Even before Marcius had to make a move, the dagger was forcibly stopped.
A couple of black robes rushed in. The weapon was taken and the assassin was captured easily.
It happened in a matter of seconds. And, Marcius was taken back to the time where the shadow guards apprehended the elder from Sergia clan, who was aiming his attack at him.
This time, it was also the shadow guards. The person who stopped the assassin's dagger was Ser John, who was the leader of the group protecting Marcius.
Marcius was told that his grandfather, the clan head, formed the shadow guards especially to counter Sergia clan's infamous assassin cultivators.
It only made sense to counter against your enemy's strongest assets. And the Sergia clan was very famous for its ability to assassinate high profile targets, while leaving no evidences behind. They often sold their services for the highest bidders. And they were also extremely wealthy because of it.
After the shadow guards finished restraining the assassin, one of the black robes pulled off the mask covering Marcius's wannabe killer's face.
After seeing the face of his would-be-killer, Marcius was surprised for a second.
"Who sends you? Is it the Sergia clan?"
Ser John asked in a menacing whisper. He was trying to intimidate the criminal into admitting the truth.
The man refused to answer, watching his captors with a hateful sneer.
"Answer when leader asks you a question, bastard."
One of the shadow guards kicked him across the face, to force him to answer.
"No. that won't be necessary." Marcius cut in.
"I don't know who sends him. But he is not from Sergia clan."
The guards showed surprise expressions while they heard Marcius's words.
But Marcius paid them no mind. He was watching the now-frowning face of the assassin, with calculating eyes.
"His name is Adrian Sulla. The bastard son of Sulla family. And one of the few geniuses within the city."
A flash of terror ran across the assassin's face. It was so fast that if you weren't paying attention, you would miss it.
But Marcius was paying attention.
"You are very famous for taking large amounts of money and doing many dirty works for that money. You are also exceptionally skilled in assassination. Tell me. Who sends you?"
"No one." The assassin gritted out.
"A mercenary's loyalty. Admirable." Marcius muttered.
"Well, gentlemen. An interesting tidbit about Adrian. He has a little sister. She is sick. And that is why Adrian is trying to make money. To cure her illness, because Sulla family won't spend their resources on impure bastards."
At the mention of his sister, the assassin started trying to get out of his restraints. He had a furious look on his face.
"You animal! Do not bring my sister into this! I will kill you! I will kill you if you touch her!"
Due to Adrian's shouts, some of the people in the settlement woke up and rushed into the tent. Those who woke up were Ser Janus, Leon and most of the 23 cultivators. It was because they had exceptional hearing, due to their higher cultivation.
"Oh no, no. you got it all wrong. I wasn't threatening your sister. I have lines I will never cross. I also have a little sister too." Marcius corrected him.
"What I am telling you is to think about your sister. If you do not give me the name of the person who hired you, I'm going to kill you right here, right now. Then, can you imagine what will happen to your sister? The Sulla family won't even bat an eye for your death. They will also not help your sister. Think about it, huh?"
After Marcius finished speaking, there was silent in the tent.
After a while, Adrian spat out a name.
"Arius Sergia."
"Oh. It was that little shit. I knew he wouldn't sit back and take the humiliation." Marcius muttered.
"Well, no matter. Ser John, we have the name. Take the criminal into prison. Toros will take you to a strong holding cell."
Both Toros and Ser John saluted and rushed to obey Marcius's orders.
But before Adrian was taken out of the tent, Marcius called after him.
"Oh, and Adrain? I think we should have chat after you have calmed down. I also want to hire your services. Afterall, no one will ever hire you after you breaking the client confidentiality. Might as well work for me, right? Who knows, maybe I will even be able to cure your little sister."
Marcius was throwing a bone to Adrian. He really wanted Adrian in his army. He was a powerful asset. And he would become even more powerful in the future.
In the novel, Adrian was one of the protagonist's subordinates. And he was one of a few who had decent morals and a working brain. Also, he was a top-notch assassin, due to his powerful techniques.
After the guards dragged out the assassin, Marcius knew he won't be able to fall back asleep again.
So, after dismissing everyone, he planned to check his bounty rewards from the system.
"What a messy night."
*** *** ***
Author Notes
Hello! MidnightMK here!
Starting from today, I will be updating in shorter chapters. But don't worry, I will update two chapters a day.
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