The Cunning Treasure Hunter-Chapter 119: The Assassin’s Gambit

A Duel in the Darkness Continue your adventure with novelbuddy

Vera pulled Aria back and stepped forward.

Several more throwing daggers flew toward them.

Silent. Without a trace.

Clang! Cling! Chaeng—!

With the least possible movement, Vera deflected every single one.

The daggers, caught by the thin and delicate blade of the Falling Flower Sword, embedded themselves into the floor, walls, and ceiling.

"Ho… You shouldn’t have been able to see those. Your intuition is impressive."

The voice was calm—almost mocking.

It was Dark Emperor of the Bloodshadow Pavilion.

Those daggers had been thrown using the secrets of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Descend Sword Technique.

A technique that made them soundless and traceless.

It was the same killing art used by Ezekiel, the Silent Midnight Blade, master of the Bloodshadow Pavilion.

But against Vera, it was useless.

She could see them.

Not just the killing intent, but the very will behind it.

Every attack held purpose, and as long as it did, she could trace its path before it even struck.

"Hey, Everstone girl."

"…Are you referring to me?"

"Of course, who else? You have no further business here, do you? I’ll let you go, so get out while you can. Keh keh…"

Aria’s pupils trembled.

Vera glanced at her and nodded.

A clear signal: Go.

"B-But…"

"Miss Aria, you have work to do. Don’t you?"

"…You’re right."

The sword was the weapon of a martial artist.

But schemes and tactics belonged to strategists.

And Aria was a strategist.

She clenched her fists, then pushed off the ground with all her strength, dashing out of the Sealed Training Grounds.

Dark Emperor merely watched her leave, a sinister grin playing on his lips.

Vera narrowed her eyes.

"…You’re letting her go that easily?"

"I have no interest in anything but revenge against the one who killed my disciple."

"Your disciple…? You mean that assassin?"

From the darkness, a grin flashed—a row of white teeth, gleaming in the dim light.

But the next moment, even that vanished.

Shadows swallowed the assassin whole.

The throwing daggers he hurled had shattered several of the Night Pearls, plunging the chamber into total darkness.

"…Tch."

Now, she would have to rely solely on her senses.

A crimson thread sliced past her cheek.

She stepped back instantly, and a blade slashed through the space where she had just been standing.

"Your instincts are sharp, little one. Well, I suppose they must be—if you managed to kill him."

A voice echoed from the shadows.

A chilling laughter reverberated off the stone walls.

She could see his killing intent, those thin red lines cutting through the darkness…

But that alone wasn’t enough to counterattack.

Kagak—!

Metal clashed against metal.

Vera furrowed her brows.

She had to find a way.

For the first time, she resented her small, lightweight body.

Dodging and deflecting—that was fine.

But blocking a full-force attack? Impossible.

Even when she channeled energy into her legs and planted her feet, she couldn’t withstand Dark Emperor’s full momentum.

’…If I block him directly, I’ll be sent flying.’

This was a narrow cavern.

Being pushed back was one thing.

But if she was completely launched away—

She’d slam into the stone walls.

And if that happened…

It wouldn’t just disrupt her breathing.

Her stance would collapse.

Her vision would blur.

Against an opponent of the Kingdom of Harmony, such a mistake would be fatal.

"…I don’t know what technique you’re using, but you can see everything, can’t you?"

Dark Emperor stepped out from the shadows.

The weapon in his hand was a short sword.

Longer than a dagger, shorter than a longsword.

A weapon between extremes.

Yet to Vera, it looked larger and deadlier than any blade she had ever seen.

"Then I have no choice but to fight you in a way you can’t handle."

A sinister aura rippled from Dark Emperor’s sword.

The air around the blade twisted, taking form.

Sword energy condensed.

Then, it twined and coiled, growing into Sword Force.

A radiant energy brighter than the Night Pearls filled the chamber.

Vera bit her lip.

"…I won’t go down easily."

"Good! You shouldn’t! He was my beloved disciple, after all!"

Despite his words of revenge, he seemed amused.

As if he were delighted by this opportunity to kill.

"I hear you’ve reached Peak Mastery, little girl. Show me a trick or two!

After all, even if all the so-called masters of this place attacked me together, they wouldn’t be able to win!

I have all the time in the world!"

It was arrogant—but true.

He was both cunning and powerful.

He had foreseen that the Everstone Clan would hide Vera here.

He had infiltrated the fortress without disturbing its formations.

But Vera had one last card to play.

