Chapter 122: The Hidden One, Part 2

Plop!

The [Flash Dagger] easily pierced the back of his heart, while the desperate scream of his dying victim was firmly muffled by Dean’s palm.

A white light sphere floated out from the corpse—

[XP+20]

The experience bar refreshed again. Just as Dean had predicted, as his level increased, the amount he received started to decrease slightly. According to his original estimate, this Knight-rank subordinate should have given him at least 22-25 XP points after all, he had undergone the Baptism.

Dean could confirm this guess based on the strength of the struggle after his heart was pierced.

However, this was something Dean had long predicted.

After all, when his level first reached Lv5, which the System defaulted to as Knight-rank, the XP he could obtain was only 15-20.

Dean picked up the Longsword and all metal items from the man’s waist, dragged the body into the Shadow of a house, and after confirming that the corpse could not be seen from the outside, he put the Longsword and coins back on the body, just as he had taken them.

He was not here to rob wealth.

Moreover, he would not even look at those few Silver Horns.

However, Dean took the keys from the man’s body.

After slightly checking the keyhole of the back door, Dean confirmed that one of the three keys in his hand opened the back door—what about the remaining two keys?

One was for the front door, and the other was likely for the carriage yard not far away.

This fit the current situation perfectly.

Therefore, Dean did not carry the bunch of keys with him. He hung it on the handle behind the door and began to sneak in quietly.

This was a building that fit the style of Emerald perfectly. It had two and a half stories. Excluding the kitchen, living room, and guest room on the first floor, the second floor should have been the master’s bedroom and Study. The third floor was a semi-open balcony. Even though Vauban City was close to the Snowplains Dense Forest, and only in summer would the masters of the houses need to use it, most people still wanted to have such a balcony. After all, showing off one’s balcony to friends and having a Gathering was a custom of Emerald.

Churde Defendi and the Big Shot he met of course would not appear on the balcony at this time of year.

Even in summer, the other party would definitely choose a more secret place.

And in the entire building, the Study on the second floor was undoubtedly the most suitable.

However, this did not mean that Dean could go there directly. First, he had to determine if there were other people in the house.

Standing in the corridor on the first floor, Dean pressed his whole body against the wall, as if merging into the Shadow behind the door. If one did not look closely, it was impossible to see if there was a person standing there. Moreover, in this house, no one could possibly watch Dean up close.

After all, there was no one on the first floor.

Dean confirmed this fact after more than ten seconds.

Then, out of caution, he checked again and approached the stairs to the second floor.

Compared to the silence on the first floor, the sound of footsteps going back and forth on the second floor was too conspicuous.

At least, Dean could already visualize the other party pacing back and forth in his mind.

As for the identity of the other party?

It could be a Guard or the owner of this house.

However, his role was to prevent anyone from interrupting this conversation.

Simply put, the other party was still a Guard.

Dean slowly walked up the stairs, making sure not to make a single sound, and then stopped his footsteps at the landing where the lower and upper sections of the stairs met.

Compared to the Darkness before, this place was filled with candlelight.

The candlelight from the corridor on the second floor fell down like this, illuminating this upper section and the landing.

Dean stood on the side of the landing covered in shadow, while the other side was within the range of candlelight. Although the candlelight was somewhat dim here and mixed with the reflection of the stair railing, making it quite chaotic, Dean still would not risk rushing up.

His past life as an Assassin had long taught him patience.

Thump thump thump… thump thump thump…

The footsteps above became clearer and clearer as they got closer.

Dean silently counted the other party’s steps—

The Study was on the left, and the master bedroom was on the right.

It took about twelve steps for the other party to walk from the Study on the left to the window at the end of the corridor on the right.

The first six steps or so were all on the side of the Study on the left, and only when he took the seventh and eighth steps would he cross the stairs and face the corridor on the right.

And at the eleventh step, the other party would pause, and at the twelfth step, he would turn around.

So, to deal with the other party and step onto the second floor, the timing was when the other party took the ninth and tenth steps.

