Chapter 205: Murder!

‘Captain… should we do it now or let him just die like this?’

While Soren was fighting for his life against those monsters, five figures hiding beneath the shadows were watching everything silently.

They were the assassins hired by Kairon, the Five Brothers.

‘Looking at the stupidity of this kid, it seems we don’t even need to do anything. Such a talent… all gone to waste.’

‘Yeah, didn’t he know it is unwise to fight an Echo Lurker in its Silent Domain? So stupid…’

The assassins were quite surprised by Soren’s tenacity, as he was still alive despite being pursued by so many monsters at close range. His agility was really something.

But an archer wasn’t good at close combat after all. No matter what he did, he couldn’t get out of this situation now.

All that awaited him was death. For a moment, they felt that they didn’t even need to do anything at all.

‘No… don’t let your guard down. This guy seems… weird.’

However, unlike the others, Captain Bilon had been feeling uneasy from the very beginning.

Even when he saw Soren being pressed more and more and getting injured, he still had that weird feeling of being watched.

Just… the scene in front of him was indeed hectic. Soren was really fighting with everything he had.

But even as he was being pushed further into damage, even as his body showed signs of injury and exhaustion, there remained a subtle yet persistent sensation that something about the boy’s presence was wrong.

Only, he could not pinpoint what was wrong at all.

After all, in his opinion, there was no way Soren could see them, not to mention trying to lure them into a trap.

He was fairly confident in his and his brothers’ skills after all.

Even if Soren was fine, he was confident in completing his mission, and now…

‘Maybe I am reading too much due to his incredible skills?’

Captain Bilon thought at last, finally calming his unease by force.

As much as he wanted to let Soren die on his own, he did not want to lose his chance by doing nothing.

Especially when he could already feel his teammates coming to this location rapidly. It would be hard to get Soren if he waited any longer.

*Bang!*

As if responding to that unease, the battlefield shifted abruptly when one of the monsters finally managed to land a decisive blow that struck Soren hard enough to send him staggering backward.

His footing broke for the first time as his balance slipped into a moment of vulnerability that should have marked the end of his resistance.

Of course, even then, Bilon saw Soren standing once again, ready to defend himself, making him anxious.

‘Now,’

In the end, Captain Bilon ordered, feeling he really could not let go of such a good opportunity.

As long as Soren died, he would teleport out with his teammates, making it look like an accident.

‘Second, finish him immediately.’

At that exact moment, one of the assassins moved out from the shadows without hesitation, his body already committed to the kill as a dagger emerged from beneath his sleeve, aimed precisely at the vulnerable point where Soren’s neck would end in a single, clean cut.

A strike timed to coincide with the monster’s pressure so that death would arrive from both front and back without warning.

The attack came silently, the assassin closing the distance in an instant as the blade approached Soren’s throat from behind.

The Silent Domain of the Echo Lurker was helping him even more.

However, just as the edge was about to make contact, Soren’s hand shot backward with a precision that did not belong to someone collapsing under pressure.

*Swish!*

In that exact moment, his fingers locked around the assassin’s wrist, stopping the dagger so abruptly that it did not even graze the skin of his neck.

For a fraction of a second, even the assassin froze in disbelief, but that hesitation cost him everything, as Soren immediately twisted his grip with a fluid motion that carried no excess force.

Only perfect control, redirecting the attacker’s momentum before pulling him forward into his own killing range.

In the same instant, Soren turned, and with a sharp, brutal motion, he used the assassin’s own blade to tear across his throat in a clean arc that ended the man’s life before he could even fully register what had happened.

“What!”

The body collapsed lifelessly as blood spilled into the ground.

At the same time, a Crimson Lash came out of his sleeve, directly piercing the head of the beast, intending to attack him, killing it just like the assassin.

During the entire time, Soren did not even look at the corpse for more than a passing moment, as if the act itself held no weight in his mind.

Instead, he lifted his head slightly and spoke, his voice cutting through the oppressive silence in a strange way.

“I feel… nothing!”

Really, Soren did not feel anything after killing this guy, not even a trace of anxiety or distress at killing a human for the first time, as he should.

In fact, the feeling he was getting was the same as when his Crimson Lash was killing the monsters on its own right now.

Due to it having its own autonomy from the upgrade, its body acted like a living extension of his will, surging outward in a sweeping arc that tore through the surrounding monsters in an instant, piercing flesh and bone alike before scattering them into broken remains that collapsed without resistance.

For a brief moment, the entire battlefield seemed to pause as the remaining monsters fell silent under the aftermath of that single release of power.

It was only then that Soren slowly turned his gaze toward the hidden position of the assassins, his expression unreadable yet faintly unsettling.

All this time, he did such a drama because he was afraid that something would happen while killing them. Maybe he would hesitate?

But now that he felt nothing at all, a faint smile could not help form on his lips while looking at those assassins who seemed petrified.

His eyes focused on Captain Bilon’s, whose instincts immediately erupted into full alarm.

‘Run, that guy has already noticed us.’

Feeling the danger, he gave a mental command to his teammates.

In the end, his hunch came true. That guy already knew their location and was just playing around. Looking at how he tore those monsters all above level 40 so easily, he did not seem to be cornered at all.

“That monster…”