Chapter 213: The Hidden Assassins

The Hidden Assassins

Clang!

A sharp metallic ring echoed through the forest.

Two swords collided, sending sparks between the trees.

Renyu Salaze slid half a step backward, his white-and-red robes fluttering as he redirected the incoming blade. His sword was a slender Chinese jian with faint crimson patterns near the spine. Its white-silk hilt ended in a rounded jade pommel, matching his composed temperament.

He turned his wrist.

The blade moved in a smooth arc, slipping past his opponent’s guard before stopping against the man’s throat.

The gray-clothed assassin froze.

"Don’t move."

Renyu’s voice was calm, but the killing intent behind it was unmistakable.

Several paces away, another clash rang through the forest.

Renhao laughed as he twisted aside, allowing a sword to skim past his chest. His blade was broader than Renyu’s, with a dark crimson pattern running along its length. Its red-wrapped hilt ended in a carved pommel shaped like a thorn.

Unlike Renyu’s measured style, Renhao’s swordsmanship was aggressive.

Every swing carried heavy force.

He stepped forward, cutting through the air with a series of diagonal strikes.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The assassin struggled to keep up.

Renhao suddenly changed his rhythm. He withdrew his sword, then thrust forward. The tip stopped just short of the man’s chest.

"You’re persistent."

He grinned.

"Unfortunately, I’m tired of this."

Crimson Qi erupted along his blade.

The assassin’s expression changed. Before he could retreat, Renhao’s sword swept sideways, knocking his weapon from his hand.

A second movement followed.

Blood sprayed across the forest floor, and the assassin collapsed.

On the other side of the clearing, Renjun stood among several fallen figures.

His sword was the most distinctive of the three. Delicate green lines resembling vines ran along its narrow blade. The pale-green hilt was wrapped in alternating layers of green and crimson silk, ending in a small emerald ornament.

His swordsmanship was neither as forceful as Renhao’s nor as restrained as Renyu’s.

It was precise.

Each movement seemed to anticipate his opponent’s next action. He intercepted attacks with minimal effort, always striking where his enemies were weakest.

A gray-clothed assassin lunged at him.

Renjun tilted his sword, allowing the incoming blade to slide along his own. He turned his wrist and redirected the attack away from his body.

His left hand moved.

Several strands of green-and-crimson Qi shot from his fingers and wrapped around the assassin’s wrist.

The man tried to pull away.

Too late.

The threads tightened.

Renjun stepped forward and struck the man’s chest with the flat of his sword. The assassin flew backward and crashed against a tree.

He struggled to rise.

Another strand of Qi wrapped around his neck.

Renjun gave it a gentle pull.

The man collapsed.

Silence gradually returned to the forest.

The three brothers stood among the fallen assassins. Their robes had sustained several cuts, but none of them appeared seriously injured.

Two assassins remained conscious.

One knelt with his hands bound behind his back. The other leaned against a tree, his arms restrained by Renjun’s vine-like Qi.

Renyu approached the kneeling man.

"Speak. Who sent you?"

The assassin remained silent.

Renyu studied his expression.

Suddenly, the man’s jaw tightened. He tried to bite down on something hidden between his teeth.

A moment passed.

Nothing happened. He tried again, grinding his teeth together. Still nothing.

A faint tremor passed through his body.

Why isn’t it working?

The poison capsule should have shattered instantly. It contained a toxin designed to kill within seconds.

Every assassin in the group had been given one. If captured, they were expected to end their own lives rather than risk revealing their employer.

Renhao noticed the man’s confusion and burst into laughter. "How amusing."

"As assassins, you really should research your targets first." He glanced at the assassin’s mouth.

"Even without searching, I could smell the rotten stench of poison."

The assassin’s expression stiffened. Only then did he understand.

The Salaze brothers were not ordinary cultivators. Even before the apocalypse, the three had been recognized as prodigies in pharmacology and medicine. Their younger sister, who had later been rumoured to have gone missing, was no less accomplished.

A poison capsule was hardly an impressive method against them.

Renjun looked toward the forest path. "Shen Haoran is becoming bolder."

"He has always been foolish," Renhao replied.

The assassin’s eyes flashed with shock.

The brothers had spoken the name casually, as though Shen Haoran were an ordinary acquaintance.

He was anything but ordinary.

Shen Haoran was the young master of the Shen Family, one of the three most influential families in Country S. The family controlled numerous territories, possessed vast resources, and employed many powerful cultivators.