As for the reflection from the window at the end of the corridor?

In the houses and buildings of the Lower District, except for some shops that might have Crystal or glass windows, the remaining windows were made entirely of wood.

Not just wooden window frames, but completely made of wood. Once closed, they would not let light through.

This, undoubtedly, saved Dean trouble.

After all, if there were glass window reflections, his only chance would be when the other party had just walked past the stairs and taken the ninth step.

Now, it was a bit more relaxed.

Thump thump thump…

“Six, seven…”

The sound of footsteps rang out again. Dean counted silently in his heart, and when the other party took the eighth step, Dean directly activated [Military Swordsmanship (Emerald)].

Immediately, he gained a +0. Agility judgment.

Finally, his Agility of 3.1 allowed Dean to easily appear on the second floor the instant the other party took the ninth step, facing the enemy who had his back turned.

Dean easily dealt with the other party when the other party took the tenth step.

[XP+15]

Undoubtedly, another Knight-rank fellow. However, he had not undergone the Knight’s Baptism, and it was barely reaching the level.

However, this was enough to surprise Dean.

Having one real Knight who had undergone the Knight’s Baptism, plus one Knight-rank who had not undergone the Baptism—even if the latter barely reached the level, no one could deny the other party’s Strength as a Knight.

And being able to possess two Knight-rank guards, the identity of the person Churde Defendi met rose again in Dean’s heart.

His mind spun with thoughts, but Dean did not stop his footsteps.

After placing the Guard’s body conveniently, Dean took a few steps forward, paused deliberately, and then turned back to walk back with slightly smaller steps.

Undoubtedly, this was Dean imitating the patrol and pacing process of that Guard.

And he calculated the time difference during this period, shortening the distance of his steps to act as concealment.

Perhaps the two people discussing in the Study would not notice such differences, but Dean’s caution made him have to do so—this was not only for training but also for countless assassinations.

Being an Assassin was an extremely dangerous profession.

Whether for the target or for oneself, it was so.

Therefore, no amount of caution and care was excessive.

Dean’s footsteps got closer and closer to the Study. Some sounds from inside could already be heard vaguely—

“I hope to see Your Excellency Madel tomorrow night…”

“The Master also hopes to meet Your Excellency Churde Defendi…”

“I hope we can have more pleasant cooperation…”

“If you have any troubles, we can also help you solve them…”

“No need, the previous one was an accident. I will solve it personally…”

“It’s just a Regiment Commander of a small Tier Territory. I think so too…”

…

The conversational words were not clear enough, but they were enough for Dean to obtain the information he needed.

“Not meeting with a real Big Shot, but just the other party’s steward?”

Dean was stunned in his heart, but the killing intent rose again immediately.

Obviously, just as he had guessed before, Churde Defendi definitely acted after recognizing him.

As for why the other party could recognize him?

Dean believed that with the other party’s level of ability to cast Spells like [Mental Suggestion], firmly remembering a person was not a difficult thing.

Outstanding memory and detailed observation.

After all, this could also be considered a kind of ability of a Wizard.

However, precisely because of this, the other party could not be left alive.

Because of the hatred between the two sides, Dean believed that if the other party had the opportunity to kill him, he would definitely show no mercy. And coincidentally, there was such an opportunity now.

Although the other party did not know the identity of the two corpses, what did that matter?

The other party only needed to spread the news and wait to watch the show.

Thump thump thump… thump thump thump…

Having paced back and forth in place of that Guard for several circles, Dean had confirmed that there were only two people in the room: Churde Defendi and a steward or confidant of some Big Shot in Vauban County.

And this confirmation did not make Dean act rashly.

He was waiting for a better time.

After all, one of the targets could be confirmed as a Wizard, and although the other was speculated to have little Strength, this was only speculation, not proof.

If the other one had considerable Strength and could hold him off for a short time, allowing Churde Defendi to fully prepare…

Giving a Wizard enough time to prepare was absolutely not a good plan.

Therefore, Dean waited patiently again—

Waiting for the instant the other party opened the door.