Chapter 666 Book 11: Chapter 66: Assassination

“Hey, Angelo, just met an old friend and you’re already leaving?” Qin Lun raised his wine glass and shouted towards the hooded Mage.

Qin Lun’s shout stood out sharply in the chaotic Banquet Hall. Some guests near him even glared at him angrily. However, it was clear that the hooded Mage, who was originally trying to sneak out of the Banquet Hall quietly, became the focus of everyone’s attention.

The hooded Mage suddenly turned his head and looked towards Qin Lun. His face was clearly that of the former Mage Angelo. The only difference from Angelo was that his pupils were as dark as black obsidian. One glance felt like it could suck your very mind into them.

He gave Qin Lun a deep look, as if wanting to carve the silver-haired Elf’s appearance into his memory. But his feet didn’t pause; instead, he quickened his pace and ran out of the Banquet Hall.

By now, Elastor, who had been crouching beside the victim, heard Qin Lun’s shout. Her beautiful eyes shot a sharp gaze towards the departing hooded Mage, and a hint of ferocity subtly appeared on her charming face.

Although the Silverymoon City Lord wanted to catch the Zhentarim Assassin who had come to attack, to capture them all in one net, she hadn’t revealed the truth to the vast majority of guests and the Silver Guard. However, she wasn’t as sinister as Hill imagined, trying to use this chance to eliminate the city lords who opposed her.

In fact, she had placed powerful guards beside the two lords, Elward and Quelva, who had opposed her over four months ago. But at this moment, the Legendary Powerhouse beside Lord Quelva was missing. It was unknown whether he had been lured away by the enemy or had already been killed.

“Catch him!” There were too many people in the Banquet Hall, all crowded around the victim. Elastor needed to stay here to calm the uninformed guests and obviously couldn’t take action herself. She could only point at the Assassin running out of the hall and shout loudly.

Following Elastor’s shout, three figures leaped up from various corners of the Banquet Hall, swiftly chasing after the Assassin disguised as Angelo.

These three wore veils over their faces, seemingly not wanting to reveal their identities publicly before. The leader was the most powerful, his body seemingly wrapped in storm force. Wherever he passed was like a typhoon sweeping through, almost blowing over the lords and their guards along the way.

Of the remaining two, the one on the left transformed into a nimble ape as he leaped. He grabbed the flowering fruit vines hanging from above, swung once, and cleared the crowd. As he was about to land, his body underwent another drastic change, transforming from an ape into a leopard. He elegantly tapped the floor and shot out of the Banquet Hall, his speed second only to the storm-like leader.

This person actually completed two transformations just between leaping and landing. Guests in the hall who were also of the Druid profession watched with wide, stunned eyes. Many Legendary Druids couldn’t achieve this level.

The last one on the right was the slowest, but his actions were the most exaggerated. This person was very short, barely reaching the waist of a normal human, yet his body was stout, growing almost horizontally. He was clearly a Dwarf.

After leaping, he didn’t chase out through the Banquet Hall entrance. Instead, he crashed directly through a Banquet Hall window. Like a giant rock, he smashed the oak-framed, amethyst-paned window to pieces, plummeting downward like a massive cannonball.

“No way, this is the Greeting Hall?!” The guests and servers near the Dwarf were dumbfounded, momentarily unsure how to react.

The Palace of the High was a castle-like palace, similar to most castles. The further inward the building, the higher its height. Starting from the Unicorn Gate at the front, the Silver Staircase rose continuously upward, reaching the current Greeting Hall used for the banquet, followed by the Hall of Glory, and finally the end of the staircase – the Silver Throne.

Although the Greeting Hall was only the second level, this palace was grand and majestic. The second level was at least thirty meters high from the stair corridor outside the window – over ten stories high. This Dwarf powerhouse probably knew speed wasn’t his strong suit, so he simply jumped outside to form a pincer attack on the Assassin with the previous two powerhouses.

“The ones who chased out were the Storm Queen and Master Galanord!”

“Wasn’t the Storm Queen in Aglarond? How is she back…”

“Since Master Galanord has taken action, that Assassin definitely can’t escape…”

The guests in the Banquet Hall slowly recovered from their shock. Some quickly guessed the identities of the first two powerhouses who chased out. Although no one knew who the Dwarf powerhouse who jumped out the window was, someone who treated a thirty-meter drop as nothing probably wasn’t weak either.

“Elasylin Silverhand, the Storm Queen, ruler of Aglarond, one of Elastor’s six younger sisters!” Mastashia’s eyes flashed as she murmured to herself, “It seems the Silverymoon City Lord didn’t prepare many people, but their strength is considerable.”

“Seems like there’s nothing for us to do. Being targeted by three powerhouses above Legendary level, that Zhentarim Assassin absolutely cannot escape!” The Great Sage Lainya patted her chest in relief. “Once the truth comes out, I believe the Zhentarim plot will fail.”

“No, it’s too easy! How could a successful assassination lack backup killers or supporting companions? Or is this another… diversion?” A faint unease rose in Qin Lun’s heart. He suddenly turned to Lorlin and asked, “Lorlin, roughly how long has Emily been back in Silverymoon?”

