novelraw Chapter 263: The Black Letter.
Chapter 263: The Black Letter.
"Are you sure you saw him?" a gruff voice asked from the shadows.
Seated inside a small, dimly lit chamber, a tall and intimidating young man occupied the only wooden chair in the room.
Before him was a small table, filled with a stack of parchment. Beside it sat an ink bottle and a feather quill.
Across from the tall intimidating young man stood a lean young man dressed in a dark brownish robe. Fastened on his belt were two short spears, gleaming faintly in the candlelight.
"Yes boss, I saw him with my own eyes. I even trailed him to make sure I was not mistaken," the young man responded with a firm, confident voice.
Listening to this report, the intimidating young man knocked on the wooden table periodically, lost in deep thought.
’Is it possible our men failed to kill him?’ he thought, knitting his brow in concentration.
’But that should be impossible. They are one of our best teams, and it should not be possible for a single person to take them down alone.’
The more he thought about the situation, the more he found it hard to believe that their target had defeated his elite men.
Every person under his command was an elite fighter. They were all good at what they did, trained and tested in battle.
Even if they had been surrounded by another hostile party, he believed it would not be difficult for them to take down their enemies with ease.
Yet their main target had just returned to the town without any visible harm. How could he not be deeply puzzled by this outcome?
From the parchment stack, he took out a single sheet and read the information written on it carefully.
’Is it true that he can control more than ten undead servants at once?’ he thought, rereading the line.
But he found this fact hard to believe. However, the intel from their headquarters could never be wrong about such an important detail.
More importantly, this was a priority mission from the highest level. They had to put every other mission on hold and make sure to complete this task at all costs.
But now, things have become unexpectedly complicated.
’I had better believe the intel,’ he decided. ’Since it is from the headquarters, I do not have any reason to doubt it, even though I find it hard to believe.’
With this thought, his mindset changed completely. His tapping on the wooden table slowed down for a second before it resumed its rhythmic pace.
The young man stared at his boss without speaking, waiting calmly for his orders.
It was as if he had grown used to the strange, distracting actions of his boss.
Perhaps it was not the first time his boss had done this. He often got lost in his own thoughts, forgetting that someone was right in front of him, waiting for instructions.
After what seemed like an eternity, the boss’s eyes regained focus with a certain sharp clarity.
"Hmm? You are still here," the boss asked in genuine shock.
"Yes boss, I am still waiting for your directive," the young man responded while rolling his eyes slightly.
"Well done. This is the right attitude to have," he nodded, pleased with his subordinate’s patient behavior.
"Send a message to our spy and let her know that the target is still alive," he commanded firmly. "Also, have our men monitor him both day and night. We cannot afford to lose track of him."
"Yes boss," the young man nodded and quickly retreated to complete his assigned orders.
With the young man gone, the boss rose to his feet and walked to the small window, looking out at the Jackal town sprawling below.
"I do not care if you control ten or a hundred undead servants," he muttered, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes. "This time around, I will make sure to use everything under my control to take you down."
...
...
In another part of the town, a beautiful young woman stepped out of a crudely made bathtub.
In the Bleeding Desert, water was a luxury that only a few privileged people could afford to drink. As for bathing in fresh water, only a handful of people could do that without worry.
And for anyone that could use water for bathing, they either controlled unimaginable wealth or had a powerful force backing them.
Yet the young woman seemed to have none of those advantages on the surface.
Drying her long hair with a dry cloth, she walked toward her bed. Then she stopped abruptly, finding a black letter lying on the white sheet.
Seeing the black letter, her countenance changed immediately. Her expression turned grave, and the dry cloth serving as a towel fell from her trembling hand.
Quickly, she reached out and picked up the ominous letter. Unfolding it, she read the contents hurriedly, her eyes scanning each word with growing dread.
Hmm?
"What?!" she exclaimed, her heart skipping a terrified beat.
"How is this possible?" she whispered, pacing back and forth in her small room.
"How could they fail so badly?" she asked herself.
She had planned everything perfectly. She had even demanded that the best team be dispatched for this important mission.
Yet they had failed completely.
She understood the danger of missing such a golden opportunity. More importantly, her cover might be blown if the target started asking questions.
The more she thought about her situation, the more her uneasiness grew. If the target had been an ordinary awakener, she would not have been so worried. She would have simply replanned and struck again.
If that did not work, she could always use her beauty to her advantage, as she had done so many times before.
But against this particular target, she knew she would not get a second chance. As for her beauty, it meant absolutely nothing before the Grim Reaper.
Such a vengeful and brutal person would not hesitate to hang her head on a gallow for all to see.
"I need to move now," she muttered urgently. She began to pack her things with desperate speed.
****
[AN: Please support this book with your golden ticket and power stones.]
Message Chair +1 Chapter.
Dragon +2 Chapters.
Magic Castle +5 Chapters]]