Using their stealth skill, the three assassins turned invisible and exited the bushes without making any sound.
Lin Xue couldn't see them but their invisibility appeared to be useless against Allen. Maybe, it is because Allen was at rank 5 and their realm wasn't higher. He spotted them right away and informed his partner, "Sister Lin, your 2:14, 4:31, and 10:17."
As soon as she heard the words, Lin Xue closed her eyes and stabbed the sword into the ground, unleashing her most powerful skill.
"Ascent of the lightning."
Upon consuming her ether energy by nearly half of the maximum, the sword released the energy into the ground, creating a seal that covered over 20 meters of her surroundings.
Using a clock as the reference, she then imagined the positions of the targets as her partner mentioned earlier and attacked them.
In an instant, three concentrated beams of lightning released from the seal on the ground toward the sky.
Two of the assassins were struck down by the lightning and the remaining one managed to escape by a hair's breadth.
The fifth assassin was sweating like crazy as he saw the death of his teammates and he made the decision to run away.
"Sister Lin, he is escaping." Allen said to her immediately, to which, she shook her head, "let him go."
After running for a while, the assassin looked back and found that they weren't pursuing him. He landed on a branch of a tall tree and sighed in relief, "Dammit. These two are far more powerful than their peers. I guess only those elites can take them out."
The assassin then started moving toward his hideout to inform his higher-ups about the mission failures and the details.
Little did know that a shadow is silently following him from a distance. It was the bodyguard of Lin Xue. As an advanced-stage 6-circle realm Spirit Warrior of the assassin path, it is obvious that a lower realm assassin can sense his presence.
Some time passed away and Lin Xue was waiting for the captured assassins to wake up from their unconscious state.
One of them opened his eyes and found himself lying on the ground with energy threads tightly binding him. In front of him were the two adventurers who defeated him and his teammates. As for the others, three of them were seen in the same state as him, although motionless.
"So, are you ready to either spill the beans for why you attacked us or die?" said Lin Xue as she raised her sword, staring at him coldly without having any glimmer of mercy in her eyes.
The assassin gritted his teeth and threatened them in response, "Both of you will not leave this forest alive for sure."
He then tried to get free but those lightning energy threads were not only binding him but also inducing a paralyzing effect on his entire body. Even his ether energy appeared to be in a static state.
While he was struggling to move, Lin Xue then spoke, "I'll ask you again. Will you answer my question or not."
The assassin appeared to be stubborn and maybe too loyal to his superior. He stayed silent.
Lin Xue's face turned dark and she immediately thrust her sword at his shoulder, making the assassin scream in pain. "My lightning attribute energy will make sure to paralyze your body but not without removing the touch or pain sensitivity. That means you will helpless feel the pain as I stab over and over."
"You bitch…" the assassin cursed her as he continuously screamed in pain.
Lin Xue motioned her arm back and then pierced his left shoulder this time and continued, "You will eventually beg me to kill you but I won't do that. After turning you into a disabled person, I will take you to the Imperial city where you will either be executed publicly or be imprisoned for the rest of your life without being able to even commit suicide for several years. But, if you tell the truth, I will free you and your pals. So, what do you think?"
The assassin's willpower was really strong. He wasn't tempted by her words and intensely stared at her without blinking for more than ten seconds before finally giving his reply, "I was prepared to face all consequences when I took up this job. Go ahead, lady. Do whatever you want."
"Okay then, you made your decision." Lin Xue pressed the sword against his neck and sliced it without hesitation. The blood splurted out of the assassin's neck and he couldn't do anything about it. However, just as he was about to die, Lin Xue caught his chin and poured a red-colored potion onto his neck.
The injury was healed very quickly and he returned to life from the brink of his death, looking at her in surprise.
Lin Xue then said, "I'm the daughter of Lin Wuying and I can afford to spend these potions worth ten gold coins even a thousand times. So, if you still aren't willing, then, I'll take you to the brink of death and then heal you again and again.
