Chapter 274: Ambush

Chapter 274: Ambush



"No problem, High Priestess. Leave this to me," Holand said with a slight smile, exuding confidence.

"Pardon my bluntness, but I feel the need to remind you of something."

"Lord Holand of the Serpent Sect, please don't underestimate the combat capabilities of the other party," Laksoor said, feeling a bit concerned at Holand's confident expression.

After all, Holand was on his home turf, carrying out a task for his church. If he succeeded, everyone would be pleased.

But if something went wrong, it might affect the relationship between the two churches, as the Serpent Sect could feel they had been set up.

So, it was better to be upfront.

"Rest assured! Holand was granted the essence of the Shadow Serpent's bloodline, and assassination is his forte," the Canon High Priestess of the Serpent Sect seemed to sense Laksoor's concern and turned to him with a mischievous smile.

"Additionally, if things do go awry, Holand's ability to retreat unscathed is not an issue."

The Shadow Serpent? Laksoor nodded, having heard of this peculiar serpent's fame. It could control shadow forces and possessed an innate ability to conceal itself within shadows, along with deadly venom.

If Holand had indeed assimilated with the Shadow Serpent, he was indeed a born assassin.

This assassination should be a success!

"Mmm, rest assured. I'm a professional when it comes to assassinations! Lord Laksoor, I'll depart now," Holand assured Laksoor with a slight smile.

"So soon? Good, catching them off guard will yield the best results," Laksoor thought for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

"By the way, Lord Holand, we have an informant within the Earl's mansion. I believe he can accurately inform you of the room where Rain is located."

---

Myister County Town.

Habsburg Duke Manor, inside a room.

Suddenly, a lively young man in leather armor from the Swordholder Division of Nom Province spoke up.

"Captain, I've inquired with the beautiful young lady from the Minster Division. You won't believe it, but Rain is merely a newcomer!"

Due to the overwhelming power of Rain's hammer strike in the conference room, Roland and his companions were naturally curious about Rain.

However, as the captain of the Swordholders, Roland held his position and didn't ask too many questions.

But young people were different; they didn't have as many reservations.

Without Roland's instruction, Flay, driven by curiosity, approached the Vanguard Bear Cleft Squad.

"What? A newcomer?" Roland exclaimed, looking at his teammate in surprise.

"Yes, it's absolutely true!" The young man in leather armor affirmed, nodding confidently.

"Flay, by 'newcomer,' do you mean someone who joined the Swordholders after you?" Aleks, holding an ornate book, closed it and looked at his companion with a smile, teasing him.

Flay was the newest member of the trio, having joined just two and a half years ago.

"Less than two months! Aleks, are you calling anyone who joined after you a newcomer?" Aleks, usually calm, widened his eyes in disbelief. "Really? Just two months?"

"Tell us more!" Roland's curiosity and shock grew. He immediately asked Flay for details.

"Yes, Captain."

"Rain, the Golden Rank Swordholder Captain, nicknamed 'Myister Siege Hammer,' is also the leader of the squad 'Myister Siege Hammer.'" As Flay spoke, he paused, sensing something amiss.

"Wait, that sounds a bit awkward."

"His nickname is the same as his squad's name. It seems the other squad members have absolute trust in their captain's strength." Captain Roland interpreted this differently from Flay.

From the perspective of a captain and his teammates, he quickly realized this.

"Flay, continue."

After listening to Flay's story, Roland and Aleks exchanged glances, both shocked and curious.

They knew the young Viscount Rain was formidable, but they hadn't expected him to be this powerful!

"Don't underestimate yourself, Roland. While Rain may have mastered the advanced technique of hammer techniques, surpassing you in power..."

"But remember, you've not only mastered the intermediate technique in swordsmanship but also in shield defense. Combined, your combat prowess is no weaker than Rain's." Flay offered words of comfort.

"Brat, who's underestimating themselves? Even if Rain is currently on par with me, haven't you noticed his age? That's the most terrifying aspect." Roland couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity.

"If we can be friends, we should be friends." For once, Aleks agreed with Flay.

"But Flay's point is valid. This time, Rain is alone, while you, Roland, have my magical support. Our combined strength surpasses Viscount Rain."

