The carriage quickly crossed the metal bridge. Faerun set down the thin sword in his hand and said, "He isn’t an assassin. He must be from the west."
The west meaning the Tanggulasi Empire. The Qin and the Tanggulasi people had always treated each other as enemies. They were never willing to call each other’s countries by name.
"Don’t worry. We should be fine now that we’re past the bridge." Viscountess Lex did not even open her eyes, simply saying this calmly.
Hu An and the rest of the mages were slightly quieted. They had not noticed the assassin earlier on and if it hadn’t been for Faerun, this assassin could have killed anyone they wanted. Aside from Viscountess Lex who possessed some combatability, the other mages were practically like meat on a chopping board.
The metal bridge had been the most suitable place to ambush the carriage. Once they reached the main road, it would be much harder to get close to the carriage.
Saleen was not worried about this at all. The people waiting around the vicinity of the carriage had not taken any action. This assassin had only been there to test them. If there had been any true danger, the person who had toyed with him would have taken action long ago. At the very least, there were a black metal grand swordmaster and an assassin whose grade was unknown by Viscountess Lex’s side. With Faerun the newly upgraded sorcerer, whoever wanted to kill her would surely have a very tough time trying to do so.
This was an old tactic, sending out a strong assassin and getting someone to spy on them afar with an alchemy telescope or magic. After determining the abilities of the people they were dealing with, they would then prepare another assassin. Hence, the people who were hiding around Viscountess Lex had not moved. Faerun had only needed to extend a hand to gain control of the entire situation.
All of these people possessed a great deal of experience! Although Saleen understood this reason, if it was his first time witnessing something like this. It had not been easy for him to remain calm, and his first instinct could have potentially been to show off his true skills. After all, the strike from the assassin earlier on had meant to be fatal, and in the face of death, who could be so calm?
Perhaps only that person with a heart like steel.
In comparison, he had actual combat experience, Sika had an exceptional gift for combat, and Nailisi could not be bothered with the life of the viscountess. Hence, the three of them had not embarrassed themselves.
After this rite of passage, there was no doubt that the other eight mages that Faerun was nurturing would have matured. So long as one was not rash, there was no need to stand out. Looking at Hu An, one could already tell that he wanted very badly to show off to Viscountess Lex.
Saleen would not waste time on things that were hopeless. He had a vague idea of Viscountess Lex’s temper and he knew that the more a person wanted to impress her, the less they would catch her attention. However, If one followed the rules strictly, she would not abandon them either. A person just needed to do as they liked and not attempt to hurt her; and the viscountess would definitely be fair to them.
Someone who did not have any desires would have the purest heart. Since Saleen had never tried to suck up to anyone, this had actually made Faerun like him more.
As the carriage left the metal bridge, the Bitter Water Army regrouped, completely cutting off any chances for the assassin to come close. Only then did the mages in the carriage relax.
Viscountess Lex gave the order to setup camp and the body of the assassin was brought into Faerun’s tent. Faerun took out a stripped-down alchemy machine from his spatial equipment and built a magic laboratory. The assassin’s body was placed flat on the laboratory table. They had been stripped clean.
Faerun called the mages into the tent. He pointed at the corpse on the table and said, "Actually, the dead can speak. The following scene may get bloody. If any of you cannot handle those things, you are free to leave."
Not a single mage left. Nailisi licked her lips and moved forward, then was pulled back by Saleen. If she could not control herself and started biting the corpse, things would get tricky to explain.
"Let’s start with something simple," Faerun said as an icicle appeared from his nails. He patiently took apart the skin and muscles on both of the assassin’s hands, exposinjg the bone.
"A high-grade assassin won’t bring any items that can identify him when he is on a mission. However, their bodies cannot be changed. Take a look at the thumb on his right hand. It is relatively thick. This means that he started training his sword aura relatively late, before his bones had settled, and he must have practiced some crude martial arts."
As he spoke, Faerun cut off a piece of the finger bone with the icicle and threw it into a glass beaker. He moved on to the head of the corpse and cut out a line from the chin to the back of the ear before moving behind the skull. He hooked a metal hook onto the wound on the chin, and with a pull, the entire face was stripped by Faerun.
Bleugh…
A female mage could not handle the sight and puked on the spot.
Faerun took a few strands of hair and placed it into another beaker filled with transparent liquid. He said, "Humans have very little facial muscles and do not train their muscles under the skin. We can see the expressions he usually makes. This man is very strict," Faerun joked, but the faces of the females mages remained just as pale. Another female mage could not hold it in anymore and puked.
"The bones cannot fool anyone." Faerun used the icicle and expertly carved away the facial muscles, revealing the bones of the skull.
