148 Chapter 148: Schemes in the Shadows

"Mr. Franklin, I'm afraid it'll be difficult for us to assassinate Richard Huang."

The hooded assassin lowered her head, her features concealed. Her arm had finally been fully restored, but she walked with a limp, having yet to fully recover from her dreadful injuries. Her movements were stiff. She still needed further rehabilitation before she could finally get used to her newly restored arm.

"I ask that you wait another week. Once he leaves the underground Holy Spring of Jing Tian, then it will be easier for us to strike. The security in the Holy Spring complex is not to be underestimated. It is near impossible to breach the vault and get to him right now."

"Oh, that's fine. You can drop the mission on Richard Huang." Fred Franklin waved his hand dismissively. "My goal was to get him out of the picture, but now that he has conveniently disappeared from public for the time being, it'll work just as well."

Shortly after our meeting in the Szechuan restaurant, Fred Franklin had received information that I was the one who nuked the three thousand monsters before they reach the Northern Fortress. Amused and delighted, he had ordered a hit on me, hiring assassins from the guild to do so. That was how I was attacked the moment I left school the following night.

The assassin hesitated. "Is that really fine?"

"Yeah."

This time, it was not Fred but his father who replied. Frank Franklin lumbered into the room, a wine glass in his hand as he slowly sipped from it. He smiled.

"In fact, it's best to leave him. With him out of the picture, we should take the chance to speed up our plans."

"Launching another invasion, Father?" Fred asked. Frank nodded.

"Yes, but not in the same way as before. We've learned from our mistakes. A full, frontal assault is not going to work. Even if this Richard Huang is cooped up underground, isolated from the outside world, Jing Tian City might still have other mages with Strategic-level spells. I should have foreseen that. Of course they aren't going to wait for the horde to reach their gates. They'll be on their guard this time and prepare accordingly."

"How do you intend to destroy Jing Tian City then?"

"That's where we come in."

Both father and son tensed up when a new, unfamiliar voice broke in. A hooded figure, not unlike the assassin, strolled into the room, flanked by an entourage of followers. Unlike the assassin, who was dressed in a tight, black bodysuit with no features other than the emphasis of her feminine curves, these newcomers were dressed in sweeping cloaks that were embroidered with runes, and glowed a dark purple rather than pure black.

"Apostle," Frank greeted with a bow of his head. The lead hooded figure raised a hand and bade for him to rise.

"Your Research Foundation Group has proven to be extremely useful to our plans, Sir Franklin. Thanks to that, we were able to advance our campaign much sooner than anticipated."

"I am glad our research was of great use to you, my lord." Frank smiled. "I am particularly proud of the serum we developed. It should enhance the power of those monsters."

"Yes. We have been feeding a batch of monsters the drinks you concocted. Or…serum, as you put it." The apostle sniggered. "Those in Jing Tian City would never realize that the drinks they confiscated from your warehouse have such an amazing effect on monsters, or they will destroy them right away and hunt you down."

"They're already hunting us down," Fred muttered under his breath, which earned him a dark glare from his father.

"Yes, indeed." The Apostle chuckled. "Your son is correct. But their persecution will be much fiercer and more desperate if they realize the full extent of your research and what it can do to monsters."

"I am honored, my lord."

"You've earned it." the apostle turned away. "I'll leave the assault on Jing Tian City to you, Sir Franklin. Don't let the Dark Church down."

He disappeared along with his entourage, the entire group seeming to melt away in the shadows. Fred gave them a glare and shuddered.

"I don't like them. Those crazy cultists…there's something wrong with their heads."

"You don't have to like them," Frank replied icily. "You only have to obey them. With their assistance, we will be able to rule over the Franklin family…and you'll be able to receive the title of Sword Saint."

Fred's eyes gleamed greedily, and he fell silent. But then, he couldn't suppress a caustic remark.

"But Father…what kind of nut-jobs worship monsters?"

Frank turned toward his son, his expression grim.

"Despite their name, the Dark Church is in no way religious. They don't exactly worship monsters, nor do they follow any religious dogma. They…like us, have only one goal. One overarching desire." He smiled. "They are humans like us. They only want power…power to rule over the world. The monsters and their attempts to control and artificially trigger Emergence events are just a means to their path of domination."

Fred looked aghast. "Artificially trigger Emergence events? Are you serious?"

"What, haven't you heard?" Frank snorted. "They have already succeeded." He then lowered his voice. "They are not someone we want to make enemies of. If we play this right, we can use them, borrow their strength and harness their power…and then once we take over, our Franklin family will be able to reign over the entire Global Federation."

"Right." Fred raised an eyebrow, but he didn't protest. His ambition was overruling his wariness and apprehension against the Dark Church. "So…they said something about leaving the invasion of Jing Tian City to us. How do you plan on doing it this time?"

"Good question."

Frank turned toward the assassin, who had kept her head lowered this entire time.

"You've been listening, haven't you? What are the plans of the assassin guild?"

"We will remain neutral, as we always have been. Unless you hire us to assassinate target in Jing Tian City, then we will take no part in this operation." The hooded assassin briefly raised her head. "We have, however, already sent out our own operatives to hunt down our captured, in order to silence her, so you do not have to worry about a leak or betrayal."

