After work, start to speedrun the other world-Chapter 86 - 8: The Night of Assassination_2

A mage clad in a black cloak, holding a bow seemingly made of condensed starlight, aimed at him. As his fingers released, the arrow tore through the air towards him.

Shifting his footsteps, Xi Mu dodged the incoming magical arrow and darted into a narrow alleyway, swiftly closing in on the clock tower.

Thirty seconds later.

Near the clock tower.

A man leaning against the exterior of a coffee shop pulled his hat brim down slightly with a nervous glance around.

He was waiting for his assassination target to appear. As soon as the man came into view, he could use shadow magic to kill him.

"Light rests below, shadow reigns above."

Yes, that was the spell, capable of unleashing hard-to-detect ambush magic and thus complete the assassination.

Wait, he hadn’t recited the spell yet, and the moment he realized something was off, a warm sensation spread through his chest, and his strength was drained from him.

He collapsed to the ground.

"There’s something odd about your eyes," came a seemingly kind reminder, and the man felt a hand pat his head.

His consciousness ended then and there.

Xi Mu stood up and scanned his surroundings, seeing the panicked crowd, he immediately left. As he was leaving, several magic arrows were shot at him, pegging the ground where he had just been. Had he been just a bit slower, it could have been fatal.

"What the hell is going on with this guy?"

On the clock tower, the black-robed mage dismissed his magical bow, intending to change his assassination spot, but as he turned around.

The assassination target suddenly appeared before him. Cold eyes met his, and shortly after, he felt a slight pain in his abdomen.

Xi Mu turned and left without looking back.

The mage looked down to find a dagger burning with black flames in his stomach, and let out a scream of utmost terror, his entire being devoured by the flames, turning to ash amidst his struggles.

The assassination had only just begun.

This was merely an appetizer; there were bound to be stronger mages coming after him, which also meant more experience points.

Of course, this also meant an increase in difficulty.

"Where did that guy hide?!" On the crowded streets, a girl with short black hair gnashed her teeth, a barely suppressed terror seeping through.

She was supposed to be the one carrying out the assassination, yet she felt an imminent sense of being killed at any moment. The roles of assassin and target had reversed.

"I’m right here." A soft whisper reached her ear, and as she instinctively stepped back, a finger chased her with greater speed and pierced her throat.

"Don’t scream, don’t scream, it’ll disturb everyone’s shopping." Xi Mu looked at the terrified girl, placed his hand over her mouth, dragged her into an alley, and then used the black flames to incinerate her body to ashes.

Killer after killer was dealt with.

In various parts of the Magic Castle, murders were taking place, sometimes in full view and sometimes in deserted alleys.

And this made the assassins realize something: in terms of assassination skills, they weren’t as professional as their target. They had to change their approach.

Overpower with strength.

...

...

An hour later.

The slums.

"...Where did he escape to?" The assassin carrying a large black sword was both cautious and impatient, maintaining distance from every civilian who came near, to prevent himself from being approached by his target while always ready to strike.

However, after the target had fled into the slums, he seemed to have vanished into thin air—either forsaking the counter-assassination or fleeing back to Hecate.

Either way, it would mark the failure of his mission.

Just then, Xi Mu’s figure emerged from the crowd, looking back and meeting the assassin’s gaze before quickly escaping into a dilapidated house.

The assassin followed but found that Xi Mu had already disappeared, leaving only a broken porcelain pot on the ground with a faint, peculiar scent drifting from it.

What is this...

Before he could figure it out, his consciousness began to fade, and the assassin with the large black sword slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Xi Mu’s figure then appeared on the other side, looking coldly at the fallen assassin as he drew his bow and aimed at the unconscious killer.

With the arrow piercing the assassin’s heart.

Xi Mu turned and left callously, without the slightest hesitation.

The intensity of the coming assassinations was bound to increase further, becoming even more relentless—and in a way, to reciprocate his teacher Hecate.