"He is an assassin who lies low for long periods of time and has always been in the Qin Empire. Look, his cheekbones have been grinded flat, and his nose bridge has been flattened too. This causes him to seem more like he is from the Qin Empire." As Faerun spoke, he brought over the beaker containing the hair, and gave it a shake. The clear liquid turned black. He took a needle and fished out the strand of hair. It had turned gold.
"His hair was dyed as well."
"Sir, I…" The female mage who had puked first could not continue speaking. She covered her mouth and ran out of the tent.
"Usually, the color of the eyeballs are hard to manipulate. It would affect the vision of the assassin. Thus, I will not dig them out to check."
Everyone in the tent heaved a sigh of relief. Faerun said, "To know who he is, we need to see his diet too. Luckily, you all didn’t destroy his stomach."
Upon saying that, Faerun used the icicle to open up the assassin’s body, revealing the contents inside. The smell inside of the tent grew harder to stomach, Faerun did not use any cleaning magic. Instead, he used his hands to lightly shift the stomach before opening it up with the icicle and saying, "Luckily, there is still undigested food. These are green beans, these should be noodles, and there is cucumber as well. He isn’t a vegetarian, but he must have been abstaining from meat up until the date. Green beans are a common food but the price of cucumber is a little expensive. He must have had some kind of identity. At the very least, he wasn’t a commoner."
"Um, ugh…"
Another two mages ran out. Aside from Saleen and the other two, even Hu An had a disgusted expression, forcing himself to stand beside the table.
"His ribs have been injured as early as ten years ago or as recent as this past year This was not his first mission. With luck, I might be able to find some clues. However, we don’t have the time for that now. We just need to confirm that he is from the west," Faerun explained patiently while Nailisi held on tightly to Saleen’s back, holding back her urge to eat a feast.
She had not seen fresh meat for so long, and this person had just died. Even their blood had not completely clotted.
Dispelling his Icicle spell, Faerun put on a pair of gloves and took out a small hammer, knocking out one of the assassin’s teeth.
"The tooth is real and is not hiding any poison. This shows how confident this man was. Even if we had caught him alive, we wouldn’t have been able to ask him anything."
Faerun put down the hammer, took out a saw, and said, "We need to saw open his leg so we can see his bone marrow and determine his age."
Upon Faerun saying that, even a male mage ran out. Only the three of them were left in the tent. Faerun said in disappoinmtnet, "If the corpse was complete, I could even make some art."
"Sir, did you ever think of becoming a death mage in the past?" Saleen couldn’t help but ask.
"I did. But my father didn’t allow it and I didn’t have the money to buy the death flames. I had already learned the basic knowledge of a death mage. It’s really interesting."
"This…" Saleen used his hand to point at the corpse and thought depressingly, Could Faerun have made everyone suffer just for his enjoyment?
"After becoming a sorcerer, I can predict certain dangers, although they are unclear. By collecting more information now, even if danger were to come again, I can more quickly determine what methods I should employ to manage it. This person must have lived in the Qin Empire for at least ten years. Determining his legitimate age, position, diet, and religion, I will be able to predict the next attack with higher accuracy. For a mage, everything can be calculated."
"Just like the Figaro formula?"
"Yes, Saleen. You’re smart." Faerun smiled satisfyingly.
Hearing the compliment, Saleen started whispering in his heart. Certainly only stubborn maniacs can become sorcerers. Even though Faerun’s eyes were calm, his heart was unusually passionate.
What a pity for the assassin. If his faith was with the God of Light, with his body having been hacked apart like this, it would be hard for him to rise to heaven.
Although only Saleen was left to appreciate the show, Faerun excitedly sawed apart the assassin’s thigh. He was not using the icicle spell this time and fresh blood spilled everywhere.
"If I wanted it to be cleaner, I would use the Grade 4 Current Cutter spell so that we could see directly the parts of the skeleton. However, using a saw, I can accurately feel the strength of his skeleton to determine his true grade. Do you want to try?" Faerun extended his hand, wanting Saleen to saw the other leg.
"I don’t think I will." Even though Saleen looked calm, asking him to do this was a little hard for him.
"How about I try it?" Nailisi whispered into Saleen ear as he glared at her.
"Actually, any human who has trained their sword aura is not much different from a magic beast. This person wasn’t even a grand swordmaster yet and his bones are already this tough. Look." Faerun had Saleen observe the teeth of the saw. They had nearly been grinded flat. The last few cuts were completed with Faerun’s magic.
"Hence you must remember, if you meet a grand swordmaster, even if they have expended their sword aura, your low-grade magic will not be able to hurt their bones."
Saleen might have read a lot of books but he had no idea about this. After hearing so, he started becoming cautious. He had killed a few swordmasters and assumed that magic was invincible. This thought was hilarious. Without Sika and Nailisi, he would have died a long time ago.
"What if I am forced to face a grand swordmaster?" Saleen asked in a serious manner. Earl Sufonso was a grand swordmaster, and Saleen would never forget this hatred.
