Arpious of the Planes

"Oh yeah, I forgot Mother Nature blessed you… How did that happen?" I ask the beautiful dryad next to me.

After hearing me, Olivia seemed a bit shocked, but it was soon wiped from her face as she probably realized I had [Inspect].

"I-I honestly don't know…."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I-It's just as it sounds… I don't know," She responds.

"So… were you born with it? Or did you somehow encounter Treyni before?"

"I-I wasn't born with it, but I don't remember encountering Miss Mother Nature before," Olivia responds, lowering her head in disappointment.

I mean, I'm not that interested anyway but whatever. I can ask Treyni later as this is the first time I've ever seen somebody be blessed by her before.

After shrugging to myself, I then diverted the conversation in another direction as Olivia seemed to get more depressed by the minute.

My commanders had multiple questions which weren't that significant, but of course, I answered them. And this happened while the assistants brought out barrels of wine and beer, and as I was the queen, I obtained the first glass of wine.

I love beer, but I'm sick of it. Especially when I look back on that one night with Reyna and her friends… I got wasted entirely, so I guess I'll have a few glasses of wine.

…

(Unknown POV)

Huff Fooooo Huff Foooooo

My breathing was sporadic as I watched the large army from the shadows of the massive trees right next to it.

There were a few beings there that I knew I couldn't handle, but the one smack dab in the center… was a monster—the true epitome of a beast. If you imagine a nightmare, the thing in front of me is probably what you'd imagine.

And even though it's just a dark silhouette with two glowing red eyes, I could immediately tell that it was a woman.

It's race unknown. But, it did have large rigid horns, which were entirely enveloped by the rest of its demonic silhouette… So somebody of the demon race.

But it didn't seem very careful right now. It was even drinking alcohol despite it knowing that war was slowly approaching.

Were they that confident in their abilities, or are they just arrogant… Probably the ladder as they're monsters.

Monsters look down on everybody, so I wouldn't be surprised if the latter were the answer.

This might be the only chance I can get through… Should I take it? It's wholly hammered as of now, but for some reason, it gives off an aura that tries to tell me that, "If you move… You'll die."

Just thinking about it sent shivers down my spine, causing my erratic and uneven breathing. Completely unfit for an Assassin Commander.

My subordinates were right next to me, but they didn't help me feel any safer.

I have to be intelligent about this situation…

I give the signal to retreat, which my subordinates immediately follow. And as we maneuvered across the large tree branches, I glanced back for just a second.

It saw us. I swear it saw us for just a split second before turning its head away and returning to its drunken state.

Thank you, Spirit of Light, for protecting me and granting me good judgment.

…

After retreating into the very edge of the [Forest of Poison] where it bordered between trees and a blood-soaked land, we caught our breath as it seemed I wasn't the only one feeling the pressuring effects of that monster.

"Commander. This isn't a good idea. We don't even have the full corps here right now," Number 8 speaks up first, and everybody else nods in agreement.

They usually would faithfully follow and wait for my orders, but it seems their heightened senses were screaming at them.

"No, let's think carefully at the possibilities. We have a 3% chance at taking that monster's head if we all follow the plan I just made up," Number 2 says.

Number 2 is my right-hand man and primarily formulates every plan for each mission we do. On the other hand, I am supposed to make the proper judgment and help execute the plan Number 2 creates.

"Then explain," I say just before thoroughly calming my breathing.

"This will require everybody here besides the Commander, otherwise Number 1 to do die. But that still will result in a 3% chance of succeeding," Number 2 explains, but I already expected this.

"Article 3 of the Assassination Contract. Complete the mission no matter the cost," I say and expected a retaliation or pretty much anything to get them to stop themselves from sacrificing their lives.

Silence befell our group, but the air didn't seem heavy. Instead, below the black cloth masks, we were wearing, I could feel them smiling. And it wasn't a fake smile to mask their real emotions but a genuine, respectable smile.

"Hahhhhh… It seems we are doing it. Okay, Number 2, tell us the rest," I said before Number 2 explained the rest of the plan.

After a few minutes, Number 2 had finished explaining the rest of the plan, but it seemed almost impossible. The 3% chance of succeeding was created by different sequences with less than a 5% chance of succeeding.

"I guess we have no choice… Alright, guys, are you ready?" I asked the group, who seemed to be still smiling.

"It was nice working with you, commander-"

But just before everybody could finish their last words, an explosion of bloodlust could be felt from behind all of us.

After immediately ducking down, I glanced up to try and see who our attacker was, but all I could see was a metal dagger directed right in between my eyes.

Tup Tup Tup

I jumped back just in time to avoid the dagger from going all the way into my head, but a scratch was still visible, and it stung greatly.

"How many have we lost," I asked Number 2, who regrouped with some of the others right beside me.

"3 out of the 12," He responds as we all slip into the shadows beneath us, and I give the signal to split up and meet at the usual rendezvous whenever they can.

How the hell did they find us? I was sure I used [The Potion of Scent Obscuration] and [The Potion of Camaflouge].

[The Potion of Scent Obscuration] is supposed to leave no trail of your scent while simultaneously suppressing the smell on your body. And [The Potion of Camaflouge] is supposed to make it impossible for anybody to see you… so how? How did we end up like this?

We assassins were ambushed?! Bullshit!?

I continued to curse internally as I escaped through the shadows. Weaving between trees, roots, and shrubs along the ground.

My mana and stamina quickly ran out as I was going so fast inside the shadows that you would only detect a blur if you saw me.

And after a few more minutes, I had arrived at the edge of the [Blood Swamp].

I knew this would work as since they couldn't see us, they had to be using some other sense to detect us… which I immediately thought of smell.

We are using [The Potion of Scent Obsucration], but all it does is leave no trail while suppressing our scent. Not wholly getting rid of it, so that split second was something they must've caught upon.

We make no noise when we move or land on something, so that can't be it. We are invisible to the naked eye. I doubt they can taste us. And they haven't touched us, so they can't apply a tracking skill… So that only left that tiny bit of scent.

And if they are going off that tiny bit of scent, they must be part of the Beastman Race. And the Beastman Race has an insane nose, so that means if they enter a place with such a putrid smell as the [Blood Swamp], they won't be able to track me anymore.

"HUFF HUFF HUFF HUFF… *gulp* I think I escaped," I mutter before resting on a rock.

But I couldn't stay like this for long as I would be dead meat if my body cooled down, and there's still the slim chance that they are using something else to track me.

And after a few minutes of rest, I got up from my seated position and immediately began my quick trip to the rendezvous point, which was at the Ruins of the Uxtan Kingdom.

A kingdom that used to thrive, but that was only due to how corrupted it was. But there was no saving it no matter how many impurities you cut away… As the most significant contaminant was the king itself.

SHING

But just as I was about to leave the basic bitch forest, a small amount of killing intent was directed right at the back of my head and right at my heart.

So without hesitation and without looking back, I pulled my arms around and blocked both daggers with my own daggers.

Clang

The vibration rang through my entire body, and it felt as if I had been smashed on the head with a metal pole.

"Tsk… Annoying," I hear a female voice say as I quickly slip into the shadows.

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