Chapter 120: The Hidden One, Part 1

The next moment, silently, Dean faced that Darkness and slowly stepped backward.

His speed changed from slow at first to extremely fast in just a flash.

Anyone seeing Dean at that moment would not doubt his determination to flee.

The watcher hidden in the shadows was no exception.

Whoosh!

An arrow was shot to block Dean’s continued retreat, and then a Black Shadow leaped out from that Darkness. The cold gleam of the metal blade almost instantly aimed at Dean’s eyes.

Blindness!

A very useful technique in Thief combat skills.

It often brought good results inadvertently.

This time seemed no exception.

When the light hit Dean’s eyes, he let out a muffled groan immediately. Then, he kept his right hand covering his eyes, constantly rubbing the back of his hand, clearly trying to quickly restore his vision.

The hidden watcher would not let such an opportunity pass.

Compared to his earlier aggressive demeanor, at this moment, the opponent was silent. The special dagger in his hand made no sound as it approached Dean’s back.

Not only was there no sound, but killing intent was also suppressed.

A truly excellent Assassin only reveals his killing intent at the last moment, like the fangs of a venomous snake.

Undoubtedly, the opponent was such an existence.

If one had to say something, it was that the opponent had met Dean.

An ‘Assassin’ who almost knew all of the other’s action patterns and even predicted his psychology.

The clash between two Assassins, one known, the other thought to be ‘knowing’.

The winner had already been decided.

Whoosh!

The last arrow from the Hand Crossbow was shot. The watcher behind clearly did not expect such an attack, but at such close range, the opponent still performed the most effective dodge.

However, while Dean dodged the arrow, his Longsword did not dodge—the opponent did not.

【Calculating attack judgment…】

【Indomitable Lv1 bonus obtained…】

【Opponent’s Agility judgment failed, dodge failed…】

【Calculating own Strength and opponent’s Constitution…】

【Indomitable Lv1 bonus obtained…】

【Strength +1 (specific value: Weapon Sharpness) > Constitution +0 (opponent’s armor)】

【Own Strength judgment passed, and Strength exceeded opponent by 100%, resulting in crushing damage】

【Calculating vital hit judgment…】

【Indomitable Lv1 bonus obtained…】

【Instant judgment passed…】

【Opponent takes 200% damage.】

Cough, cough…

Amidst continuous coughing, the opponent lowered his head to look at the wound on his chest and reached out a palm to try to stop the bleeding; however, this was clearly useless.

His heart had already been pierced, so there was clearly no saving him.

【XP +10】

【XP +20】

Dean’s gaze scanned those judgment descriptions, then settled on the experience value column. The two XP gains, one after another, once again illustrated the gap in strength between the two—clearly, the watcher in the shadows was nearly twice as strong as the former. If only calculating those stealth and hiding techniques, the opponent was more than a level above.

Only then would the System give XP nearly reaching Knight-rank.

Although the opponent did not reach that level, in the world of Thieves, great strength is not the factor that determines the final result, even if it is very key.

Skills are what Thieves like.

A guy with Knight-rank strength being killed by a Thief below Knight-rank was not something hard to accept.

After all, Thieves never fought you face-to-face.

【XP: 168】

Looking at the final XP number in the experience bar, Dean shrugged—clearly, the appearance of the Brotherhood had shattered his previous idea of ‘saving up XP to level up skills’. Facing those elusive Assassins, what Dean needed was not saving, but a rapid increase in strength.

Of course, not here.

Dean quickly cleaned up the battlefield, pocketing two single-shot Hand Crossbows and the hidden watcher’s Dagger.

【Flash Dagger】

【Type: Dagger】

【Weight: 0.3kg】

【Length: Blade length 7 inches】

【Description: This is a Dagger very much loved by Thieves. After special treatment, one side is dull and lightless, while the other is bright as rays. Believe me, to use this Dagger, you must have considerable skill, on either side.】

【Standard: This is merely a display of skill by master craftsmen, so it is not a Magic Weapon.】

Skillfully, Dean spun the Dagger on his fingertip, feeling its light weight and thin yet sharp blade.

Suddenly, a strange sense of familiarity appeared in him.

It seemed he had returned to the preparations before countless assassinations again.

