Chapter 623: I Heard You Found Clues About the Assassin Who Attempted to Kill Luther?

Toward Irina’s disdain, Boss Fang showed himself entirely unmoved.

In truth, even the mercenary Crete felt that this proprietor simply had no mind for profit! Were it he, how could he not seize such a chance to line his pockets to the brim?

"Hmph! If it still isn't out in a few days, we shall go try the new mystic realm at the Durand Workshop!" a knight of the Golden Gryphon Knights let out a cold snort.

...

Canglan City was an important capital for foreign exchange and trade within the Morning Light Empire, and in this nation that held combat techniques in high regard, it stood as one of the most representative cities.

The Golden Gryphon Knights were among the highest tier of defensive forces in the city; Commander Evan was a powerful warrior of the late seventh stage, and the order boasted several high-ranking mages, while even the ordinary knightly members were all at the sixth stage or above.

The position of the order's commander was mostly appointed to members of the Ximia family.

This was a family that emphasized culture and art, while simultaneously making no small contribution to promoting cultivation mystic realms and strengthening the combat techniques of these warriors and mages.

The Morning Light Empire was absolutely one of the few human nations on the Nora Continent worthy of the title of empire; it was said that the emperor himself was a powerful powerhouse of the Saint stage, though clearly, even in such a nation, the eighth stage—that limit of mortality—and the super-tier of the ninth stage were still not so common as to be seen everywhere.

This country was peculiar; for instance, in terms of combat techniques, they would define certain structured tiers to serve as a measure of a person's combat skill, typically evaluated jointly by the respective professional guilds and the Alchemists' Guild.

The implementation of this regulation had begun with the Ximia family.

This trend had at one point spread to the neighboring kingdoms, and had even reached the Elven Kingdom—after all, the elves often took pride in their own inheritances of swordsmanship, archery, and various other arts.

Master was a very lofty title, beneath which lay four tiers: high, intermediate, low, and apprentice.

Those who could be called masters naturally possessed no low attainment in the mastery of technique.

Take, for example, the graying, short-haired old man currently in sight.

"Lately, that fellow Evan has been getting more and more out of hand!" an old man clad in black noble attire remarked with some dissatisfaction.

"What has he done?" Inside the grand castle, within this clean and tidy study, stood a middle-aged man of proper bearing, dressed in black silk, with a document placed before his desk.

The document was densely packed with text, but it was clear enough to faintly discern that it concerned affairs that had recently occurred within the city; some had already been stamped with a bright red official seal, while others were neatly marked.

A broad forehead and eyes that shone like gemstones seemed to display a wisdom beyond ordinary men, making it clear at a glance that this was a man of insight and foresight.

Though his temples were slightly touched with frost, it showed little sign of old age, instead revealing the aura of one born of a noble clan.

"Listen to his foolish training method... leaping down from the bell tower!?" the elderly noble snorted coldly. "What absolute decency is left in that!"

The middle-aged man did not dwell further on this matter, but instead spoke to ask, "Those elves, the investigation into their matter is already finished, yes? Are they still staying in the city?"

"Yes, Your Excellency," the old man replied. "Moreover, they are getting very close to Miss Helen. Heaven knows what that fellow Evan is thinking, even Miss Helen has taken part in this..."

"Very well." At the mention of this name, a faint, gentle smile seemed to appear on the middle-aged man's face as he looked at the sunlight streaming in through the window. "I am aware of all this. Lord Baseke, if there is nothing else, I wish to rest."

The old man's eyes bore a trace of resentment. "Yes, Your Excellency. Forgive the intrusion."

After the old man departed, the middle-aged man approached the window, gazing out at the sky as if murmuring to himself, or perhaps speaking to someone unseen, "This world is vast, vast beyond your imagination and mine, and we are bound to encounter things that are... unexpected."

...

Inside the mercenaries' tavern, it was always so clamorous; the noisy voices were like a boiling cauldron, with all sorts of people coming and going, exchanging secrets of the city, information on magical beasts, or discussing various details of the mystic realms, with no one paying too much mind to anyone else.

But at this moment, several people wearing pristine white robes and very peculiar attire were seen walking in from the door.

They wore uniform wide leather belts of a brownish-yellow hue, from which hung two throwing knives, and at their waists rested a two-handed longsword in a leather sheath; their white hoods covered almost their entire heads, leaving only the lower half of their faces exposed.

Judging by the style of the clothing, it bore a fair resemblance to the fashion of others, yet... no one had ever truly seen it worn like this.

To call it stealthy... this stark white instead projected a sense of elegance that brooked no profanation, carrying a scholarly flavor; yet to call it showy, what was the deal with that hood?!

It instead exuded a mysterious and low-profile sensation.

The blend of the two gave a tremendous visual impact, so that when those few people walked in together...

"Whoa... is this the new style trending this year?" a young mercenary stared open-mouthed at the group.

"This is the first time I've ever seen someone dress like that. What class is that? A warrior?"

