In the corner of the basement, Liyami, lurking in the shadows using “Shadow Concealment,” saw Lola unlocking the shackles of the other Beastman slaves, and she knew her plan could now begin.
That’s right, everything just now was orchestrated by Liyami herself.
She deliberately let those Beastman slaves escape to confuse the guards’ attention.
She had already slipped a special Sleeping Draught into the dinner of some guards earlier; they were probably unconscious now, no noise would wake them no matter what happened.
The remaining guards who hadn’t taken the Sleeping Draught would see the fleeing Beastman slaves in their panic.
In such a chaotic moment, they wouldn’t have time to think about the root cause; they could only focus on the immediate problem.
So almost all the guards left inside and around the mansion would chase after those escaped Beastman slaves, leaving only a few guards behind.
At that point, whether Liyami chose to assassinate by force or make a swift escape, it would become much easier.
Though Liyami’s plan was simple, it was sufficient to accomplish this assassination.
She had already made an arrangement with Furnace Hook, telling him she wanted to make some extra money tonight, and Furnace Hook had gladly agreed with a broad smile.
Next, she just needed to go to Furnace Hook’s room, wait quietly for things to unfold, then assassinate him.
Leaving the basement, Liyami headed toward Furnace Hook’s room, calculating the time in her mind.
In about ten more minutes, the Guard Captain should discover the Beastman slaves had escaped, and he would send the few remaining guards to capture them.
Her timing was perfect, and Liyami couldn’t help but feel pleased.
It seemed that even though she had changed her gender, her assassination skills remained as sharp and reliable as ever.
Liyami arrived at Furnace Hook’s bedroom door, the largest room in the mansion.
Furnace Hook had made it his personal chamber, and this was Liyami’s first time entering this room.
She knocked and called out, “Boss, I’m here to earn some money~”
Inside, she heard movement, and soon the bedroom door opened.
Furnace Hook stood in the doorway, wearing a lecherous grin as he looked at Liyami.
He stepped aside, motioning for her to enter.
Though Liyami found Furnace Hook’s expression and actions utterly disgusting, she kept a cheerful smile on her face.
Once Liyami stepped inside, Furnace Hook slowly closed the bedroom door.
He turned to face her and started walking over, rubbing his hands together with an unsettling leer.
Liyami was speechless; she felt Furnace Hook now resembled a Beastman more than those actual Beastman slaves.
She checked the time again—almost right—and decided to stall a little longer.
She suggested to Furnace Hook, “Boss~ why don’t you take off your clothes and try to catch me first~ When you catch me, I’ll give you a reward, how about that~”
Furnace Hook raised his eyebrows, smiling even wider.
“Oh? Immersive gameplay, huh? Fine, then let’s do it!”
He began to undress, but just as he finished taking off his pants, a commotion sounded outside.
Frowning, he quickly put his pants back on and peered toward the window, displeased.
Furnace Hook’s bedroom had large windows that gave a clear view of the outside.
He went to the window and soon saw what was happening.
The guards outside were holding torches, anxiously searching for something.
He heard several loud voices shouting: “Beastmen escaped! Catch them quickly!”
A few minutes ago, the Guard Captain had been furious as he looked at the small patrol squad lazily hiding in a corner around the mansion.
He snapped, “Lant? You’re members of his patrol squad, right? Where did he run off to?! What are you all doing here?! Slacking off?!”
The patrol squad members listened nervously as the Guard Captain scolded them.
When the Guard Captain asked where their leader was, one of them finally summoned courage to answer.
“T-the captain had a stomach ache and went to the restroom.”
“Then what are you all doing here?!”
“We…we were waiting here for him. He said he wanted to take us out to look for some…flowers…”
At that moment, another patrol member from Lant’s squad gathered courage to chime in, “Yeah, it’s all the captain’s fault for wanting to look for some stupid flowers! Because of that, we still haven’t had dinner!”
“You still have the face to talk about dinner?!”
The Guard Captain’s reprimand silenced the would-be complainer immediately.
Listening to the various half-hearted explanations from Lant’s patrol squad members, the Guard Captain’s anger swelled.
He couldn’t understand how such people had ever become Guard Captains.
Was it just because they let their subordinates slack off?
Or had they deceived the boss’s trust?
Whatever the reason, he swore that next time he saw Lant, he would make sure Lant wasn’t even qualified to be a patrol captain!
He’d make him a janitor, sweeping the toilets!
Just as the Guard Captain felt this wasn’t enough and wanted to scold them some more, a direct subordinate from his mercenary company suddenly ran up to him.
“What’s going on? Why are you so anxious?”
Seeing his subordinate panting like that, the Guard Captain’s heart filled with a bad premonition.
“Hah…the Beastmen…all of them escaped!”
“What?! What about the prison and the guards outside? Where are they?”
“We don’t know. We didn’t see any other guards. All the Beastmen got out. We tried to catch them but were outnumbered, so we came to find you first.”
Hearing this, the Guard Captain was stunned as if struck by lightning.
He immediately ordered his subordinates to continue hunting the Beastman slaves, then turned to Lant’s patrol squad and said,
“Go get the other guards here. Leave only the basic defenses. Everyone else, go catch those Beastmen!”
“Yes!”
After saying this, the Guard Captain hurried off to catch the Beastmen.
A few minutes later, watching the few Beastman slaves recaptured, the Guard Captain’s face darkened further.
Suddenly, a member of Lant’s patrol squad ran over, shouting,
“Captain, bad news! Everyone, I don’t know what happened, but they all fell asleep! Nobody can wake them up!”
Hearing this, the Guard Captain’s heart sank.
He quickly ordered his men to stop chasing the Beastmen and protect the boss instead!
Watching the chaos outside and hearing the guards shouting loudly, Furnace Hook was completely dumbfounded, struggling to keep up with the current situation.
Behind him, Liyami immediately realized this was a perfect opportunity!
Just as she was about to strike while Furnace Hook was distracted, suddenly a glow appeared on the bedroom floor—a magic circle?!
Where did this magic circle come from?!