Chapter 46: Assault on the Obsidian Rings' Headquarters

"Seriously? Didn't you fight a battle yesterday? Are you fine to go fight so quickly?" Venom Panther questioned as he swiftly followed behind Zaos.

"I am fine. It's best to get this over with quickly before it becomes a bigger issue," Zaos responded as he continued forward.

"Alright." Venom Panther shrugged.

Zaos and Venom Panther navigated the streets quickly. They passed by the many pedestrians bustling around the streets and arrived at the headquarters of the Obsidian Rings.

The headquarters of the Obsidian Rings was located outside the thieves' quarters. It was built in the northern parts of the settlement, where most of the mercenary guild halls were stationed.

The Obsidian Rings' guild hall was not grand like the Thieves Guild's tower nor was it as lavish as the Raven Guild's guild hall. The headquarters of the Thieves' was a simple two-story Tudor-style building.

"Do we sneak in?" Venom Panther asked.

"No. We go in through the front door!" Zaos grinned widely.

Zaos walked to the front door of the guild hall and kicked it down.

"Who?!" "You dare?!"

The elves inside were immediately thrown into a frenzy. They brandished their weapons and stared at Zaos menacingly.

Zaos gazed around before turning to Venom Panther behind him.

"You take care of these guys. I'll handle their leader," Zaos said.

"Alright," Venom Panther responded causally.

"Hey! Who are you, people!?"A large earth elf stepped out of the crowd. His towering physique and armored figure would strike fear into the hearts of any normal elf, yet, the ones before him weren't normal.

"We will meet outside when the job is done," Zaos said to Venom Panther as he dashed directly past the large elf.

Venom Panther nodded before focusing his attention on the group of elves present.

"Damned vermin! You dare run away?!" The bulky earth elf screamed at Zaos' silhouette that had already made its way to the stairs.

The earth elf and some other elves present were just about to charge at Zaos when a vial came crashing down in front of them.

*Bang!*

Before the elves could comprehend what had happened, a thick green gas cloud escaped the broken vial and enveloped the surroundings.

"What's going on?!" "What is this gas?!" "It might be a smoke screen!!"

Screams of panic and terror flooded the small room as the cloud of green gas spread to every corner. A few wind elves present tried blowing the gas away but to no avail. Instead, their efforts only aided the spread of the gas.

"I… feel… weird…" An intense dizziness hit a dark elf in the gas.

*Thud!*

He turned to the source of the sound he had heard only to see his companion collapsed unconscious on the ground.

"Hey… are you–" In a bid to help his companion, he tried to nudge the individual, yet he spotted something that made him freeze in his tracks. On the body of the fallen wind elf were dark green spots dotted around his skin.

The dark elf slowly shifted his gaze to his own hands.

"What… is this?" There, on his skin were dark green spots similar to his companion. Before he could think of any countermeasures to the problem, the dizziness hit him hard and he was forced into an unconscious state.

Similar situations happened all over the areas covered by the green gas. Elves lay unconscious on the floor with numerous spots on their bodies.

"My Wyrmwind Poison might need some adjustments," Inside the cloud of green gas, Venom Panther's figure slowly inspected the area.

The deadly toxin that knocked out elves of the Obsidian Rings seemingly did not affect him.

"It takes too long to show its effects… " Venom Panther scrutinized the unconscious elves. He had a look of disappointment as he gazed at the slowly growing spots on the elves.

"I need to improve my arsenal to avoid getting devoured by that monster…" Venom Panther muttered. He shivered a bit as he recalled the bloodthirsty gaze Zaos had shown.

He shook his head and continued his earlier actions of inspecting the elves.

While Venom Panther was busy on the lower floor, Zaos had arrived in the hallway to the upper floor, yet he wasn't alone.

"You! You are the abyssal scourge!" Immediately after Zaos arrived at the upper floor he was confronted by a slender figure.

The individual had flowing green hair, amethyst-colored eyes, and pale skin.

"Are you the leader of the Obsidian Rings?" Zaos drew his Superior-grade dagger and got into a defensive stance.

"What do you want from me, Abyssal Scourge?! Why cause such a ruckus in my territory? Do you wish to go to war?!" The female wind elf screamed. She donned baggy cotton pants, a simple cotton top, and some metal plate armor.

"What a funny thing to say considering you plan on leading an assault against me," Zaos sneered as he gazed at the wind elf with disdain.

"What are you talking about?" The wind elf's countenance changed after Zaos' statement. She changed her earlier open stance to a defensive one.

"Heh! Forget it, just know you're going to die here…" Immediately Zaos finished his statement, he lunged forward with his dagger in hand.

"Don't push me, Abyssal Scourge!" The wind elf charged forward. She clenched her gauntlet-wielding hand and punched Zaos.

*Boom!*

The punch charged with it an intense momentum as it sped towards Zaos.

Zaos quickly erected a shield in the path of the punch as he agilely twisted his body to avoid it.

*Bang!*

The shield was shattered yet the wind elf had a look of disbelief on her face.

"What was that!?" She gazed at the slowly disappearing pieces of the shield in shock.

[Now!] Zaos swiftly utilized the small window created by her surprise to stab his dagger at the heart of his opponent.

As if sensing the impending doom, the wind elf managed to pull herself back, narrowly escaping the fate of having her heart pierced.

Zaos hastily tried again but a violent gust forced him back.

[Tch! I missed,] Zaos stared menacingly at the wind elf who had retreated a few tens of meters away.

"You… What are you? How can a dark elf block my attack?" The wind elf gazed at Zaos with uncertainty and fear.

Zaos continued staring at her as he thought, [Getting close to her now that she is on guard will be difficult and I can't use teleport… I need to move faster…

[If I can negate the friction caused by my movement I show to be able to increase my speed… ] Zaos immediately tested his idea out. He dashed at the wind elf as he cast an elemental weave on himself.

Faster than a speeding bullet, Zaos zipped through the air and arrived before the wind elf at speeds both he and his opponent could barely comprehend.

[So fast!] Zaos barely managed to compose himself and strike at his opponent's heart with his dagger.

The wind elf was still too stunned to react and was stabbed in the heart.

"Argh!" The intense pain brought the wind elf out of her daze.

She fell to her knees, clenching her chest in disbelief and horror. Yet before she could process her situation completely, a dagger was lunged into her head, killing her instantly.

After confirming the death of the wind elf, Zaos hastily retrieved his dagger from her chest before the rot set in.

[We can't have valuable evidence being destroyed can we?] Zaos smiled.