Chapter 124 - THE ASSASSIN GUILD

"There are more than five paths to enter Utahill. But before that, I think we have to deal with them." Sebastian sighed.

"Deal with who?" Veronica inquired. 

Sebastian didn't answer her but looked ahead with an unreadable expression on his face. And, her curiosity was soon quenched by the scene that unfolded in front of them. She didn't even need a verbal confirmation anymore. 

Out of the blue, twenty burly men rushed from all four sides and surrounded them. They were all wearing black clothes and their faces were covered with thin back gauges, leaving only their emotionless eyes open to the world. 

"They are assassins from a guild," Sebastian finally replied in a low voice while drawing his weapons out. His weapons were two short swords. 

'Assassins? Like the ones who came after me to kill me in the forest? But why?' Veronica wondered as her heart started shaking. 

"…" Catherine quietly looked at the assassins. It was her first time seeing them in real life. She looked frightened and guided her horse closer to Veronica's. 

"State your business," Arthur calmly yet firmly demanded. His eyes observed those assassins. 

The leader of the assassins answered, "We are here to take the blessed child. Give her to us. We are following direct orders from the king."

"What blessed child? We don't have things like a blessed child here," Sebastian bickered. He thought in his mind, 'Do you take us for fools? A king has his own army. They follow his order. He doesn't need a private assassin guild to take care of his business.'

The assassins exchanged glances. They looked like they were confused. Nevertheless, their leader wasn't easy to fool. He pointed out at Veronica and stated, "She is right there."

Veronica became nervous but didn't show it on her face. She did her best to calm her racing heart and stared at the leader of the assassin guild. She gathered some courage and said, "Is this some kind of trick to kill people and rob them off?"

"…"

"…"

Catherine and Sebastian's eyes slowly turned toward her. 'Has she gone insane?' they thought.

The leader of the assassin guild looked at her with deadly eyes. He questioned while directing a killing gaze at her, "What do you mean?" 

"What do I mean? Heh. Do you not understand or are you pretending to be a brainless fool?" Veronica taunted him. "I heard many stories about bandits stealing from poor travelers and killing them mercilessly. Aren't you one of them?"

For assassins, it was a great insult. They weren't bandits. 

Another assassin reiterated since he couldn't take the insult. "We get paid with gold coins by clients to finish off some human garbage. It is far better than stealing from others."

Veronica was pissed after hearing his claim. She said, "Far better? You stole their lives, robbed off people's children, fathers, mothers, husbands, and wives. How can you say you are better than bandits? Bandits take goods that can be retrieved. But, can you give back the human lives you took? Can you? Those people did nothing to you but you took their lives just for some money. Do you think you are any better? You are the worst kind of people in the world." 

She added, "Even we, some harmless travelers, are going to meet our family members. You know nothing about us. We didn't hurt you either. But you sold yourself to get some money. So, you decided to kill us. Isn't that right? Even an animal knows how to show affection to those who care for them."

"…" the assassins were quiet. They were being humiliated by this woman and they couldn't say anything.

"Enough of that." The leader of the assassin guild stepped forward. "You think you can get away from us by saying that, blessed child? Come with us before it gets any more bloody."

Arthur moved his horse forward and blocked her from the leader of the assassin guild. "What does the blessed child look like? Does she match the description?"

The leader of the assassin guild stated, "She has shining silver hair that no one ever had."

"Does this lady over here have silver hair?" Arthur pointed at her.

Everyone looked at Veronica. Veronica took off her hood and showed her shining black hair.

Veronica was thankful to the wife of the desert tribe leader for keeping her black hair wig safe when she went to visit them during the war. She had mistakenly left it there and was surprised to find it months later. The elder woman gave it back to her after she woke up from her thirty days of coma. She wore the wig thinking they would go through the checkpoint at the border.

The assassin guild was dumbstruck. They did not expect that. They exchanged glances and one of them whispered something to their leader. The leader looked at Arthur and said, "Our spy notified us early this morning that the blessed child was heading to this road. Our spy's information can't be wrong."

Arthur shrugged. "Maybe your spy deliberately gave you false information. He must have wanted to betray the team."

The leader of the assassin guild demanded, "We will be checking this woman. You may leave."

"Leave?" Arthur narrowed his eyes. He coldly refused to obey the leader of the assassin guild, "I won't leave my woman to some barbaric men."

'There is no way anyone was following us. My master and I scouted every day. The road was clear,' Sebastian thought. 'But, it is indeed suspicious that we didn't face any mischief all the way. And, their spy is accurate. How come we didn't notice who was tailing us?'

The leader of the assassin guild told them, "Our spy informed us every day what you did, where you went. Even if you try to fool us. It is not possible. She is cunning."

"She?" Arthur turned toward Catherine. "Was it you?" he inquired.

"No way!" Veronica firmly believed that her friend would never do that. 

But, she only heard Catherine say, "I'm sorry, Ver."