Chapter 366 Chapter365-The Hidden AGHHO Assassin
After some idle chatter, Blue Sea and Adam resumed their efforts to persuade Loving_Lollipop to join their respective guilds.
Sitting on either side of the unsuspecting youth, they bombarded him with their persuasive pitches, leaving the poor boy dizzy and nodding in agreement.
John, watching this scene, couldn't help but smile knowingly.
He believed that in the face of these two seasoned veterans, the naive Loving_Lollipop would eventually give in.
Despite his outwardly carefree demeanor, Loving_Lollipop was actually a very cautious young man.
John wondered what kind of family environment had nurtured such a careful and meticulous character in real life.
His stubbornness and determination were his strengths, yet also his weaknesses, making it hard for him to accept others' suggestions.
That's why John had specifically arranged for him to meet Blue Sea and Adam.
Not to mention anything else, at least the social skills of Blue Sea and Adam would definitely help Loving_Lollipop change his mind more quickly.
John returned to the floor-to-ceiling window, pondering how to detect the AGHHO assassin.
By now, most of the attendees for the auction had arrived.
A casual glance around the room allowed John to spot Darklord and SoulSong in a certain direction on the first floor.
A chill flashed in his eyes.
Despite their differences in status now, John still felt a bit of annoyance seeing them.
The attempt to acquire shares in Darklord's family company had never stopped, although the executive had mentioned some obstacles last time.
Darklord's father still tightly held more than 51% of the shares, showing no intention of selling regardless of the price.
It seemed that taking full control of Darklord's family company would still take some time.
Shaking his head, John pushed these unrelated thoughts to the back of his mind.
The hidden AGHHO assassins were the immediate issue to be addressed.
These assassins wouldn't be as easy to detect as the players he had encountered before.
Their professional infiltration skills and ability to hide made them much more difficult to identify.
John decided to deploy his divine power once again, scanning the entire auction hall in the hope of detecting the presence of the assassin through any abnormal auras.
Closing his eyes, he directed his divine power to spread out. n-/o/.V-.e(-1/-b--I.)n
The divine power, like an invisible net, covered the entire auction hall.
He could sense the presence of every person, every subtle breath.
Suddenly, John sensed an abnormal aura, a cold and indissoluble energy fluctuation that flashed momentarily.
He abruptly opened his eyes, looking towards the direction of the energy surge.
Among the crowd stood a figure cloaked in a black cape, shrouded in darkness, rendering their face unrecognizable.
A mysterious dark energy swirled around them, completely isolating their presence.
Although John couldn't be certain if this person was an AGHHO assassin, he was sure of one thing: this individual was definitely not an ordinary player.
To date, John had not encountered a player with such formidable strength.
This person's level had to be at least above two hundred.
Just as John's gaze reached them, the cloaked figure seemed to instantly sense something and abruptly looked up in John's direction.
Beneath the cloak, a fleeting glimpse of an old, sinister face appeared.
John casually averted his gaze, but he was now certain of the individual's identity.
Such keen perception was undoubtedly characteristic of an AGHHO assassin.
If John was not mistaken, this person might very well be the master assassin leading the team, as mentioned by Master Reo.
He just didn't know their number...
On the first floor, the cloaked elder fixated on the floor-to-ceiling windows of John's booth.
Although he no longer felt observed, he was certain that a pair of eyes had been watching him from behind those windows moments ago.
The auction hadn't started yet, and the windows of the second-floor booths were still one-way transparent, so the elder couldn't see John.
Beside him, Wolf Howl noticed the elder's unusual behavior and asked with some surprise, "Mr. 45, what's wrong?"
Mr. 45's sinister voice slowly resonated, "Which power from your unknown land occupies that booth?"
Wolf Howl followed Mr. 45's gaze but was just as clueless.
He could only shake his head in resignation, "I'm not sure. The second-floor booths are allocated by the Dawn Breeze Auction House, and only they know which guild corresponds to each one."
Mr. 45 snorted disdainfully, "Useless. To have received AGHHO's legacy and yet not even qualify for a second-floor booth, forcing me to mingle with this rabble!"
