In the darkness, Mary silently advanced.
As a gold medal assassin of Snake Shadow, Mary had executed numerous tasks, even claiming the lives of high-level Knights under her command. Therefore, she did not take this assassination mission too seriously.
"The only one to be concerned about is Steelheart Knight Conrad!"
Mary gazed at the castle in front of her, muttering, "I really don't know what this guy is thinking. He was clearly defeated by Night Raven Knight before."
"Now, he has become the Guardian of Night Raven City."
Saying this, Mary shook her head and muttered to herself, "Originally, I planned to poison the target, but after waiting for so many days, there was no opportunity at all."
"What a waste of my time!"
"If it weren't for Steelheart Knight interfering, I would have tortured you well before killing you!"
Silently reaching the edge of the castle like a shadow, Mary looked up and saw an open window on the second floor.
"It seems luck is on my side!"
A hint of coldness flashed in Mary's eyes. She suddenly threw a grappling hook upwards and swiftly climbed like a Starscream, infiltrating the room.
Upon entering the room, Mary saw a young man sitting not far away.
Her heart sank, and a vigilant expression appeared on her face.
"Don't worry, there's no one else here but me."
Sauron's face remained calm as he spoke softly, "You are the assassin from Snake Shadow, right? Tell me, who sent you to kill me?"
Mary's eyes flickered slightly.
With the perception ability of a high-level Knight, she sensed that there was indeed no other presence in the room besides Sauron.
Immediately, a cold smile appeared on Mary's face.
The next moment, without any nonsense, she drew the curved blades from behind and rushed forward, emitting a red mist-like aura.
"Alright!"
Sauron shrugged. At the moment Mary attacked, he also drew his cross-shaped sword.
Clang!
The friction between the blades produced a sharp sound.
"High-level Knight?"
Mary's complexion changed, and a look of shock flashed in her eyes. She didn't expect that the young man before her, who was not even twenty years old, already possessed the realm of a high-level Knight.
"What a monster!"
Mary took a step back, looking at Sauron, who remained calm. She couldn't help but feel a tingling sensation in her scalp.
But soon, she calmed down.
What if he was a high-level Knight? She had killed high-level Knights before, and moreover, this young man seemed to have little time to advance to a high-level Knight, given his young age.
Immediately, Mary swung her hand.
Whoosh!
A dagger shot out. Sauron narrowed his eyes, shifted his body slightly to evade the dagger, and simultaneously thrust his cross-shaped sword.
Chi!
Like lightning, the sword pierced Mary's shoulder. Her complexion changed, and she tried to swing her curved blades to force Sauron back.
However, Sauron wouldn't give her another chance.
Bang!
His fist struck the abdomen of the female assassin. Sauron withdrew the cross-shaped sword and pressed it against her neck while lifting his foot to step on the wound.
"Last chance."
Sauron's expression was indifferent as he said coldly, "Tell me who sent you, and maybe I'll consider sparing your life."
"Heh!"
A cold smile appeared on Mary's face as she faintly said, "I never expected that I, Mary, the Red Poisonous Snake, who has killed countless people, would fall into the hands of a little devil!"
With that, Mary bit open a poison capsule in her mouth.
Sauron slightly frowned. Before he could speak again, the female assassin's face had turned gray, and her body gradually stiffened.
"Dead?" Sauron's eyes showed a hint of surprise.
Tread, tread, tread!
At this moment, the sound of footsteps approached. Kylo Knight and Conrad, along with others, quickly arrived on the second floor. Seeing the female assassin on the ground, they were all shocked.
"What's going on?" Kylo Knight exclaimed.
"Snake Shadow's assassin?"
Conrad slightly frowned, approached the corpse of the female assassin, and tore off a human skin mask from her face.
Revealed underneath was an ordinary-looking woman.
"Red Poisonous Snake, Mary!"
Conrad's eyes showed a trace of seriousness as he recognized the Snake Shadow's gold medal assassin, known as the Red Poisonous Snake, Mary.
"Did you kill her!?" Suddenly, Conrad seemed to realize something and turned his head towards Sauron.
"Are Snake Shadow's assassins always this fierce?"
Sauron slightly frowned, shaking his head, "I originally wanted to extract some valuable information from her, but unexpectedly, she didn't give me any chance."
Sauron's face showed a helpless expression.
"Snake Shadow's assassins have always been like this."
Conrad's face had a complex expression as he said, "If the mission fails, even if they manage to escape alive, they will inevitably be relentlessly pursued by the organization."
"Therefore, death is the only choice."
"I didn't expect you to have the ability to kill Red Poisonous Snake Mary!"
Conrad looked at Sauron, and a glint of admiration flashed in his eyes.
"Take the body away."
Sauron shook his head, instructing Kylo Knight to drag away the female assassin's body.
Then, only Conrad and Sauron were left in the room.
"Have you already advanced to a high-level Knight?"
After a while, Conrad spoke, his voice carrying a hint of hoarseness.
Sauron nodded, not denying it.
After receiving confirmation, Conrad sucked in a breath of cold air, and his expression became particularly strange.
"It seems... your innate talent is even more terrifying than that of Night Raven Knight!"
After a good while, Conrad sighed.
Although his face had returned to calmness, the emotions in his heart were difficult to suppress.
You should know that even in the entire Taal dukedom's history, high-level Knights under thirty years old were extremely rare. Each of them, as long as they didn't fall midway, could become a powerhouse.
"Hestoria, Your Highness, it seems that your investment this time was very correct!"
Conrad sighed.
"Are Snake Shadow's assassins all high-level Knights?" At this moment, Sauron asked.
"Not exactly."
Conrad shook his head, saying, "Snake Shadow's assassins are divided into bronze-level assassins, silver-level assassins, and gold-level assassins."
"These three levels correspond to primary level Knights, intermediate level Knights, and high-level Knights. The cost of hiring assassins of different levels is also different."
A pensive look appeared on Sauron's face.
"Besides these three levels of assassins, from what I know, Snake Shadow also has some higher-level assassins, but they are usually not used."
"Now, you don't need to worry anymore."
"According to Snake Shadow's rules, since you have blocked an assassination once, you will not be the target of Snake Shadow in the future!"
Upon hearing Conrad's words, Sauron slightly nodded.
He had heard about Snake Shadow's rules before but didn't understand why an assassin organization would have such strange rules.