It was at that moment the assassin finally understood how serious his situation was.

"You..." he stammered. "Even if you torture me, I won’t tell you anything."

Renhao’s smile widened.

"Who said anything about torture?"

The assassin’s expression changed.

Renhao crouched in front of him and pulled a small jade vial from his sleeve.

"We’re alchemists, not barbarians. If we wanted to hurt you, we wouldn’t need to resort to crude methods."

The assassin swallowed.

Renjun looked at the vial. "What is that?"

"A truth potion."

Renjun gave him a flat look. "You made that yesterday."

"And it worked yesterday."

"It made the merchant confess that he had been stealing dried herbs."

"He confessed, didn’t he?"

Renyu sighed. "The potion only made him excessively talkative."

"That’s still useful, besides am still experimenting on it."

The assassin’s face grew pale.

Renhao uncorked the vial.

A sharp herbal smell spread through the clearing.

"Don’t worry. It won’t kill you."

The assassin’s eyes shifted toward the forest.

Renyu noticed.

"You expected another group to come?"

The man said nothing.

Renjun’s green-and-crimson threads tightened slightly around the second assassin. "There are more people nearby."

The restrained assassin’s expression changed.

Renhao’s smile disappeared.

"How many?"

Neither man answered.

Renyu looked around the forest. The trees were still. The wind had stopped moving through the leaves.

That silence was unnatural.

"Renjun," he said.

"I know."

Renjun closed his eyes. Thin strands of Qi spread from his feet and disappeared into the soil.

A moment later, his expression changed.

"There are at least twelve people surrounding us."

Renhao stood and drew his sword.

"Twelve more?"

"Possibly more.

The forest is interfering with my perception."

Renyu looked at the captured assassins.

"If Shen Haoran sent this many people, he doesn’t want us reaching the next settlement."

Renhao glanced at the unconscious bodies scattered around them.

"Then he should have sent stronger ones."

A faint whistle sounded from the trees.

The captured assassin smiled.

Renyu’s gaze sharpened.

"Move away!"

The three brothers reacted at once.

Renyu grabbed the kneeling assassin and pulled him aside. Renhao kicked the second captive away from the tree. Renjun’s Qi threads tightened around both men.

The ground erupted.

BOOM!

Several black needles shot from beneath the leaves, piercing the places where the brothers had stood moments earlier.

Renhao swung his sword, deflecting two needles.

Renjun raised his hand. Green-and-crimson threads spread through the air, intercepting the remaining projectiles.

Renyu’s sword flashed.

A figure emerged from behind a tree, aiming a short blade at his back.

Renyu turned and blocked.

Clang!

The assassin twisted his wrist, attempting to slide beneath Renyu’s guard.

Renyu stepped back and struck the attacker’s wrist with the pommel of his sword. The assassin’s fingers loosened, and the blade dropped.

Renhao appeared behind him.

"Your turn."

His sword struck the assassin’s back, sending him crashing into the dirt.

At the same time, figures emerged from the surrounding trees.

They wore dark green clothing and carried short weapons coated in a faint black substance.

Renjun’s eyes narrowed.

"Poisoned weapons."

Renhao grinned. "Finally, something interesting."

"Don’t let them touch your skin," Renyu warned.

The assassins moved together, surrounding the brothers from every side.

Renyu held the center.

Renhao charged toward the left flank, his sword forcing two assassins backward with powerful strikes.

Renjun remained slightly behind them, his Qi threads spreading between the trees. Every time an assassin stepped into their range, the threads wrapped around their ankles or wrists, disrupting their movements.

The battle quickly turned against the hidden attackers.

Renyu cut down one opponent and deflected another’s blade.

Renhao broke through two assassins at once, sending one into a tree and forcing the other to abandon his weapon.

Renjun pulled three threads tight.

Three assassins were dragged from the branches above and slammed onto the ground.

Within a few breaths, the forest fell silent again.

Renhao wiped his blade and looked around.

"That was disappointing."

Renyu turned toward the captured assassins.

The first assassin was still kneeling. The second had been dragged back beside him.

Renyu crouched before the surviving assassins.

"Last chance. Who sent you?"

Neither man answered.

Renhao stepped closer, his sword resting against his shoulder. "You should answer. My elder brother is much more patient than I am, but I’m not."

The assassin glared at him.

Renjun suddenly looked toward the fallen weapons scattered across the clearing. He walked over and picked up one of the short blades using a strand of Qi.

A small silver emblem was engraved near the hilt.?