"By the way, did you ask the Earthshaker Squad why they respect Rain so much?

"Aleks, suddenly remembering something, asked.

"That's even more unbelievable, because Rain saved the lives of two of our teammates!" Flay spoke with a dry mouth, gulping down a mouthful of water.

As Flay spoke, he became more excited.

Although Rain was from the Minster Province Swordbearer Division, and they were from the Noms Province Swordbearer Division, they were all Swordbearers nonetheless.

In comparison, the Earthshaker was an outsider.

The fact that a family member had saved an outsider gave Flay a sense of pride.

Just as the three Swordbearers from the Noms Province were shocked by Rain's background in the room, Rain was in his bedroom, preparing to take the 'Fortifying Elixir' that the head maid, Shadiya, had given him earlier.

Previously, as he was the only one guarding the Duke Manor, Rain felt that it wasn't the right time to take the elixir.

But now, with the entire Earthshaker squad of five and the Noms Province Swordbearer squad present, he could take it at ease.

Soon, Rain opened the wooden box and saw a transparent square glass bottle filled with a blue liquid inside.

However, the inside of the wooden box had a hidden surprise. The inner walls had slightly intricate patterns, which were obviously a type of array formation used to preserve this 'Fortifying Elixir.'

This made Rain curious about the 'packaging' of this well-preserved Fortifying Elixir. He picked up the square glass bottle and examined it carefully.

On the bottle, there was a noticeable white label with black text, which read:

"Fortifying Elixir, Cultivation Assistance Potion. After consumption, for half a month, it will enhance the physical qualities of the drinker to a certain extent, with the degree of enhancement varying from person to person."

"Method of Consumption:"

"Precautions: Multiple consumptions will weaken the effect. It is recommended to consume based on individual physique, with an interval of 1 to 3 months. - Produced by Royal Apothecary Association Austin."

"If it's comprehensive, it must be a good thing!"

"Also, this is produced by the Royal Apothecary Association. Austin should be the name of a master apothecary's name." Rain thought to himself.

Without much hesitation, Rain popped open the cork of the bottle, and immediately, a faint smell of stewed meat with star anise and cinnamon wafted out.

It smelled good and made one's mouth water.

With experience in taking other elixirs, Rain immediately drank the Fortifying Elixir in one go.

As soon as it entered his mouth, Rain's expression changed. The smell was pleasant, but once it hit his throat, he felt a slightly spicy sensation, like a mix of white wine and mustard.

After a few seconds, Rain felt a stimulation in his stomach, and immediately, his entire body started to heat up rapidly.

Soon, Rain's whole body began to perspire with fine beads of sweat. In no time, he was drenched in sweat, as if he had just been pulled out of a sauna.

But after a while, Rain felt a sense of lightness throughout his body. He felt refreshed and invigorated.

This process lasted for about half an hour, and then the effect of the elixir gradually weakened, reaching a more gentle and subtle level.

At this moment, the system prompt sounded:

[Congratulations! Your Physique attribute has been enhanced!]



[Congratulations! Your Agility attribute has been enhanced!]



"Huh?"

"Is it because my Strength attribute is already quite high?"

"But this is still quite impressive!"

"The effect of the Fortifying Elixir is better than the previous Strong Potion I drank."

Rain checked his attribute panel:

Physique: 39

Strength: 43

Agility: 36

Spirit: 52

The long-neglected Agility attribute, which could be considered his weakness, increased from 35 to 36 points.

Physique also increased from 38 to 39, almost reaching the 40-point threshold.

"It lasts for half a month?"

"So, for the next period of time, there's still room for further enhancement."

"This Fortifying Elixir, is this the depth of the great noble families?"

"But this Fortifying Elixir is signed as: Produced by Royal Apothecary Association Austin. This Austin should be the name of a certain Apothecary Master." Rain recalled.

After taking a shower to wash off the sweaty smell, Rain, who had just taken the Fortifying Elixir, naturally wanted to take a bath.

His bedroom had a small bath pool.

After stripping down, Rain noticed the ten pieces of Tempered Steel ingots that Claudia had brought to him earlier, placed in a corner of the room.

