Chapter 199: The Assassin's Creed

Night, in the woods north of Guiying City, Connor held his breath, pressing his body against the back of a dead tree, his blood-stained hand slowly tightening its grip on the axe handle.

"Quick! Find him quickly! We absolutely cannot let him escape! He's seriously injured; he can't run far!" Not far away, a cacophony of voices came, and the dim light of gas lamps flickered in the dark night, barely illuminating a corner of the pitch-black woods.

Connor slowly exhaled, looked up at the dim sky, and thought to himself, "For the first time, I find the Three Moon Goddess so pleasing to the eye."

It was a dark and windy night, coinciding with an overcast sky. Clouds completely obscured the three moons in the sky, making the usually decent visibility of the night much dimmer.

"Assassins, the brave ones. We accompany the darkness, cultivate hope. Those who bully the weak, we kill them; those who disregard the law, we kill them; the loopholes in the law are filled by us. A ferocious net overflowing with blood and corpses drags all despicable sinners, evil people, and shameless people into the abyss…"

Connor recited the assassin's creed in his heart. His body, clad in black leather armor, moved stealthily through the darkness like a phantom.

Assassins and hunters have many similarities, common among them being patience and caution.

And Connor possessed both these qualities.

"That damn assassin actually snuck into our mystical workshop," two soldiers, one holding a lantern and the other a pistol, searching shoulder to shoulder in the darkness, were saying.

"We must kill him! Damn guy, he killed so many of our brothers. Now he's been shot four times; he's not far from death. When I catch him, I won't let him die an easy death."

"His name is Connor, right? It doesn't matter if we can't catch him; we can have the master curse him!"

His companion nodded upon hearing this. As his eyes scanned the surroundings, he suddenly愣 (lèng - stunned/stupefied). "Why is there an axe on your head!?"

"Axe!?"

Whoosh! Swish…

Before the two could react, two sprays of blood erupted in the dark night, and both died on the spot.

After killing the two, Connor knelt powerlessly on the ground, covering his mouth with his hand to prevent himself from coughing.

It was clear his injuries were severe. As he covered his mouth, a large amount of blood continuously flowed through the gaps between his fingers.

"Left lung pierced, abdomen pierced, massive blood accumulation in the chest and abdominal cavities, already affecting the functioning of internal organs. Although the bullet under the left rib didn't penetrate the body, it cut through capillaries when it grazed the skin. Too much blood has been lost; body temperature cannot be maintained."

Connor endured the heart-wrenching pain, stood up, clenched his axe, and advanced with difficulty, still reciting the creed he had served since childhood.

"All spirits are equal in death. We assassins use death as a sharp blade to purify all filth and injustice in this world…"

However, no matter how strong the will, it could not change the body's current state.

After advancing a few dozen meters and killing four more soldiers, he was discovered and surrounded.

More than a dozen soldiers and four young men in black robes, holding green sharp blades, stared at him. Connor held his breath, trying to alleviate the pain and suffocation in his lungs. His left hand clenched the gun he had just snatched, and his right hand held the short-handled axe that had been with him for many years. His dark eyes flashed with fortitude and determination. He uttered five very ordinary, yet as firm as steel, words: "I was prepared long ago."

These five words were what he said on the first day he joined the organization, and also his personal motto.

Assassins have never had good endings since ancient times. Every assassination is accompanied by enormous risks.

It could be said that every operation was a game with death. Death, serious injury, disability, madness – all were possible.

There were even many situations more terrifying than these, but Connor cared little for them.

Because he… was prepared long ago!

These five words ran through his entire life, through his one hundred and twenty assassination operations over the past fifteen years, through the evil souls of the three thousand seven hundred and twenty-seven people who died at his hands.

"He's done for! Break his limbs! Don't let him die an easy death!" the fanatical black-robed young man said with a ferocious expression.

Connor, upon hearing this, sneered inwardly and burst forth with the last of his strength, charging forward.

"A true assassin will not be exposed due to fear. Kill all witnesses, and there will be no risk of exposure!"

This was the experience Connor had summarized over many years.

And because of this, he killed at least thirty people on average each time he carried out an assassination mission.

Wherever he passed, there was only death.

"A true assassin will not flee or fall before completing the assassination!" Connor spat out blood, his expression still calm and cold.

His current target was that clamoring young man.

As long as he killed him, even if he himself died, he would not have violated any of his lifelong creeds.

He… always kept his word!

Swish!

But this time, the disadvantage was too great.

As he charged, a large, soft net came at him, binding him and pressing him to the ground, unable to break free.

To be precise, he no longer had the strength to break free.

"I won't let you die an easy death!" The young man walked over with a ferocious expression, took out that emerald green dagger, and thrust it towards Connor's eyes, looking as if he intended to gouge them out.

"A pity, truly a pity…"

Connor accepted death calmly.

Bang!

Just as he was about to close his eyes, a dull thud came.

He felt something warm and viscous spray onto his body.

Ahhh!

Then, piercing screams came.

He struggled to open his nearly unopenable eyes and found that the young man's head had been smashed by something.

Looking up, a female knight in silver-grey heavy armor looked down at him, a blood-stained greatsword resting on her shoulder. She looked down at him and grinned. "Yo! Raging Blood Axe Lord, huh! Your willpower has earned the recognition of the Holy Sword Wielder!"

With that, her body moved like a gust of wind, and she began a bloody slaughter.

With her was a woman with a tail, her entire body covered in scales.

The two bodies danced in the night sky, like invisible phantoms.

In no more than ten seconds, over a dozen people were all dead.

These people died very miserably. Some had their heads brutally torn off, their entire spines pulled out from their bodies along with their heads, an incredibly bloody and terrifying sight.

Some had their chests completely caved in, the huge depressions making one's heart palpitate…

Connor, after all, was a man who had experienced great storms. He asked in a low voice, "Who are you?"

That female knight walked over and said seriously, "We are messengers of the gods, enemies of evil, cultivators who bear the darkness and look up to the light, cleaners, executioners. I am the Holy Sword Wielder of Radiance, and this one is the Barren Evil Dragon Envoy. The convergence of radiance and darkness, weaving a grey pattern, shall be the path we tread."

Connor was somewhat bewildered upon hearing this. He was thirty-five years old this year, but there were many words he didn't understand.

"It seems another unawakened sleeping knight. It is our responsibility to awaken him, Barren Evil Dragon Envoy," the female knight turned and said.

The Barren Evil Dragon Envoy carefully laid his body flat. "We'll add the settings later; let's save him first. He should be very important to His Holiness the Pope."

The female knight only then reacted, stuck out her tongue playfully, and said, "Just right, I have a blood vial here. Let's inject it into him first to stabilize his injuries!"

The Barren Evil Dragon Envoy took the blood vial, took out a silver needle from his pocket, attached it, and injected it into Connor's thigh.

"Why did you save me? His Holiness the Pope is…" Before Connor could finish, his eyes rolled back, and he completely fainted.