Chapter 70 70 A Clean Kill

Since they couldn't take the risk of spirit beasts crossing over the defensive boundary, it was decided that a preemptive strike was necessary. They needed to take care of the threat before it could get close enough to pose danger to them.

"We can't take the risk with this man. This old man looks quite experienced. I know your men are capable but there is a slim chance that their ambush might fail." Zach argued as he discussed countermeasures with Bruce.

Bruce was of the opinion that they should arrange a heavy ambush along the path from the Sosis family to the Luther family. But the bone of contention between the two was that Bruce wanted to use his own men for the ambush while Zach felt that it might create further complications if they failed to take care of the old man in one go.

"We can always send more men to create a bigger ambush so he has no chance to run away." Bruce was adamant as he didn't want Zach to do everything by himself.

"First of all, there will be avoidable losses in that scenario. And secondly, the mansion will be unguarded which might attract unwanted attention from those watching your family." Zach's logic was perfect and his words crisp enough to shut an experienced family head like Bruce up.

"If the ambush failed we won't have a chance like this again. That old man would get cautious about us as well. Since, we don't have much time. I will go myself. I will take care of him on my own." Zach seemed like a judge announcing the final verdict as he determined their further course of action with his words.

Bruce had no choice but to listen to him and let him go on his own because that was the most optimal solution.

Zach hurriedly put on a hood just like the one that Luna had to wear to hide her identity but this one was the part of the mountain camouflage.

Zach used the system screen to constantly monitor the Sosis family estate, especially the room where the planning for his assassination was being carried out by the Sosis family head and the old man who was his friend and the assassin for hire.

He had to hurry and find a perfect ambush point that lay on the path between the Sosis family and the Luther family. Since the old man had planned to assassinate Zach in the evening, Zach had an inkling as to what path the old man was going to take towards the Luther family.

Therefore, he chose a particularly high and steep mountain along that path that provided him with high range of visibility so that he could see his target coming from a distance, and an advantage for attacking from a higher vantage point.

Zach's camouflaging skills that he had carefully and tirelessly perfected were finally put to use.

Zach had mastered the basic steps of camouflaging. In fact that was the very first thing he practiced in order to escape any problem that he would have been unable to handle at the time of his arrival.

Without stumbling like a newbie, Zach surveyed the area that he had chosen and assessed the natural colors and the textures that made up the surrounding areas of the hill.

He studied all the shrubbery and the scanty vegetation, the countless rocks that protruded from the body of the hill and soil composition that made up the body of the hill.

Next, Zach gathered the materials he needed for camouflaging such as branches, leaves and the grasses that matched the colors and textures of the surroundings that he had previously assessed. Then he found an especially muddy location towards the back of the hill and covered himself in it so that it would become easier for him to blend in with the surroundings.

Carefully arranging everything, he began to cover his whole body with the materials he had gathered. After he was done with the body, he used the same technique to cover his helmet, his rifle and the rest of his gear. The only thing he left untainted was the scope of his rifle that was dirt free so that he could keep an eye on the path.

Zach chose an especially clandestine location that gave him the perfect view of the path that the old man was going to take. With slow and unhurried movements, Zach crouched and then eased into the location. He was following all the rules of camouflaging as he made slow and careful movements while lying in prone position so as to not give away his position to any prying eye that might be waiting for him to blunder.

Zach pulled out the tripod stand and used it to stabilize the sniper he had been carrying with him. As soon as he planted the tripod into the soil, he became able to move quite freely since he didn't have to carry all the weight of the rifle.

Using the scope he moved the ambush site into the center of the reticle. He pulled out another item from the Weapons Arsenal that looked like a binocular but with a vision slot for a single eye. It was a range finder that could be used to determine the distance to the target.

Zach turned a dial on top of the scope and adjusted for the elevation and the distance from the ambush site. Observing the movement of the trees below him Zach estimated the wind speed and direction and applied the necessary corrections by calculating the exact windage through a wind meter which was a handheld instrument like a camcorder. If he had the option, Zach would have wanted a sniper with an onboard ballistics computer which was the most advanced sniper rifle available in the Nebula system but the lack of energy was still keeping it locked for him. With the slightest horizontal movement of the dial towards the right side, Zach was ready to ambush the assassin who was already on his way.

Based on the distance between the two family mansions, Zach was estimating that the old man should be in his sights in at most half an hour, twenty minutes if the old man was more impatient than he looked.

Pulling out a digital timer, he set it for 25 minutes and placed it towards his right so that he could keep track of time without disturbing his position.

Zach was so silent and unmoving that he looked no different from the surroundings. He had blended in perfectly. Not even a chameleon could have been as perfect as him in the camouflaging department. Looking through the scope, he was waiting for his target with the utmost patience.

It wasn't long before a system alarm showed him the arrival of a hostile element headed his way. Zach didn't even have to look at the map of the system to determine the source of that hostility. It was definitely the old man who was coming over to assassinate him.

The old man was walking briskly but without attracting any attention. He looked like any normal old man you would meet on your way to the convenience store. There was no sense of danger from the old man even though he was right in front of Zach, though at a considerable distance.

As soon as the target entered his field of vision through the rifle scope, Zach repeated his wind calculation and adjusted the dial for windage before bringing the old man into the centre of the crosshairs through the scope.

When everything was set, his finger unconsciously squeezed the trigger as gently as possible and the silenced gun fired with hammering recoil that was barely contained by the support of Zach's shoulder.

The spinning motion of the bullet as it was fired from the gun increased its penetration power and it accurately struck its intended target.

The force of this bullet was so great that the bullet entered from one side of the old man's head and exited from the other end near his neck area taking a major portion of his head along with it. His brain had practically been blown out.

Despite giving the old man such a gruesome end, Zach still acted cautious in case there was someone else accompanying the old man. He zoomed in on the dead old tamer with the help of the scope in order to confirm his death so there wouldn't be any ambiguity regarding the fact in the future.

Once the job was confirmed to be complete, Zach retrieved the sniper rifle back into his Weapons Arsenal and got rid of all the camouflage material covering his camouflage hood. He didn't want to look like a walking monster as he walked back to the Luther mansion.

…

Sosis Family Mansion

Frederick was waiting for his friend to return from his mission. He was eagerly waiting for the results. The old man was one of the strongest persons he knew as he had the ability of an A rank mage with the help of his spirit beast who was already a rank above him in strength.

Frederick was sure that even if Zach managed to run away from the old man, he would still be severely injured at the very least since he was familiar with the power of the old man.

In Zach's weakened state, it wouldn't be difficult for Frederick to take control of the Luther family which would take away Zach's reason to stay in the city.

Frederick was even willing to concede the bitch that was the reason behind all this to Zach if it made him leave Elizabeth city and his family alone.