This made him pick up the ingots and hold a metal ball, weighing about fifty to sixty kilograms, and hold it in his hand.

Once he entered the bath pool, Rain transformed it into a giant metal basin and scooped water onto himself.

After a while, he transformed it into a large ladle and placed it on his head to rinse, having fun.

At the same time, the High Priest of the Serpent Sect, Lord Holland, was also at the Habsburg Manor.

At this moment, he was standing in the shadows of a garden bush.

Standing in the shadows, Lord Holland seemed to possess a unique talent, allowing him to remain undetected by the patrolling guards, even when they passed by just meters away.

Possessing this talent, he entered the annex of the manor through a secret mark provided by the Darkflame Church.

"Which room is Rain in?" Lord Holland's voice suddenly echoed in the room.

"My Lord, you've arrived."

Startled, the insider responded, only to turn around and find a man in a black robe standing in the shadows behind the door.

He couldn't figure out how the man had entered unnoticed.

"Rain is in the third room on the second floor of the main building." The insider had already received the information and quickly calmed down, replying, "He's most likely in that room, as he's been going to the training room frequently lately. By the way, the indoor training room is the first room on the south side of the main building's first floor."

"Also, there's a new message. Many powerful experts have arrived today."

"Okay."

The next second, the man in black disappeared into the shadows.

Huh? The insider rubbed his eyes in disbelief!

He stared at the door, unable to believe that the man had truly disappeared into the shadows.

Did he just leave without finishing his sentence?

What if he fails the task and blames it on me?

In fact, Lord Holland possessed a talent from the Shadow Serpent's blood essence—'Shadow Skin Technique'—which allowed him to merge with the shadows, making it impossible for ordinary people to detect him with their naked eyes.

It could be considered an 'Invisibility' technique of the Shadow element, requiring a shadowed area to achieve the effect of invisibility.

Not a 'Short-distance Teleportation' spell.

In Lord Holland's view, once he knew the specific location of Rain, the rest would be simple.

As for powerful experts? It didn't matter at all.

Completely irrelevant.

With their unique talent, they could quickly reach their target without giving them a chance to react, and by the time they realized it, he would have already calmly retreated."

In such a situation, Lord Holland would first calm himself, thinking, 'Let's get the task done first.'

He walked in the shadows of the garden, reaching the corner of the main building's wall, and in the next second, two small black snakes crawled out from his wide sleeves.

These two small snakes naturally also possessed a similar talent to the Shadow Skin Technique, disappearing into the shadows with a whoosh.

However, in Lord Holland's infrared vision, he clearly saw the two small shadow snakes still rapidly crawling towards their target.

Why was Holand so confident about the assassination? The answer lay in his Shadow Snake's unique talents of stealth and deadly venom. Under the cover of night, his sneak attacks were incredibly stealthy.

Additionally, the target of this assassination was a Veteran High Knight.

Regardless of how many Advanced Techniques the opponent mastered, as long as they were a High Knight, even a peak High Knight, according to the Shadow Snake's venom, a single bite was fatal.

Even if the opponent reacted swiftly and cautiously, as long as they were bitten, even a small puncture in the skin would lead to severe poisoning.

At most, Holand only needed to deliver a finishing blow.

Unless the opponent was a formal Wizard, it would be much more challenging due to their innate magical defenses and heightened perception, making it easier to detect the approaching Shadow Snake.

Of course, if the enemy was a formal Wizard, it would be more difficult. They possessed innate magical defenses and heightened perception, which made it harder for the Shadow Snake to approach unnoticed.

However, Holand showed no hesitation. He turned around and cursed under his breath, "Damn, who wears half-plate armor while bathing?"

"What a weirdo!"

The next moment, his figure disappeared into the shadows.

As Rain quickly approached, he suddenly lost track of Holand's trail, prompting him to seize the opportunity and throw a short spear, transformed from Hardened Steel, with all his might.

Facing the incoming spear, Holand chose not to parry with his metal spikes. Instead, he relied on the defensive capabilities of the python-like black aura that occasionally surged towards Rain. This sudden, powerful black energy stream was a new combat style Rain had never encountered before.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end