Chapter 59 - Clearing the Air of Animosity

Zander finally calmed down and saw the bloody aftermath. The dead bodies were either decapitated or cut in half. The stench of blood permeated the air, but it did not bother Zander at all. In fact, he looked calm after going on a rampage.

"You nearly lost our pawns. Get a hold of yourself!" Zekiah yelled at Zander out of frustration.

Zander simply looked at Zekiah and just glared at him. He picked up a tattered cloth and used it to wipe the blood off his sword. He walked to where Zekiah was.

He towered over his younger brother and gave his brother a piece of his mind. "Don't use that tone of voice to me again. Just because I said nothing to you before, it does not mean I will always tolerate your arrogance."

Zekiah turned pale as Zander walked away from him. He turned and looked at Zander's departing back. He had never seen such a display of power before, especially from his big brother. He had always thought that it was due to Ovid's influence that Zander gained his fame.

Zekiah realized that he had been wrong all along. He smiled and began looking at his big brother in a new, glimmering light. He had always thought that he already surpassed Zander's ability in protecting Zenia – he was wrong. He thought his big brother did not give a damn when he allowed Zenia to be married off – he was wrong.

His big brother was truly worthy of being called big brother. Zenia must have known it all along. She had always called Zander with such affection each time she said the words, "Big Brother!"

Zenia did not call anyone else as Big Brother. To her, the only Big Brother was Zander. She called other men big brother, but their name was also mentioned.

"Tie these two up and gather the dead bodies and burn them," Zander told his men.

The two remaining assassins shivered as they began begging for their lives. Zander did not even look at them. Zekiah shook his head, and he knew that it was time for him to step in.

He was about to question the assassins when they heard a sound of galloping horse getting nearer. Zekiah tied the two assassins and looked at Zander, who was looking at the direction of the approaching horse.

"Whoa!" Gustof pulled the reins of his horse to stop.

"You! You colluded with the enemies. What will your master say?" One of the surviving assassins couldn't help yelling at Gustof when he saw him.

Gustof looked at the assassins and could tell that they were the Ninth Prince's men. Only the Ninth Prince's men wore black suits and mask when doing their jobs, although they too were instructed to wear the same every now and then.

"Do you know these guys?" Zander frowned.

"I know them to be the Ninth Prince's men. I told you before only these men wore the same get up. But, I don't know their faces," Gustof explained.

"How do you know that they are not one of yours? As you said, you also sometimes wear the same get up." Zekiah couldn't help to butt in.

Gustof walked to the men and pointed at the area on the mask just above the location of their eyes.

"Try to look closer, and you will see an imprint of the extra eye. Ours don't have that imprint. Only the men of the Ninth Prince use this type of mask. I have a good vision, and I noticed that right away."

Gustof removed the gloves of the men. They had markings on their palms that are unique to them. They appeared to be a series of numbers.

"These markings reveal their true identity. The Ninth Prince doesn't call them by name but by their secret code. The Ninth Prince had this uncanny skill in remembering strings of numbers, but he rarely remembers a name. It's easier for him to remember their numbers. Each time they report to the Ninth Prince, they need to show him their palms. He also doesn't know the faces of his men, and I bet these two don't know it as well."

Zekiah shivered at what Gustof just revealed. He planned to send some of Zander's men to infiltrate the enemy's camp. If he did, he could be sending them to their doom. He couldn't say whether the Ninth Prince was extremely practical or amazingly stupid for not knowing the faces of his men.

"Big Brother, my initial plan of infiltrating the enemy's camp may not work at all if that's the case." Zekiah had decided to call his older brother the same way as Zenia did.

"Hmm, let us ask them about their ways first and have two of our men pose as them and have two men guard these assassins and see if the plan works. Their ability to survive depends on the outcome of this mission." Zander looked and gave the two assassins an evil sneer.

Zander noticed a big difference in Zekiah's way of treating him, but he chose not to ask his little brother about it. He smiled secretly to himself and was glad that Zekiah was slowly warming up to him. He also loved this little brother dearly, but he couldn't dote on him the way he treated Zenia. Zekiah was a boy after all.

The assassins' eyes shone because they knew that they could still survive from their current predicament. It was not bad to turn to the other side. Even Gustof did it, and he seemed to be fine. In fact, he looked better than he did when he was still with his former master.

They discussed the plan and decided that two of Zander's men would pose as the surviving assassins. The assassins should assume a different identity and mingle with the crowd while under the watchful eyes of Zander's men. One false move and it would be the end of them. They already witnessed how powerful Zander and his men were.

They selected a few more assassins from the pile of dead bodies. The remaining men would pose as them later. The two assassins told Zander and the rest about their ways and give a thorough walkthrough about their group. Two hours of discussions were enough to learn everything.

When they collected the masks and the clothing of the ones that Zander's men would impersonate, they burned some of the bodies to erase the evidence that they were there. The remaining dead bodies were all thrown down the cliff. Even the carriage, along with Zenia's dress, was thrown off the cliff to create an impression that Zenia died.

The surviving assassins told Zander and Zekiah that some men were monitoring the outcome of the ambush to report back to the Ninth Prince. They did not care about the number of men they had lost as long as the job was accomplished.

When the monitoring team saw the carriage falling down the cliff and saw a glimpse of a female dress, it was enough for them to confirm that Zenia had died. They returned immediately to report to the Ninth Prince.

"By the way, why are you here?" Zander turned to Gustof.

"Oh, I forgot to give this to Ms. Anisen when we separated." Gustof handed a box to Zander.

Zander opened it and saw well-preserved Mortelium plant.

"What's this?"

"It's the poisonous plant that Ms. Zenia will use for her new weapon."

The surviving assassins shivered at what they heard. Poison? Weapon? Ms. Zenia Anisen? They were told that she was a good-for-nothing, how come she was playing with poison and weapon?!