Chapter 24 Assassination Success!

Du Gang knelt on the ground, striving to maintain a calm state of mind.

Of course, all of these were justifications prepared beforehand.

Whether viewed from the perspective of historical records or analyzed considering various factors, a "flaw in the dark jade" was the only excuse that came close to granting an audience with Emperor Yanling.

If it were not for the need to point out the barely visible flaws in the jade in person, an ordinary individual offering treasures would definitely not find any opportunity to approach the Emperor.

The problem was that Emperor Yanling had been unaware of the flaw in the dark jade from the start.

Therefore, the moment Emperor Yanling learned of this, his emotions were bound to fluctuate!

Such fluctuations could be the anger from being deceived, the disappointment of unmet expectations, or the alertness upon realizing something was amiss...

In short, once the concept of "flaw in the dark jade" was proposed, it was bound to elicit emotional fluctuations in Emperor Yanling, thus greatly increasing the likelihood of failure!

Many players had been stuck at this point previously.

Most players knew the specific justifications, and even Du Gang, who wasn't too familiar with history, had attempted similar strategies.

But they had undoubtedly all failed.

It was like magic; knowing the principles of a magic trick and being a magician were worlds apart.

The sequence Du Gang had prepared was, of course, the result of meticulous study.

He would start by directly opening the wooden box in the great hall, revealing the dark jade qilin to firmly capture Emperor Yanling's attention, diverting his focus. Then, just as Emperor Yanling was eagerly waiting to take the dark jade qilin in his hands, Du Gang would suddenly kneel and admit his mistake, stating the truth about the flaws in the dark jade qilin.

In this way, Emperor Yanling's emotions would still fluctuate, but the fluctuation would be within controllable limits.

Since Emperor Yanling had already seen the appearance of the dark jade qilin and his attention had been entirely attracted to it, he would naturally be more eager to know where the flaws were.

The issue with the "flaw in the dark jade" was that it could be considered a crime of deceiving the Emperor because it had not been disclosed upfront. Kneeling and admitting fault was therefore a necessary courtesy.

Without this step, Du Gang would appear too arrogantly justified, which would certainly arouse Emperor Yanling's suspicion.

Of course, there were also subtleties required in the tone of this scripted dialogue.

Although Du Gang's voice was loud and clear when he spoke, giving the impression he had nothing to hide, he also carried emotions of guilt and fear.

In other words, he was trying to create the following image for Emperor Yanling:

As an insignificant personage, I have always admired your imperial majesty greatly. Therefore, upon obtaining such an auspicious treasure as the dark jade qilin, I wished to present it to your imperial majesty immediately!

But, I happened upon a small flaw in the dark jade qilin and dare not conceal it from you upon arriving in this great hall, and so I lay out the facts nervously.

In sum, the treasure is excellent indeed, but the matter of its flaws does exist.

With this complete process, even if Emperor Yanling were to be suspicious, his attention would have already shifted to the dark jade qilin.

Of course, all this was the imagined scenario under ideal conditions.

As for whether or not Emperor Yanling would follow the scripted plot, that remained to be seen.

The wait was interminably long.

A look of disappointment emerged on the lofty Emperor Yanling's face.

Flawed dark jade was ultimately imperfect, which was very disconcerting.

But the wooden box had already been opened, and the dark jade qilin had fully captured his gaze, making him somewhat overlook the anomaly and instead become more intrigued by where the flaw actually lay.

He squinted and observed closely, seeing only a big lump of pitch-black dark jade. From such a distance, it was utterly impossible to discern any flaw.

"Where is the flaw? Speak quickly!" Emperor Yanling asked with concern.

There was a difference between a minor and a major flaw. If it was minor, then it could be acceptable, but if it was a major flaw, he might become so angered that he would decree an execution.

Du Gang couldn't help but feel a surge of joy in his heart; everything was unfolding according to the planned script!

He hurriedly continued, "Your Majesty, this flaw is very slight. Moreover, the deep color of the dark jade makes it hard to detect. I, a mere commoner, boldly request to come forward to point it out to your Majesty."

This was the most crucial step, and if unsuccessful, all would be for naught.

However, Emperor Yanling was clearly preoccupied with where the flaw in the dark jade qilin might be, so he did not overthink it and nodded, saying, "Granted."

Du Gang quickly stood up respectfully and, holding the dark jade qilin, slowly approached.

Up until now, the progress had been remarkably smooth, beyond expectation!

Finally, Du Gang passed through the group of civil and military officials, about to step onto the stairway.