"Oh, very thorough as always. I'm impressed." Frank applauded her. "I have no doubt that you'll eventually track down your comrade and eliminate her, but I'm not worried about that. Hmm…I do want to continue hiring you, but I don't think you'll be needed in the attack on Jing Tian City itself. We can leave the destruction to the monsters. What if I hire you for…strategic advice?"

"If it's just consultation, you don't need to hire me. And I don't believe we assassins have anything to offer regarding setting monsters on a city. We tend to be more discreet and subtle."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong." Frank grinned. "You assassins have already given me an idea. If we can't assault the city head-on, we should…infiltrate and strike from the shadows." He then conjured a holographic map, flipping it and turning it over to expose several levels. "Thanks to our underground base at our warehouse, I discovered a network of subterranean tunnels under the city. I believe we can make very good use of them."

"That's right!" Fred almost jumped up in excitement. "If the monsters are moving through the underground tunnels, there's no way for any mage to nuke them with Strategic scale spells!"

"Exactly. And speaking of which…" Frank glanced from Fred to the assassin. "You mentioned something about the underground Holy Spring? That place where your previous target is currently training at?"

"That is correct." The assassin nodded. Frank's smile widened.

"The Holy Spring will be extremely valuable for our research. If we can get our hands on it…"

Fred's eyes gleamed greedily again. "Father, leave that to me. I definitely want the Holy Spring. It will boost my training and help me improve in my magic tremendously."

"Of course, I'll make sure you'll get your fair share of the reward if you accomplish your mission." Frank nodded with an indulgent grin before turning to the assassin. "Now this is something more suited to your skills. I trust I can hire you for this task?"

"Yes. But I'll assign another operative to this mission." The assassin nodded.

"Of course. You are currently hurt and still recovering from your injuries. It's only natural that you will not be able to fight at your best. I trust you to delegate this task to your most competent subordinates. I know of your reputation, after all." Frank then raised his hands. "That earlier setback…it couldn't be helped. Your opponent is that student who obliterated 3 rank B monsters and 2 rank A monsters, as well as three thousand monsters with his Strategic-scale spells, after all. If I were you, I will avoid him at all cost."

"The problem is that he is at the underground Holy Spring right now." Fred folded his arms grumpily. "How are we going to avoid him if we want to obtain the Holy Spring?"

"That will not be a problem," the assassin spoke up. "No matter how powerful he is, he still has a weakness. In an enclosed space, he will not be able to unleash his Strategic-scale spells, and the number of soul beasts he can summon will be limited if we choose to ambush him in the right terrain. In fact, his being underground right now is the best chance to kill him. If we are astute with our tactics, we will be able to eliminate him and clear the taint on our honor for failing our mission previously."

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"Killing two birds with one stone. Good. I like it." Frank nodded in approval. "Your points are certainly valid. I'll leave him and the Holy Spring to you, then."

"Even so, the security at the underground Holy Spring complex is extremely tight. It will be difficult to infiltrate the complex, eliminate our target and steal the Holy Spring." The assassin's brow furrowed. "The problem is getting past all that security and into the cavern where the underground Holy Spring is located."

"That's it!" Fred struck his palm with his fist, excited. "What if we strike at the same time as the monsters? We have limited control over them…we can at least stop them from attacking us. Since the complex is located underground, we can just set the monsters on them. While the security staff are busily dealing with the monsters, we can sneak in during the confusion and get to the vault without anyone noticing!"

"Good plan!" Frank nodded in approval again, a smile spreading across his weathered face. "As expected of my son!"

"I will have my operatives coordinate with you accordingly," the assassin promised.

"I'll be counting on you." Frank stroked his chin. "But we need time to make the preparations. I suggest that we launch this operation in a week."

"Good enough for me," the assassin agreed.

"I can't wait!" Fred rubbed his hands eagerly, almost drooling at the prospect. "The underground Holy Spring…it will be ours!"

He then shook his head, remembering his encounter with me at the Szechuan restaurant. A bitter smile crossed his face.

"But…is it really necessary to kill him?"

"What are you saying after coming this far?" Frank scoffed. "Don't start getting cold feet on me now."

"No, I mean…the goal is the destruction of Jing Tian City and obtaining the Holy Spring, isn't it? We don't really have to kill Richard Huang. If we can grab the Holy Spring and avoid him, then we would have fulfilled our objectives."

"The objectives are tied," Frank said firmly. "This Richard Huang is an unknown variable. Remember, he foiled our plans once before. He has the capability to destroy an entire army of monsters by himself. I do not want to leave him running around unchecked…there is a high possibility that he might thwart our plans again and save the city from this batch's monsters."

"Not only that…our honor is at stake here," the assassin added, her eyes glowing in determination. "We rarely fail to eliminate our targets. The moment you hired us to kill him, we will carry out the mission to the best of our abilities…and reclaim our damaged reputation. Otherwise how will we be able to advertise ourselves to our future clients if we can't even succeed in assassinating a mere boy?"

"Ah, but he is no mere boy," Frank reminded her. "Perhaps that's why you failed the first time. Remind your operatives not to underestimate Richard Huang. He may be young, but he's still extremely dangerous. His ability to destroy thousands of monsters with a single spell has proven that beyond a doubt."

The assassin's eyes flashed fiercely, but she merely nodded her acquiesce.

"Understood, Sir Franklin."