Chapter 52: Ambush and Counter-Ambush Part 1

Once an Assassin who had played various roles to get close to targets, Dean would never underestimate his peers: Thieves.

In fact, Thieves Guilds in various places would accept assassination missions themselves.

From high-ranking officials and Nobles down to Commoners, as long as the price was right, anyone could become a target of the Thieves Guild.

However, the Thieves Guild would not object to freelance or guest Assassins—there was a substantial commission for every completed mission, and they did not need to send their own people.

Anyone with a sound mind would accept such a thing.

Of course, anyone who wanted to keep all the spoils for themselves would be hunted down by the local Thieves Guild—it had to be the kind of elimination where weeds were pulled up by the roots.

Therefore, as the person in charge of a local Thieves Guild, being ruthless was necessary, but being able to reach such audacious levels was not uncommon.

Dean could be certain that even if the Tier Territory was a borderland, if a Lord invited guests to a banquet and all the guests were assassinated, it would definitely be a shocking event; of course, Baron Tier, as the Lord, would naturally become the biggest laughingstock in the Noble circle of the Emerald Kingdom.

As for why he was sure all the guests were targets?

Naturally, it was because of the number of Thieves exposed earlier—clearly, for someone of his current lack of fame, it was impossible for four skilled men to be dispatched.

According to the rules of Thieves, for a target of his level, a two-man team was most suitable, or even just one person.

But now, four had appeared—clearly, the Thieves did this to ensure he was ‘assassinated’ in the fastest way possible, and then to complete other primary targets amidst the chaos.

As for who the primary target was?

Aside from the owner of the ‘Snow Bear’s Home’, Dean could not think of anyone else who would make these Thieves go to such great lengths.

Regarding this, Dean would absolutely not allow it—neither Baron Tier nor the owner of Snow Bear’s Home was he willing to sacrifice.

Perhaps Baron Tier was somewhat utilitarian and a snob, but the other party was still considered loyal and upright; more importantly, for the next step of the plan, the other party was still the most crucial part.

And that Huck was a Knight Order member he had long since selected, so naturally, no mistakes could be made.

Therefore, the enemy and ally sides had long been determined.

Moreover, those Thieves clearly listed him as one of the targets that must be killed.

Under such circumstances, Dean naturally would not allow those Thieves to continue living—this was true both publicly and privately.

Of course, there were some things Dean needed to do beforehand—

“Theron, Ike, tell everyone to rest in place!”

Dean instructed.

“Yes, Regiment Commander!”

The two Militia Captains answered in unison.

…

In Tier Town at dusk, apart from the braziers at the town gate and the torches in the hands of the patrolling soldiers, most places had fallen into Darkness—items like oil lamps, even if not considered luxuries, would be saved without hesitation by the hunters’ wives or eldest daughters.

Therefore, dinner basically started at this time.

And after dinner, it was time to go to sleep early—after all, the nights in the Tier Territory were quite cold, and a warm quilt was the best choice for most people.

But, precisely because of this, the bright lights and liveliness of the East District of Tier Town, where Baron Tier was located, stood out.

Those Subjects of Tier Town who should have rested early after dinner, wrapped in thick animal furs, stood at the entrance of Tier Town, waiting while whispering.

Clearly, they were all curious about the distinguished guest invited by their Lord.

However, the crowded people did not block the town entrance.

Maintained by the patrolling guards, Tier Town kept a quite wide entrance, while the rest stood behind the guards.

Not only the locals of the Tier Territory, but the merchants from outside also had this curiosity; they rarely braved the severe cold to squeeze into the crowd.

Of course, apart from these truly curious people, there were some people with bad intentions mixed in.

Several Thieves wearing local clothes, just like locals, squeezed into the crowd, but the eye contact between them told people that they were different.

It was just that very few people could notice such communication—of course, Dean was among these very few people.

His team had arrived two kilometers outside Tier Town an hour ago, but Dean did not enter Tier Town directly; instead, he left the team alone, sneaked into Tier Town, and observed—for Thieves using poisoned crossbow arrows and Daggers, Dean dared not be careless.

