ALL NOVEL chapter 21
Chapter 21, Shadows in the Depths
“It seems you’ve run into trouble.”
The maid suddenly felt a chill.
A chill that penetrated to the bone.
She stiffly raised her head and looked ahead.
Cecilia was embracing the unconscious Mun, surrounded by howling wind and snow.
Killing intent surged from Cecilia like water bursting from a dam.
“Do you need me to help you deal with your trouble?”
Cecilia raised her hand, her gaze as cold as iron.
“Deal with—this trouble of yours.”
The maid’s eyes widened suddenly.
Without the flames of the Withering King, that terrifying chill instantly invaded her flesh.
Pure white frost, beginning with the dagger, gradually spread towards her body, and within a few breaths, it had already frozen her entire arm.
“Damn it.”
The maid’s face suddenly twisted into a grimace.
At this moment, she understood that under Mun Campbell’s desperate defense, her assassination mission had already failed.
Although the sudden disappearance of that flame troubled her somewhat, now was not the time to think about such things.
This place is not safe!
She gritted her teeth and used her only movable left hand to crush her frozen right hand directly!
At the same time, a ball the size of an egg fell from her feet and then exploded instantly.
A white smoke that could obscure perception and sight enveloped the room in an instant.
Celia’s gaze sharpened as the wind and snow raged, quickly dispersing the smoke, but the figure of the maid had already vanished from the room.
“Has she escaped?”
Celia looked toward the shattered window, a glimmer of mockery suddenly flashing in her eyes.
“No, she can’t escape.”
“Do you think this is anyone else’s territory?”
……
“Damn you, Mun Campbell!”
The maid… no, she should be referred to as the assassin known as Number Eight, was clutching her severed arm with one hand, desperately fleeing along the shadows of the mansion’s corners.
“Just a little more…”
“If I had known, I should have killed him first, even if he wasn’t the target!”
Number Eight was filled with resentment.
An almost perfect operation had been ruined by the sudden interference of some insignificant ant, leaving anyone feeling furious.
But fortunately… it wasn’t over yet.
Number Eight lowered her gaze, listening to the sound of blood dripping onto the ground, feeling the excruciating pain from her mutilated body. At this moment, she surprisingly felt a twinge of relief.
That’s right, relief.
“Ever since Number Nine died, have I started to fear death myself?”
Number Eight chuckled self-deprecatingly.
But she quickly reined in these emotions that shouldn’t have surfaced, refocusing her attention on the escape that was still ongoing.
……
……
“I just heard someone say something about my precious son?”
Number Eight’s fleeing steps suddenly halted.
She had to stop because someone was standing right in front of her.
A man with the majesty of a lion.
“King of Lions, Ronan Campbell?”
Number Eight’s face turned ashen in an instant.
“Oh? I didn’t expect this guest to remember my insignificant name.”
Ronan Campbell reeked of strong alcohol; he had just returned from that “battlefield” surrounded by greedy hyenas, still holding a delicate goblet in his hand.
Yet, even dressed in the exquisite finery of nobility, he could not hide the terrifying malice radiating from him.
That was a malice forged only from stepping out of a true mountain of corpses and a sea of blood!
“However, this guest, I remember that the Campbell family did not invite you. So why have you come uninvited?”
Longen Campbell still smiled gently, but his gaze was unusually cold, as if he were looking at a corpse.
“Do tell me, especially about what you intend to do to my precious son.
I will definitely… listen! Attentively!”
……
On the other side of the duke’s residence, another figure dressed as a maid was also fleeing at high speed.
She was the other assassin, Number Six, who had sensed something was wrong and made her escape a step ahead.
“So this is the ‘Lion King’? Truly terrifying. I’m glad I chose a different direction.”
Glancing at the terrifying aura blooming in the distance, a hint of fear flickered in her eyes.
“Sorry, Number Eight, but I can only let you serve as bait for now. I can’t afford to die yet.”
“O great withering king above, may your soul return to the red earth.”
After a brief prayer for Number Eight in her heart, Number Six suppressed the emptiness within her and continued to flee towards the outside of the duke’s residence as fast as she could.
……
“How strange, as a professional assassin, shouldn’t one commit seppuku after a failed mission?”
Number Six’s pupils constricted suddenly.
Her fleeing steps came to an abrupt halt, and then, like a fish in water, her form abruptly twisted in mid-air, evading the sharp cold shadow that struck from an extremely tricky angle.
“Who goes there?”
Ignoring the burning pain left by the cold shadow on her cheek, Number Six fixed her gaze on the shadow not far away.
“Who goes there? Heh, just an inconsequential ordinary maid.”
A girl in a black-and-white dress stepped out from the shadows, illuminated by a sudden flash of lightning that split the sky, revealing An’s composed profile.
“A maid?”
Number Six, also dressed as a maid, chuckled mockingly: “I’ve never seen such a terrifying maid.”
She lightly traced her finger across her cheek, then brought it to her mouth to suck on it. Soon, the strong metallic taste of rust filled her entire mouth.
That last strike had nearly severed her head, even though she had reacted in time.
The opponent’s strength was definitely not low!
But strangely… she felt no aura emanating from the other party.
As if she were just an ordinary person.
“There are many people in the world you haven’t seen, just as I have never encountered such useless assassins as you.” An’s tone was laced with deep regret.
“I had released such important information, yet what I didn’t expect was that it would be you worthless fools who showed up.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
A chill unconsciously rose within Number Six.
“What do you mean?”
An suddenly widened her beautiful eyes, her dignified face appearing somewhat grotesque at that moment:
“You actually don’t know what you mean? Don’t you realize how useless you are?”
“This has nothing to do with you, does it? Aren’t you a maid of the duke’s residence?”
“Heh heh, a maid, of course I’m a maid, but you all… you are truly… too disappointing.”
An suddenly wrapped her arms around herself, lowering her head to let out a pained groan, as if enduring some intense torment.
“It was so close, so close. That b*tch Celicia, who got close to Young Master Mu’en, could have left this world forever.”
In Number Six’s terrified gaze, An gradually shed that seemingly eternally dignified facade, breathing heavily, then grinning… in a sinister and enchanting manner.
“But you actually failed?”
“Failing is one thing, but you even managed to hurt Young Master Mu’en.”
“How… how could you hurt him? In this world, the only one who can hurt him—is me!”
Boom!
The sound of thunder drowned out An’s horrifying roar.
“Ah, no.”
An placed her hands on her face, slowly wiping downwards.
Her enchanting and grotesque expression was gradually smoothed out.
She once again became dignified and elegant.
“As Young Master Mu’en’s personal maid, how could I be so impolite?”
An lowered her hands again, palms overlapping on her abdomen, respectfully bowing to the trembling Number Six before her.
“Then, let me escort you, esteemed guest.”
Behind An, countless delicate little knives, as thin as cicada wings, slowly floated up, their tips aimed at Number Six, each glinting with a sharp cold light.