18 Blood in the Moonlight

As the sun set and the darkness of night covered the land, a group of individuals wearing black clothing approached the Montampes manor. They have been biding for time, waiting for the right time to strike as they hide in plain sight in Ventus City—the city that is part of the Montampes territory. For weeks they have been planning. Now is the time to strike. More than half of the Griffon Knights are out on an expedition, especially that monster William. They may be skilled, but they're not foolish.

What about the guards patrolling around the manor? Laughable. They've been part of the Black Mamba mercenaries for years. Mere soldiers and guards are nothing to them. However, the Griffon Knights of Duke Montampes are a threat. That's why they waited for a long time to strike.

A man that seems to be their leader started doing hand signs, conveying an order. The rest nodded.

They avoided the patrolling soldiers as they successfully snuck into the manor. Now that they're in, all that's left is securing the target. They separated into groups as they scoured the place.

One group was about to enter a room in a hallway when they encountered someone.

"Isn't rude to sneak into someone's home?"

It was an old man wearing a tailcoat, a butler. The leader of the group looked at a colleague and the latter nodded.

With one soundless kick to the ground, he flew towards the old butler as he stabbed his dagger between the eyebrows. It was just an old man, while he's an elite of the Black Mambas. The butler's death was already guaranteed, and his colleagues already looked away, as if a dead man wasn't worth their attention. But reality doesn't always follow through with one's expectations.

The old butler—Weiss—cocked his head to the side, narrowly avoiding the dagger. He grabbed the wrist of the attacker and elbowed the throat while snatching away the dagger. All of that happened in under a second.

"The way you handle a blade is lacking. Quite disappointing, I thought that pig would send better people this time."

The attacker was stunned while the rest were wide-eyed. What happened? They weren't paying attention so they didn't see what happened. Why is their colleague coughing and why is the butler alive? Questions filled the minds of the mercenaries as they stared dumbfoundedly.

"You should aim for a better weak spot, like this." Weiss sliced the throat of the man. Blood spilled out like a broken dam as his life quickly slipped away.

"However, that wouldn't work on more skilled opponents. The attack would be too obvious and the opponent would easily see through it and counterattack." Weiss kept talking even though the man is dead.

The other Black Mamba mercenaries got ahold of themselves and quickly surrounded Weiss. Two at the back, two at the front, and one at each side. Weiss scanned his eyes over them as they brandished their daggers. The one on the left attacked first, aiming for his legs.

Weiss kicked the wrist of the Black Mamba member, knocking away the dagger. The Black Mamba member adapted quickly and pulled out another dagger using his other hand. Weiss tried to disarm the Black Mamba member again, but the rest of the Black Mamba members surrounding him attacked.

He was surrounded. There was no hope of escaping the onslaught of the Black Mamba members. He was just an old butler. Killing the first Black Mamba member that attacked was just a fluke. Such thoughts filled the minds of the Black Mamba members. Their victory was already set in stone. Then it happened...

Weiss avoided every attack. Every stab, swing, kick, etc. Weiss was completely unscathed. His body twisted and bent in unnatural angles as if he didn't have bones.

The Black Mamba members backed off. They were dumbfounded by what just happened. Who is this man? He wasn't in the intel provided by the client and gathered by the intelligence branch of the Black Mamba mercenaries. William wasn't the only monster in the Montampes Duchy?

The Black Mamba members continued to attack Weiss. Weiss kept dodging and avoiding every attack and counterattacking while talking about their deficiencies and what to do to take advantage of them. It was like he was teaching someone, but the only ones in the hallway were Black Mamba members and Weiss. The Black Mamba members just brushed it off as a senile man's blabbering.

"We're taking up too much time here, I need to clean up the other rats in the manor," Weiss spoke as he flicked his fingers.

Immediately after, the heads of the Black Mamba members flew in the air and fell to the floor. They were all decapitated at the same time. It was instantaneous, the Black Mamba members didn't notice anything as they died. Their headless bodies fell. Blood leaked out and pooled to form a big puddle as the moon shone on it.

"Have you learned anything young Luka?" Weiss turned to look at the door the Black Mamba members were about to open before he intervened. It was slightly opened, showing an eye peeking through.

The door opened completely, showing a shocked but excited gray-haired boy. He witnessed everything from start to finish. He witnessed how Weiss basically toyed with the intruders while talking to himself... no, he was talking to Luka. He was teaching him as he avoided and countered every attack.

He was quite scared, seeing Weiss use the lives of others as educational material made him look like a harbinger of death in the eyes of Luka. However, he couldn't help but feel excited at the same time. Someone this strong was teaching him. Luka knew that Weiss looked stronger than he looks, but he never expected his power to be beyond his expectations. Maybe... just maybe... he'll be able to gather enough strength to find out the person who destroyed his village.

"Yeah..." Luka answered Weiss' earlier question.

"There are more rats running around looking for the young lady. Come with me if you want to learn more."

'Their target is the duke's daughter?' Luka was caught off guard by the sudden realization.

Luka clenched his fist as he followed Weiss as his resolve to become stronger grew.

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