Chapter 27: The Brotherhood (2)

Chapter 27: The Brotherhood (2)

Rumble

After the sky growled once, it soon began to pour rain towards the ground.

Raindrops fell on Dales helmet, collected just below the eye holes, and then slid down its surface.

It appeared as though the helmet itself was shedding tears.

The surroundings darkened.

Thick clouds completely obscured the sun. Blue flames flickered in the eye holes of the helmet.

The surrounding thieves swallowed hard.

The dark knight, who was already emitting a sinister aura, now gave off a spine-chilling atmosphere.

The sudden shift in the air petrified them.

They wondered if perhaps they had gotten involved with something they should not have.Updated from novelbIn.(c)om

Dale grasped his sword.

He positioned the blade straight up towards the sky.

The sharp black longsword effortlessly split the falling raindrops.

Dale turned his head towards Jimmy who stood there in a daze.

As their eyes met, Jimmys face turned pale. He shouted as if in a fit.

Attack, attack!

The next moment, the sound of slicing air accompanied several bolts flying in.

These were bolts shot by some crossbowmen who had been lying in wait on the roof.

Dale kicked the ground.

His movements were surprisingly quick for a man of his size.

Bolts struck the ground where Dale had just been standing.

The thieves lost sight of Dale. And by the time they spotted him again, he was already standing in front of the nearest thief.

Whoosh!

Dale swung his sword.

And the thiefs head flew into the air.

A split second later, blood splattered around and it was then absorbed into Dales armor.

This, this who*eson killed Martin!

Gyaaaa!

The other thieves nearby were furious at their comrades death. They grabbed their short spears and rushed forward bravely.

Dale thrust his fist forward. This was not a punch meant to merely knock someone out, but one with the full intention to kill.

Crunch!

The face of the thief hit by the gauntlet caved in. He died instantly and Dale didnt even bother to check.

He had no time to waste.

He immediately thrust his sword to the side, piercing through the heart of another thief.

Not bad.

He moved solely by instinct, casting off the restraints that had bound him until now.

It was a feeling of freedom, of liberation.

It wasnt a bad feeling at all.

Dale plunged his gauntlet into the chest of a dead thief and absorbed his life force.

This too wasnt a bad feeling.

He felt like the emptiness of his stopped heart was being filled, even if just by a little.

Right then, a dull impact hit Dales back.

Thud! Thud, thud!

Several bolts struck his armor and bounced off.

The impact was quite significant.

It seemed they were using crossbows of considerable quality. The bolts hitting him had slightly thrown Dale off balance.

Jimmy, with a flush of excitement, shouted,

Its working! Keep firing the bolts!

Even without his command, the crossbowmen were already reloading.

Their movements were professional; they hardly seemed like mere back-alley thieves.

Rather than thieves, they looked more like

Soldiers?

But The identity of the attackers was irrelevant. Once again, a bolt whizzed through the air.

Dale grabbed a nearby thief by the nape of the neck and positioned him in front like a sheld.

Gwaaaagh!

The bolts embedded themselves into the thiefs body with a clatter.

The thief who had suddenly become arrows target let out a tearing scream. It was an annoyingly piercing cry.

Dale hit the guy on the head to stop him from screaming any further.

Then he snatched the guys spear and hurled it with all his might towards the roof.

A shieldman who was waiting to protect the crossbowmen hurriedly lifted his shield.

Boom!

The spear, hurled with ferocity, pierced right through the wooden shield and lodged itself in the neck of the shieldman.

The crossbowmen preparing to reload behind was shocked.

What the hell?

Immediately, the crossbowman had to duck his head.

A thrown dagger narrowly missed his hair as it flew by.

Tsk.

Dale clicked his tongue.

It was a shame that he missed, but it didnt matter. Without their shieldman, the crossbowmen wouldnt dare to recklessly expose themselves now.

Dale simply continued what he was doingSlaughter.

The sword flashed and a thiefs head flew off. The resistance of the thieves was utterly meaningless.

Instead of crossbows, they were armed with large double-bladed axes and waiting for Dale.

The eyes of the dwarves showed no fear in the face of their imminent death. It was clear they were veterans who had survived numerous brushes with death.