The carriage quickly crossed the metal bridge. Faerun set down the thin sword in his hand and said, "He isn’t an assassin. He must be from the west."
The west meaning the Tanggulasi Empire. The Qin and the Tanggulasi people had always treated each other as enemies. They were never willing to call each other’s countries by name.
"Don’t worry. We should be fine now that we’re past the bridge." Viscountess Lex did not even open her eyes, simply saying this calmly.
Hu An and the rest of the mages were slightly quieted. They had not noticed the assassin earlier on and if it hadn’t been for Faerun, this assassin could have killed anyone they wanted. Aside from Viscountess Lex who possessed some combatability, the other mages were practically like meat on a chopping board.
The metal bridge had been the most suitable place to ambush the carriage. Once they reached the main road, it would be much harder to get close to the carriage.
Saleen was not worried about this at all. The people waiting around the vicinity of the carriage had not taken any action. This assassin had only been there to test them. If there had been any true danger, the person who had toyed with him would have taken action long ago. At the very least, there were a black metal grand swordmaster and an assassin whose grade was unknown by Viscountess Lex’s side. With Faerun the newly upgraded sorcerer, whoever wanted to kill her would surely have a very tough time trying to do so.
This was an old tactic, sending out a strong assassin and getting someone to spy on them afar with an alchemy telescope or magic. After determining the abilities of the people they were dealing with, they would then prepare another assassin. Hence, the people who were hiding around Viscountess Lex had not moved. Faerun had only needed to extend a hand to gain control of the entire situation.
All of these people possessed a great deal of experience! Although Saleen understood this reason, if it was his first time witnessing something like this. It had not been easy for him to remain calm, and his first instinct could have potentially been to show off his true skills. After all, the strike from the assassin earlier on had meant to be fatal, and in the face of death, who could be so calm?
Perhaps only that person with a heart like steel.
In comparison, he had actual combat experience, Sika had an exceptional gift for combat, and Nailisi could not be bothered with the life of the viscountess. Hence, the three of them had not embarrassed themselves.
After this rite of passage, there was no doubt that the other eight mages that Faerun was nurturing would have matured. So long as one was not rash, there was no need to stand out. Looking at Hu An, one could already tell that he wanted very badly to show off to Viscountess Lex.
Saleen would not waste time on things that were hopeless. He had a vague idea of Viscountess Lex’s temper and he knew that the more a person wanted to impress her, the less they would catch her attention. However, If one followed the rules strictly, she would not abandon them either. A person just needed to do as they liked and not attempt to hurt her; and the viscountess would definitely be fair to them.
Someone who did not have any desires would have the purest heart. Since Saleen had never tried to suck up to anyone, this had actually made Faerun like him more.
As the carriage left the metal bridge, the Bitter Water Army regrouped, completely cutting off any chances for the assassin to come close. Only then did the mages in the carriage relax.
Viscountess Lex gave the order to setup camp and the body of the assassin was brought into Faerun’s tent. Faerun took out a stripped-down alchemy machine from his spatial equipment and built a magic laboratory. The assassin’s body was placed flat on the laboratory table. They had been stripped clean.
Faerun called the mages into the tent. He pointed at the corpse on the table and said, "Actually, the dead can speak. The following scene may get bloody. If any of you cannot handle those things, you are free to leave."
Not a single mage left. Nailisi licked her lips and moved forward, then was pulled back by Saleen. If she could not control herself and started biting the corpse, things would get tricky to explain.
"Let’s start with something simple," Faerun said as an icicle appeared from his nails. He patiently took apart the skin and muscles on both of the assassin’s hands, exposinjg the bone.
"A high-grade assassin won’t bring any items that can identify him when he is on a mission. However, their bodies cannot be changed. Take a look at the thumb on his right hand. It is relatively thick. This means that he started training his sword aura relatively late, before his bones had settled, and he must have practiced some crude martial arts."
As he spoke, Faerun cut off a piece of the finger bone with the icicle and threw it into a glass beaker. He moved on to the head of the corpse and cut out a line from the chin to the back of the ear before moving behind the skull. He hooked a metal hook onto the wound on the chin, and with a pull, the entire face was stripped by Faerun.
Bleugh…
A female mage could not handle the sight and puked on the spot.
Faerun took a few strands of hair and placed it into another beaker filled with transparent liquid. He said, "Humans have very little facial muscles and do not train their muscles under the skin. We can see the expressions he usually makes. This man is very strict," Faerun joked, but the faces of the females mages remained just as pale. Another female mage could not hold it in anymore and puked.
"The bones cannot fool anyone." Faerun used the icicle and expertly carved away the facial muscles, revealing the bones of the skull.
