Hunters: The Prequel - Chapter 264

Mane didn’t see the dagger, so he didn’t pay it any heed. He concentrated all his efforts on the head he was holding.

“Status,” he softly mumbled and proceeded to look at the physical attributes of the deceased lady.

Name: Unknown

Age: 33

Physical Attributes – Strength: 2.7

Agility: 3.8

Stamina: 3.2

Path: Agility Oriented New Type

“Just as I thought,” Mane glossed through her information quickly. He opened the window large enough so that Hildegarde could also see what was on it. Mane’s guess about her agility being her strongest attribute was spot on. However, her strength was several times lower than her stamina or agility. It seemed that she only focused on training what she was good at. That was the right call. Unfortunately for her, she met someone whose agility was higher than hers by an entire value of 1.0. That was why she wasn’t able to react to Mane’s attack.

It hadn’t even been half a minute since the assassin intruded. It had taken less than 15 seconds from her action of stabbing the bed to her execution. If Mane rushed outside now like an idiot, he would fall right into the trap the assassins had laid for him. Fortunately for him, he wasn’t an idiot. He was going to use the roof.

Employing his high agility, Mane slipped out of the window like a fish in water, and landed on the roof without making a single sound. Hildegarde flew behind him silently, all the while thinking that Mane’s movements were more like an assassin’s than the deceased woman’s was.

Mane lay prone of the roof, blending with the darkness as he crawled towards the door of the house. Since the other assassin was outside the door to his room, Mane was planning to use the roof to go outside the house, then enter the house and deal with the unsuspecting assassin who was waiting inside. As for his decision to crawl on the roof whilst lying prone, it was done to make sure that the last assassin whom Hildegarde said was stronger than the rest wouldn’t see him. Since that person was actually outside the house, and Mane didn’t know exactly where he was hiding, he may be able to see Mane – even in the darkness – if Mane showed any signs of carelessness. Usually, Mane wouldn’t be so bothered to act this cautiously, but he was trying to get things done as simply as possible and without receiving any injury. He needed to make sure that this situation wouldn’t impact his hunt tomorrow.

Mane quickly crawled to the end of the roof. His actions were practiced and it took him less than 10 seconds to achieve; a testament of his high agility. Once he reached the edge of the roof that was right on top of the door to the house, he skipped down.

Like a leaf falling onto the ground, his actions didn’t create any noise. There was no sound of feet hitting the ground, and those that lay in wait had no idea what was going on.

“Hildegarde,” Mane suddenly whispered.

“What is it,” she replied, adopting the same pitch?

“Can you accurately tell me his position,” Mane asked with a soft voice? His voice was so soft that Hildegarde herself had to strain her ears to hear what Mane was saying. So it was obvious that the ones who thought they were hidden in the shadows wouldn’t be able to hear him.

“He’s at the left side of the door. About two steps to the left” Hildegarde answered. Mane nodded his head and pushed the door open. The door was left slightly ajar, no doubt the work of the assassin who had come in. This person may have thought closing the door would alert whoever was inside and hence it was only narrowed to the smallest of angles. From afar it looked closed, but once one came closer, they would realize that it was actually open.

Mane’s push was gentle. Like a small whisper in a violent storm, it didn’t lead to any alertness in the ranks of his enemies. Sticking to the wall like a gecko, Mane slowly approached his room. The closer he got to his room, the shallower his breathing got. It didn’t take long for him to return to his prior state – the state he had naturally entered when the female assassin sneaked into his room. He quickly spotted the assassin behind his door. It was a man. The man was in a combat ready stance and was ready to act at a moment’s notice. Mane could tell by his hunched posture and stance that the man belonged to his gender. Although the man was clothed, Mane could still tell he had a good physique. The man had broad shoulders and a large c.h.e.s.t. His c.h.e.s.t was parted, evidence that he trained his strength constantly. Although Mane couldn’t accurately tell how good his lower body strength was, due to the slightly baggy trousers, the fact that the man had maintained his stance for more than a minute without wavering showed that his legs weren’t weak either. A sword was strapped to his back, just like the female assassin. But Mane noticed immediately that the man wasn’t a sword user.

