Chapter 59: King of Assassins (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

King Uther was, of course, familiar with this legend. It had been circulating for centuries, and he had known of it since he was a child, though he had never taken it seriously. Yet now, the rumor was spreading with such vivid and specific details that even King Uther found his interest piqued.

Furthermore, King Uther had an advantage over the ordinary folk: he knew roughly where that tomb was buried. The information was recorded in a royal document. Although it used uncertain terms like "possibly," "probably," and "perhaps," it at least provided a direction.

Driven to desperation by financial pressure, King Uther simply decided to treat a dead horse as if it were still alive. After all, he had nothing to lose if he failed to find it, but if he succeeded, the reward would be astronomical!

Without further ado, King Uther immediately gathered a crew and began the excavation.

It was precisely at this time that a few unfamiliar faces appeared in Camelot. They first wandered idly around the city for a couple of rounds, and then, when King Uther recruited workers, they slipped in among them and began their new lives as laborers.

Simultaneously, groups of outsiders who clearly did not belong to Camelot arrived in the city under the pretext of seeking refuge. Though they appeared meek and submissive, a careful observer would notice that beneath their ordinary exterior lay extreme vigilance. No matter what they were doing, they constantly monitored their surroundings while doing their best to avoid running into the city's guards.

These people entered Camelot under various guises. While they seemed unconnected, they would occasionally gather in twos and threes to whisper a few words before parting ways swiftly. Normally, such peculiar behavior would easily arouse the suspicions of the local residents of Camelot.

However, an influx of refugees had been flooding into the city lately, fleeing to safety from the wars along the border. Blending in with the refugees, these individuals did not stand out, especially since the entire city's attention was currently captivated by the war. Consequently, no one paid them any special heed.

Thus, their presence went entirely unnoticed.

...

The war continued.

Yet, thanks to Kay’s calm and composed command, the military situation was far from disastrous. At least Senderet’s offensive was swiftly checked along the Astir Ridge at the border. Although in his past life Kay had merely been a platoon leader and hardly a true commander, warfare in this era was not as complex as modern combat, and Kay's meager military literacy proved sufficient. Coupled with his private use of spells and magical means for reconnaissance and support, he even managed to experience the thrill of being a renowned general.

As Kay received reinforcements from Camelot, he grew increasingly adept at handling the battles. As a result, the Kingdom of Senderet’s offensive suffered a massive setback. Not only did they fail to break the stalemate, but they also fell into Kay’s traps and endured several crushing defeats.

This left King Odin of Senderet feeling utterly despondent. He had lost his son—his most beloved son—and to make matters worse, he had yet to punish the murderer. On top of that, his army had suffered catastrophic losses.

The agony of losing a son, the remorse over the heavy casualties, and the burning urge for vengeance drove Odin to take a desperate gamble!

...

Odin stood before his son's temporary casket, a look of profound sorrow on his face.

"Aledri... Soon, very soon, justice will be served! No matter the cost, I will kill the murderer! I swear I will!"

Every single day, Odin came here to visit his son; it had become a habit. As for why it was a temporary casket... Odin had vowed that until he avenged Aledri, he would not allow his son to be buried.

Just as King Odin was murmuring to himself, a knight covered in dust and travel-worn pushed open the door. The knight wore ordinary civilian clothes and was enveloped in the chill of the wind and dust, clearly having just returned from afar.

"Respected Majesty! I have found him."

Without turning back, Odin continued to gaze blankly at his son's armor and helmet, asking in a hollow voice, "Where is he?"

"He has arrived."

At the knight's words, a tall, bald black man walked into the room. The man had ordinary features, and his round eyes even made him look somewhat simple and honest. Yet, a man who looked like a farmer or a craftsman radiated an intensely chilling sense of oppression. Even though several knights nearby were bulkier than him, they still instinctively and warily gripped the longswords at their waists.

The black man showed no particular reaction to this, walking in with complete naturalness. With a swift glance around, he took in the layout of the entire room and the positioning of the knights before finally fixing his gaze on King Odin, who had now turned around.

Odin was also appraising this notorious god of assassination famed across all the nations.

"You are Mery? The legendary assassin feared above all others in every kingdom?"

The black man looked at King Odin expressionlessly. Without a word, he merely shrugged, appearing utterly relaxed.

Odin did not mind his rudeness and continued, "Tell me, are you as cold-blooded as the legends say? Can you kill anyone?"

The black man finally spoke. "I have killed many people, and to me, they are all the same. Their status and deeds hold no meaning whatsoever."

Hearing this, Odin finally let out a sigh of relief. After all, the target he wanted assassinated was not easy to deal with. Still, he pressed on, "Then are you prepared to assassinate a member of the royal family?"

Mery gazed coldly at Odin, speaking devoid of any emotion, "Respected Majesty, if someone had paid me to kill you, you would have been dead long ago."

King Odin froze. He had not expected the King of Assassins before him to be so brutally blunt.

Odin's knights could no longer stand it; this fellow was clearly not taking them seriously in the slightest.

One particularly tall and robust knight, possessing a fierce temper, immediately drew the longsword from his waist. Unfortunately, his speed was still too slow. The exact moment he drew his sword, Mery sidestepped directly in front of him, striking him squarely on the jaw with the palm of his hand. Before the knight could even react, Mery followed up with a vicious whip kick to the side of the knight's head.

Clearly, this knight was no weakling. Even after taking two blows to the head, he still did not fall; instead, he slashed blindly at Mery with his sword.

Mery ducked his torso to evade the incoming blade, then swiftly rose, driving an elbow smash into the knight's face. Simultaneously, his other hand smoothly grabbed the wrist of the knight's sword-bearing arm, twisting it in reverse to flip the knight's entire body over and slam him violently onto the floor. Not stopping there, in a movement so swift none of the others could clearly track it, Mery effortlessly relieved the knight of his longsword. By the time the dazed knight finally managed to recover from the dizzying spin, Mery already had the tip of the sword pressed against his chest.

The entire sequence took less than five seconds—clean and decisive. By the time the fight was already over, the rest of the knights were only just snapping back to their senses.

Having subdued the knight, Mery fixed his cold gaze back on Odin.

Odin, however, showed not a trace of panic. Instead, he flipped his wrist, retrieved a pouch of heavy gold, and tossed it to Mery. Mery caught the pouch and weighed it in his hand; it was exceptionally heavy.

"I want you to help me kill someone... No, two people. One is the murderer who killed my son, and the other is..." Odin paused, gritting his teeth, "...the First Knight of Camelot—Kay!"

Nearly twenty days had passed since Arthur killed Odin's son, Aledri. The incident had caused a massive uproar, and Mery was naturally aware of it. Therefore, Mery had not found the initial request strange; Arthur was worth the price. But Odin's second target was entirely different.

Mery weighed the gold in his hand once more, shook his head, and made a motion to toss the pouch back. "This is not enough..."

Before he could throw the gold away, Odin declared, "This is a ten percent deposit! Kill Kay, and I will give you sixty percent. Kill Arthur, and I will give you the rest!"

Mery withdrew his hand and kept the gold.

"Deal!"