130 Book 5: Chapter 4 – The Battle’s Begun
In the middle of the Rhine Empire was a small, unassuming city called Wyning City. It didn't hold much value for the Rhine Empire itself; as such, it didn't usually see much foot traffic aside from its actual residents, but today was different.
There was no one wandering the streets at all today. In fact, it seemed more like a ghost town.
All the locals had locked themselves in their homes, as had the city's main defence force. The only ones outside were the robed assassins of Saber.
It was an odd site to see a few hundred assassins formed up outside the city gate as though they were an army ready for war.
It was no secret that the assassins of Saber preferred to attack from the shadows and kill their targets before they even realised they were being targeted, but from the multiple attacks on their various branches, they had already realised that Ace seemed to have the ability to sense their presence, no matter how hard they tried to hide it.
Though they didn't know how he did it, they knew that hiding in the shadows against a warrior like Ace was no different than sitting down and waiting for death; as such, their best option was to face the demonic trio head-on.
Still, despite the fear that the trio had instilled in Saber's ranks over the last few months, especially when news got out about the massacre of the last branch, the members of the Wyning City branch radiated nothing but confidence, and it was for no other reason than the white-haired young man standing at the head.
Whilst everyone else was dressed in dark shadowy robes with their hoods up, covering their faces, the young man was dressed in a pristine, tight-fitted cyan robe with a pair of short swords sheathed by his sides.
Although Cesar was the founder and head of Saber, he wasn't the one who ran the everyday business – he was more of a spiritual leader that prevented any of the other powerhouses that saw his organisation as an eyesore from wiping them out. It was actually his disciple, Ragnor, a powerful peak saint-level warrior who really ran Saber.
And this young man was Ragnor's sole disciple, Silas, also known as the prince of killers. He was one of the leading genius' of the previous generation, the same generation as Wukong and Olivier.
Although he had previously lost to both Olivier and Wukong at different points in time, he was still the leading youngster of Saber.
Whilst the Saber assassins were stood waiting for their invaders, in a dungeon deep underground was a total of ten cells, with one surprisingly made of Adamantine.
Of the ten cells, only two were actually in use. In one was a middle-aged armless man with several scars snaking across his burly body and his feet shackled. Still, despite his precarious predicament, he was able to sit cross-legged with a grin on his face as he looked at the guard in the centre of the room.
"Haha, so it seems you idiot assassins finally provoked someone you shouldn't have," The armless man smirked.
The fact that the guard didn't respond didn't dampen the man's mood in the slightest. "And judging how you forced me and that little lass to swap cells with me so you could put her in the adamantine cell means that whomever it is that's coming after her is someone that even you have to take seriously…"
"Hahaha! Ahh, come on, Cain, you can at least tell me that much before you hand me over to those bastards from the O'Brien Empire to die," The man said, taking no small amount of pleasure in the troubles that seemed to have found the organisation that captured him.
But as his voice waned, the formerly closed eyes of a young silver-haired teen, whose body, despite having no visible injuries, seemed void of strength, shot open.
"There's someone coming for me?" She asked anxiously. "Who is it?"
Unfortunately for her, like her fellow prisoner, she too got no response.
"Please tell me who it is," She begged, the worry in her voice becoming more and more pronounced. "Master, please!"
It was only when she said that that the man standing guard over them opened his cold dark eyes.
A helpless sigh escaped his lips as his eyes fell on the young girl who called him master.
His name was Cain, and he, as a mid-staged ninth-rank warrior, was a well-respected member of Saber, and to this day, he had only ever taken on one disciple.
Ten years ago, he was just about to hand in a completed mission when he saw a child who appeared to be a toddler standing outside their doors with a look of resolve in her eyes that caught him by surprise.
Upon handing in his mission, he found out that the girl apparently wanted to join their ranks, but ordinarily, unless they had been cherrypicked, one had to be at least of the first rank to join them, so she had been turned away.
Still, she refused to leave until they accepted her. According to the receptionist, she had already been there for over 48 hours without moving.
At first, Cain had every intention of forgetting about the girl and going on with his life, but upon remembering the unwavering resolve in her eyes, he found himself drawn to the idea of seeing what she was capable of with the proper training.
As such, he took her in as a personal disciple, teaching her everything he knew. As time went on, he realised that not only was her willpower impressive, but so too was her natural talent. In fact, 'impressive' was an understatement. Her talent was like nothing he had ever seen before.
