Book 9, Chapter 68
Breaking Tradition
Just what was it about Richard that the laws of Faust that even restricted the royal family couldn’t affect him? This wasn’t an impossible question, and those present quickly thought of the key difference. The Archerons occupied the first island of the third layer, and this island was impossible to seize by force. Richard simply possessed so much authority in Faust that even the fundamental laws of the city did not apply to him.
And the core of it all was sacrifices.
Even as the crowd started to realise many things, Richard scoffed at a crying Duke Turing and turned to leave. The Archerons followed in the footsteps of their master, while some of the powerhouses and nobles sighed softly. The Turing Family had been crushed in a matter of seconds; Richard hadn’t just destroyed their talisman, but killed off more than half of their talented youths. Even if he didn’t kill them all himself, this was a family that simply had no future.
Bloodshed was inevitable whenever traditions had to be broken, and there wasn’t a single epic being in Norland that hadn’t reached their level without bathing in the blood of their enemies. From the Sword Saint and Empress Gelan to Philip and Apeiron, it was a mountain of corpses that they climbed to their fame. Even the lazy Sharon was known as a god of death in the Far North, with every brick of the Deepblue needing the death of a grey dwarf, orc, or gnome. It was to the point that even when they wanted to advance, the Frozen Court chose to attack the Sacred Alliance instead of aiming at the nearby Floe Bay.
And now, there was Richard. While defeating Apeiron had convinced most of his detractors, this act of cold-blooded murder would ensure that those who still had designs on him sobered up. Anyone who wished to antagonise him from now would come in prepared for death.
Richard didn’t stay for long, returning to Faelor immediately after the ordeal. Every family in Faust received a letter after he left, stating that the missing thunder cannons were considered contraband and any use of them would be punished by the Archerons. There were no details about the punishment, but the severity of his wrath against the Turings was enough to show his determination.
Richard left two hundred night elves and thirty rune knights behind with Asiris, ordering him to root out Yaya Turing and kill him. A scan just before the destruction had shown no signs of Yaya in the castle, which meant the Turings had gotten him out on the assumption that they would be able to claim ignorance later. The Earl could either die with honour on the battlefield, or would have a bounty of two million on his head in a few days that would get him assassinated.
……
It was two days after Richard Archeron decimated the Turing Family for harbouring a conspirator against the Archerons. A group of people were currently struggling on a trek through a valley in the east of the Sacred Alliance, leading towards the Sacred Tree Empire.
The window of the sole carriage in the group suddenly opened up, a youth’s head popping out from within. Looking at the scenery outside the window before frowning at the sky, he asked impatiently, “How much longer?”
An old mage moved close one his horse, “We will exit the Sacred Alliance once we cross that mountain, my lord.”
“The mountain?” Weiss stared into the distance grimly, “Won’t we have to journey through midnight?”
“We have to leave quickly for your safety, my Lord. The bounty the Archerons have placed on you is enormous; there are many who would take the risks.”
“That damned Richard! I’ll uproot you and your family one day, don’t even think of living happily as long as I’m alive!”
The old mage sighed at this rage, but he didn’t speak further. Weiss hated the Archerons to the core, but still managed to retain his conceit even after being forced to flee through the night. The youth had actually refused ardently, only agreeing after a full day of effort. The mage hoped to find those in the Sacred Tree who had masterminded this whole thing, passing the responsibility off to them. When the time came, they would be the one dealing with the wrath of both Richard and Hasting.
“So this is where you were running. And here I was, wondering if I’d lost my prey,” an eerie voice suddenly rang through the forest.
All colour immediately drained from the old mage’s face. He shouted for the guards to defend as a tanned man walked out from the nearby woods, possessing a pair of amber eyes with vertical slits for pupils. His long, thick hair was tied into a braid, and he had two longswords on his back.
“Ghoul!” the old mage was stunned by the sight.
“Mm, it’s me. Do you still plan to resist? With just two saints and a grand mage?” the assassin scoffed.
“Is Nightblade not afraid of Master Hasting’s wrath? You should be aware of the consequences; the Hasting Family can pay you just as much as the Archerons would.”
“Just as much? As the Archerons? There aren’t many families on this continent who dare to say such things, don’t tell me you actually don’t know the price for this brat’s head.”
“Indeed, even I was shaken by the number,” a hoarse voice rang out nearby.
Ghoul frowned and jumped back, “Blood Axe! I was here first!”
A large shadow zoomed across the sky, landing right behind the fleeing caravan and blocking the escape. This new entrant was a bald man covered in a leather vest, with scars all over his exposed arms that indicated completely mangled skin.
Blood Axe laughed at Ghoul’s complaint, “If even you were tempted, how could I miss out?”
“Where did these bastards come from?” Weiss suddenly hissed from his carriage, “Chase them away and ask Uncle to put them in their places afterwards!”
For the first time, however, the old mage ignored the youth in agony. Ghoul and Blood Axe were the leaders of Nightblade and Blood Disaster, the third and fourth most powerful assassin organisations in Norland. They were known for being vicious and merciless, taking any dirty jobs offered to them if the pay was high enough. The two were both sky saints, and either one could wipe the entire guard team out without a trace.
Weiss finally seemed to understand something from the old man’s abnormal reaction, his own face slowly paling with fear. His hand gripping the windowsill started to tremble with anxiety.
The two assassins faced each other for a while before Ghoul spoke up, “The bounty is big enough to share. Why don’t we join hands? It’ll be easier to bring this brat back alive.”
Blood Axe scratched his bald head with his axe before nodding, “Alright, I agree.”
However, a cold voice suddenly interrupted them, “But I don’t.”
A woman in blue-grey armour suddenly appeared next to the mountain, her lower face hidden by a dark grey mask. One of her eyes was a sapphire blue, but the other was a pupilless grey that looked like a mass of fog.
Both Ghoul and Blood Axe were put off guard by the woman’s arrival, with the latter even taking a step back as he entered battle stance. His muscles were twitching all over, making his nervousness obvious.
“Calamity!” Even Ghoul reached for his swords as he jumped away.
“Cal...amity…” It was only now that the old mage recognised the woman as well, his heart stopping in shock. Calamity was a name that stood for two things— the most powerful assassin union in all of Norland, and the heterochromic woman who stood at its head. This was an assassin who had reached the legendary realm dozens of years ago, and her grey eye was rumoured to be capable of tracing energy flows that allowed her to see through all invisibility. She was the strongest assassin for hire in Norland, outclassing the competition so heavily that even Ghoul and Blood Axe wouldn’t be able to escape her if they joined hands.
Blood Axe laughed bitterly, “Forgive me, I didn’t expect you to be interested in this. I’m willing to give it up, can I leave?”
Calamity’s gaze swept across the two of them, “None of you are leaving.”
Ghoul’s expression turned grim as he brandished his swords, “Then I’ll just have to leave my mark on you.”
The legend scoffed, “Both of you came for the bounty?”
“Hmm? What else?” Blood Axe seemed a little confused, “It’s a huge sum of money; even if I get half of it, I can retire for a couple years.”
Ghoul nodded his head in agreement. Assassins could earn a lot, but it wasn’t always easy. High risks normally meant high rewards, so not all bounties couldn’t be accepted. There were, for example, a number of people who wanted to target the Archerons, but with Richard’s current standing only idiots would take on such a thing. News never got out because people like that tended to die before they got anywhere near the target. In fact, the Archerons were the highest paying clients whose bounty requests were actually accepted regularly.