The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 296

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 296
Chapter 296
The Assassins.
This was no ordinary assassination guild.
The Assassins—a collective that could be called the very origin of assassins themselves.
The Assassins of the Desert were the primordial assassination order, the foundation upon which all others were built.
Of course, this was merely ancient history.
As time wore on, the Assassins’ reputation had faded and their power waned, yet they remained a sinister assassination collective that made the Desert’s tribes tremble.
However.
‘How dare an outsider provoke us so openly.’
This assassination target.
The outsider who had come as the representative of the Sandclaw Tribe had provoked the Assassins’ irritation with his reaction.
It was unsettling enough that he’d noticed the surveillance, but to deliberately seek them out in a desolate Alley—such audacity.
Yet it mattered not.
‘Let me finish this task quickly, then target the Alliance Leader.’
This assassination target was merely the beginning.
After eliminating him, the Assassins would coerce the Tribe Chiefs and eliminate the Alliance Leader as well.
Then they would install a puppet as the new Alliance Leader, becoming the shadowy power broker controlling the Desert from behind the scenes.
“Let me show you the terror of the Desert!”
Whoosh!
The Assassins began their charge.
Their stealth was so masterful that despite running directly before his eyes, their presence seemed to blur and fade.
The assassination target raised his hand in response.
– Using 5-Circle Lightning Magic ‘Lightning Field’.
Crackle!
An electrical field formed around him.
However.
“Did you truly think we came without investigating our target?”
The Assassins suffered no damage whatsoever.
Rather than being paralyzed by the electricity, they continued their advance unharmed toward their target.
It was only natural.
Through the tournament, the assassins had learned that Mir was a powerful Sage.
They also knew that among his techniques, he favored using Lightning Magic first to paralyze his enemies.
It seemed the target was preparing a second spell.
“It’s over.”
Swift!
One Assassin rode my shadow and emerged behind me.
Then came the gleaming scimitar of the Assassin.
Before I could even cast my second spell, they had closed the distance with overwhelming speed and positioned themselves at my back.
Truly, the speed and stealth worthy of the name Assassin.
It’s over now.
With this close approach, a mage would be nothing more than a scarecrow.
The Assassins who had faced countless shamans in the Desert were well accustomed to this.
But then.
Clang!
“Huh?”
The attack was blocked.
How?
Did they deploy a shield spell?
No, that couldn’t be.
The moment I learned the assassination target was a mage, I had already drawn a scimitar called the ‘Spell Breaker’.
The scimitar I just swung was also a Spell Breaker.
It was a weapon that could easily tear through any hastily cast shield spell from a mage.
So how was such an attack blocked?
As the Assassin snapped to attention and concentrated to assess the situation, what became visible was.
“When did you ever think I was a mage?”
Scrape!
“Gaaaahhh!”
A sharp blade slash came hurtling toward them.
* * *
The moment Lightning Field proved ineffective.
I could tell those Assassins had prepared thoroughly.
They had clearly observed me since the tournament, analyzed my tendencies, and come prepared with countermeasures to assassinate me.
The high-resistance electrical boots they were wearing were proof of that.
It was unfortunate that Lightning Field didn’t work, but that didn’t mean I’d lost my advantage.
‘If they analyzed me through the tournament, then they must be thinking of me as a mage.’
I could tell just by looking at the Assassins’ attire.
They had covered their entire bodies with cloaks, veils, and turbans.
But through my vision enhanced by Dark Eye, I could see.
That every piece of armor they wore and every weapon they carried was equipment designed specifically to counter a mage.
And from the start, I was.
[ Cannibal Blade, Ipetam ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Form : Sword
Grade : Epic
Restriction : Level 400 or higher, Swordmastery Lv 40 or higher
Description : A legendary ‘man-eating sword’ passed down among the natives of an island nation.
Not a mage at all.
Scrape!
“Gaaaahhh!”
The Assassin, caught off guard by an unexpected sword strike, collapsed with severe injuries.
Carnivorous Blade, Iphetam.
It was the sword I had used back when I faced the pirates.
At that time, it was a weapon beyond my level, so it had entered a deactivated state after use.