“The female was a sword user. Although she only performed one move before I killed her, it was done efficiently and with absolute confidence. Plus, the marks on her palms showed that she was a user of the sword. This man on the other hand is different. His posture is not the right one to adopt if he is planning to strike with a sword. The fact that his hand isn’t on his sword to prepare for any eventualities isn’t because he has absolute confidence in his partner. It is because he has subconsciously forgotten about the sword. This man has never assassinated anyone in his life”

Mane quickly analysed based on what he saw. An assassin must always be ready. The man’s sword should have been in his hand by now so that once the door was opened, he would be able to strike without fail. Yet, the weapon was still sheathed. Mane didn’t know what his main weapon was, but it wasn’t a sword.

His battle ready stance was also a giveaway. Assassins adopted different postures for the kind of action they wanted to perform. For an assassin, speed was of the essence. One must be able to kill quickly. But this man’s posture indicated that he was ready for a drawn out battle.

“So they sent their most practiced assassin first. The others are warriors. That means I just killed the only assassin Village Head Samoa had available. That sure makes me happy”

Mane smiled and analysed his opponent once again. This time, he didn’t use his eyes, but the eyes of the system.

“Status”

Name: Unknown

Age: 35

Physical Attributes – Strength: 3.9

Agility: 2.8

Stamina: 3.3

Path: Power Oriented New Type

This man’s stamina and agility were below Mane’s, but he was stronger but 0.7 points. Although it looked small, it wasn’t simple. But Mane was unmoved. He wasn’t going to fight a long drawn out battle. He was going to show what a true assassin was.

Mane reached into his pocket and retrieved the stalk of Lover’s Whisper he was chewing on in the afternoon.

The words of one of his masters, 9th, the time wielder rang in his head.

“When you want to kill someone, you must use every tool at your disposal. And if there are no tools, make them”

9th was cold and aloof. But he was an assassin. His mastery of time allowed him to reap lives as though it was a game to him. And he had passed on his art to Mane. Mane seldom resorted to assassination, but at the initial stages of hunting Celestials, that was his only option. That was why Mane was so good at it.

“This pains me deeply, but I have no choice,” He sighed internally as his heart ached at the thought of what he was about to do. He straightened to stalk of Lover’s Whisper and pressed upon it until it became as thin as a needle and just as sharp. He placed it in his mouth and blew at the assassin with all his strength. His target – the man’s knee. He immediately dashed out of his hiding place when he was done and approached his target.

*Swish*

“Agh,” the silent grunt of the man was particularly loud in this empty building. He instinctively clutched his knee because of the pain. When he heard the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching, he tried to stand up quickly and reorient himself but it was too late.

“Quick Draw”

*Swoosh*

That was the last thing he heard before he felt his vision fade. His head fell off his body, and his body soon toppled after it. Even until the last moment, he didn’t get the chance to see his attacker’s face.

Mane didn’t sheath the sword this time. The technique he used was something 7th and 8th worked on. They weren’t assassins, so they didn’t have any techniques that focused on quick kills. So they made one for Mane. Such was their expertise in their field. The result of their experiments was the skill called Quick Draw.

It was a skill that placed emphasis on quickly pulling the sword out of its sheath in one swift motion and taking the head of the opponent with it. It sounded simple, but it wasn’t. It required precision and high level of concentration to pull off. Plus the sheath had to be in the non-sword drawing arm, and remain unstrapped to the user’s body. So Mane had pulled the sheath off himself before he used the technique. Without his inner energy it was much weaker. But in this energy poor environment, it was good enough.

“Now the last person,” Mane grinned and dashed outside. This time he didn’t bother to conceal his footsteps.

“What are you doing,” Hildegarde asked; the shock on her face clear and obvious? However, when she saw the smile on Mane’s face, she instantly understood. He had dealt with the ones inside with assassination techniques. Although he was a genius in assassination, it wasn’t his main method of fighting. He was a combat wielder. And his heart ached for a true battle!