With success seemingly within reach, what he hadn't anticipated was that as he stepped onto the stairway, his foot unexpectedly slipped, and he inexplicably toppled forward!

The throne of Emperor Yanling was situated high above, separated by several steps, so even after the fall, there was still some distance between them.

Du Gang reacted quickly, grabbing the wooden box with both hands, preventing the ink jade qilin from being thrown out.

But even so, the sudden mishap left him extremely annoyed.

What a pity!

Everything had been proceeding perfectly up to now, all going smoothly, so why did he stumble at the last step, like tripping on flat ground?

Such a basic mistake should not have been made!

Emperor Yanling burst out in great fury, "Incompetent fools! If you've damaged my auspicious qilin, I'll annihilate your nine familial generations!

"Is the auspicious qilin damaged? Show it to me at once!"

In his urgency, Emperor Yanling could no longer sit still and stood up from his throne, reaching out to take the ink jade qilin from Du Gang's hands.

Du Gang's eyes lit up.

What an opportunity!

He had rehearsed countless times before and knew the hidden sword's location in the ink jade qilin by heart. Without looking, he touched and immediately grasped the dark sword hilt, drawing the sword in one swift motion!

Then, with his hands and feet scrambling against the ground, he lunged forward, aiming the precious sword straight at Emperor Yanling's chest!

The scene was somewhat unsightly, lacking the grace of a swordsman, but since he had already stumbled, he couldn't miss this chance, and Du Gang could no longer care about appearances.

Emperor Yanling's reaction was indeed swift. Amidst the chaos, he managed to dodge the blow and then shouted loudly, "Assassin! Protect me! Hurry, protect me!"

The great hall was instantly thrown into chaos!

Although there were military officers among the officials in the great hall, they were unarmed at the time, and it took a moment for the guards to rush forward.

Du Gang knew he couldn't afford to waste a second. He didn't have the gift of mastering swordsmanship and would struggle to fight even two guards without the element of surprise.

In his desperation, he clenched his teeth and made a flying leap forward, gripping Emperor Yanling's thigh tightly!

At that moment, Emperor Yanling had swiftly unsheathed his sword and stabbed it into Du Gang's back.

Du Gang had died many times over, and this level of pain was nothing new to him. With sheer perseverance against Emperor Yanling's sword, he thrust his precious sword forcefully into Emperor Yanling's calf.

There was no other choice as his current position did not allow him to reach any other vital spots.

Emperor Yanling cried out in pain as the sharp agony in his calf nearly caused his legs to buckle. Despite his considerable size and strength, he managed to stay upright and even jabbed a few more times at Du Gang.

Du Gang felt his consciousness fading and knew he wouldn't last much longer. He tried to rise and aim for other vital areas, but he never managed to do so.

After being turned into a human hedgehog by Emperor Yanling, he was hacked to death by the guards clad in red armor.

...

"What a shame, just a bit more!

"How did I inexplicably fall while stepping up the stairs? Could this 'fortuitous opportunity' actually be 'misfortune looming'?"

Returning to the starting point once again, Du Gang couldn't help but sigh.

If his sword had been aimed a bit higher, hit the kidney, or even the major artery in the leg, perhaps he would have succeeded.

However, as he brooded over his misfortune, the view before him did not reveal any new talent cards. Instead, a previously unseen interface appeared.

[Assassin Trial: Royal Assassination]

[Completion Achieved!]

[Trial Evaluation: Through this simple trial, you should understand that an 'assassin' needs more than the courage to spill blood in five steps. There are many more important things required.]

['Assassin' identity selection unlocked!]

[Assassin Identity Exclusive Talent "Righteous Fury": After meticulous preparation and finding the right moment, you can deliver an extremely lethal strike. During the attack, you can ignore all pain and distractions until the attack is completed.]

[Note: The exclusive talent takes effect permanently once the identity is chosen. As the identity advances, the exclusive talent can still be strengthened. Please consider pairing it with optional talents to maximize its effectiveness.]

Du Gang was dumbfounded.

"I completed it?

"But that's not right, I didn't kill Emperor Yanling... I only stabbed his calf, and with his robust health, he probably wouldn't die.

"Wait, could it be...

"The sword was poisoned!"

Du Gang suddenly realized.

Since it was an assassination, how could the sword not be poisoned?

Indeed, history has records of this, but because Nie Rang ultimately succeeded by throwing the precious sword straight into the throat, most people praised Nie Rang's superb swordsmanship and forgot the detail of the poisoned sword.