Now that my level had surpassed the weapon’s tier, not only was the deactivation lifted, but its performance had been enhanced through my strengthened Hierarchy Assimilation.
Above all, when facing humanoid enemies like these, there was no weapon more reliable than Iphetam.
“How is a Sage doing this…!”
Though my attack had been blocked, they still seemed to regard me as a Sage.
Well, it wasn’t unheard of for Sages to occasionally carry melee weapons by chance.
So while they were still in shock,
– Skill ‘White Fish Swimming’ is activated.
I dashed toward the leading Dark Assassin, swinging Iphetam.
“As if an attack from a mere Sage would land!”
The Dark Assassin, still mistaking me for a Sage, easily evaded by bending forward.
Toward such an opponent,
– Skill ‘Crimson Field Blood Claw’ is activated.
Using the skill, I bent the sword’s trajectory at a right angle.
Thud!
I brought the blade down upon the Dark Assassin’s back.
“Ugh! H-how…?”
“What’s happening?”
“They were definitely a Sage?”
“Be careful! They appear to be a skilled Swordmaster!”
“Could they have been a Spellblade all along?!”
The Dark Assassins panicked.
Two Dark Assassins had already fallen, leaving five remaining.
The five remaining Dark Assassins surrounded me, forming an encirclement formation.
Then they rushed forward, forming a sharp sword formation.
There were no blind spots.
Moreover, all five Dark Assassins were precisely targeting vital points—the head, heart, abdomen, the back of the knees, and the Achilles tendon.
It was a perfect sword formation that no Swordmaster could defend against, but they seemed to have forgotten about the magic I was using while focusing on my swordplay.
– 5-Circle Dark Magic ‘Wail of the Banshee’ is activated.
The 5-Circle dark magic, Wail of the Banshee.
In other words, the Banshee’s lament.
As that dark magic was unleashed,
Kyaaaaaaaaaagh–!!
A banshee’s scream that felt like it would tear eardrums echoed around me.
“Ugh!”
The Dark Assassins recoiled from the impact, their bodies freezing.
– Skill ‘Black Insect Flash’ is activated.
Thud!
I pierced through the nearest Dark Assassin and sent them sprawling.
With that alone, their assassination formation crumbled.
In that instant.
The remaining four Assassins ceased their assault and began creating distance between us.
“To think you were concealing such power.”
“We don’t know your true identity, but we Assassins never abandon a target once marked for death.”
“If you wish to live even a moment longer, I suggest you abandon any thoughts of competing in the tournament and remain silent in hiding.”
“Though even that won’t help you escape the shadow of the Desert.”
Had they concluded they couldn’t win as things stood?
Or did they believe the cost of victory would be too steep?
Each of the four spoke their piece and retreated, clearly intending to prepare more thoroughly before attempting my assassination again.
“As if I’d allow that.”
I had no intention whatsoever of letting them escape unscathed.
– Using 4-Circle Earth Magic ‘Sand Wall’.
Sand Wall—a 4-Circle earth magic and an application of Stone Wall, which raises barriers of rock.
The sand beneath us erupted violently upward.
But the Assassins were seasoned veterans.
Unfazed by the sudden sand wall before them, they dispersed and bolted in different directions.
Left, right, upward—even one attempting to slip past me and escape backward.
Watching them, I unleashed magic once more.
– Using 5-Circle Earth Magic ‘Sand Room’.
“Damn!”
Sand walls erupted from all sides.
Behind me, between walls, connecting them into both walls and ceiling.
Sand Room—a 5-Circle application magic.
An airtight enclosure spell using 4-Circle Sand Wall to seal the surrounding space.
Their escape routes were cut off.
Left with no choice, they made a final desperate charge toward me.
“Aaaaagh!”
Before long, the desert sand was stained crimson with the blood of the Assassins.
* * *
I had defeated all the Assassins.
But that didn’t mean I’d killed them all.
After all, these were merely a fraction of the Assassins organization.
Since I’d been attacked first, my objective was to dismantle the Assassins as an organization entirely, and more importantly—
‘The client.’