As time passed.

"Boom!" The bell tower of the Magic Castle suddenly erupted in flames, drawing the attention of the entire city, and this was just the beginning. Explosions of varying degrees occurred in different areas of the city, and occasionally someone spotted a group of panicked people in black clothes rushing through the streets and alleys.

Meanwhile.

In the great library.

"It really... wasn’t me," the Fourth Prince looked at his neatly arranged siblings on the ground, closing his eyes in pain.

Conclusive evidence was placed on his table, indicating that he had conspired to kill his own brothers and sisters to seize the right of succession to the Magic Kingdom.

Letters and witness statements were all pointing to him as someone who, out of ambition, murdered his siblings.

"...I believe you, child," a sad voice came, and the Fourth Prince looked in the direction of the voice to see the Magic Queen approaching.

She crouched down, gently caressing the child’s cheeks.

"There’s still a chance... to make amends."

"..." The Fourth Prince had a bad premonition, and the Magic Queen’s reply confirmed his guess.

"I shall turn into a witch."

"..." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The Fourth Prince opened his mouth then fell silent again, knowing he could not stop his mother, and that becoming a witch might not necessarily be a bad thing.

If Gods can be killed, it means there is room for resistance.

"Go outside and wait for me," the Magic Queen turned and said to the Fourth Prince, and after seeing her son’s retreating figure, she suddenly added another sentence.

"Or perhaps leave the country for now."

"..."

The Fourth Prince did not reply, waiting outside the library’s grand entrance; he did not wish to flee his country.

It was his duty as a Prince.

...

...

The following day.

At dawn.

The assassination attempt ended.

No... to be more precise, it was when the intensity of the assassination attempt was nearly reaching Xi Mu’s limits that Hecate stepped in and stopped everything.

Afterwards, Hecate took Xi Mu home and taught him magic knowledge through half the night.

"Approaching the Magic Queen in armor makes our intentions clear to everyone," Hecate observed her disciple across the table, clad in silver armor.

Xi Mu replied,

"The royal family probably doesn’t think we have good intentions anymore."

All the events from the previous night basically brought the conflict into the open; everyone knew that Hecate wanted to usurp the throne, and if Hecate went to visit the Magic Queen at the Royal Palace, it would confirm her intentions. Hiding them was pointless.

Hecate nodded slightly, acknowledging her disciple’s thinking as correct. Now, just preparing to enter the Royal City would be tantamount to declaring her intent to move against the Magic Queen.

Everyone was waiting for her to settle the dispute with the Magic Queen.

And at that moment.

"Hehe~ the Magic Queen is a troublesome opponent." It was as if the sound of rubbing wood chips was heard, Xi Mu stopped eating, looking towards the source of the voice.

Granny Saisi was seen walking over with a cane, followed by cultists.

"Moon magic, is quite a bothersome power," Martha sighed, "I really don’t want to face such an enemy."

"The Magic Queen’s enemy is not us," Jack, the killer, stated coldly, though it seemed like a rebuttal, he was in a way admitting they were no match for the Magic Queen.

"Moreover, the Magic Queen is favored by the Goddess of the Moon," the Bloody Countess sighed as if worried, "I hope we don’t attract the gaze of the Gods."

Xi Mu, looking at the approaching group, smiled and said, "Right now, the Gods won’t care about the infighting among humans; they are all occupied with finding the culprit who assassinated a God."

Currently, the All Gods of the high heavens were very cautious about everything in the lower realm, especially since with the disappearance of the God of Omniscience, the high gods were without a leader.

This caused all the Gods to be extremely cautious in making any decision.

And being favored by a deity does not mean the All Gods will intervene in human conflicts; even if a devout follower dies, the greatest response is to take the soul of the believer up to the high heavens.

"Although that’s also true," Granny Saisi chuckled, "but if we can resolve this quickly, it is better to do so swiftly."