The Assassins

"Hey, you over there! Watch out for my crystal candelabra—Master Heski crafted that personally!" Count Okot snapped in irritation. "Y-yes, my Lord Count!" The guard gingerly supported the candelabra, shuffling step by agonizing step, terrified of bumping into anything. *Crash!* The crystal candelabra plummeted, shattering across the floor into a glittering spray of shards. The guard stared at the count, his mouth agape in raw horror. "M-my Lord Count..." "You worthless cur! Did you not hear a word I said?! That crystal candelabra was made by Master Heski himself!" Furious, Count Okot bristled so violently that even his mustache twitched. He stormed forward in a rage and seized the guard by the front of his tunic, hoisting him into the air. Trembling from head to toe, the guard pointed a shaking finger behind the count. "M-my lord, b-behind you!" "What?" His fury unabated, Count Okot turned his head on instinct. *Crash—!* Another sharp noise rang out, though this time it was the sound of windowpanes shattering. Shards of glass even bounced off his body. Several pale-faced figures dressed in tailcoats burst into the room. A faint scent of blood wafted from them, and eerie grins stretched across their faces. "Wh-who are you people?! What do you want?!" Panic seized Count Okot instantly. His grip loosened, dropping the guard as his large, fleshy frame began to quiver. Langlibaitiao bellowed with ferocious swagger, "This is a robbery!" "Are you insane?! I am Count Okot Sur!" "A count is exactly who I'm robbing!" Langlibaitiao sneered, brandishing his dagger as he advanced step by step. "E-enemies!" "Guards! Quickly, protect me!" "Alyosha! Where are you?! Get in here right now!" Terror reduced Count Okot to a heap on the floor. Scrambling backward on all fours, he shrieked in frantic desperation. Yet when he hastily looked around, he froze in utter shock. In the span of mere moments, the dozen or so elite guards stationed in the hall had all collapsed in pools of blood, without having made so much as a sound. Beside nearly every corpse stood a vampire. One had even struck an absurdly dramatic pose, licking the crimson edge of his blade. The vampires had infiltrated the manor long before this. All his guards were dead. Over by the doorway lay a body in polished plate armor, with poisoned bolts protruding from his neck, arms, and head—it was Captain Alyosha, the strongest warrior in his service, taken down by the vampires before he could even react. "Alyosha..." "How is this possible...?" Stunned out of his wits, Count Okot stared with his mouth open, murmuring under his breath. An instant later, the reality of his predicament crashed over him. He threw himself flat on the floor, trembling violently as he babbled for mercy. "I—I'm Count Okot! Please, don't kill me! I can grant you land, titles, and gold!" Langlibaitiao tilted his head, regarding him with a bizarre expression. "If we butcher you, won't your money belong to us anyway? Besides, the kingdom's divine legions will be marching in any minute now. What bloody good are your promised lands and noble titles?" "I have more than this! I can give you so much more! This isn't all my savings—no, I..." Faced with death, Count Okot was terrified to the point of incoherence. In the next breath, Langlibaitiao raised his hand crossbow without a shred of pity, revealing sharp fangs in a self-satisfied grin. "Sorry." "We in Nocturne never leave witnesses behind." *Twang—!* A poisoned bolt shot through the air, only to collide with a transparent film of light. An amulet on Count Okot had triggered, casting an abjuration spell that deflected the lethal attack. "I-I'm not dead!" Count Okot touched his neck in disbelief, flooded with sheer relief. Stumbling to his feet, he scrambled frantically toward the exit. Langlibaitiao's expression darkened. "Goddammit! I finally managed to deliver a cool line, and you pull this crap on me?!" "Just die already!" He smoothly loaded another bolt and fired at the fleeing count's back. *Twang—!* Yet another invisible wall of force shimmered into existence, blocking the projectile once more. Langlibaitiao ground his teeth, his face contorting into an ugly scowl as he glared at the frantically fleeing nobleman. "Daring to act insolent in front of a master assassin!" "Damn it all, everyone jump him! I refuse to believe this bastard can survive all of us!" "Leave it to me, Boss!" At Langlibaitiao's command, vampire players from every direction lunged forward in eager excitement. In an instant, sharp daggers, poisoned bolts, and gleaming toxic needles rained down upon the count. "St-stay away from me!" "Aaargh..." Foaming at the mouth, Count Okot's portly body crashed heavily to the ground. His veins turned a sickly purple, and all signs of life faded from him. With a sullen face, Langlibaitiao walked over to the corpse and kicked it a few times, muttering irritably, "You were already on death's door—couldn't you have just let me look cool for once?" "Boss, look over here!" "We struck it rich!" Anyezhilang's excited voice rang out from nearby. Langlibaitiao glanced over, and his eyes instantly lit up. Tens of thousands of gold coins were stacked high in wagons alongside an array of lavish oil paintings, fine jewelry, and ornate sculptures. "Holy crap! That fat pig really was loaded!" Just then, the crest on his chest flared with light, and the voice of Mezrolash, Nocturne's supreme commander, sounded abruptly in his ear. "Seventy percent of the spoils must be surrendered to headquarters." "..." Langlibaitiao fell dead silent. *** Early the next morning, the residents of Vici awoke to the heavy stench of blood blanketing the city. Moments later, they discovered the horrifying truth: the soldiers on the walls had been slaughtered to the last man, the count's manor was strewn with corpses bathed in gore, and Count Okot himself lay stripped bare, murdered in his own parlor. In a touch of dark humor, a slip of paper had been slapped over his swollen corpse, conveniently covering his vitals: *Archduke Oliver has been assassinated. Culprit: 'Nocturne.'* A chill ran through everyone who saw it. How could this even be called an assassination? It was an outright butchery! "Gods above..." "Who could have done this?" "Th-this is too horrible! It's like a scene from the nether realms!" The maidservants who had managed to flee the estate the night before were beside themselves with gratitude, thanking their lucky stars for having survived. Yet order within the city did not collapse into chaos. If anything, things ran even more smoothly, all thanks to another crooked note pinned to the face of Guard Captain Alyosha: *Wait quietly to surrender to the kingdom. Anyone who causes unrest will be killed tonight.* *** Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Vici. Charlotte and the members of Magic Coin waited in silence. Yet no convoy laden with treasure appeared at the end of the road, nor was there any sign of the portly count. Staring down the empty thoroughfare, Charlotte could not help grumbling, "Damn it all. That scumbag has zero integrity! We clearly agreed to meet here at noon. Why isn't he here yet?" Standing nearby, Lonely as Snow couldn't resist a retort: "Guild Master, after running a scam like this, you have no business talking about integrity..." Indeed, Magic Coin had returned to their old trade. Double-crossing. The famous "mysterious wizard skilled in teleportation" whom countless northern nobles regarded as their lifesaver was none other than Charlotte in disguise—and he had deliberately leaked the rumors himself. To date, Magic Coin had already devoured two barons, one viscount, and every last scrap of their fortunes. Charlotte wagged a finger in the air, speaking in a solemn, lecturing tone. "You couldn't be more wrong. How can something players do be called scamming? This is called the sensible utilization of game resources." "On the contrary, it's people like him who break their word—they truly deserve death!" "..." Lonely as Snow lapsed into silence once more. Charlotte let out a sigh. "Let's go. Looks like someone snatched this mark right out from under us. No matter, though—we still have plenty of other marks lined up."