Chapter 21

Deep into the night when all the lights were put out and most people went to sleep, shadows zipped between trees on the outskirts of the Ironcrest mansion.

The 5 assassins silently and almost weightlessly hopped from tree branch to tree branch until they were close to the front gate of the Ironcrest estate, but still concealed within the shadow of the woods and well outside hearing range for the guards on duty.

The lead assassin found a particularly large bush and jumped down behind it followed by the other men.

When all the men were gathered, the lead assassin started talking in a hushed whisper, "Alright, first things first, you all know the drill, split up to surround the estate and scout for any traps and vulnerabilities. Meet back here in an hour."

And with the end of that statement, all 5 of them practically vanished from where they were crouched as they zipped along the tree branches.

The lead assassin chose a spot some distance from the main gate to do his reconnaissance. After waiting for a patrol of 2 guards chatting loudly about a new tavern girl in town, he effortlessly scaled the iron fence and landed noiselessly on the other side.

He sneaked through the garden, dodged another patrol, and as he was about to reach the side of the mansion, he felt a small stone embedded into his left gauntlet start to heat up to an uncomfortable level.

This made the lead assassin stop in his tracks, 'Something is emitting magic in front of me.' the assassin thought.

When he backed away a few steps, the mana-sensing stone embedded into his left gauntlet started to cool down to normal temperature.

He then checked his flanks for guard patrols and went around the side of the mansion while trying to feel out the size of this magical phenomenon.

As he rounded the corner of the mansion, he detected a shadow approaching him doing the same thing, it was one of his colleagues. When they made eye contact, the lead assassin made hand signs to say [Meet] and pointed at the nearby garden.

When the 2 assassins met behind some bushes, the lead assassin started while showing his left gauntlet [You felt the magic?]

The other assassin nodded and pulled down his collar to reveal a choker with a similar-looking mana-sensing stone and signed back, [Seeing how you approached, I can safely say this magic is in a circle surrounding the mansion. I think it is an array.]

Arrays typically refer to a magical or enchanted pattern, design, or formation that holds special powers or properties. These arrays are often used for various magical purposes and can vary widely in their nature and abilities.

But in this case for homes, it is more common to see arrays for detection, warding, and protection.

The lead assassin nodded and replied, [Now we just need to determine what kind of array it is.]

The two assassins waited for another patrol to go by before going to the edge of where they felt the array's magic.

The assassin leader took out a pouch and opened it to reveal a powder which he took a sparging amount of and scattered in front of himself, when nothing happened, he took a step forward and repeated the same thing.

After a few more steps of doing the same thing, this latest scattering of powder revealed glowing lines and part of a rune on the ground.

After scattering more powder along those lines to reveal more of the array, the other assassin recognized enough of the rune script on the ground to know what type of array it was.

He tapped the shoulder of the lead assassin and signed to him [Detection array.]

The lead assassin nodded in acknowledgment and signed for them to complete the reconnaissance and meet up at the agreed location, he then took out another pouch of powder and scattered it on the glowing parts of the array, making the glow fade away.

When the 5 men met back up outside the Ironcrest estate, they reported their findings to the lead assassin, "So we are dealing with six guards on patrol, 7 more in the guard barracks, around thirty more in the main barracks, there is a light in the servants' quarters with an unknown amount of servants awake, and lastly a detection array. As for the possible ingress points, they are the backyard or the servant's entrance, but preferably the servant's entrance."

After the lead assassin summarised what they were up against, one of the men spoke up, "A detection array? The Ironcrest family is a new family, how do they even afford one big enough to cover the whole mansion?"

The man who came late to the meeting at the inn spoke up, "From what I got from the info broker, it is most likely from the Silverbrook family, they have been around for a few generations, and the wife of the Ironcrest family was a Silverbrook. That most likely also explains why lord and lady Silverbrook are currently here."

What the assassins did not know was that the array was setup shortly after Luke had his aura accident and Lady Isabella Silverbrook, who specializes in arrays, setup the detection array in case intruders caught wind of Luke's condition.

"How that got the array is irreverent, but this changes the mission." the lead assassin then took out a jeweled pendant.

"I got an array jammer, this means we only got around 5 minutes to complete our main objective. We kill the fort commander's wife and 2 kids first, if we have enough time we will slit some throats on the way out." he then jerked his head to the man who was in contact with the info broker, and the man took out a folded paper with the blueprints of the mansion.

"We are aiming for the 2nd floor, the last room on the left for the wife, and the 2 closest rooms for the 2 children."

After all of the acknowledged, they did a last equipment check and re-entered the Ironcrest estate again.

They circled around to the servant's entrance and found the stick one of the men stuck on the ground marking where the array starts. The lead assassin then took out the array jammer, opened a compartment within it, and put a mana crystal into it.

The moment he closed the compartment, the array jammer released a dim glow which revealed the array within a 10m radius for a second before it faded, and with a hand sign, the five men moved forward.

***

While everyone else was sleeping, I could not, because I discovered how to shoot wind blades today while practicing molecular magic with Stumpy the backyard tree stump.

While I was releasing accumulated kinetic potential into the air to make fallen leaves circle around Stumpy, the question came into my head of what would happen if I compressed the accumulated kinetic potential and not just release it willy-nilly like I usually do to throw air at things.

The answer as it turned out was actually quite a lot of damage. When I released my first shot of compressed accumulated kinetic potential at Stumpy, it sheered a rough 1cm deep scar into Stumpy's hard dry wood.

I wanted to experiment more but I was called in for lunch before I could cast it a second time, and after lunch, before I could escape the house to continue my practice, Charlotte wanted to play, and as much as I wanted to practice, how could I say no to that cute face. So I did my brotherly duty and entertained her while also teaching her this world's language while reading to her.

So now that everyone was asleep, I went to the fireplace in my room and took a log to shoot magic at. 

Naturally, I got sleepy after casting my new spell, I even managed to cut 2 more logs in half before I went to bed to turn in early.

***

I woke up in the middle of the night because I had to pee and also because I was feeling thirsty. After taking care of my business in the toilet attached to my room, went to get some water from the kitchen. 

I could have pulled the rope beside my bed to ring up a servant to request some water, but personally, I find it kind of a dick move for just a cup of water.

So, when I exit my room to the corridor, I am surprised to find 5 men clad in black with daggers drawn.

Well, this is going to be an interesting night.