The black gun in Jacob's hands continued firing through the smog; two bullets traced an arc as they headed for the foggy figure of the assassin.
The bullets landed on their target, but instead of a human cry, a metallic clink rang out—two bullets phased through the opponent's body and collided, creating a spark in the air. This meant that the figure was not the assassin's real body but merely an illusion. The figure appeared foggy because the assassin was still not a Moon level Apostle, if they were, the illusion would have looked no different from a normal individual. Even if the illusion could do no real damage, when combined with the opponent's invisibility power, it was still a real threat on the battlefield!
"Be on your guard!"
Jacob, who knew something was wrong, yelled out in caution. As he did so, the real assassin appeared before Ye Qi, and the black dagger went straight for his chest.
So the target is still me?
Ye Qi looked at the dagger with a trace of playfulness in his eyes—obviously the young Demon Hunter had been this assassin's target all along. This made Ye Qi curious; just what kind of organization or what had the Dirk family actually offered to make this assassin risk their life to assault him?
"Ye, careful!"
Ye Qi's "carelessness" made his friends called out. Tatum, the fastest among them, had immediately rushed forward, and A Wa had trained his throwing knife at the enemy, but neither of them were faster than the dagger.
"Ye!"
Alice wailed, watching the dagger head towards Ye Qi's heart. The knight's sword in her hand was raised upwards, and it went flying at the assassin. Darien roared mightily, his muscles bulged, and the ground underneath him started to tremble. His already large size continued to expand until he was the size of Titan.
Their desperation didn't slow down the assassin's assault. If anything, there was a sadistic joy in their eyes, as if the assassin enjoyed the despair in the cries of Ye Qi's friends.
At the last moment, Agni's sheath came up to block the dagger's trajectory, stopping the sudden strike right in its tracks. Ye Qi stared at his opponent that was right before him, and a chilling glow lit up his eyes. "You seem to enjoy my friends' distress, don't you?"
His opponent didn't answer but leap a step back and prepared to disappear once more. Of course, Ye Qi wouldn't let that happen—the only reason Ye Qi waited until so late to strike was to prevent the assassin from slipping away!
That's far enough!
After gauging the distance between them, with his left hand on Agni's sheath and his right on its hilt, Ye Qi bent down slightly.
"Demonic Fire Slash!"
The moment Agni left its sheath, a purple blade glint in the shape of a half-moon crossed the distance between Ye Qi and the assassin instantly.
With nothing between them, Agni split the assassin right at their waist. The shock was frozen on the assassin's face as the top half of their body separated from its counterpart and landed in the assassin's own pool of blood.
"That's an impressive blade!" Just as his friends surrounded him to check on any possible wounds, Jacob walked over and asked, "What's its name?"
"Agni!" Ye Qi answered truthfully, then he nodded at the guns in Jacob's hands and returned the same question. "What about them?"
"Sandalwood and Ivory!" Jacob looked at the guns in his possession with overt gentleness like they were his families or friends. Then in his unique gravelly voice, he continued, "Clean up the mess and we will go wrap this mission up!"
Ye Qi nodded. Staring at Jacob, he said, "I hope sir will be a man of his words!"
"Of course!" Jacob responded immediately. "Betrayal will never be forgiven! Even if the source is the Dirk family!"
On the way back, Tatum walked to Ye Qi's side and whispered, "Nothing good ever comes out of the Dirk family; we should make use of this opportunity to wipe them all out!"
The young Demon Hunter, who knew of the history between the lanky fella and the Dirk family, listened on with a smile. "People from Autumn Forest will be overjoyed when they hear the news that the entire Dirk family was wiped out mysteriously in the middle of the night!"
Ye Qi realized the Cavalry Captain's hand on the hilt of her sword tightened when Tatum said that…
"There's no shame in dying on the battlefield," Ye Qi added softly, when he noticed Alice toss her gaze his way, the young Demon Hunter walked purposely close to the Cavalry Captain. "By the way, Alice, did you scream just now because you were worried about me?"
"Of course not!" Alice took several flustered steps back to avoid the encroaching young Demon Hunter. "That was because I was concerned about you as a friend!"
"Is that so?" Ye Qi leaned in and whispered into the Cavalry Captain's ears, "Have you noticed you always looks to your bottom right hand side whenever you lie?"
Feeling Ye Qi's breath on her skin, Alice's face burned immediately. She squirmed another few steps away before running ahead to walk beside Jacob, who was at the front of the group. Instantly, Ye Qi's friends laughed, and the young Demon Hunter himself shrugged with ease.
When they returned to Summer Crinkle, a guard at headquarters rushed over and yelled, "Mr. Jacob, something happened. Mr. Noah requested you go to Dirk Mansion as soon as possible."
Jacob then rushed through the town, and along the way, Ye Qi saw at least fifty knights patrolling the streets, and two small group of ten Registered Demon Hunters each. When they crossed path, the leading knight nodded at Jacob, and the knights behind him got down from their horses and gave them to Jacob's group.
Even though the horse was not as fast as Gelding, it was good enough. With Jacob leading the way, the group headed to the countryside. After a short gallop, they finally reached the Dirk Mansion which Ye Qi had already seen when he’d followed the carriage a few days earlier.
Before they neared the mansion, a heavy wave of chilling negative energy swept through the group, causing everyone to shiver involuntarily…