Dale had no intention of delaying any longer.

He had to chase the others before the rain could wash away the scent of blood from those who had fled.

Dale rapidly closed the distance.

One of the dwarves muttered as he watched Dale getting closer and closer.

Fu*k. Had I known Id be up against someone like this, I would have asked for more money.

A little later, three more bodies were added to the count. Dale, who had drained the life force away from them, soon left the scene.

After he left, the scene was left with bodies dried up like mummies, their worn equipment, and blood copiously spread in all directions.

Only then did the people of the slums who had been holding their breath quietly poke their heads out.

They were shocked at the grisly scene unfolding before them.

However, they quickly regained their senses and disappeared after scavenging the fallen thieves equipment.

A few responsible individuals who were concerned about the spread of disease burned the bodies.

Now, only bloodstains remained on the ground.

But the rain was heavy, and the droplets were large.

The rainwater would soon wash away the bloodstains.

***

The Black Serpent Brotherhood was a relatively old organization.

It had existed since the birth of the empire, and at one time, it even prospered enough to dominate the night streets of the imperial capital.

However, this venerable organization fell into decline with the invasion of demons.

The emperor who lost his capital needed a scapegoat to blame for his defeat, and the thieves guilds became the target.

And the Black Serpent Brotherhood was regarded as the leader among these thieves guilds.

The emperor appeased the angry citizens by hanging the leader of the Brotherhood.

For Abaph who was the current head of the Brotherhood, the memory of that day was vivid.

He remembered his father hanging in the square with the crowd hurling insults and stones at him.

Abaph could never forget that humiliating day.

Hey, Mr. Abaph. What will happen if you get distracted during a meeting?

Abaph snapped back to reality.

Sorry.

A young man covered in a black robe chided in a frivolous voice.

Really. Do it properly. How else do you expect to hang the emperor?

..!

Abaph glared at the young man who only shrugged his shoulders mischievously.

Getting so upset over a small jab. The Black Serpent Brotherhood I know used to be thieves so fearsome they could silence even a crying child, but now theyre rather disappointing. Did I choose the wrong group to collaborate with?

Abaph gritted his teeth, his hand instinctively reaching for the dagger in his pocket.

The young mans smile grew wider.

Are you going to draw it?

Abaph closed his eyes tightly and shook his head.

I am not a fool who stabs his allies.

Ah, thats a pity. I really wanted to get my hands on Abaph. If you had drawn your knife first, I could have acted freely Anyway, take care of yourself, Abaph. Id love to work with your corpse someday to create a masterpiece.

Youre a creepy one.

Im being serious, though

The young man seemed hurt and fidgeted with his fingers.

Abaph, watching him, furrowed his brow in annoyance. Being alone with this madman was definitely a bad idea.

When are those guys going to show up?

The troops that had gone to kill the dark knight had yet to return.

Abaph suddenly felt uneasy.

Surely, they havent all been defeated?

That seemed impossible.

Aside from Jimmys gang there were a dozen more of his own men, veteran crossbowmen whod been paid off by the young man, and the undead soldiers hed brought along.

No matter how strong the dark knight was, handling such a force alone would be difficult.

Besides, there was that story he had heard from Jimmy.

In a tavern, Jimmys gang had fought with the dark knight and nobody died.

The dark knight wouldnt have hesitated to kill, so this probably meant he wasnt as strong as they thought.

But why is there no news

Just then, the door burst open. It was one of Abaphs men.

Abaph finally relaxed and chided him.

What a useless bunch. Why were you so late?

However, instead of responding, his subordinate shouted at Abaph with a face stricken with terror.

Huff! Huff! Help! A -A monster

Abaph frowned. How could his usually calm and cold-blooded subordinate lose his composure like this?

Stop stammering and speak clearly.

Run. We need to run

At that moment,

A dagger flew in from outside the door, striking the subordinate in the back of the head. With eyes rolled back, he collapsed to the floor.

Then a knight whose black armor was completely stained with blood came striding inside.

The knight turned his head towards Abaph and their eyes met.

What is this

Abaphs pupils quivered.

The emotions that he had felt on the day his father was hanged returned to him.

Abaph felt death.