The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 291: Chapter 286 — Shit

Several hours had gone by since then, and the moon was now high in the sky, bathing the northern fortress in a ghostly light. Upon entering, Kaiden had immediately separated from the group and hidden himself in the one place he was certain no one would willingly search: the toilets.

Though, Kaiden had vehemently rejected the idea of hiding beneath them, where all the disgusting shit went. There were some things even a successful mission wasn’t worth. Instead, he had chosen to hide above, wedging himself against the ceiling where no one would think to look.

Unfortunately, distance apparently meant nothing to the ungodly stench below. It had somehow found its way up to him anyway, leaving Kaiden with a permanently twisted expression for the past several hours.

Zephyrion’s mission had been quite simple. Use the chaos from the fire to sneak into the northern fortress and destroy their Bastion Core.

Unfortunately, unlike the south, which specialized in crafting, the north were enchanters. Zephyrion didn’t even need to attack the fortress to know there would be defensive runes spread throughout it. Powered by a Bastion Core, those runes could withstand a significant amount of force.

Hence the need to bring the core down.

The plan was to make his way into the core room and remain hidden there until dawn, when the southern army would be preparing to attack. Then, at the right moment, he would destroy it and catch them completely off guard.

’Just a little longer. Fuck, this place stinks.’

Kaiden had initially wanted to head straight for the Bastion Core, but before doing so, he had stopped and asked himself what Zephyrion would do.

The answer had immediately killed the thought.

The fortress might have been in disarray after the fire, but that also meant there were cadets roaming everywhere. Moving around then would have been stupid. Late at night, however, when everyone had settled down and the fortress was quiet, he could move far more easily.

Satisfied with his reasoning, Kaiden pinched his nose again, desperately trying to block out the terrible smell.

’That bastard better fucking appreciate what I’m going through for this.’

A moment later, though, the irritation on his face eased as he suddenly imagined Zephyrion praising him once the mission was over. A small, smug smile tugged at his lips.

’Hmph. Once I pull this off, let’s see what he has to say. He’ll probably give me that annoying calm look and say ”Good work” or some shit... Tch. Good enough.’

’Alright. Enough of this shit. Literally. Let’s get this over with.’

Eventually, the time came.

The fortress had fallen into a deep silence, and more importantly, no cadet had come to take a shit for the past few hours.

Deciding that was as good a sign as any, Kaiden finally moved from his hiding place and slipped into the fortress proper.

Just as he’d expected, the fortress was basically deserted. The only sound Kaiden could hear was the steady pounding of his own heart in his ears, something he tried his best to ignore as he moved through the corridors.

With no one in sight, he found the entrance to the basement rather quickly. He slipped through the door, descended the flight of stairs, and moments later, found himself standing before the core room.

’Haa... this is almost too easy.’

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he suddenly remembered Kaelion’s words and clicked his tongue.

’Weak my ass. The old me would’ve rushed straight here the moment I got inside and probably walked right into a fucking trap. But I didn’t. I waited. I thought it through. This is better. If I keep thinking the way Zephyrion does, I’ll keep getting stronger.’

Nodding firmly to himself, Kaiden opened the door and stepped inside.

Unlike the dark corridors outside, the core room was brightly illuminated, the light coming from the Bastion Core glowing brilliantly at its center.

’There it is. The Bastion Core.’

Kaiden’s eyes immediately lit up. He quickly reined in his excitement, forcing himself to think about what he needed to do next.

’Alright, calm down. I’m not here to destroy it yet. First, I need somewhere to hide.’

He moved deeper into the room, leaving the door behind. But he had barely taken a few steps when a low chuckle suddenly drifted through the room.

Kaiden froze.

’Where the fuck did that come from?’

His eyes immediately darted around before locking onto a spot nearby where the air seemed to ripple and melt.

A sharp hum rang out as a blade formed in Kaiden’s grip.

”Show yourself!”

The strange distortion grew more pronounced, the air slowly peeling away until a figure emerged from within.

Freakishly tall, with cold crimson eyes and a dangerous air around him, the figure was instantly recognizable.

Kaiden’s eyes slowly widened.

”The northern Prime...”

It was none other than Malach.

’What the hell is he doing here? No, forget that. How the fuck did he know I was here?

”Haa, you little rat.” Malach shook his head. ”Did you really think you could crawl into my fortress, take out our Bastion Core, and crawl back out? Just like that?”

Kaiden didn’t respond, his grip tightening around his blade as his mind immediately began working.

’Wait. I can’t sense anyone else. He’s alone? Then... this might actually be better. Fuck the core. If I take down their Prime right here, we win.’

If that was the case, then maybe this situation wasn’t completely lost yet.

Reaching that conclusion, Kaiden felt his heartbeat gradually settle. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more this situation seemed like a godsend.

Seeing the sudden confidence enter Kaiden’s eyes, Malach merely tilted his head.

”Come out.”

Kaiden’s brows furrowed. ”What?”

In an instant, several more points in the air began to distort, rippling like melting glass. One after another, figures emerged from within them, revealing the head cadets of the Northern House, each staring at Kaiden with cold eyes.

The confidence on Kaiden’s face immediately disappeared.