As for your superiors, if they are strong enough to deal with us, then, you don't need to be afraid.
And if you want to take the secret of their identity to your death, that only means they are weak. It also implies that they won't be able to escape unscathed after my guardian encounters them as he was currently following your teammate to your hideout.
I'll ask again one more time. Tell me why you attacked us and who your boss is. In the name of Lin Clan, I will give you a quick death but will leave your teammates alive.
Want a painless death or painful lifetime suffering? Want your teammates alive or get killed? Everything depends on your answer, mister."
The assassin patiently listened to her words and gave an unexpected response. He laughed out loud as soon as she ended her threats. "Hahaha hahahaha, so, you are the Lin clan's princess, huh? No wonder you are so ruthless and arrogant."
Bearing the pain from the shoulder injuries, the assassin then said, "Fine, I'll tell you, not because I'm craving for a quick death or something but to show you a glimpse of the death that you will face in the near future.
We were the members of Crushing giants, an organization originally created by a major noble clan to handle the smuggling of gold and other rare materials. However, right now, we are on our own.
After discovering the treasure here in the form of red sandalwood, we settled here over a decade ago. Do you know the value of them? Our organization earns over a hundred thousand gold coins every year by selling them to the Dragon Empire and Leon Empire.
We have experts who can deal with the major noble clans. Your so-called guardian won't even make it back. As for you two, both of you were marked to death by our boss and you won't be able to escape alive. So, I will be avenged for sure."
Lin Xue furrowed her brows upon listening to his explanation. Seeing the look of confidence on the assassin's face and her failure to intimidate by her threats, for a moment, she wondered whether the opponents are really strong.
But then, she realized that this guy doesn't know that her bodyguard is a 6-circle realm expert. Even a 7-circle elite Spirit warrior cannot kill him if he wants to escape.
As a result, she got a bit calm and said as she thrust her sword into his throat, "Very well, goodbye."
Using their stealth skill, the three assassins turned invisible and exited the bushes without making any sound.
Lin Xue couldn't see them but their invisibility appeared to be useless against Allen. Maybe, it is because Allen was at rank 5 and their realm wasn't higher. He spotted them right away and informed his partner, "Sister Lin, your 2:14, 4:31, and 10:17."
As soon as she heard the words, Lin Xue closed her eyes and stabbed the sword into the ground, unleashing her most powerful skill.
"Ascent of the lightning."
Upon consuming her ether energy by nearly half of the maximum, the sword released the energy into the ground, creating a seal that covered over 20 meters of her surroundings.
Using a clock as the reference, she then imagined the positions of the targets as her partner mentioned earlier and attacked them.
In an instant, three concentrated beams of lightning released from the seal on the ground toward the sky.
Two of the assassins were struck down by the lightning and the remaining one managed to escape by a hair's breadth.
The fifth assassin was sweating like crazy as he saw the death of his teammates and he made the decision to run away.
"Sister Lin, he is escaping." Allen said to her immediately, to which, she shook her head, "let him go."
After running for a while, the assassin looked back and found that they weren't pursuing him. He landed on a branch of a tall tree and sighed in relief, "Dammit. These two are far more powerful than their peers. I guess only those elites can take them out."
The assassin then started moving toward his hideout to inform his higher-ups about the mission failures and the details.
Little did know that a shadow is silently following him from a distance. It was the bodyguard of Lin Xue. As an advanced-stage 6-circle realm Spirit Warrior of the assassin path, it is obvious that a lower realm assassin can sense his presence.
Some time passed away and Lin Xue was waiting for the captured assassins to wake up from their unconscious state.
One of them opened his eyes and found himself lying on the ground with energy threads tightly binding him. In front of him were the two adventurers who defeated him and his teammates. As for the others, three of them were seen in the same state as him, although motionless.
