The Assassination (Part I)
The Assassination (Part I)
Her real name was not Faceless, but Aphra. It meant dust and was given by Heather, an archbishop of Holy City of Hermes. She was fond of this name because dust was plain. Once it fell on the ground, it would be difficult to be recognized, just like her.
Only in front of Heather, would Aphra resume her real appearance.
As a member of the Tribunal, she had assisted Archbishop Heather to dispose of many Fallens, including witches who betrayed the church, and believers who were degenerated by the secular world. She came to the king's city under the archbishop's order to complete a crucial task, which was to transform a pious chief justice into the King of Graycastle. As for catching fallen witches, it was one of her leisure activities. She liked to imitate those witches who suffered from punishment and torture and then experienced all of their pains. That made her deeply understand the significance of what she did. It was also her atonement for owning the demon's power.
The mercenaries had chosen a clever place to set the camp. It was located on a slope surrounding the fields by the riverbank, making it difficult to observe their whereabouts from a lower place. She dared not to approach the camp, as she saw a witch flying in the air. Aphra had to hide in a farm warehouse, waiting to take actions after the nightfall.
When the night finally descended, she was surprised to discover that the situation had changed.
The mercenaries had already retreated from the dock to the camp. The morons from Dreamland Water were gathering by the riverbank, holding some torches up. They were literally telling the mercenaries that "We're going to attack your camp." Even if there was not any flying witch, at a quick glance, the mercenaries would know what was happening on the other side of the riverbank, as long as they were not all blind.
[That's too bad,] she thought, [If they know the Rats outnumber them and they have no chance to win, they'll certainly retreat to the east. Though a night march is bad for them, who cares it when they have to run to save their lives? They may run in all directions, while the Rats haven't encircled them yet. Dreamland Water has just occupied the dock and is slowly crossing the river by some rafts. When they finally surround the camp, the enemies will have been long gone. It's impossible for the Rats to chase enemies in the night. Then where can I search for those damn witches?]
Aphra hastened to the camp, hoping to mix into the mercenaries before they retreated.
But when she finally hurried closer to the camp, she was surprised by what she saw.
Some mercenaries were still on patrol around the camp, and the bonfire was burning high, there were shadows of people walking in the camp. It was different from her expectation, and everything was in order.
They did not choose to retreat?
After careful observation, Aphra confirmed her judgement and could not help laughing silently. She did not know why they chose to station here instead of running as quickly as possible. However, they were doomed to die. She drew a dagger from her belt and observed the action of the guards for a while, choosing the weakest position.
Her Excellency Heather had endowed her with the significance of life, and also taught skills of combat and assassination. The mercenaries were not broadly experienced elites, which could be told from their watch arrangement. The moment a mercenary turned to another direction, she crouched to approach him from a blind angle and then pounced on him from his back, one hand covering his mouth, the other stabbing the dagger into his throat.
After killing the mercenary without any noise, Aphra pressed him with one hand and laid another hand on her bosom, casting her substitution ability. This process could be long or short. When she replaced the king, to create a long-term effect, she almost used up all magic power in her body, and the substitution process lasted for about an hour. But now she did not need to bother. She transformed herself into the mercenary in a blink. The effect could only last for half a day, which was long enough for an assassination.
Before the patrol team returned, she quickly put on the clothes which she took off from the dead mercenary, and dragged his corpse into the wheat field. But she became a little confused when she picked up his weapon. It looked like an iron spear with a wooden handle. But where was supposed to be a spearhead was a dark hole instead.
Damn, what weapon is this?
She thought about it for a while but still failed to figure it out. Seeing the patrol team was approaching, she recalled what the mercenary did before and carried the weapon on her back, pretending to be on watch.
Just like in other assassinations she experienced before, the patrol team passed her without noticing anything strange.
Aphra did not haste to return to the camp and look for the witches. After all, through substitution ability, she was able to imitate a man's appearance, but she could not read his mind. If she met one of his acquaintances, she would be easily exposed. When these people fell into chaos under attack, she would have numerous assassination opportunities.
When the moon was hanging high in the sky, the morons of Dreamland Water finally managed to cross the canal, walking toward the camp. She immediately heard a whistle, while the mercenaries who were watching and patrolling retreated back to the camp. Her opportunity finally came.
Following them into the camp, she was shocked to find that there were far more than 100 mercenaries. They formed a long circle to surround the top of the slope, crouching or standing, holding that eccentric weapon in their hands, with the dark hole pointing to the enemies.
She had no time for a careful observation. When no one noticed her, she bent over and got into the nearest tent.
Soon shouting and cries broke out, which was interrupted by a burst of more fierce explosions. Aphra was startled as she found that the explosions were so intense and did not pause for a second.
"What on earth happened?" She wanted to have a look, but then she restrained her curiosity and patiently waited.
As time went by, the camp became busy again. She could hear footsteps and commands everywhere. Maybe they were adjusting defense forces according to the attack of the Rats. Aphra felt anxious, as the Rats hadn't occupied the slope yet after such a long time. How was that possible?
She continued to wait. The explosion sounds gradually became less and less, and she could no longer hear the shouting of the Rats. Thinking of this, Aphra's heart sank.[Are... the dregs of Dreamland Water defeated? Even if the number of mercenaries doubled, there were at most two or three hundred. How are they able to fight against thousands of Rats from all directions and prevent them from stepping on the slope?]
Her opportunity seemed to be leaving.
Aphra immediately decided to get out of the tent. Then she sneaked to the center of the camp. When the combat was finished and they began to have a roll call, it would be difficult for her to pretend in front of everyone. After all, she didn't make full preparation this time, so she was familiar with the members of the mercenary group and their passwords. She had to act quickly.
After passing two tents, Aphra then hid behind a tent, secretly looking towards the central area of the camp. She saw four women sitting by the bonfire. They were probably the witches described in the information. The number was not correct, but the damn information was never accurate. What's more, it did not matter if she had to kill two or four witches. Any suspected Fallen should be interrogated, or be killed in case time is limited for interrogation. Even if she was not a Fallen, that was a necessary sacrifice.
She looked around to plan her retreating route. Then she stood up from behind the tent and walked towards the bonfire as if nothing had happened.
The moment she stepped into the central area, she felt something cold and hard against the back of her head.
"Don't move," a woman said, "who're you?"