Chapter 469: The Most Unwelcome Welcome [Part 1]

"Interesting..." Leone looked at Hyacinthe’s status page with a smirk plastered on his face.

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[Amadeus Bathory (A.K.A. Hyacinthe)]

Race: Half-Elf

Unique Class: Arcane Virtuoso

Strength: 800

Agility: 2,400

Dexterity: 2,300

Vitality: 1,200

Intelligence: 3,300

Active Skills: Battle Hymn, Vicious Mockery, Discord of Madness, Coup de Grace, Stealth, Magic Missile

Passive Skills: Musical Mastery, Sword Mastery, Dagger Mastery, Throwing Mastery

Escape Artist, Art of Adaptation, Silver Tongue, Acrobat’s Physique, Parallel Thinking

Signature Move: Phantasmagoria

— Allows Hyacinthe to create elaborate, highly realistic illusions by manipulating the senses of his targets through Arcane Magic.

He can fabricate people, creatures, objects, sounds, and entire environments within a two-hundred-meter radius, making his illusions nearly indistinguishable from reality.

Hyacinthe can also use this ability on himself to disguise his appearance or impersonate other individuals.

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Note: An Arcane Virtuoso is a master of the performing arts who possesses the extraordinary ability to transform artistic expression into supernatural phenomena.

Through singing, music, dancing, acting, and storytelling, they can weave spells that influence the senses, manipulate emotions, and distort the perception of reality.

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Frankly, Leone was quite surprised to find out that "Hyacinthe" was actually a Half-Elf.

He failed to notice it earlier since the other party’s ears only looked a little pointier than a normal human’s ears.

’That explains why he is good-looking,’ Leone mused. ’And... he’s also quite powerful.’

His stats alone proved that he had similar strength to the members of the mercenary group, Lost Paradise.

In fact, the weakest member in the Orion Troupe was a Rank 4 Bard. Most of them were Rank 5, while Amadeus Bathory, also known as Hyacinthe, was a Rank 6 Arcane Virtuoso.

"His skillset makes him the perfect spy or assassin," Daedalus commented. "With that kind of ability, he can probably infiltrate the Aurelion Army and disguise himself as one of their soldiers."

Leone nodded in agreement. Now he understood why Hyacinthe was the leader of the Orion Troupe.

With his skill set, he could easily gather information, as well as infiltrate even the highly guarded residences of high-ranking nobles.

The Orion Troupe consisted of thirty people.

Ten of them were ladies, while the rest were men.

If Lost Paradise was a Mercenary Group composed of six people, then the Orion Troupe was a Special Forces Group that could double as an Assassination Squad depending on the situation.

"Great Grandpa sure sent me some very capable people." Leone sighed. "I should thank him the next time I see him."

"Indeed," Daedalus agreed. "They will be a fine addition to your Elite Unit."

Although their help was only temporary, having thirty powerful agents that also had the ability to buff the warriors of the different tribes was a godsend.

Several hours later, Hyacinthe secretly left his home and headed toward Grimjaw Mountain.

According to Oisin, the main stronghold of the Aslan Tribe wasn’t in the city, but within the cave located in the fortress in the mountain.

Although the bard told Hyacinthe not to do anything reckless and simply wait for Leone to invite him to the Aslan Tribe’s stronghold, his curiosity got the better of him.

Using the darkness of the night as cover, the Half-Elf stealthily made his way up the mountain.

Thanks to his Dark Vision, he noticed some squirrels looking in his direction while snacking on nuts and berries.

There was even a squirrel perched on top of the roof that Hyacinthe had landed on, but he didn’t pay too much attention to them.

Although he felt a little unnerved, oddly feeling like these squirrels were different from the usual animals he was familiar with, there was no reason for him to hurt these creatures.

*Squeak*

*Squeak*

*Squeak*

*Squeak*

*Squeak*

The squirrels started to squeak, passing a message to their brethren all across Aslan City.

High above the fortress, Blitz yawned and opened its eyes.

It did a little stretch like a cat before glancing at the foot of the mountain.

A moment later, a *Squeak* escaped its lips.

Within the safety of his home, Leone slowly raised his head and looked in the direction where the entrance of the cave was located.

"It seems that a rather curious guest has decided to pay us a night visit," Daedalus said with amusement.

"Let him be," Leone replied. "As long as he doesn’t harm anyone, I will allow him to explore as much as he wants. However, please seal the paths leading to the Hidden Valley and Soleil City.

"Understood." Daedalus immediately went to work.

Since the entire mountain was part of Leone’s territory, it was very easy for Daedalus to make some modifications.

Soon, walls were made to hide the paths that led to both the Hidden Valley and the City of Soleil.

Leone also passed a telepathic message to his vassals to inform the guards guarding the interior of the underground tunnels that they were expecting a guest.

They were told to act as if they weren’t aware that an intruder was about to infiltrate their territory.

However, Leone also ordered them that they were free to capture anyone who looked suspicious, including people who belonged to their side.

Hyacinthe had the ability to change his face, so it was highly possible that he would use one of the guards as a fake persona to enter the underground tunnels to continue his investigation.

Truth be told, Leone was very curious to find out if Hyacinthe could really get to his house.

If the leader of the Orion Troupe proved to be a true master in his craft, then the young chieftain would find a way to maximize Hyacinthe’s potential.

Unfortunately for Leone, Hyacinthe couldn’t become his vassal.

The Half-Elf had already pledged his loyalty to Lugh, so he didn’t meet the requirement to become Leone’s vassal.

The young man wasn’t aware that he, Daedalus, and Blitz weren’t the only ones who were paying attention to the leader of the Orion Troupe.

High above at the peak of the mountain, Astravor and Boris had already locked onto the Half-Elf’s body.

Both were holding a stone in their claws.

Boris looked exceptionally excited. Influenced by Astravor, he had long grown fond of throwing stones from high places.

A moment later, Blitz also arrived at the peak of the mountain, casually picking a stone from the pile Boris had gathered during his free time.

The three then waited for Hyacinthe to climb over the ramparts before giving him a friendly greeting.

All three were unaware that they were about to get in the way of Leone’s plans, who wanted to see if Hyacinthe could infiltrate the fortress without sounding the alarm.