With a master who was a warrior of the ninth rank, the training she received was better than most children could ever dream of.
As a result, she was able to reach the first rank at the tender age of five, allowing her to attempt the selection to become an assassin of Saber, which required her to complete any of their missions by herself.
After her first successful mission, she spent the next couple of years with her master completing harder and harder missions, honing her skills, and continuing her training.
It was only when she reached the peak of the first rank that her master allowed her to venture out by herself.
For a while, Cain was able to keep track of her progress, but that changed after her first failed mission.
It was only a seemingly simple assassination of a weak group of commoners, but according to the reports, the corpses of his disciple's teammates were found, but hers wasn't.
In the end, he found out that she had apparently entered the youth selection for the various mage and warrior institutions. For what reason, he didn't know, but all that mattered was that she was alive.
But that was when the trail went cold. Apparently, she had joined a newly established institute, but not even Saber had any information on this 'Yin-Yang Pavilion'.
For seven years, Cain hadn't heard so much as a whisper about his disciple, and although he was worried, as an experienced warrior and assassin himself, he also understood that this was his disciple's life to live as she saw fit.
But almost a year ago now, news of his disciple's re-emergence reached his ears. When he eventually found her, he realised she was looking for information on the Prey Clan – a family that was taboo amongst saber due to their founder's apparent hatred for them.
Although it had been years since she had seen her master, as the man who had taught her almost everything she knew, she decided to let him in on her truth, hoping he would help her in her pursuit of the truth. Unfortunately, she was mistaken.
Though Cain had grown to deeply care for his disciple, the place she held in his heart couldn't compare to the organisation he'd been a member of for over a century, let alone the fact that Cesar was the man he feared and idolised most in the world.
Upon transforming into a Tigerstriped warrior, Cain realised that she was an enemy of Saber, and although he was hesitant in his actions, he ultimately captured her and imprisoned her to gift her to his idol.
Still, upon hearing his disciple's almost hysterical reaction, his heart couldn't help but tremble slightly.
Even when he captured her, she hadn't been too surprised. On the contrary, it was as if she had somewhat expected it.
But upon hearing that there might be people coming to rescue her, her composure faltered.
"Alissa…" Cain started coldly as he stared at his silver-haired disciple, but when he saw the anxiety, fear, and helplessness in her tear-filled eyes, he could only sigh regretfully. "Apparently, two teens named Gol D. Ace and Killian and their lion-type magical beast are looking for you."
As soon as her master mentioned the names of the two boys, the image of their faces appeared in her mind, and tears began to stream down her pale cheeks uncontrollably.
"Master, please…" Alissa voiced anxiously. "You have to let me go outside and tell them to turn back. I prom…"
"You're not going anywhere," Cain said sternly.
"You don't understand," Alissa replied, deciding to change her approach. "Ace and Killian are the disciples of experts with the power of Peak Saints. If something were to happen to them, Saber would be courting a disaster that only Cesar would be able to deal with."
Alissa's words caused Cain's eyes to widen in shock. He had already read the reports of the two boys, and although Saber guessed that Ace and Killian were related to Aiden, who definitely had the strength of a Peak Saint, from Alissa's words, Aiden wasn't the only one with the power of a peak saint.
Although he hated to admit it, Alissa was right; provoking a force with that kind of power was incredibly dangerous, but when he remembered who was above ground, his heart calmed down.
"You don't need to worry about Saber," Cain replied indifferently. "Silas is upstairs waiting for them, and his master, Lord Ragnor, should be arriving later.
If either of their supposed masters dares to come, they won't be leaving with their lives."
This time it was Alissa's turn to be shocked. As Cain's disciple, she was clear about how strong Silas and Ragnor were.
Although she knew Mathias and Aiden were powerful experts, she didn't think either of them would be a match for Cesar's eldest disciple. Ragnor was supposedly far stronger than your average peak saint. According to her master, Ragnor was at the level of power beneath the prime saints like Cesar.
At this point, all Alissa could do was pray that Arianna would come and save Killian and Ace.
The armless middle-aged man, who'd been all but silent till now as he struggled to wrap his mind around the contents of the conversation between the master and disciple, suddenly looked up as he felt the whole dungeon shake. "Looks like the battle's begun!"
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Book 6: Chapter 44 – Demi-God Artifact