"Looks like a mage, but why are they carrying so many close-quarters weapons?"

"So cool!" a provocatively dressed female mercenary spoke up. "Are these handsome new arrivals?"

Almost in an instant, everyone's gaze converged upon them.

That provocatively dressed mercenary girl had already leaned over. "Care for a drink together?"

The man in the center pulled back his hood, revealing a somewhat thin, blonde face, looking around with a completely bewildered expression.

"It's Crete?!"

The girl went, "Pfft—!"

"Why are you dressed up like this?!" a mercenary who knew him well looked on in utter shock.

"From now on, please call me Assassin Master Crete!" Crete declared proudly.

"An assassin?" The crowd of mercenaries froze for a moment, then burst into roaring laughter. "Are you serious?"

"An assassin?!"

"You mean those lowly..." A brown-haired man stepped forward, patted Crete's chest, and sneered, "Those filthy fellows?"

"No, no, no! I think you've mistaken something, brother." Crete looked at him with an expression of profound disdain. "Brother, I'm afraid you haven't even heard of Assassin's Creed, have you? How ignorant. Take a word of advice from me, go out and see the world more. Right now, even the Golden Gryphon Knights are having these clothes custom-made."

"The Golden Gryphon Knights? Assassins?" The brown-haired mercenary laughed loudly. "Brother, haven't you woken up yet?"

"I think it might be you who hasn't woken up." Crete pointed quite solemnly outside the door.

Several mercenaries were seen standing on the rooftop of the building opposite; whether they wore white robes or not, they uniformly spread their arms wide.

"What are they doing?!"

There were even several rows of people up on the building.

"Mass suicide jumping?!"

"What is this for?!" At this moment, the uninformed mercenaries in the tavern were driven to complete bewilderment.

"Heigh... ho!" A group of people plummeted from the building.

A height of two or three stories was, of course, nothing to these mercenaries.

A perfect landing!

Then, as if that were not enough, they nimbly climbed back up, and this time, several more people actually stepped out from the crowd to join them.

"Oh—!"

What was wrong with these people?!

The crowd watched this spectacle in utter amazement.

What on earth was going on?!

If it were just one person, it might pass... but so many together?!

Most importantly... watching these people leap down from the sky as if they were flying, there actually felt to be a hint of... elegance?

Could they be practicing some new combat technique?!

What remained most incomprehensible was...

These people were still muttering something about "assassins" and a "leap of faith"!?

What on earth was that?!

Irina, an assassin by trade, usually blended herself seamlessly among the mercenaries.

At this moment, suddenly beholding so many—damn them, a whole pack of fraudulent assassins!

Even I, a true assassin, haven't flaunted my skills, so what right do you frauds have to show off?

She swiftly scaled to the highest vantage point on her own: time to show you all what a true Leap of Faith looks like.

"My goodness?!"

"That woman actually...?!"

"From such a height?!"

"What is happening to this world?!"

Everyone was utterly dumbfounded, staring blankly as if they suddenly no longer recognized the world they lived in.

"Is this some kind of combat technique she's practicing?!"

"I remember now! The Golden Gryphon Knights did the exact same thing!"

...

Meanwhile, on a nearby street.

The Temple had always been exceedingly sensitive regarding assassins, especially in the wake of Luther’s assassination.

Those lingering remnants who had fled—the Temple had absolutely no intention of letting them go.

Just then, several men clad in clerical robes could be seen striding purposefully toward the Mercenary Guild.

"Those wretched remnants ought to be captured so we can make them thoroughly taste the agony of torture!" a man clad in the armor of the Arbitrator Temple Knights muttered, his expression dark and grim.

"Is it true, Lord Gesla, that you have already uncovered clues regarding those escaped assassins?" another individual in clerical robes inquired in a low voice.

"Indeed, they are hiding right inside the Mercenary Guild," the armored knight replied coldly.

"But this is Canglan City, after all. We..." The other man, seemingly a cleric, voiced his anxiety.

"Seize them. As long as we can unearth the evidence—the proof of their assassination of Lord Luther—even if the Duke himself were here, he could not bar our path!"

The armored knight hurried over, declaring, "I hear tell that there are assassins present here? I expect your cooperation. I presume none of you desire such villains lurking in your midst."

"We merely wish to know: who is the assassin?!"

The man in the armor spoke with cold indifference.

"Me!" a roof full of people looked down, somewhat bewildered.

"We all are."

"!!??"

...

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PS: Some readers are worried that if the trilogy isn't tightly linked, the plot will feel disjointed... Well, in truth, everyone knows that many people started their journey with Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood without ever playing the earlier titles of the series, and those players fared perfectly fine, so the players in this alternate world naturally won't have any issues either.

Lore enthusiasts can simply go back to learn about the second installment, as it is impossible to write out the entire trilogy within the text; that would be far too lengthy.

There is only this single chapter in the early hours of today, my apologies...

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