Asher appeared like a nimble cat, his foot landing on a branch of a tree with weightless precision as he manifested before another guard, his hand blurring forward with lethal intent as he stabbed the guard in the neck with ruthless and practiced efficiency. Asher didnât wait for the blood to spill, if there was anything humans and beasts had in common in the slightest, it was their uncanny ability to pick up the faintest scent of blood as though they were sharks.
The corpse vanished into the space ring instantly, Asher didnât wait, he moved toward the next victim without hesitation, his dagger finding its place within the womanâs heart without mercy or regard for her existence. Each of them expressed shock before they died, their final moments filled with disbelief that death had arrived so silently and without warning.
âAssassins are truly dangerous,â Asher thought to himself as he moved fluidly from one tree to another, he had already taken out ten guards, not letting their bodies hit the ground with a thud, and not allowing their blood to spill even a single drop, âas long as they were concealed enough, they could end almost anyone regardless of strength or awareness,â Asher thought to himself as he moved toward his next victim with calm focus.
He appeared on top of the boulder the guard sat upon, Asherâs dagger shot forward with deadly accuracy, but shockingly enough this time, the guard dodged with nimble and refined precision, Asherâs eyes flickered in momentary surprise at the unexpected reaction, the guard didnât hesitate even for a fraction of a second, but before she could raise any alarm or signal danger, Asher appeared behind her instantly and snapped her neck with brutal decisiveness, the sound of her neck breaking was sickening and final, with a wave of his hand, she vanished completely without leaving any trace behind.
Asher stood silent for a moment, his expression calm and thoughtful, he had already anticipated that at least one of the guards would react to his presence eventually. While he was invisible and had erased any sound he made, Asher still existed physically within this world, and these people were seasoned warriors who had spent most of their lives fighting and surviving against deadly threats.
After all, why couldnât they hear the subtle sound of the wind tearing toward them? Asher himself could sense such disturbances naturally, that was basically how people dodged unseen or invisible attacks; by sensing the disturbance in the wind and reacting instinctively.
And not only that, there was also the Sixth Sense, which anyone who had fought at least twice with their lives on the line possessed, whenever a deadly attack was approaching, they could sense it instinctively and dodge it in advance without conscious thought. Asher also possessed this Sixth Sense himself, if he could possess it, why couldnât others who had lived equally dangerous lives possess it as well.
But, although the woman had dodged his attack, it wasnât exactly surprising as he had already planned in advance for such a possibility. Whenever Asher moved, he moved with a five-meter-wide Star Energy dome surrounding him completely, that was meant to nullify and suppress any sound that originated from within its radius.
Hence, when that woman had dodged, and his attack had missed its intended target, just that exchange alone should have made other guards notice that something unusual was happening nearby, but Asher had already cancelled every sound completely, which was also why he could snap her neck without worrying about anyone hearing the unmistakable sound of bones breaking.
Asher took her space ring and scanned it carefully, he was looking for any method or artifact these people were using to communicate with one another secretly. Definitely those inside didnât expect these guards to shout at the top of their lungs if something happened, right?
But he found nothing, not even an orb or any other communication artifact, Asher sighed slightly and tossed the womanâs space ring into the system inventory without further thought.
âIt seems I might have to ask one of them directly,â Asher thought to himself, although it might seem insignificant, he needed to know. He had seen the mad scientist communicate through an orb previously, yet these outer guards didnât possess such an item at all, which raised suspicion.
Asherâs purple eyes shifted toward the nearest target silently, the next second he was already standing behind the guard without warning, but before the man could even react or sense danger, Asher covered the manâs mouth firmly with one hand, while his other hand placed a dagger against the manâs throat with precise control.
âIf I could read memories, I would have saved myself this stress,â Asher sighed internally, annoyed at the inconvenience.
The man froze completely as he felt the cold blade press against his Adamâs apple, he didnât need to be told the consequences, any slight or sudden movement, and his neck would be torn open instantly without mercy, his heartbeat accelerated rapidly as fear crept into his mind uncontrollably.
"I have one question, answer and I will spare you, Iâve already wiped out the rest of the outer guards, there is no need to try anything foolish," Asher spoke calmly, his voice low and steady, carrying quiet authority, "if you understand, just nod."
The man nodded immediately as he felt a chill run down his spine, his body trembling slightly despite his efforts to remain still.
"What way do you people communicate?" Asher asked quietly, his dagger still pressed firmly against the manâs neck, ready to end his life at any moment.
"Through the usual communication orb," the man replied nervously, but the moment those words left his lips, Asher teleported away with the man as he appeared within the sky once more, suspended far above the ground, now in the sky, Asherâs dagger immediately tore through the manâs shoulder as he amputated an entire arm without hesitation.
The man wanted to scream in unbearable agony, but Asher held his mouth tightly, preventing any sound from escaping, the severed arm couldnât even fall as Asher had suspended it midair using spatial manipulation.
"I wouldnât ask a second time," Asher spoke coldly, his voice devoid of emotion or sympathy, he couldnât exactly injure the man while they were still within the forest below, so he appeared in the sky once more to torture the man without interference or witnesses.
The man didnât dare lie anymore, he had thought he could deceive Asher with false information, but with a single attack from Asher, he knew that such deception was impossible. Originally, Asher had thought that any form of interrogation might lead to a dead end, but he hadnât done any interrogation until now, because if he interrogated anyone, he obviously had to kill them afterward, and killing them meant the organization might notice someone was missing prematurely.
But now, since he was going to kill the outer guards anyway, he might as well extract useful information before eliminating them completely. Of course, there was a chance none of them would answer truthfully, but there was always a weak link, if he interrogated twenty people, at least one of them would talk eventually under sufficient pressure.
If this man didnât talk, he would simply pick another outer guard and ask the same question repeatedly until he got the answer he wanted, no matter how long it took or how much suffering was required.