After all, among the people in his team, apart from himself who was confident in dodging that sudden attack, the rest absolutely could not, and those poisons, once they touched Blood, were obviously fatal given the lack of Potions.

And for the subordinates he had selected himself, Dean could not bear to let them die in such a meaningless assassination.

As for contacting Baron Tier?

Dean could be certain that once a large-scale search began, these Thieves would completely disappear without a trace.

The previous fruitless search by Baron Tier was the best proof—Dean would absolutely not regard the other party as a newcomer; being able to persist for so many years under Baron Tier’s layers of searches, although the role of that Tax Officer could not be ignored, it also showed that they had a very hidden nest that was not easily discovered.

Moreover, given Baron Tier’s personality, if he really went to contact him, and such a thing really happened; but then the other party gained nothing again, it would likely make Baron Tier feel that he had lost face—although there would be no retaliation, it would undoubtedly become more difficult for Dean to obtain the position of Ferrchelen Knight Order Regiment Commander.

Therefore, solving it personally was the best method.

Dean silently paid attention to the Thieves in the crowd; the other party’s number and positioning allowed him to clearly grasp their intentions—

“A total of six people, two mixed in the crowd, four near ‘Snow Bear’s Home’… after ‘killing’ me with crossbow arrows, it will definitely cause chaos, and Huck will surely come out to check; at that time, he would have to face an ambush by four people…”

After scanning once more, Dean slowly retreated from the crowd, then quietly left Tier Town again and returned to the place where his subordinates were waiting for orders.

“Regiment Commander!”

The two Militia Captains quickly walked out from the leeward side.

“A total of six Thieves, two mixed in the crowd at the town gate and will come to attack me; the remaining four are near Snow Bear’s Home, and once there is a commotion in the crowd, they will take the opportunity to ambush Huck—I will solve the two Thieves attacking me personally, and what you need to do is hold back these four guys… Theron, Chad, with your archery skills, there should be no problem!”

Dean waved his hand to the two Militia Captains and other Militia members, then began to draw a simple diagram on the snow, and specially marked the approximate positions of those six Thieves.

Then, Dean continued to instruct: “Remember, you need to raise your vigilance and be ready for battle—but, apart from Theron and Chad, the rest of you only need to raise your vigilance, do not pick up your weapons, and listen to my instructions for everything!”

Chad was the young man who had proven himself in previous actual combat.

And apart from Chad, naturally, Theron was the young man with the best archery skills among those with Knight potential.

“Yes, Regiment Commander!”

The two young men answered with solemn expressions.

“Very good, let’s set off! They have been waiting for a long time!”

Dean nodded, got on his horse, shook his whip, and amidst that crisp ‘snap’ sound, galloped towards the direction of Tier Town.

A distance of two kilometers, with a Warhorse for transport, even moving at a uniform speed, ten minutes was more than enough—

Clatter, clatter…

The sound of horse hooves appeared, clearly transmitted to Tier Town.

Suddenly, the waiting crowd began to get restless; having waited for a long time, they all wanted to see clearly who the newcomer was, but the two Thieves stood rooted to the spot; after all, they had already found this best position and did not need to move forward.

In fact, with guards present, the further forward they went, the more dangerous it was.

After all, once a disturbance occurred, the crowded people would not only trap the guards but also trap them.

Therefore, the further they were from the guards, the safer they were.

One had to know, they were just Thieves, not Dead Soldiers; they did not need to perish together.

The sound of horse hooves became clearer and clearer, and even the ground showed very slight vibrations; when a team of cavalry appeared at the town gate, people noticed Dean at first glance—apart from the posture of taking the lead, the uniform from the Central Knight Order on his body was obviously extremely conspicuous.

The horses were very fast, and although they were near the town gate, they clearly had no intention of slowing down.

It was not until they passed through the town gate that these horses began to slow down, and when the Warhorses really stopped, Dean and his mount had already appeared inside Tier Town.

Whoosh!

And just as Dean stopped, a crossbow arrow suddenly shot out.