Chapter 266: Gift from the King (1)

The walls surrounding the royal palace of Briol were towering high, crowned with sharp spear points.

For most, even thinking of crossing them was unthinkable—but for an assassin like Hasan, they posed no problem at all.

Leading ten assassins, he vaulted over the wall in an instant.

The view of the royal palace of Briol spread out before his eyes.

Lanterns placed along the paths lit the grounds, though most of it remained in darkness. Hasan hid among the shadows.

The royal guards patrolling inside had no sense of his presence whatsoever.

With hand signals, he conveyed his orders.

“I and two others—the rest will move separately.”

The assassins with him weren’t mere shadows moving in silence.

They had been modified with black magic, gaining far greater strength, at a level comparable to sword masters.

Ten fighters of such caliber followed him.

If one added the nature of assassination to that power, they could break into not only Briol, but also the royal palaces of other kingdoms.

If they killed all the kings, perhaps everyone would end up kneeling before the Empire.

Smiling to himself, Hasan advanced.

The two moving with him followed in silence.

There was a reason for dividing the group into two—him and two others, and the other eight.

That way, strength was balanced in both teams. It spoke to how strong he himself was.

Hasan headed toward his target—the King of Briol, Joshua Briol.

The royal residence stood in the heart of the palace. The deeper they went, the more often guards appeared along the way.

However, none were able to detect them.

Not only did the assassins move stealthily with the help of black magic, they had erased their presence as much as possible.

Very few guards would have senses sharp enough to discover them.

When a group of guards passed by, Hasan slipped through the shadows of the buildings until he stood before an area from which he could see Joshua’s residence.

He glanced around.

Total silence.

Sensing the wind’s direction, he prepared to enter—but his feet wouldn’t move.

The other two had also stopped, looking at him.

He turned his head.

In a clearing they had passed through, thinking it empty, someone was sitting calmly.

Only now did Hasan notice.

“Prepare to fight.”

If there had been any sound, it meant they had already been detected. The two assassins drew their weapons immediately.

Hasan stepped into the center of the clearing.

“Why did you wait until the guards left?”

He wanted to understand that man’s intentions.

“Were you planning to stop us by yourself?”

Though he had had the chance to alert them, that man had simply observed and revealed himself only once they were alone.

An arrogant thought.

“Who knows.”

The stranger stood.

“Well, well… and here I thought assassins would be able to detect me.”

Hasan frowned.

He was right—they hadn’t sensed him until he chose to reveal himself.

A grave mistake for an assassin.

The other man went on.

“And I didn’t think that, after being discovered, you’d come straight to fight.”

It was an accurate observation.

But in truth, Hasan wasn’t a pure assassin.

He carried out missions as ordered, with the mindset of a knight who wields his sword head-on.

“Who are you?”

“Does it matter?”

“I have to report who I kill.”

Finally, they faced each other directly.

By the distant light of a lantern, Hasan made out the face.

“I’m Bernard.”

Hasan remembered—Yuri Briol’s sword master.

He knew he had trained the princes as children, but not that he still resided in the palace.

Even so, he didn’t care.

Even if he was skilled, he wouldn’t be able to stand against them, strengthened by black magic.

Two assassins moved to position themselves behind Bernard, forming a triangle to surround him.

“Better kill you quickly.”

“Did you come to kill Joshua?”

“Not your business.”

“Oh, really?”

Bernard drew his sword.

Hasan felt a chill—something had changed.

He no longer seemed like an ordinary man in a nighttime clearing, but a predator before its prey—no, something more unreal, almost ghostlike.

A cold sweat dampened Hasan’s palms.

He didn’t understand why he felt such pressure, but with every step Bernard took, the distance closed in an instant.

“You know something?”

Bernard stopped, tilting his chin up in invitation to speak.

“We split into two groups.”

He said it to distract him, instinctively sensing this was a formidable opponent.

He had heard that Bernard had once been called the “Demon of the Sword” in the past, though that was long ago.

But the man before him had not lost strength—he had increased it.

“Even if you stop us, Joshua will die anyway. You shouldn’t waste your time here.”

“Of course.”

Bernard’s expression did not change at all.

“Then there’s no helping it.”

