The leader of the assassin could not believe his eyes. Zenia caught the weapon with ease and she did not seem to have encountered any trouble doing it. The old man's admiration for Zenia went up another notch. He knew that Zenia was a remarkable woman based on the things that his grandson had told him. But, he never thought that she could be better than that.
"Sir, what do you want me to do with this?" Zenia asked as if the weapon she was holding was nothing but a light, simple tool.
The old man knew how heavy the weapon was, and yet Zenia had the audacity to swing it as she played with it. The leader was lost for words. He should stop judging the book by its cover.
"Ha-ha-ha! Young man, just show me what you can do with that weapon."
Zenia looked at the weapon in her hand. It was the first time that she saw such a weapon. It was heavier than most weapons in Ishelon, but the craftsmanship was truly amazing. The weapon had the correct balance despite being heavy. In fact, making it lighter would disrupt the balance.
She swayed and twirled it using one hand, and then the other. She even rolled it smoothly on her back and caught it with one hand, and then raised it up over her head. The leader of the assassin and the old men were enjoying a good show. She was just warming up and testing the weight of the weapon. When she had a good grasp of the weapon, she took her position in the center of the room.
"I'm ready." She announced with confidence.
The two men looked at each other as if to say, 'It hasn't begun yet?'
Zenia thrust the weapon forward and retracted it in one swift motion. Her moves resembled that of a dancer, and her lithe body seemed to follow a rhythm. In truth, she was following the beating of her own heart. Her excitement could be seen in the way she moved. The weapon was obviously heavy, but she carried it as if she was holding a sword. She lifted it over her head and swirled it for a number of times before she thrust it forward once more.
The leader was satisfied with what he was seeing. He went to the side and chose another long weapon. He smiled to himself. 'Let's see what you got.'
The man quickly jumped in front of Zenia and attacked her. Zenia was surprised, but she did not lose her composure. She recovered quickly and took a defensive stance. The man smiled once more.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of the clashing weapons reverberated in the air, breaking the silence of the night. Both fighters refused to yield. The old man was enjoying himself as he watched the evenly matched figures fight with each other.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sweat began to form on Zenia's forehead as she tried her best to hold on. She wanted to use her secret technique, but she might get exposed that way. The man's face was no better. The sweat on his eyebrows began to fall, but he was smiling.
It had been years since he fought that hard. He never thought he would encounter another exceptional man in his lifetime. If the young man would agree, he would turn him into his right-hand man.
The fight continued until they could no longer stand straight from exhaustion. The leader dropped his weapon on the ground to signal the end.
"Ha-ha-ha! I've never fought that way in ages. You are good, young man. Welcome to the family." The burly man declared and gave Zenia a tight hug as he patted her back.
The old man was dumbfounded. He never expected the burly man to do such a thing. He just hoped that a certain Crown Prince wouldn't know what happened.
Zenia cough and the burly man released her at last. She patted her chest as she tried to catch her breath.
"Thank you, sir. I will do my best to be of service to you."
"Why did you want to be an assassin?"
"I heard that the pay is good, and I'm currently in need of money so I can return to Venetia." Zenia lied with a straight face.
The old man shook his head when he saw it.
"So, you're from Venetia? My mother is from Venetia!" The leader declared proudly as if he could see Venetia in front of him.
"Yes, sir. I am just a traveler and now I want to go back home. But, I just realized that I have no more money left on me to go back."
"Why not stay here?"
"I can't! I still need to marry my woman back home. I just took this one last time to explore the world while I'm still free. I won't be able to do this again once I'm married."
The man nodded in agreement. "I heard from my mother that most women of Venetia are fierce, including my mother, ha-ha-ha."
Zenia noticed that the burly leader was always laughing hard. 'Is there something wrong in his head?'
The old man looked at Zenia and knew then what she was thinking – it was written all over her face.
Zenia and the burly man talked about the things in Venetia. Zenia knew Venetia like the back of her hand. She had always traveled there with her father, and sometimes with Zander, in the past. It was obvious that the man stayed in Venetia for a long time. His family must have transferred to Tissuria when he was still young.
"My lord, it's getting late now and this young man came from a place far away from here. He is exhausted now." The old man reminded the leader.
The leader nodded. "Young man, meet me here tomorrow to discuss your group. There are eight groups all in all. We are not sure about the road they will take going to Tissuria, so we need to have a group assigned on every possible route."
"I understand, boss. I will be here tomorrow."
Zenia and the old man left the burly leader. From the hidden room, a figure emerged.
"What do you think?" It was the burly leader who first.
"He has lots of potentials. There's no doubt he is from Venetia. I think he is a son of nobility." The man with a black mask informed the burly man.
The leader frowned. He was certain that the young man he fought earlier did not belong to any nobility in Venetia. The noble families, including the Royal Family of Venetia, had lots of guards and retainers to protect them. They did nothing most of their lives, but to study and study even more.
The people of Venetia were loyal and principled. They would not betray the masters that they served.
"He's a good fighter, how can he be a noble?" The burly man was confused at the masked man's remark.
"He has an aura of a noble. It is possible that one of the noble families began training their offspring according to the ways of the sword and close-combat fighting."
"Can we trust him?"
"We can, for now. I still need to test his loyalty."
"But, he's from Venetia! He is loyal," defended the burly leader.
"Let's see." The masked man retreated and went to the hidden room once more.