Trance, like a phantom.

Reality, like the past.

Dean stood there, stunned for a moment—as if a greedy person saw a peerless treasure, that dull, motionless state—

【Calculating Will judgment…】

【Indomitable Lv1 bonus obtained…】

【Perception judgment passed】

【Escaped from Mental Suggestion…】

A cold wind blew through Vauban City that night, blowing directly onto Dean, who stood in the Shadow.

Startled by a shiver, Dean came back to his senses—the cold feeling on his forehead told Dean that he must have been covered in sweat at that moment. The footsteps of the distant patrol team made Dean, still shaken, not think further, and he quickly left the spot.

Just over ten seconds later, a whistle signaling an alarm sounded behind Dean.

However, by the time the Lower District patrol soldiers got busy, Dean had already returned to the residence assigned to him by Marquis Vauban in the Upper District.

Entering his room, Dean took off his cloak and coat.

He reached up and touched his chest; that area was already soaking wet.

Of course, this could not have been from the fright of facing those patrol soldiers, nor from the previous fight—although that fight had taken some effort, it absolutely would not have made him sweat profusely.

Only… that previous inexplicable attack!

The judgments that appeared on the character panel had long indicated that besides him and the two Brotherhood watchers, there should have been a third person present.

And that person had ill intentions toward him!

Thinking of the person who had hidden until the end, Dean couldn’t help but frown, sitting quietly—Dean knew very well that if the Will judgment had not passed, he would have been discovered by the Vauban City patrol soldiers and then plunged into a chase.

Even if those patrol soldiers would not cause him much trouble, Dean felt it would be difficult to shake them off without harming them.

As for killing those patrol soldiers?

Just thinking of this, Dean’s frowning face became even darker.

Because the guy hiding in the shadows who had ‘attacked’ him seemed to be counting on him doing just that—there was no concrete evidence, but Dean had this instinctive feeling.

Before fully understanding what the enemy wanted to do, never follow the enemy’s pace.

Dean understood this profound truth very well.

Furthermore, with such means as the opponent’s ‘Mental Suggestion’, Dean was certain that once he killed those patrol soldiers, there would be no good results waiting for him.

“There is still one more guy… who is he? Was it someone from the Black Market earlier, or another secret watch from the Brotherhood? Or perhaps…”

Dean sat on his bed, carefully recalling everything that had happened before.

He could be certain that the other party had not followed him into the Upper District.

To avoid tracking, Dean had not only wandered and retraced some paths on the way, but also conducted counter-surveillance at corners of some streets and alleys.

Therefore, Dean was certain that no one had followed him back to the Upper District.

And before that, he could also confirm that besides the Brotherhood watcher he had not noticed, there should have been no one else behind him.

After all, to follow three people who were extremely vigilant and had considerable Thief skills, if the other party could do so without being detected by anyone, then for that party to later kill or cause Dean trouble, there would be no need for such means as Mental Suggestion.

Simply, approach quietly, and then stab him in the back.

This method was far simpler and more effective than Mental Suggestion. Even for a Wizard, achieving this was not easy, requiring many spell components at least.

Not only were they expensive, but also cumbersome.

The reason the other party did not choose a simple and effective method, but chose such a cumbersome one, had only one explanation: the other party did not have the ability to track them without being detected.

With this hypothesis in place, the first layer of Mist was cleared by Dean—

The other party was originally there, or not far away.

Happened to see the battle between him and the two Brotherhood watchers, and then prepared to join in.

However, the purpose of the other party’s participation puzzled Dean.

First, Dean could confirm that the other party was not a member of the Brotherhood.

Because, according to the Brotherhood’s rules, if someone killed a Brotherhood member, the result was an endless feud; regardless of your identity, you had to kill the other party or be killed by them—this was one of the Brotherhood’s fearsome aspects.

Even mysterious casters were no exception.

After all, within the Brotherhood, casters were not superior. If they made a mistake, they would still be punished by the Brotherhood internally.

From the opponent’s subsequent performance, it was clear that after one failed strike, he gave up.

This was absolutely not the Brotherhood’s style.

“Black-on-Black?”

Dean thought this.

However, the next moment, Dean immediately rejected this thought.