“What?”

“I don’t care.”

“A guest of Briol talking like that…?”

“I’m a guest, not a vassal. Protecting the king isn’t my duty.”

Bernard raised his sword again.

“That’s the job of the royal guard.”

“Oh, is it?”

Hasan smiled and nodded.

With that attitude, all the better—he had split his forces precisely for situations like this.

If one group was stopped, the other could complete the mission.

“I hope that royal guard is competent.”

“So do I.”

That was the start.

Bernard’s sword came down. Hasan barely managed to block it.

‘He’s too fast.’

The steel, light as a butterfly in flight, suddenly twisted in its path and shot forward like an arrow.

It was so fast that a moment’s carelessness would be enough to be run through.

Hasan clenched his teeth, blocking strike after strike. He hadn’t expected to meet someone of this level in the palace of Briol.

At his signal, the two assassins attacked from behind. The three blades danced around Bernard.

Blood sprayed into the air.

“Hahahaha…”

Hasan smirked to one side.

Bernard had blocked Hasan’s strike and that of one assassin, but not the third’s.

Thus, a wound appeared on his chest.

It wasn’t deep, but the mere fact of making him bleed was already a gain.

“…”

Bernard looked at his chest with a calm expression. Then he tore his shirt and tossed it aside.

His bare torso showed a well-trained body, but his skin was covered with scars.

Hasan scoffed at the sword marks on his chest and abdomen.

“Where did you take so many cuts? It’s a miracle you’re still alive.”

Bernard nodded.

“I suppose so.”

As he raised his sword, his aura grew more ferocious. Hasan and the two assassins began circling clockwise, watching his movements.

“Now that I think of it—it’s you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“There was a lunatic who, every so often, gave me sword marks. Call it a royal gift? I stayed in Briol just to beat that man who didn’t even deserve to be called human—but thanks to you, I won’t be seeing him again.”

“What nonsense are you spouting…?”

Bernard closed his eyes, then opened them again.

The moment Hasan met his gaze, he felt his chest lurch.

This was different from before.

Now, the man standing before him was, quite literally, a demon of the sword.

It was like facing a perfectly honed blade, soaked in countless drops of blood.

His silhouette blurred.

Hasan lost sight of him for an instant—until he sensed a presence at his side and turned.

Bernard was already upon him, sword swinging.

“You…”

To kill an enemy, many conditions aren’t necessary—having strength, being fast, or knowing how to strike at the opponent’s openings.

All that’s needed is to cut before the other does.

That is the sword—that is assassination.

But Bernard was different. He wasn’t just someone who used the sword as a tool; he was someone who had taken the very existence of being a sword to its absolute limit.

Now Hasan understood why they called him the Demon of the Sword. That kind of person was dangerous.

More dangerous than they appeared on the surface.

“Damn…”

Hasan deflected his sword with all his strength and retreated several steps.

Then he forced a smile and said,

“Hey, Demon of the Sword. Aren’t you worried about your king? By now, they’ve probably already entered the palace. He could be dead. This isn’t the time to waste on a duel.”

It was meant to shake him. But Bernard didn’t stop.

He kept advancing, and a faint smile crossed his lips.

“You underestimate Briol far too much.”

***

The assassins who had split from Hasan infiltrated the royal residence in an instant.

There were two royal guards at the entrance, but deceiving their senses was simple.

The assassins’ bodies carried black magic—magic circles etched directly into their flesh by a dark mage, making them perfect killers.

Because of this, no one could easily detect their presence.

With night fallen, the residence was in complete silence. Not a single servant stirred.

It was the perfect setting.

The assassins moved without making the slightest sound. Eight men advanced, but there was absolute silence.

Hasan had yet to appear, but that didn’t change the mission—whoever arrived first was to abduct the king.

If he resisted too much, they were free to kill him.

They soon found the chamber where the king rested.

But in front of the door, someone was sitting on the floor, leaning against it, apparently asleep.

It wasn’t surprising—they had expected to find a guard there. One less wouldn’t be a problem.

As the assassins approached silently—

“Hmm…”

The guard, arms folded across his chest, slowly let his hands drop and gripped his sword.

“So, we have visitors.”