Assassin Obstacle Course (12)

When Emily swung her sword, she wasn't sure about the effect it would have, only that it could allow her to escape from this predicament, and it did exactly that. She didn't know that the sword could destabilize arrays, so the sight of that massive wall crumbling into nothingness produced a ripple in her heart. Nevertheless, her feet did not slow for even that moment.

She blasted through the vanishing wall, and faced several other flaming spears along with other walls and traps made to slow her down. There were so many threats that even thinking about repelling them all would give a headache to anyone with a weaker soul. Against this barrage, Emily swung her sword accurately and valiantly. She wasn't an expert in the sword, yet her resolute slashes moved with a certain rhythm that left no gaps in between.

Each swing was without excess movements and followed the exact path that she drew in her mind. Once the array she imagined was finished, it glowed at the tip of her sword. She was unaware at the time, but Dull Harmony had aided her in using Instant Construction. However, she didn't suffer from one of the main weaknesses of Instant Construction.

She scanned the ground ahead of her and threw the sword at a spot in the midst of several arrays that were about to activate. The array she drew, expanded and covered the other arrays, suppressing them in the process.

"Earth to metal! Fire melts metal!"

Once her array finished expanding, the ground under it changed into a shiny silver surface, and the fire that Dull Harmony had absorbed was released in the form of lava that engulfed the ground and cooled soon after. Just like that, the arrays in the vicinity had been forcefully erased. Naturally, this effect couldn't be produced with a simple tier 1 or tier 2 array, but even Emily didn't know what tier it was. She merely followed her intuition and this was the result.

She kept up her speed and grabbed the sword as she ran past it. Although there were a few obstacles still remaining, only a couple cales was left to be crossed. Emily was sure that she would be able to make it, but out of nowhere, an alarm bell started ringing in the back of her head. She couldn't stop to check, but she heightened her guard and urged her legs to go faster. Thankfully, she managed to make it within five steps of the entrance, but that was when she noticed the danger.

When she was about to escape the road of arrays, a hidden tier 4 array lit up under her feet. There was no time to make Dull Harmony summon its small golden swords, so she clenched her teeth and moved her feet at least one more time. She reached out towards the entrance as if believing the faint chance that she would be safe as long as a part of her body could enter the amphitheater. However, by the time her fingers were shaded by the entrance, the array's light was about to engulf her.

"That's enough."

Suddenly, a man in a long, intricately designed robe appeared next to her. He had a streak of grey in his hair that dragged to his back, and he possessed a powerful air of vitality and wisdom. He opened his palm and aimed it at the glowing array, immediately halting any efforts it made to activate. Emily hadn't stopped even during this shocking moment, she dashed past him and completely escaped the trap. Finally, she had completed the deadly obstacle course and made it past the finish line.

"Well done."

While struggling to catch her breath, Emily slowly turned to the man who saved her, with his hands now behind his back after dismantling the traps. This was the first time she had seen him, but she could guess that he was an array grandmaster with some official position.

"Thank you, Sir. May I learn, the name of my benefactor?"

"It's fine, I just did my job. As for my name, you'll learn it soon enough."

After those words, the Array Association leader walked off. He didn't need to reveal himself to help her, but now that she had escaped the death trap that had been arranged, he could scout her to be his disciple without reservation, so he wanted to create a favourable impression.

There was no screen broadcasting her situation, but everyone had a tingly feeling when Emily made it to the amphitheater. The assassins tried to withdraw, but the only ones still alive were those who hadn't fought or were trapped by Astar. Even the people who came to Alia's aid suffered zero causalities so it was an overwhelming victory for Emily's side.

Everyone who fought for her, patted themselves on the back, but the ones with the biggest reaction were those involved with the bet. As the odds were in favour of the assassins, those who bet on Emily were happily celebrating while the rest didn't want to accept it.

"No, my money..."

"How could this happen? Is it fate?"

"Ahh, my wife is gonna kill me."

The most desperate ones considered finishing the job themselves, but as word of the battles, especially Shui's and Astar's, got passed around, such aggression dissipated. After all, they couldn't enjoy their wealth without a life.

While not to the level of the gamblers, Adler's reaction was also rather dramatic. He had laid arrays on the road leading to entrance and had commissioned two of the Tower assassins to the task of killing Emily, so he was sure that along with the measures that everyone else would take, her death was certain. He believed that as long as the assassins confronted her, that would be it, so he brought out a bottle of wine and took a sip as he waited for confirmation of her death.

However, even though he received word that the assassins blocked her path, he later saw her appear on the road to the entrance. He silently cheered on the traps, but she ran over them with contempt in her every step. Neither the burning javelins or high walls halted her, and even the final explosion was prevented. Despite seeing her sword absorb the burning javelins, he could only think that it was a result of dastardly strong luck.

"Why won't she just die! I've wasted my time because of my damn son's plan, and now I can't even kill her when I want to! Since she loves her master so much, she should hurry and join him."

Adler banged his fist on the table in front of him. As the Array Association leader had made clear by stepping out to help her, any further attempts on her life would mean offending him. Most would withdraw at this point, but it wasn't so simple for him.

"What if she knows?"

He had hidden his tracks, but anyone with enough information could guess that he was behind Nikolai's death. If she pleaded to the Array Association leader to serve justice, then it would be over for him.

"I have to take the risk. She must die, and this time, I'll handle it myself."