Gazing at the empty hallway, the soldier felt utterly embarrassed and humiliated.
"Ugh, you retard! Stop scaring me for no reason! There's nothing here!" The stern-guard said with anger and relief in his voice, before instantly turning the jade stone off.
Meanwhile, Liam was behind the guard, imitating his movements like a mirror.
Although mental energy was used to hide one's presence, it largely depended on the mental strength of the cultivator himself. The skill didn't have any effect on those who were stronger than him in that aspect.
'I need to move fast. If the one controlling the array is aware of my presence, it won't be long before he alerts the others.'
The guard finally went back towards the stairs, completing the same old routine.
Another long hallway presented itself to Liam straight ahead.
The corridor was T-shaped, and led to two additional paths left and right.
Liam waited until the guard went downstairs, before his eyes shifted between the hallways. Silently, he started to run towards the right.
…
Inside a small but cozy room, faint smoke floated around a black robed, bug-eyed figure. He sat across a table, which projected a holographic map, filled with numerous green dots that represented people.
A curved, wooden pipe sat on his lips as he huffed and puffed out smoke.
His vigilant brown irises scanned the various dots as they moved around.
When he saw one of the dots vanish within the bathroom, his eyes narrowed to slits.
'What's that about?'
Upon a closer inspection, the dot was still visible, only it faded in and out at different locations.
Suddenly, the dot started to walk awfully close to one of the guards, represented by red dots.
The Monitor narrowed his eyes, before quickly grabbing his jade stone and calling the guard.
The jade's glow flickered on and off for a moment, before it became constant.
"Number 4, do you not see anything unusual?" The Monitor asked with squinted eyes and a bit of caution.
Something wasn't right.
"Uh... no? Why do you ask?"
The guard's response confused the Monitor deeply.
Someone was right behind him! How could he not see it?
"Carefully look behind yourself. There's someone tailing you!" He shouted with panic, spitting out his pipe and hastily taking out his jade stones to alert the other guards.
A momentary pause took over the call, before the guard's response came through.
"Ugh, you retard! Stop scaring me for no reason! There's nothing here!"
Thus, the jade turned off, stopping the Monitor in his tracks before he could alert the others.
Suddenly, the green dot popped up awfully close to the window sill of his room to the right, causing his eyes to widen in shock.
A cold, muffled voice rang out before the guard could turn his gaze towards it.
"You move, you die."
A cold sweat fell down the Monitor's forehead, and his hand subconsciously reached for the jade stones in his pocket.
Liam's eyes flickered with a dark light, before he swiped across the Monitor's neck.
The poor man's head slid across his shoulders, spurting blood across the room.
His body thudded on the holographic map, before the projection flickered off and lost its glow.
'Should've listened.'
The source of the array was the cultivator himself, and with him dead, Liam's focus instantly shifted to Vamar's location.
'I have a rough thirty minute window to kill him before they find out that their array is disabled and increase their protections around him.' Liam thought, before searching the cultivator's belongings and taking his space-ring, as well as making sure to hide the jade stones he had.
He hid the body as well, before carefully leaving the room and spreading his senses.
Liam had one specific location in mind, specifically where Vamar himself would be in.
'Two corridors to the right, one to the front. He'll be there.'
With that spot in mind, Liam began to move.
Instantly, he sensed more cultivators patrolling the hallways further up — which he couldn't go through without instigating a fight.
Spotting the window by the end of his corridor, he jumped out of it and perched on its ledge — the cold air stiffening his exposed skin.
The night was dark, and thick snow drizzled from above. Few stars could be seen from the dense gray clouds.
Right below him, there were guards patrolling the premise, who thankfully didn't care to look above.
Liam didn't take in the sight and began to jump between ledges, avoiding the window sills which had their lights on.
After traversing enough distance, Liam's gaze fixed on a window that exuded a cozy yellow light, which he leaped towards and silently peeked through.
Vamar was unsuspecting, pacing left and right in his study room with a Jade in his hand. As he spoke, his tone was filled with scorn and disappointment.
"You stupid fools! Because of your incompetence, the Royce family is crawling up my behind! Stop any current operations and go back into hiding. I'll have a talk with that maniac leader of yours, until then, don't you dare make a single move."
After he spoke those words, he threw the Jade on the ground and stomped on it, shattering it.
Liam's eyes flickered with a dark light as he pulled open the window.
The wind blew and howled, making the curtains flutter violently.
Vamar instantly turned his head to see where the noise came from, just for his vision to go dark with a sharp, but fleeting pain.
Vamar's neck separated from his body, making a 'thud' sound as it fell to the red-carpeted floor — brightened by the blood that stained it.
Staring at the gruesome scene, Liam shook his head.
He had learned multiple ways of assassination — most certainly cleaner and less painful than decapitation — but this method had been specifically requested from the guild.
A stern reminder for those who defy authority.