreadful prison—the site of her past nightmares.

Even without the black-clothed man’s explanation, the captain understood the mansion’s structure perfectly. The reason was somewhat ironic—when that man first brought her here, to satisfy her curiosity, he had shown her around various buildings.

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Because of this, Roy equally understood how difficult it would be to approach Robert. Even though the assassins loyal to Tomb Bat had all withdrawn, this still seemed like an unattainable goal.

Brushing aside a strand of wet hair that obscured her view, the captain gazed at the pale gray iron gate, which, though she hadn’t seen it for nearly ten years, was still deeply imprinted in her mind. Her eyes reflected extremely complex emotions—perhaps nostalgia for that period, disappointment in that man, and slight nervousness before meeting him.

It seemed that at this moment, she suddenly didn’t know how to face him.

Only after the black-clothed man called to her several times did Roy come back to her senses and asked softly: “For this situation, do you have any plan?”

After a moment of silence, the black-clothed man answered: “We’ll time it with the changing of the guards, climb over the eastern outer wall to enter the mansion, then under the cover of the rainy night, quickly eliminate those patrolling the exterior and courtyard.”

“After that, we’ll forcefully break into the main building and the military quarters on both sides, creating chaos at all costs to provide you with an opportunity to approach the target.”

Hearing this, Roy shook her head gently, her tone rather helpless: “Why do you people always think of paving the way with your lives? It was like this on Frans Island, and it’s still like this here. If we truly follow your plan, let alone whether I can deal with Robert, I fear the Black Raven Society’s remaining strength would all be buried here.”

“As long as we can achieve the Founder’s goal, any sacrifice is worthwhile.”

Listening to his emotionless explanation, the captain shrugged: “Alright, alright, it’s truly hard to understand your thinking. But if I remember correctly, Mr. Shelley mentioned that during this time, I would have full authority over the organization, which should include command over you, right?”

“Yes,” the black-clothed man responded without hesitation.

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“Then I declare…”

Having received a satisfactory answer, Roy raised her hand slightly to the black-clothed man, smiling as she said: “Your mission is over. Now, all of you go back.”

As an assassin of the Black Raven Society, the black-clothed man’s psychological quality was naturally extremely strong. Even if a blade pierced his heart, he probably wouldn’t change color.

But upon hearing the young woman’s words, he—who had been prepared to receive all kinds of fatal orders—couldn’t help but be momentarily stunned. After reacting, his tone was unusually hesitant: “You mean, you want us to withdraw from here?”

Roy asked matter-of-factly: “Yes, is there any problem?”

“No, none at all.”

The black-clothed man immediately shook his head but still couldn’t help asking: “But after we leave, how will you approach the Governor?”

As the organization’s blade, assassins were known for their cold detachment. Even facing the Founder, they would only show pure respect. The only person who could stir their emotions had already turned to ashes in that fierce fire on Frans Island.

Therefore, the black-clothed man wasn’t concerned about the young woman but was worried that she couldn’t achieve the organization’s goal after analyzing the situation.

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Understanding his meaning, Roy didn’t feel offended.

In her view, although the Black Raven Society’s assassins were skilled in the art of assassination, their thinking was surprisingly simple—so simple that it was almost childlike.

Therefore, when they perceived that events were about to spiral out of control, their words and reactions becoming somewhat intense was understandable.

“I naturally have my methods. Many things in this world don’t necessarily require blades, but just a little bit of wisdom.”

Roy pretended to be profound as she winked. After giving the black-clothed man a final nod, she simply walked out of the shadows onto that spacious avenue. Then, amid the warning calls of the two soldiers guarding the gate, she spread her hands to indicate she had no ill intentions.

Seeing the captain surrender her weapons at the soldiers’ instruction, the black-clothed man stood for a moment before turning back into the pitch-black forest.

Facing the suspicious gazes of the two soldiers, the captain’s face bloomed into a rather charming smile as she said very politely: “As you gentlemen can see, I truly have no ill intentions. These weapons are only for self-defense, because as you know, western Auran, especially the sparsely populated wilderness, isn’t safe.”

“The reason I appear here is by invitation from the Governor. However, during the long journey, I accidentally lost that invitation letter. So could you trouble yourselves to announce me to the Governor? Just say…”

“Elizabeth Roy requests an audience.”