Chapter 25: The Rat Assassin in the Shadows

Some rats mustered their courage, which in turn inspired even more rats to do the same.

Clutching broken knives, wooden spears, and rotten clubs, the rats swarmed toward them in a frantic rush.

Seeing this, Kana did not hesitate to slash his own forearm, while simultaneously shouting a command

"Black, charge in there. Act brutal."

Black wanted to say something, but after glancing at Aliris beside Kana, he nodded and rushed out.

However, the first rat to muster its courage had already had its head pierced by George's arrow.

The clever young hunter, George, seemed to have already grasped the weakness of these rats.

Charging out, Black swung his sword in a wide horizontal arc, sending three rats flying in a spray of flesh and blood, crashing directly into the emboldened rat swarm.

This sudden display of flying corpses and blood completely shattered the courage the rats had so painstakingly gathered.

"Run! They're Iron-humans! We can't win, run!"

"Boss! Where's the boss?"

The panicked rat swarm, having just found their courage, was instantly scattered. They fled in all directions.

"Chase them! Don't let them escape, otherwise they'll just go to the town to steal and rob again. Wipe them out completely!"

Kana's blunt and brutal words immediately boosted everyone's morale. The four soldiers and the hunter all charged out.

"Black, you go too."

Black, who was just about to sheathe his weapon, could only nod: "As you wish."

The camp quickly became empty. Aside from the wooden cage hanging from a nearby large tree, which held a white rat and the little girl with her mouth gagged, there was nothing left.

"Watch out for the big one! That stinking rat hasn't run yet!"

*Do you think I don't know that? Why else would I send everyone else to chase them? You think one shout from you would make him know?*

Kana felt helpless, but his reaction was lightning-fast. He spun around instantly, raising his shield.

A dagger suddenly lunged out of thin air, striking heavily against the shield.

The force from the impact forced Kana back two steps, but it successfully blocked the lethal backstab.

Kana could clearly see the look of disbelief in the eyes of the rat as it revealed itself.

It couldn't believe that despite being a strong attacker striking a weak target, and even using its identity as an assassin to perform a stealthy backstab, it had failed.

It was as if this weak human had a "True Eye" growing on his back.

The fact that an assassination that felt a hundred percent certain had failed left the rat momentarily stunned. That moment of hesitation cost it the chance to vanish back into the shadows.

Beside it, Aliris swung her blade down in fury. The rat tried to dodge, but it was too late. It could only twist its body just enough to avoid a vital blow, but the sword still sliced through its abdomen.

Black smoke billowed. The rat's silhouette vanished.

"The scent of blood," Kana warned.

Aliris had already begun to awaken the blood magic within her. The wound from that strike was enough for her to lock onto his position via the scent of blood. She could not let this rat escape, or it would be an unforgettable disgrace. As a Guardian Knight, she had nearly allowed Kana to be assassinated. If not for the Prince's own prowess, by the time she reacted, there would only be a corpse left behind.

A crimson hue began to spread through her pupils. Aliris strode forward; the scent of blood in the air seemed almost visible, acting as a trail to follow. Her sword tip thrust directly toward the shadows near a large tree.

*Clang!*

The rat's figure emerged from the shadows, two daggers crossed to block the blade.

Its invisibility had been seen through instantly.

*No way! I am a professional assassin, a master of shadow magic and a skilled user of stealth. How are you all seeing through me so easily? Are you all just assassin-killers?*

As a knight, Aliris's strength was clearly much greater; the rat was no match. With the thrust blocked, she immediately followed up with a slash, forcing the rat back several steps.

A long, thin tail whipped toward her, and a dagger could be seen lashed to the end of it. Its flexibility was no less than that of an arm. Faced with an unfamiliar attack pattern, Aliris could only raise her sword to parry.

Taking advantage of the opening, the rat pulled something from behind its back and tossed it over Aliris.

Seeing the object flying toward him, Kana's pupils shrank.

"Holy crap! An alchemy bomb!"

An assassin carrying grenades? He immediately raised his shield.

*Boom!*

The explosion erupted in mid-air.

The impact sent Kana, shield and all, flying backward. The sudden explosion at his back also knocked Aliris forward.

"Aaaah!" the little girl in the cage screamed.

Seizing the opportunity, the rat clung to a nearby tree trunk and leaped toward the spot where Kana had been thrown. The previous encounter had taught him that Kana was the leader; in his view, killing the leader was always the right move. Humans always let the weak lead; if he could hijack the human leader, he might even be able to escape.

Furthermore, his "guaranteed" assassination had failed, even though the enemy was clearly much weaker than him. Even for a rat, he felt this was too humiliating. This was the rat's simple, direct, and effective logic.

However, while mid-air, the rat felt something tugging at him, and he was jerked straight to the ground.

"Blood?"

The rat looked at the wound on his abdomen; the blood emerging from it had bound him, pulling him from the air to the ground.

Aliris had already scrambled up from the ground, her eyes glowing with a blood-red light. With her left hand shaped like a claw, she controlled the blood from his wound, dragging him toward her.

The rat struggled to stand, scrambling on all fours toward where Kana was. Aliris pursued him relentlessly, controlling his blood as she strode forward.

"Stop! Or I'll kill him!"

The rat roared toward Kana's location while raising his weapon.

Kana was lying there. The rat turned his daggers toward Aliris while placing his tail against Kana, the dagger lashed to it glinting coldly.

"Take one more step, and I'll strike!"

He was truly terrified. His own blood was being controlled—what kind of monsters were these? Using such magic made him feel these humans were even more evil than his own kind. If he fell into their hands, he was doomed; the thought made his blood run cold, and he was desperate to escape.

However, the lying Kana suddenly reached out, grabbed his tail, and yanked it violently backward.

Caught completely off guard, the rat had no time to react.

Kana bent over, rose, and slammed his shield hard against the rat's head before rolling and springing to his feet.

Aliris, having just stopped, suddenly pulled her left hand backward. A massive amount of blood erupted from the rat's body, stretching out like strands of spider silk. The blood-red liquid formed a web-like structure, floating in the air as it was pulled.

"Impossible!"

The rat could not believe it. His alchemy bomb had clearly exploded right in front of the enemy. How could such a weak human move so freely after being blown away?

Had he misjudged the situation? Was the leader actually the strongest one?

Meanwhile, Kana checked his health.

[HP: 8/14]

*Hmph, luckily I'm a step ahead with superior technique.*

(End of Chapter)