I needed to discover who had hired the Assassins to kill me.
“Ugh….”
One Assassin lay bound tightly, groaning softly.
I had bound them with an Epic-grade rope, making it impossible for them to escape through their own strength.
I had also stripped away all the equipment they were carrying.
With that, the preparations were complete.
“Speak. Tell me about the Assassins. And who hired you to kill me.”
Now it was time for the real interrogation.
As I had anticipated, they showed no intention of willingly divulging information.
Instead of answering my question, the Dark Assassin.
“For the Assassins!”
Cried out and bit down on their lips.
No, they hadn’t merely bitten their lips.
Crunch.
The Dark Assassin had crushed something inside their mouth.
Immediately, their neck and face turned pitch black, and foam began to form at their lips.
Poison.
It was a toxin they carried in their mouth—something to be taken when captured by an enemy, choosing death over revealing information.
It must have been an extraordinarily potent venom, for I could visibly see the Dark Assassin dying before my eyes.
However, I felt no particular concern.
[ Supreme Antidote Potion ]
I retrieved the potion from my subspace.
Splash!
“Gack!”
I shoved it into the Dark Assassin’s mouth.
I pushed the long bottle down to their throat and forced them to swallow the potion’s contents.
The Supreme Antidote Potion I had just retrieved was so potent that it could instantly neutralize even the toxins used by level 800 monsters.
Whether it was the Assassins or whatever—creatures that likely didn’t even exceed level 500 would have their poison instantly cured.
Whoosh—
It could be healed in an instant.
The Dark Assassin’s complexion, which had been fading from the poison, rapidly returned to normal.
“This… this can’t be…! For the Assassins…!”
Crack!
The Dark Assassin’s willpower was formidable.
The moment they realized the poison had been neutralized, they bit down on their tongue.
Yet even so, I felt no concern whatsoever.
Whether their tongue was torn and blood flowed freely or not.
[ Supreme Vitality Potion ]
“Gack!”
Once I administered the vitality potion, the bleeding stopped and the flesh knitted itself back together seamlessly.
Before long, I locked eyes with the Dark Assassin, whose wounds had completely healed, and slowly opened my mouth.
“Go ahead. Do as you please. Drink poison, inflict wounds on yourself. I’ll undo it all. If you wish, you can repeat self-harm and healing endlessly.”
“Nngh…!”
The Assassin’s mental fortitude was far more formidable than I had anticipated.
Even under such coercion, he refused to yield, biting his tongue and desperately clenching his jaw to prevent the potion from entering his mouth.
But ultimately, it mattered little.
– Activating 5-Circle Light Magic ‘Recovery’.
“Hngh!”
If I couldn’t force the potion down his throat, I could simply heal him with magic instead.
He could never take his own life.
Any attempt would only result in endless agony.
Had he finally grasped this reality?
The Assassin’s face was etched with terror.
Yet he answered with an unwavering conviction that refused to break.
“I am a shadow of the Desert! As a member of the Assassins, I will never reveal the secrets of the Assassins! Not even if I writhe in eternal torment! Never!”
“Yes, it certainly appears that way.”
I acknowledge the Assassin’s mental strength.
Normally, by this point, most would crack from fear and spill their secrets.
Yet even knowing that I could continue this cycle of endless torture and healing indefinitely, he persists.
Given that he would choose death over surrender and seems to harbor no attachment to life itself, torture and interrogation would never pry open his lips.
“But that’s fine. I never intended to believe you even if you did talk.”
“What are you—”
“I don’t plan to trust your words. What I trust is this.”
Black mana flowed into my hand with a whisper.
The magic I had mastered was far more than merely the four elemental schools.
I occasionally wielded dark magic like ‘Curse Poison’ or ‘Wail of the Banshee’.
And just as I had used recovery magic like ‘Recovery’.
Among the grimoires I had collected in First, there existed both white magic and dark magic beyond the four elements.
And among the dark arts.
– Activating 5-Circle Dark Magic ‘Mind Control’.
There existed magic perfectly suited for extracting information from NPCs.
There was also a magic spell that was perfect for extracting information from NPCs.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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