Chapter 680 - 669: Faceless Ones
Chapter 680: Chapter 669: Faceless Ones
When Yvette, riding a giant bat, arrived with her unit, Duke Eugene’s camp had already spread across the entire area outside the city.
Yvette surveyed the densely packed tents and bustling soldiers, quickly estimating the scale of the forces in her mind—at least thirty thousand, perhaps more.
It seemed that Duke Eugene not only emptied his own resources but also sought out plenty of reinforcements like herself.
This left Yvette somewhat puzzled: "Just the tribal remnants after the cold disaster, is it necessary?"
Soon, she received the latest intelligence from the official who came to greet her.
A dwarf banner appeared in the Northern Territory, and this war seemed no longer a simple garden clearing.
Duke Eugene met her within the city.
"I am Yvette, ordered by my lord Eleanor, here to deal with the traitor Louisa," Yvette kneeled on one knee, her voice cold, "and assist Your Grace in pacifying the Northern Territory."
Eugene nodded, offering polite words as well: "It’s been a long time since we’ve had a traitor among us Blood Race, surely there’s more behind it. Since she dared to betray the Empire, she will surely pay the price. Yvette, you take your men and rest on the east side, the army will march in a few days."
Yvette accepted the orders and withdrew.
In her view, Duke Eugene seemed intent on gathering all his strength in hand and then crushing forward with a single thrust.
After all, with dwarves supporting the Northern Territory, delaying for too long might lead to changes.
As she left the castle, Yvette brushed past a group of strange people dressed in black tight suits, black masks, without any decoration or emblems.
Yvette couldn’t help but take a closer look. The leader seemed to sense something and slightly turned his head.
From a distance of several hundred steps, Yvette met that cold gaze.
"Nameless Ones..."
Levi’s most terrifying daggers are said to be capable of traveling through shadows, killing invisibly.
Duke Levi guards the eastern border, having many conflicts with the dwarves.
In nearly a century, half of the dwarven strongmen and generals have fallen to their poisoned blades.
Even the hero Bardur almost died at their hands in the last war.
Whether Duke Levi foresaw the dwarf moves and sent these guys to gather intelligence and act accordingly is unknown.
Yvette averted her gaze, not wanting any dealings with these vipers.
Indeed, the reality wasn’t much different from Yvette’s expectations.
The Nameless Ones reported to Duke Eugene after arrival but declined his plan to bring them under unified command.
"We only follow our master’s orders; we are here solely targeting the dwarf Bardur and will not cooperate with anyone else." The leader of the Nameless Ones showed no intention of giving Eugene any face.
Though Eugene was displeased, he coldly reminded them: "Don’t underestimate the tribes controlling Puki in the Northern Territory; before the dwarves appeared, many of my spies fell there. Better to act with the army to avoid completing Levi’s mission and sacrificing yourselves instead."
"We are the Nameless Ones." With that, they turned and left the room.
The attendant beside Eugene stepped forward angrily: "That was too rude, my lord, shall I teach them a lesson?"
"A bunch of tools, no need to bother with them, besides..." Eugene glanced at the attendant, "you don’t have the capability."
Though he called them tools, Eugene was also aware these Nameless Ones had considerable skills.
...
Meanwhile, the Nameless Ones wasted no time following their departure, immediately springing into action.
Dozens of shadows silently rushed towards the direction of the Northern Territory.
Their mission was clear: locate Bardur, wait for the opportune moment, then execute the assassination.
As for combat capability, even if the entire team gave their all, direct confrontation wouldn’t defeat that dwarf hero.
But assassins never fight head-on.
No matter how strong Bardur is, he’s still a dwarf.
He sleeps, he uses the toilet, he gets tired, he lowers his guard and takes off his armor.
They just need to patiently wait, wait, or even create that fleeting moment.
Even if they likely won’t escape unscathed afterward, it doesn’t matter. Like Eugene said, they are all expendable tools.
[Shadow Traversal]
Under the leader’s guidance, the Nameless Ones stepped into the shadows one by one.
Rapidly moving north along the shadow junctions, quick and stealthy, leaving only fleeting silhouettes when transitioning from one shadow to another in rare moments.
Soon, they passed the laborers on the border who cleared the fungal mat day after day, those Demon Race laborers carrying torches, burning the mycelium from south to north, only to start anew with the regrown fungal mat the next day.
No one noticed the assassins quietly passing through the shadows beneath them.
...
Within the shadows, the Nameless Ones’ leader calculated that with their speed in the shadows, they could reach the dwarf camp in half a day.
Arriving at midnight, under the cover of darkness, they would have enough time to survey the entirety of the dwarf camp with its thousands of soldiers.
As for obstacles along the way?
Ordinary patrols and barriers can’t stop them.
Just like encountering the petrified mushroom forest and corrosive mushroom forest along the way, peculiar and strange yet unable to affect those traveling through shadows.
Passing through an area of interwoven dead trees and boulders.
"Careful—ah—!"
A short scream made the leader halt abruptly; it was his subordinate’s voice.
Surveying the surroundings cautiously within the shadows, he found nothing.
Though he couldn’t see the subordinate, the leader assumed him dead.
And to intercept and kill them without major terrain destruction, the opponent must be a master.
But... where?
Suddenly, sounds of battle emerged from a shadow not far away.
Shortly afterward, an arm holding a poisoned dagger emerged from the shadows, the dagger stabbing into the ground as if trying to climb out.
However, within the shadows, several tentacles extended and wrapped around that arm, slowly dragging it back into the stone’s shadow.
Silently, leaving only a mark from the dagger.
"The enemy is also in the shadows!"
Having found the enemy’s trace, the leader led a charge.
Though not commonly encountered, they knew how to fight enemies with similar abilities.
Yet, only three subordinates jumped out alongside him.
"How can this be...?!"
From the intersecting tree shadows, countless mycelium tentacles extended, clawing at the ground outside.
Several Puki crawled out from the shadows, some even dragged out the defeated Nameless Ones piece by piece, tossing them onto the fungal mat.
"Puki with shadow traversal abilities?"
Puki puki puki puki—boom—
...
Dwarf camp.
General Duvalin watched as the dwarf hero returned solo from the Mushroom Castle Camp, with a bag of delicious mushrooms, and couldn’t help but say: "Bardur, where’s the team I arranged for you? How many times have I said, operate in groups! Have you forgotten the Nameless Ones last time?"
"You mean those subordinates standing guard even when going to the toilet? Spare me! Encounter those rats again, I’ll chop them down again, don’t fret!" Bardur said, waving his Giant Axe, making Duvalin roll his eyes.