There was only the sound of a blade slicing through the air. The cut was so smooth and happened so suddenly that even the severance of that person's head did not make any sound.
A small, minuscule thud from his attacker catching his severed head and body was the only sound. In the next moment, his body was hidden in a corner where nobody would ever find it and the shadow that took his life was already gone.
Atlas breathed a sigh of relief. It happened as he planned it to. He only needed to repeat the same process five more times.
He slowly crept back to the central area. When he came close, he enabled his mask's invisibility skill.
[Intrinsic Foresight]
Not every assassin moved at the same pace, however, none of them had regrouped yet. Such was the benefit of this ruin.
They spread out so they could map the entire ruin in the shortest period of time. This meant that they were focused on more than just the first floor.
Three of the six hallways had entrances to the second floor. Thus, three assassins were already there, exploring more of this maze of rooms.
The two that were still on the first floor were returning to the center at a rapid pace.
'I cannot allow them to regroup.'
Atlas immediately determined which target was closer and dashed in that direction. He had to reach the darkness of the corridor before either of them came into the light, and more importantly, he had to kill the enemy before he could react and put up his defenses.
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The man's guard was down. He sent his spiritual sense into the world and only discovered the presence of his colleague, so he felt that there was no need to waste qi.
The target was an Earth Sage. He was very good at hiding and faster than anyone was willing to give him credit for, but he was not good at concealing his presence.
He would always be found. No matter how he hid, when a member of their team came close, he was always forced to run again.
Of course, the target was dangerous. He was also an enemy of the Society. This man's confidence, and the confidence of his associates, came from the very ruin Atlas chose as their grave. Searᴄh the nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
It was a location that limited the strengths he had, at least the ones that they knew about.
For that reason, they walked this ruin like they couldn't be harmed.
That kind of arrogance wouldn't be found in everyone, but it was not a rare mindset. Whether it was found in these assassins or an ordinary cultivator, arrogance was always present.
And arrogance always led to the downfall of those who possessed it.
Another one. With no sound and no light, a death that took place almost like it never happened. Atlas swung his blade only once, using only physical power to target only the physical body of his opponent.
And, in body cultivation alone, he was actually a step above his enemy.
The body was swiftly moved so the smell of blood couldn't easily pollute the ruin. Atlas hid in the shadows and watched as the last assassin on this floor arrived in the central area.
He looked around with furrowed brows. The others did not arrive at the rendezvous, which meant they were either dead or still exploring.
Of those options, there was only one he was willing to accept, but he had no choice but to check the other five corridors on the ground floor to confirm which one it was.
He turned to the corridor directly to the right of the one he returned from. He would start there.
'Huu…'
He moved systematically, which worked in Atlas' favor. The layout of the floor meant that every other corridor had a path to the second floor. Perhaps if the assassin chose randomly, he would have discovered one of the two corpses on the ground.
However, as he chose the nearest corridor, what he would find instead was a staircase.
Atlas' second sigh of relief was more important than the first.
The moment his presence was revealed, he would not be able to conceal it again. The mask's invisibility was only so useful because they didn't know about it or expect it. Once they did, they'd learn how to sense him regardless.
After staring down the corridor that the man just entered, Atlas turned his attention to the ceiling.
'Four more.'
He started moving again, taking a different route to the second floor.
This hunt went relatively without complications. Atlas secured himself such an advantage through the information he hid that he was able to catch these assassins off guard quite easily.
It was time-consuming. He absolutely needed to spend several minutes or even tens of minutes trailing each assassin before making his move, and there wasn't only one time when he almost got discovered.
However, he managed through it.
Using the same strategies, he assassinated the remaining four. The first died alone in his quadrant of the second floor. The second died the same way.
The third and fourth had grouped together, but after realizing that they could not easily find an entrance to the third floor, they were forced to split.
The key was that they had not found Atlas yet. They were scanning every inch of the area they passed by and making sure he couldn't hide, but he was never in front of them.
That crucial mistake of not considering that he was behind them the entire time was the ultimate cause of their downfall.
A blade swung in the darkness, but there was nobody left to understand its impact. One last head flew into the air, and a squad of six Dusk assassins had been slaughtered.
'Step one is complete.'
Even their appearance here was planned by him. He knew which groups were following him, and he specifically ensured that these six would be the ones entering the ruin with him.
'They were the weakest.'
They could be considered a "scouting party."
Their only job was to delay him until stronger forces arrived. They had just enough strength to hopefully kill him in that time.
The remaining eighteen pursuers would not be so easy to kill.
Fortunately, that was never the goal.
'My qi is almost wasted. I must gather myself before the rest arrive.'
No, they were probably already outside, but they were only securing a perimeter so he couldn't escape. Only when they realized that he was not planning to leave would they enter the ruin.
'They may even believe that I have already teleported away.'
He now had a decent amount of time to recuperate, and when the next party entered the ruin, he would be prepared to face them.
'But, before that…'
Most of the valuable objects in this ruin were destroyed or stolen already. There was nothing of note besides whatever historical value such a sight could have held.
Well, that was how it seemed on the outside, and that was how it truly was for the most part.
Except for in one place.
Like the assassins themselves, those who had entered this ruin before them were unable to find a way to its third floor.
'The people who built it were clearly forced to leave in a hurry. I can only slightly make it out, but there is a presence of some sort of treasure there.'
The last remaining treasure of this ruin.
While Atlas had the space to himself, it was only natural for him to take it.