Chapter 176: CHAPTER 175 - The Master of Strings.

What would one need to become to be called the best assassin? You will need to be able to kill someone without leaving any clue, or maybe leaving a single clue that would tell people that it was done by you, but they would never be able to prove it.

Alex was once just like that.

He was trained to be the best since the tender age of 9, a year after his family died.

After that, from the age of 12, he started going on missions alone and in groups. He wasn't accepted by many people, as all of them thought of him as a weak 12-year-old child, but he didn't care.

He grew and grew until he reached the age of 12. That was when he had reached the best he could, a point where he was among the top assassins in the world.

No one knew his real name, nor did they know his face; all they knew was the black and white mask he used to wear and his trademark sign—a cross made of his target's blood.

In the next two years, until he reached 16, he was the top assassin, with a perfect mindset and perfect body.

At that time, he was called 'The Master of Strings'. It was not because he controlled strings or something like that; it was because he played with the lives of his targets like they were puppets and he was the master holding their strings.

There was a case where he made a guy kill his own wife, child, and himself without even touching them. They were all on his target list.

But soon, it was time for him to step down, as too much fame could sometimes be poisonous.

His strength and success didn't sit well with many people; they started coming after him—the other top assassins.

And although he wasn't scared of them, for the organization's sake, he retired.

It was at that time that he started to train people—a 10-person batch.

But after the betrayal, Alex had turned cold, devoid of multiple emotions. Now, however, those emotions seem to be surfacing back up, and he was slowly turning into the Alex who was hailed as the greatest assassin ever.

Right now, as Alex stared at the group of five people standing together with one of the ladies moving apart in a defensive manner, he couldn't stop his lips from quivering; it was as if his lips wanted to form a wide smile, but for some reason, they couldn't.

"You know we cannot fight him."

Alex saw Saurav's lips moving as he again sighed. It was hard to make out what the guy was saying, although now it was a bit better to get used to their lip-sync.

"I know! But even if I did give it to him, I'll be killed!"

Urmina, on the other hand, remained firm, not budging from her decision, and before Saurav could even say something, Mira spoke. S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"You know, there's a risk of finding out whether Alex would let you go or not if you were to present the item you stole, but it would be different if we handed you over to him because you didn't do it willingly—you will die."

"Wha—!"

Urmina, who found Mira standing beside her with a hand on her shoulder, jumped away in surprise.

She knew that Mira's words were true, but what if Alex were to kill her even if she gave him the relic? Wouldn't that simply mean that her death didn't have a meaning?

If she were to die with the arrow in storage, at least she would die with it, not letting even Alex have that relic.

"Don't even think about it. I know many torture techniques, and my instincts are telling me that this Alex guy knows more than me, so trying to remain silent won't work. Once we hand you over, you are done for; you will reveal anything and everything."

This time, it was Karina who spoke, her eyes locked into Urmina's.

Urmina was scared now. She didn't want to die already. She had many things to do with her life, and she has yet to get into a serious relationship with anyone.

She was a newbie when she started. Things changed and she grew stronger—way stronger for someone to even look down on her—but that was until she met Alex.

She always thought that those rumors were exaggerated, as there was no way one could become so strong in just a few days.

But again, Alex broke another one of her beliefs when he shot the arrow at them and made it look so easy.

She had never seen a human being able to do that.

The problem, however, was the fact that they weren't really in a bind, and if they found together, then they might be able to make Alex face some real challenges.

The arrow Alex had shot was charged with the mana he had been doing for a while before he got ready.

It was not something he could instantly do; it was just a way of pretending to be more powerful than he already was.

"But what if he comes back for me later? Wouldn't I die at that time??"

Urmina, however, didn't let those words pass, as she knew her fate.

"Damn it! Why we even wastin' time talkin' to her?"

Ragha, on the other hand, had it now. What was going on? Why were they talking so much time? If you want to fight Alex, then say that, and if you want to step back, then do it. Why were they just wasting their time?

"Huff!"

He just huffed and clenched his fists, a strange bluish color covering them, his eyes turning sharp as he stared at Urmina, ready to attack.

But before he could attack, Karina stepped in, her brows creased.

"We will do what you want after we give her a last chance, Ragha. Let me speak—just one more thing."

Ragha glared at Karina for a second, getting his teeth in annoyance before he turned around, showing that he agreed with her words.

He was angry—more than anyone else. His people were killed by Alex, the ones he treated as his brothers; many of them had died today.

This hurt him a lot, but just because he knew his limits and knew that escalating things would just make things turn worse, he decided to let go of that issue for now.

He would get his revenge on Alex; there was no way he wasn't going to do it, but he had to grow stronger for it, and he was going to do it no matter what.

Urmina heard Karina's words as well; she knew that this was the moment, and she had to make a decision, but it was hard.

Her mind kept playing the messages about how Alex never let anyone go and the fact that he even killed a guy just because the guy was trying to talk to him.

How could she expect such a person to let her go?

He was a man who stayed true to his words? Yeah, like she would believe it.

Karina did say what happened, but what if he was just in a good mood that day?

Urmina didn't want to take a chance when it came to her life, which didn't seem long in any path she took.

"Look, I know you feel regret; I felt the same when I was faced with that guy. It happens when the opponent is someone way more powerful than you are. But you see, right now, the path you're taking will end up making us four and Alex your enemies."

Karina spoke, pointing at something that Urmina had not noticed until now.

Yes, she was hoping to make a run for it so that maybe she would be able to survive, but what after that? Could she keep running when all of the leaders and their subordinates keep looking for her?

She frowned as she realized that her situation was grimmer than she had thought.

"If you survive, that is."

Karina added after a slight pause, causing a cold light to pass through the eyes of the ones present here.

All of them understood what Karina was trying to say.

No one spoke anything after that; everyone stayed silent, the tension in the air palpable.

Soon, however, the silence was broken.

"So, what now?"

It was Mira; she was staring at Urmina as she spoke those words, but Urmina just frowned harder.

"You don't get it? I mean, your answer, you know. What's your answer?"

Everyone tensed the moment that question left Mira's lips. All of them wanted to know that, but for some reason, they didn't question, as they felt that the moment they did, it would be chaos.

Urmina closed her eyes and took a long breath, knowing full well that her decision was not going to be something others wanted, charging her mana, and creating thin threads out of her webs.

But just when the tension reached its peak, Alex's voice was heard.

The words he spoke caused the eyes of every leader to widen before relief emerged in them.

Even Urmina seemed relieved. There was a hint of uncertainty in her eyes, but she was now at least a bit surer of her survival.