When Yvette, riding a giant bat, arrived with her troops, Duke Eugene's camp had already spread across the entire area outside the city.
Yvette's gaze swept over the densely packed tents and shuttling soldiers. Her mind quickly estimated the scale of the troops—at least thirty thousand, perhaps more.
It seemed that Duke Eugene had not only emptied his own coffers but also gone around finding many reinforcements like herself.
This left Yvette somewhat puzzled: "They're just tribesmen leftover after the Cold Disaster; is it really necessary to go this far?"
Soon, she obtained the latest intelligence from the officials who came to welcome her.
The banners of dwarves had appeared in the Northern Territory. This war seemed to no longer be a simple matter of sweeping the backyard.
Duke Eugene received her inside the city.
"Subordinate Yvette, under the orders of my Lord Elinore, has come to deal with the traitor Louisa." Yvette knelt on one knee, her voice cold and clear, "And to assist Lord Duke in pacifying the Northern Territory."
Eugene nodded and also spoke a few polite words: "We vampires haven't had a traitor appear in a long time either. I believe there must be some other reason behind this. But since she dared to betray the Empire, she must pay the price. Yvette, take your personnel to rest and reorganize on the east side first. It will be several days before the grand army marches out."
Yvette accepted the order and withdrew.
In her view, Duke Eugene seemed to want to grasp all his power in his hands before crushing them in one vigorous push.
After all, the Northern Territory had the support of the dwarves behind it; dragging things out might lead to unexpected changes.
As she walked out of the castle, Yvette brushed past a group of strange guys wearing black tunics, black masks, lacking any decorations or crests whatsoever.
Yvette couldn't help but size them up a bit more. The person leading them seemed to sense something and turned his head slightly.
Across a distance of hundreds of steps, Yvette met that cold, indifferent gaze.
"The Faceless Ones..."
The most terrifying daggers under Duke Levi's command. It was said they could all travel through shadows, killing without a trace.
Duke Levi guarded the eastern border and fought often with the dwarves.
Over the past hundred years, half of the experts and generals the dwarves had lost fell under their poisoned blades.
Even that hero Bador, it was said, nearly died by their hands in the last war.
She didn't know if Duke Levi had sensed the dwarves' movements in advance and thus sent these guys to gather intelligence and act according to circumstances.
Yvette retracted her gaze, not wanting to have any interactions with these venomous snakes.
The reality was indeed not much different from what Yvette thought.
After reporting to Duke Eugene, this squad of Faceless Ones rejected the Duke's plan to incorporate them under a unified command.
"We only follow our Master's orders. Coming here this time is solely to target the dwarf Bador; we will not cooperate with anyone." The leading Faceless One's reply showed absolutely no intention of giving Eugene any face.
Although Eugene was displeased, he still coldly reminded them: "Don't look down on those tribesmen in the Northern Territory who control Puchis. Even before the dwarves appeared, the spies under my command suffered quite a few losses in the Northern Territory. It's better for you to move together with the grand army. Don't end up throwing your own lives away without completing the task Levi assigned you."
"We are the Faceless Ones." After saying that, they turned and left the room.
The attendant beside Eugene stepped forward and said indignantly: "Truly too rude, My Lord. Should this subordinate go show them a little color?"
"A bunch of tools, there's no need to be angry with them. Besides..." Eugene glanced at this attendant, "You don't have the capability either."
Although he called them tools, Eugene also knew clearly that these Faceless Ones indeed possessed remarkable skills.
...
On the other side, after the Faceless Ones left, they didn't delay for a moment and immediately began their operation.
More than a dozen dark shadows sped silently toward the direction of the Northern Territory.
Their mission was very clear: lock onto Bador's position first, wait for an opportunity, and then execute the assassination.
If one really talked about combat capability, even if they poured out the strength of the entire squad, it would be impossible to defeat that dwarven hero in a head-on clash.
But assassins never fought head-on.
No matter how strong Bador was, he was ultimately a dwarf.
He had to sleep, had to use the toilet, would feel fatigued, and would take off his battle armor when he lowered his guard.
They only needed to wait patiently—wait, or even create that momentary opportunity.
Even if there was a high probability they wouldn't be able to retreat unscathed afterward, it didn't matter. Just as Eugene said, they were all tools that could be sacrificed at any time.
[Shadow Walk]
Under the leadership of the head person, the Faceless Ones slipped into the shadows one by one.
Moving rapidly northward along the boundaries of the shadows was both fast and concealed. Only during extremely rare moments, when leaping from one shadow to another, would a fleeting silhouette be left behind.
They soon crossed past those laborers on the border line who cleared the fungal mat day after day. Those Demon-kin laborers held torches, burning back the mycelium piece by piece, burning from south to north, and then starting all over again the next day against the regrown fungal mat.
No one noticed that within the shadows beneath them, a group of assassins was quietly skimming past.
...
Within the shadows, the Captain of the Faceless Ones calculated in his mind. With their movement speed within the shadows, it would only take half a day to reach the camp where the dwarves were located.
By that time, it would be exactly midnight. Under the cover of night, they would have enough time to thoroughly scout out that dwarven camp of several thousand people.
As for encountering obstacles on the way?
Ordinary patrols and barriers couldn't stop them.
Just like the petrified mushroom forest and corrosive mushroom forest they encountered along the way; they were indeed very special and bizarre, but they still couldn't affect them who walked within the shadows.
As they passed through an area interlaced with dead trees and giant rocks...
"Careful— Ah—!"
A short scream made the Captain pause abruptly. That was the voice of his subordinate.
Within the shadow, he vigilantly observed the surroundings, yet found nothing.
Although he didn't see that subordinate, the Captain had already assumed he was killed in action.
And to be able to intercept and kill them moving at high speeds without causing large-scale destruction to the terrain, the opponent had to be an expert.
But... where?
Suddenly, the sounds of combat came from a shadow not far away.
Immediately after, an arm holding a poisoned dagger suddenly raised up from the shadow. The dagger stabbed into the ground beside it, as if trying to climb out.
However, several tentacles reached out from the shadow, wrapped around that arm, and dragged it back little by little into the shadow of that rock.
Without a sound, leaving only a trace carved by the dagger.
"The enemy is also in the shadows!"
Having discovered the enemy's tracks, the Captain took the lead and darted out.
Although not often encountered, they similarly knew how to fight enemies with the same ability.
However, following him out to leap out together were only three subordinates.
"How could...?!"
In the crisscrossing tree shadows all around, countless mycelial tentacles reached out, gripping the soil outside.
Puchis climbed out of the shadows one by one. Some of them even conveniently brought out the Faceless Ones who had already been taken care of—a piece here, a lump there—and threw them onto the fungal mat.
"Puchis... that possess Shadow Walk?"
Puchi puchi puchi puchi— Boom—
...
Dwarven Camp.
General Duwalin looked at the dwarven hero who returned alone from the Mushroom Fortress camp, even carrying a sack of Delicious Mushrooms on his back, and couldn't help but say: "Bador, where are the subordinates I arranged for you? How many times have I said it, you have to move together with multiple people! Have you forgotten what happened with the Faceless Ones last time?"
"Are you referring to those subordinates who have to stand guard outside even when taking a dump? Spare me! If I meet those rats again, I'll just hack them again, stop worrying blindly!" Saying that, Bador even swung the giant axe in his hand, making Duwalin roll his eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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