Despite Mr. 45's reproach, a shadow flickered through Wolf Howl's eyes, but he maintained a placid demeanor, his smile unchanged. "You're right, Mr. 45, it's our failure..."
With another cold snort, Mr. 45 said disdainfully, "You may lack talent and strength, but you have the virtue of obedience. Assist us diligently in retrieving what we desire this time, and I will grant you the opportunity to access the core assassin heritage of AGHHO."
Wolf Howl's face lit up with joy and his expression grew even more respectful. "I am deeply grateful for Mr. 45's cultivation. I will spare no effort for the great AGHHO, even if it means walking through fire and water!"
Mr. 45 nodded in satisfaction, his cold gaze beneath the cloak briefly flickering over the floor-to-ceiling window of John's booth again.
The sensation of being watched had vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Perhaps it was just someone glancing his way momentarily...
...
Inside the booth, John was still unabashedly observing Mr. 45, only now his gaze was veiled with a faint luminance.
[Eye of Artemis (Divine Talent): Favored by the God of the Night, you have been bestowed the Eye of Artemis. With this talent, you can see through darkness and the abyss, unraveling all their truths. No illusion can deceive you. You can discern the truth of any matter and possess many mysterious powers. With this talent, you can look upon deities directly.]
With the release of the Eye of Artemis, John's scrutiny left no trace, imperceptible even to this keen AGHHO master assassin.
Under the Eye of Artemis, the assassin's attribute information was fully revealed to John.
[45: Master Assassin, hailing from the hallowed halls of all assassins – AGHHO, a cold and venomous serpent lurking in the shadows, possessing formidable assassination skills. Once a renowned assassin class powerhouse on the Godslayer Continent, he was later chosen as a core member of AGHHO. He has achieved the feat of single-handedly assassinating a Grand Archmage fifty levels above him...]
[Level: 235]
[Class: Assassin]
[Attribute Information: ...]
Seeing 45's attribute information, John's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
He hadn't anticipated that the master assassin leading this operation would be ranked so highly within AGHHO.
Number 45, signifying that this individual was at least among the top fifty in the core ranks of AGHHO.
All this for six daggers? John found himself momentarily at a loss for words.
It only highlighted his lack of understanding regarding the significance of the six daggers he had brought to the Dawn Breeze Auction House.
These were not merely six pieces of equipment, but represented the biggest disgrace in AGHHO's history to date.
Six core members, all ranked in the top hundred, had been wiped out during an assassination quest.
Even their AGHHO-issued and numbered weapons had become spoils of war for their enemy.
Such an event had never occurred in the millennia-long history of AGHHO.
Since the inception of AGHHO, they had always been the ones stirring the winds and waves across the continent.
Be it human empires or kingdoms of other races, major events often had their shadows lurking behind, yet no one could ever lay a hand on them.
When had they ever suffered such a loss?
Moreover, these daggers were now being brazenly auctioned off, a blatant provocation towards AGHHO.
Upon learning this news, the elders of AGHHO immediately recalled 45, who was then executing a highly confidential infiltration quest.
They ordered him to personally lead an Elite Team to covertly infiltrate Silverglow.
Their mission was not only to retrieve the six daggers from the auction but also to disrupt the event, causing significant losses to the Dawn Breeze Auction House.
If possible, they were also to track down and make the mastermind pay a steep price.
This was the quest assigned to 45.
The name Galewind had become the top target on AGHHO's assassination list.
Should his whereabouts be discovered, an elder would personally lead a team to execute the assassination.
Thus, 45 had specifically sought out Wolf Howl to disguise themselves as members of the Wolf Guild and enter the auction hall.
45 was already aware of Galewind's true identity as the strongest among these professionals from the unknown lands.
This information had been sent back to AGHHO headquarters, awaiting the discovery of John's precise location for the elder team to carry out the assassination.
Of course, all these events occurred before the annihilation of AGHHO's Cloud Sea stronghold.
The AGHHO inside was already in disarray due to the complete loss of the Cloud Sea base.
Had 45 known that the destruction of the Cloud Sea stronghold was orchestrated by John himself, he would have probably never reported John's location to the headquarters...