"So, are you ready to either spill the beans for why you attacked us or die?" said Lin Xue as she raised her sword, staring at him coldly without having any glimmer of mercy in her eyes.
The assassin gritted his teeth and threatened them in response, "Both of you will not leave this forest alive for sure."
He then tried to get free but those lightning energy threads were not only binding him but also inducing a paralyzing effect on his entire body. Even his ether energy appeared to be in a static state.
While he was struggling to move, Lin Xue then spoke, "I'll ask you again. Will you answer my question or not."
The assassin appeared to be stubborn and maybe too loyal to his superior. He stayed silent.
Lin Xue's face turned dark and she immediately thrust her sword at his shoulder, making the assassin scream in pain. "My lightning attribute energy will make sure to paralyze your body but not without removing the touch or pain sensitivity. That means you will helpless feel the pain as I stab over and over."
"You bitch…" the assassin cursed her as he continuously screamed in pain.
Lin Xue motioned her arm back and then pierced his left shoulder this time and continued, "You will eventually beg me to kill you but I won't do that. After turning you into a disabled person, I will take you to the Imperial city where you will either be executed publicly or be imprisoned for the rest of your life without being able to even commit suicide for several years. But, if you tell the truth, I will free you and your pals. So, what do you think?"
The assassin's willpower was really strong. He wasn't tempted by her words and intensely stared at her without blinking for more than ten seconds before finally giving his reply, "I was prepared to face all consequences when I took up this job. Go ahead, lady. Do whatever you want."
"Okay then, you made your decision." Lin Xue pressed the sword against his neck and sliced it without hesitation. The blood splurted out of the assassin's neck and he couldn't do anything about it. However, just as he was about to die, Lin Xue caught his chin and poured a red-colored potion onto his neck.
The injury was healed very quickly and he returned to life from the brink of his death, looking at her in surprise.
Lin Xue then said, "I'm the daughter of Lin Wuying and I can afford to spend these potions worth ten gold coins even a thousand times. So, if you still aren't willing, then, I'll take you to the brink of death and then heal you again and again.
As for your superiors, if they are strong enough to deal with us, then, you don't need to be afraid.
And if you want to take the secret of their identity to your death, that only means they are weak. It also implies that they won't be able to escape unscathed after my guardian encounters them as he was currently following your teammate to your hideout.
I'll ask again one more time. Tell me why you attacked us and who your boss is. In the name of Lin Clan, I will give you a quick death but will leave your teammates alive.
Want a painless death or painful lifetime suffering? Want your teammates alive or get killed? Everything depends on your answer, mister."
The assassin patiently listened to her words and gave an unexpected response. He laughed out loud as soon as she ended her threats. "Hahaha hahahaha, so, you are the Lin clan's princess, huh? No wonder you are so ruthless and arrogant."
Bearing the pain from the shoulder injuries, the assassin then said, "Fine, I'll tell you, not because I'm craving for a quick death or something but to show you a glimpse of the death that you will face in the near future.
We were the members of Crushing giants, an organization originally created by a major noble clan to handle the smuggling of gold and other rare materials. However, right now, we are on our own.
After discovering the treasure here in the form of red sandalwood, we settled here over a decade ago. Do you know the value of them? Our organization earns over a hundred thousand gold coins every year by selling them to the Dragon Empire and Leon Empire.
We have experts who can deal with the major noble clans. Your so-called guardian won't even make it back. As for you two, both of you were marked to death by our boss and you won't be able to escape alive. So, I will be avenged for sure."
Lin Xue furrowed her brows upon listening to his explanation. Seeing the look of confidence on the assassin's face and her failure to intimidate by her threats, for a moment, she wondered whether the opponents are really strong.
But then, she realized that this guy doesn't know that her bodyguard is a 6-circle realm expert. Even a 7-circle elite Spirit warrior cannot kill him if he wants to escape.
As a result, she got a bit calm and said as she thrust her sword into his throat, "Very well, goodbye."
