Chapter 41: Bale attacked

Before his voice faded, the magic lamp in the room flickered.

Dongfang Jiang sensed something wrong.

Just as he was about to move, Bei’er’s pupils contracted sharply.

Her hand had already reached for her waist.

However, Bei’er grabbed at empty air because today she was wearing civilian clothes and had no sword.

“Get down!”

Dongfang Jiang’s voice exploded in the room.

He shoved Xi beside him down behind a chair, while raising his right hand.

Three energy swords instantly formed beside him.

The dark green Swamp Sword, the deep blue Glacier Sword, and the golden Desert Sword.

All three swords shot out simultaneously toward the window.

The sound of shattering glass and clashing metal erupted almost at the same time.

Three black figures burst through the window.

Each wore a ring on their hand, the rings glowing with different colors.

Their movements were perfectly synchronized, as if they had rehearsed thousands of times.

The first person landed and raised his right hand.

A wind blade shot from his ring toward Bei’er’s neck.

The second followed closely, flicking his fingers repeatedly; several silver needles flew from between his fingers, sealing off all of Bei’er’s escape routes.

The third lunged directly at the desk, a short knife spinning in his hand.

The three had clear targets and their attack coordination was seamless.

But they had miscalculated one person.

The deep blue Glacier Sword split into three in midair.

One sword blocked the wind blade, another knocked down the silver needles, and the third thrust directly at the black-clad man rushing the desk.

The black-clad man was forced to withdraw his blade and block.

He twisted his body in the air, touched the edge of the desk with his toes, and flipped to land in the center of the room.

“Someone’s in the room!”

“It’s Dongfang Jiang!”

“Wasn’t he dead?”

“Retreat!”

The leading black-clad man reacted quickly.

The moment he saw Dongfang Jiang, he made a decision, but Dongfang Jiang wouldn’t give them a chance.

He pressed his right hand down, and the three energy swords attacked simultaneously.

The Swamp Sword transformed into countless vines that spread across the floor, entangling the ankles of the three black-clad men.

The Desert Sword turned into a cloud of golden sand mist, enveloping the entire room.

By the time the three regained their senses, they found themselves in the middle of an oasis.

“Illusion Magic?!”

The first black-clad man exclaimed in shock.

He found the scenery around him starting to warp.

The room’s walls spun, the floor undulated, and even his companions beside him became blurred.

“It’s not ordinary Illusion Magic…”

Before he could finish, the Glacier Sword pierced his shoulder and pinned his entire body to the wall.

Blood splattered.

The black-clad man grunted and dropped to one knee, but he didn’t give up.

His left hand pulled a sphere from his waist and smashed it on the ground.

Thick smoke exploded.

But before the smoke could spread, an invisible force compressed it back.

Bei’er moved.

The S-rank Gale Ring on her right index finger blazed with blinding red light.

In an instant, she gained control of all the air in the study.

The thick smoke was compressed into a fist-sized sphere, floating in the air.

The bodies of the three black-clad men grew heavy, as if something were pressing down on them.

They couldn’t even stand, let alone escape.

“Windstorm Domain.”

Bei’er’s voice was as calm as if she were commenting on the nice weather.

“In my domain, without my permission, even the wind can’t blow in.”

The three black-clad men exchanged glances, all seeing despair in each other’s eyes.

An S-rank Gale Ring wielder was already hard enough to deal with.

Adding Dongfang Jiang, who could control three types of energy simultaneously, this assassination was an impossible mission from the start.

But they had no way out.

The leading black-clad man gritted his teeth, climbed to his feet, and the light on his ring flared again.

“Hold them off, let Lord…”

Before he could finish, a dark green light rose from under his feet.

The vines from the Swamp Sword had already wrapped around his legs.

Not ordinary entanglement—they firmly anchored his feet to the floor.

“I said, don’t move.”

Dongfang Jiang stood up from behind the chair, his right hand grasping empty air.

The Glacier Sword flew back into his hand, solidifying into a real ice blade.

He walked up to the black-clad man and pressed the ice sword against his throat.

“Who sent you?”

The black-clad man said nothing, just stared at him coldly.

Dongfang Jiang frowned.

He remembered the Pawnshop Owner he had encountered in Claire Town, with the same stubborn expression.

Xi peeked out from behind the chair.

The Stream Ring on her right ring finger emitted a pale blue glow.

She placed her finger on the black-clad man’s forehead and closed her eyes.

She was trying to use her energy to read the assassins’ memories.

After a moment, she shook her head.

“No, his consciousness is protected by something. I can’t get in.”

“Mental protection?”

Bei’er raised an eyebrow.

After all, the Gaia Ring’s level was not low.

If something could interfere with Xi, then the opponent’s ring level must also be high.

“To set up protection at the consciousness level, this person’s ability is not weak. Being able to interfere with Miss Xi means they are at least an S-rank mental-type ring wielder. In the entire Royal Capital, only one person has that capability.”

Ambrose.

The name flashed through all three minds simultaneously.

The leading black-clad man’s lips curled slightly into a strange smile.

“You… won’t learn anything.”

His teeth clenched with a sharp crack.

Dongfang Jiang’s expression changed, and he reached out to force his mouth open, but it was too late.

Black blood flowed from the black-clad man’s mouth.

His body began to convulse violently, his pupils dilating.

Within three seconds, he stopped breathing.

The other two black-clad men also bit the poison sacs hidden in their teeth at the same moment and died from the poison.

Three corpses lay in the study, their eyes still open, their pupils reflecting the relief of death.

The room fell silent.

Xi covered her mouth, her face pale.

She had seen death before—in news reports, in photographs—but watching three people commit suicide before her eyes was a first.

“Poison hidden in teeth… That’s standard for suicide soldiers.”

Bei’er crouched down, checked the corpse’s mouth, then looked up at Dongfang Jiang.

“And they’re professionally trained. Suicide immediately after mission failure, leaving no survivors.”

“Can we trace their identities?”

“Hard.”

Bei’er stood up, pulled a white cloth from the desk, and covered one of the corpses.

“Their faces weren’t altered, which means they weren’t afraid of being recognized. Either their identities can’t be traced, or… the person behind them isn’t afraid of us knowing.”

Dongfang Jiang was silent for a moment.

He dispersed the ice sword in his hand and walked to the window.

The night wind poured in through the broken window, making the curtains rustle.

“Miss Bei’er, where is Ambrose now?”

“Should be at his residence. Need me to go with you to find him?”

“No.”

Dongfang Jiang shook his head.

“If you go now, he’ll just deny it and turn it around, accusing us of framing him. Without solid evidence, we can’t touch him.”

“Then what do you plan to do?”

Dongfang Jiang didn’t answer.

He just stared at the night outside.

In the distance, the tower of the Royal Palace stood silently in the moonlight.

The weather vane on its spire turned gently in the wind, like an invisible hand playing with the fate of this city.

“Xi.”

“Here.”

“Don’t tell anyone about tonight.”

“Understood.”

“Miss Bei’er.”

“Please speak.”

“Can you dispose of these three corpses? Don’t let anyone know an assassination happened here tonight.”

Bei’er glanced at him and nodded.

“I can. But what do you want to do?”

Dongfang Jiang turned around, the corner of his mouth curling up into a meaningful smile.

“Since they want to play, I’ll play with them to the end.”

He twisted the Earth Ring on his right index finger.

The dark brown surface gleamed with a warm luster under the light.