Grandmaster Thorne.

The Clash of Blades in the Darkness

"…Ugh!"

Ka-ga-ga-kak—!

A deafening clash—one that could hardly be called the mere sound of swords meeting.

Vera’s arm trembled from the impact.

Even though she had only deflected the blow, her body was violently hurled toward the wall.

Fortunately, it had not been a direct hit.

She still had time to react.

Calming her breath, Vera focused all her senses.

In that fleeting moment, the world seemed to slow—even her own breath stretched into eternity.

She twisted midair, planting both feet against the wall, and launched herself back toward Dark Emperor.

Simply blocking and evading wouldn’t be enough.

She needed to counterattack.

"Heh… They say you’re the Celestial Blade Star. Truly a masterpiece!"

Dark Emperor sneered, raising his sword as the young girl shot toward him.

Vera didn’t respond.

Instead, she executed the Nine Heavens Cherry Blossom Sword Technique midair.

This was Dark Emperor—the former leader of the Bloodshadow Pavilion, a master of deception in swordplay.

He had reached the Kingdom of Harmony through the Ten Thousand Ghosts Descend Sword Technique, an absolute martial technique.

Tricks and feints would not work on him.

That left only one option.

The second stance of the Nine Heavens Cherry Blossom Sword—

"Unyielding Cherry Against the Snow."

Like a Cherry blossom branch that refuses to break under a blizzard.

Only a direct clash could decide the outcome.

Vera gathered energy at her blade’s tip, condensing it into a razor-sharp thrust.

But Dark Emperor’s martial prowess was overwhelming.

The seventh stance of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Descend Sword Technique—

"Night Ghost’s Wagging Tongue."

Like a specter flicking its three-inch tongue—

His short sword sliced through the air, utterly silent.

To Vera, it seemed as though the blade itself was bending like a whip.

A strike so intricate, so perfect, that it felt otherworldly.

Chrrrrrrrrrk—!

Her Falling Blossom Sword, caught mid-technique, was ensnared by Dark Emperor’s blade.

It was as though she had been wrapped in the tongue of a ghost, completely immobilized in midair.

"Troublesome…"

"Damn right it’s troublesome!"

At that moment—

A brutal kick landed squarely on Vera’s torso.

Her breath was stolen instantly.

A crushing heel struck her solar plexus, and her vision flashed white.

"Urgh…!"

Her small frame tumbled across the ground, rolling several times before coming to a halt.

She barely managed to hold onto her sword—

But her entire body throbbed with pain.

"Agh… Haa… Ugh…"

She struggled for breath.

Her chest heaved painfully, as if her ribs had cracked from the impact.

Each breath was a battle, her hands gripping her torso in agony.

"Is that all?"

A deadly aura pressed down upon her.

Blood-red threads filled the air—

Targeting her arms, legs, head, chest, and abdomen all at once.

Gritting her teeth, Vera forced herself to swing her sword—

But she was too slow.

Cha-cha-chang!

She deflected two, three throwing daggers—

But one was not among them.

Thud.

A dagger buried itself deep into her left thigh.

An unbearable burning pain shot up her spine.

"Urgh…!"

A searing heat spread from the wound.

As if her leg had been severed, her sensation faded.

Poison.

Before long, her left leg refused to move.

No matter how much force she applied, it remained paralyzed.

"You won’t be able to move anymore. All martial arts begin with footwork."

He was right.

Without taking a single step forward, what use was any martial technique?

There were some arts that did not require movement, but—

She had never trained in them.

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"But I’m curious… With this level of skill, how did you kill Ezekiel?"

Dark Emperor tilted his head in mock confusion.

"Was it because of that the Iron Fist Sect monk, Master Nathaniel? Was his energy foundation that deep?"

Vera clenched her jaw.

He was trying to extract information.

She was no fool—she wouldn’t fall for it.

"Tch. Well, even if you stay silent, I can always capture that monk and wring the answers from him."

His sword aura intensified—

A razor-sharp killing intent, condensed into a gleaming edge.

Like a pure beam of light, focused into deadly lethality.

"Your heart… should make an excellent sacrifice for the Heavenly Blood Absorption Art."

"You… You weren’t trying to avenge your disciple…?"

"Fufu. When an assassin fails, death is expected, isn’t it?"

He let out a low, eerie chuckle.

"Such things are trivial. What truly interests me—"

A dark glint flashed across his eyes.

"—is discovering what happens when the Heavenly Blood Absorption Art is used by a Kingdom of Harmony master."