"He is an assassin who lies low for long periods of time and has always been in the Qin Empire. Look, his cheekbones have been grinded flat, and his nose bridge has been flattened too. This causes him to seem more like he is from the Qin Empire." As Faerun spoke, he brought over the beaker containing the hair, and gave it a shake. The clear liquid turned black. He took a needle and fished out the strand of hair. It had turned gold.
"His hair was dyed as well."
"Sir, I…" The female mage who had puked first could not continue speaking. She covered her mouth and ran out of the tent.
"Usually, the color of the eyeballs are hard to manipulate. It would affect the vision of the assassin. Thus, I will not dig them out to check."
Everyone in the tent heaved a sigh of relief. Faerun said, "To know who he is, we need to see his diet too. Luckily, you all didn’t destroy his stomach."
Upon saying that, Faerun used the icicle to open up the assassin’s body, revealing the contents inside. The smell inside of the tent grew harder to stomach, Faerun did not use any cleaning magic. Instead, he used his hands to lightly shift the stomach before opening it up with the icicle and saying, "Luckily, there is still undigested food. These are green beans, these should be noodles, and there is cucumber as well. He isn’t a vegetarian, but he must have been abstaining from meat up until the date. Green beans are a common food but the price of cucumber is a little expensive. He must have had some kind of identity. At the very least, he wasn’t a commoner."
"Um, ugh…"
Another two mages ran out. Aside from Saleen and the other two, even Hu An had a disgusted expression, forcing himself to stand beside the table.
"His ribs have been injured as early as ten years ago or as recent as this past year This was not his first mission. With luck, I might be able to find some clues. However, we don’t have the time for that now. We just need to confirm that he is from the west," Faerun explained patiently while Nailisi held on tightly to Saleen’s back, holding back her urge to eat a feast.
She had not seen fresh meat for so long, and this person had just died. Even their blood had not completely clotted.
Dispelling his Icicle spell, Faerun put on a pair of gloves and took out a small hammer, knocking out one of the assassin’s teeth.
"The tooth is real and is not hiding any poison. This shows how confident this man was. Even if we had caught him alive, we wouldn’t have been able to ask him anything."
Faerun put down the hammer, took out a saw, and said, "We need to saw open his leg so we can see his bone marrow and determine his age."
Upon Faerun saying that, even a male mage ran out. Only the three of them were left in the tent. Faerun said in disappoinmtnet, "If the corpse was complete, I could even make some art."
"Sir, did you ever think of becoming a death mage in the past?" Saleen couldn’t help but ask.
"I did. But my father didn’t allow it and I didn’t have the money to buy the death flames. I had already learned the basic knowledge of a death mage. It’s really interesting."
"This…" Saleen used his hand to point at the corpse and thought depressingly, Could Faerun have made everyone suffer just for his enjoyment?
"After becoming a sorcerer, I can predict certain dangers, although they are unclear. By collecting more information now, even if danger were to come again, I can more quickly determine what methods I should employ to manage it. This person must have lived in the Qin Empire for at least ten years. Determining his legitimate age, position, diet, and religion, I will be able to predict the next attack with higher accuracy. For a mage, everything can be calculated."
"Just like the Figaro formula?"
"Yes, Saleen. You’re smart." Faerun smiled satisfyingly.
Hearing the compliment, Saleen started whispering in his heart. Certainly only stubborn maniacs can become sorcerers. Even though Faerun’s eyes were calm, his heart was unusually passionate.
What a pity for the assassin. If his faith was with the God of Light, with his body having been hacked apart like this, it would be hard for him to rise to heaven.
Although only Saleen was left to appreciate the show, Faerun excitedly sawed apart the assassin’s thigh. He was not using the icicle spell this time and fresh blood spilled everywhere.
"If I wanted it to be cleaner, I would use the Grade 4 Current Cutter spell so that we could see directly the parts of the skeleton. However, using a saw, I can accurately feel the strength of his skeleton to determine his true grade. Do you want to try?" Faerun extended his hand, wanting Saleen to saw the other leg.
"I don’t think I will." Even though Saleen looked calm, asking him to do this was a little hard for him.
"How about I try it?" Nailisi whispered into Saleen ear as he glared at her.
"Actually, any human who has trained their sword aura is not much different from a magic beast. This person wasn’t even a grand swordmaster yet and his bones are already this tough. Look." Faerun had Saleen observe the teeth of the saw. They had nearly been grinded flat. The last few cuts were completed with Faerun’s magic.
"Hence you must remember, if you meet a grand swordmaster, even if they have expended their sword aura, your low-grade magic will not be able to hurt their bones."
Saleen might have read a lot of books but he had no idea about this. After hearing so, he started becoming cautious. He had killed a few swordmasters and assumed that magic was invincible. This thought was hilarious. Without Sika and Nailisi, he would have died a long time ago.
"What if I am forced to face a grand swordmaster?" Saleen asked in a serious manner. Earl Sufonso was a grand swordmaster, and Saleen would never forget this hatred.