“Huh?” The Dwarf prince was slightly stunned but quickly replied, “Over two months, less than three months. Firal, why do you ask?”

Qin Lun last left the Toril World at Baldur’s Gate four months ago, but it took Emily over a month to return to Silverymoon from Baldur’s Gate, so she had been in Silverymoon for less than four months.

“In other words, Angelo has only been in Silverymoon for just over two months. Add to that a Mage’s dislike for socializing, even if someone knew of his existence, it probably wasn’t for more than two months. But the Zhentarim plot began over four months ago. At that time, they should have already started sending people to find the Deathbloom…”

Qin Lun looked up and muttered to himself, “So their initial plan didn’t target Angelo…”

Seeing Qin Lun’s distracted state, the others around him were puzzled. Only Mastashia, Hill, and Rand’s expressions changed slightly, as if they realized something.

“If the Zhentarim’s initial goal wasn’t to use Angelo’s identity to sow discord among the city lords of the Silver Marches, then our guess was off,” Rand said with a sinking expression, speaking gravely. “Their plan might have several backup options!”

“Right, judging from the events tonight, if they only wanted to poison one or two city lords who opposed Elastor, it shouldn’t need to be this troublesome…” Hill suddenly paled and turned to ask, “Mastashia, describe the effect of the Deathbloom potion again!”

“The Deathbloom potion has the effect of corrupting a living person’s Soul. The poisoned person doesn’t necessarily die but turns into a mindless living dead! This vicious potion is usually only made and used by Necromancers and Liches.”

Mastashia frowned as she explained, then asked with uncertainty and alarm, “You mean…”

“Necromancers and the living dead!” Qin Lun lowered his head, his eyes flickering, then grinned, showing his white teeth. “Isn’t it obvious enough? Assassinating Elastor’s opponents can sow discord in the Silver Marches, but no matter what, it can’t be considered perfect. The most perfect plan would of course be…”

“Oh no, Elastor is in danger…” Before Qin Lun could finish, everyone understood.

“Ela… be careful!” The Great Sage Lainya, who was closest to the Silverymoon City Lord, turned pale. She turned and shouted towards Elastor, who was still crouched by the victim, trying to save the Centaur lord.

“City Lord!” Annasilia, who had been following Qin Lun closely like a little tail, also grasped the situation during the discussion. She immediately leaped up and rushed towards the Silverymoon City Lord.

At that moment, the Centaur lord, who had been lying on the ground with his four hooves twitching, suddenly became still. The whites of his eyes showed a flash of bloody light. He pushed off with his hind hooves, lifting his upper body, and his right hand pulled a sharp dagger from under his robe, thrusting it towards Elastor who was right in front of him.

Meanwhile, the two closest guards from the group originally surrounding the Centaur lord, who had come with him to the banquet, suddenly turned. They flanked Elastor left and right, each pulling a dagger from their robes and stabbing like lightning towards the back of her head.

For a large organization like the Zhentarim, capable of rivaling a nation, a plot brewed for over four months would have a decent chance of success even if targeting a divine church.

Qin Lun and the others saving the Old Butler Mason at Troll Claw and obtaining that secret letter from the Zhentarim only gave them a partial understanding of this plot. Although they knew it targeted the Silver Marches, they didn’t know the specifics.

Only after they saw Angelo’s corpse at the farm was part of this plot revealed. However, no matter how high Qin Lun and the others’ intelligence or how meticulous their thinking, they only guessed part of the plot’s content.

Using Angelo’s identity to assassinate opponents of the Silverymoon City Lord was indeed part of their plan. But this part was too simple. The Silver Marches had its share of clever people; someone would eventually connect this incident to the Zhentarim.

Furthermore, as long as the spiritual leader of the Silver Marches, Elastor, remained alive, such a petty trick might not work. The prestige the Silverymoon City Lord had accumulated over decades couldn’t be completely negated by one or two assassination attempts.

The Zhentarim, having been opposed to the Silver Marches for so long, understood this deeply. Qin Lun didn’t grasp this point, leading to his misjudgment of the situation.

Therefore, the focus of this plan wasn’t framing someone, but making the city lords turned into living dead by the Deathbloom poison be controlled by a Necromancer to assassinate Elastor. Only such an unexpected attack could potentially harm the powerful Silverymoon City Lord.

Only when both Elastor and the opposition lords died would the Silver Marches, having lost its spiritual leader, fall into mutual suspicion and true internal strife. The nation-building plan would naturally die out.

Time seemed to stand completely still at this moment. The attacks targeting Elastor from three different directions were like three perfectly coordinated poisonous snakes, completely sealing off the Silverymoon City Lord’s escape routes.

Judging by the unusual sheen on the dagger and daggers, they had likely been coated with some unknown alchemical agent. This time, it probably wasn’t the Deathbloom poison, but a virulent toxin capable of killing a Legendary powerhouse like the Silverymoon City Lord.