Chapter 517: Clean Hands, Silent Killers ( 517 )

The intelligence unit sent by King Edmund gathered quietly in the backroom of a tavern.

The location:

A noble-owned town near the Armand border, the last settlement before the fortified Armand wall.

Their leader stood at the center, a short blade at his hip and a black cloak over his uniform.

“Tonight we move.”

The agents listened silently.

“Some of us will pose as merchants.”

He pointed to the six in the corner. “Slip inside through the caravan checkpoints. The rest go by foot. Take the cliff path, the northeast route, or the forest crawl. No obvious signs.”

“Yes, leader.”

He narrowed his eyes.

“They don’t know we’re coming.

Blend in.

Get everything.”

He raised a rolled scroll — a list of their objectives.

“Magic systems.

Defense layout.

Current equipment.

Mana infrastructure.

Weapon stockpiles.”

He lowered the scroll.

“Once inside, gather all information you can.

After that, regroup and send your report back here.”

“Yes, leader.”

The reply came as one.

The leader folded the map, eyes cold.

“Do not get caught.

Armand is still under the Human Kingdom…

but they don’t play like the rest of us.”

He turned toward the door.

“Move.”

While the others had already moved out into the night,

the leader remained behind with two of his men inside the dim tavern room.

He sat calmly, watching the candle flicker.

“We’ll blend in here.”

He spoke without turning.

“Pretend we’re just civilians. Let the others do their part and wait for their report.”

He glanced at the two standing beside him.

“Go change. Civilian clothes. Nothing suspicious.”

“Yes, leader.”

They both nodded and left the room.

The leader leaned back slightly, a quiet grin on his face.

“Armand Region doesn’t know we’re coming.”

He tapped the edge of the table.

“We’re the best among the best in the Human Kingdom.

This will be easy.”

Knock knock.

The leader’s eyes narrowed.

“Hmm? Who is it?”

A woman’s voice replied from behind the door.

“Ah, it’s me~ The tavern owner.”

He looked at the two men beside him.

“You two. Go check.”

They nodded and walked to the door.

One of them unlocked it and opened slightly.

Standing there was the tavern owner lady. Mid-twenties, wavy hair tied loosely, wearing a casual dress that hung low across her chest.

“Ah, it’s the tavern owner lady.”

One of the men grinned.

“What do you want~?”

She smiled sweetly.

“Ah, nothing boys~ Just wanted to know if any of you needed something to eat?”

The second man chuckled, leaning against the doorframe.

“Oho~ How about you accompany us instead, lady? We’d rather taste you.”

The woman didn’t blink.

Her smile deepened, pure, seductive, dangerous.

“My~ I don’t think any of you can handle me.”

She stepped forward, slow, hips swaying.

“How about… all three of you?”

The two men looked at each other, grinning wide.

“Wow~ Kinky~”

Once inside, the lady closed the door gently behind her.

Her smile remained warm.

Her steps slow.

Controlled.

She turned toward the three men, fingers brushing the strap of her dress.

“Now, now~ Let’s have a little fun first.”

She slid the fabric down slowly, letting it fall from her shoulders.

The three men froze, eyes wide.

“Hey! Me first!”

“No way, I called it first!”

“Ahem! I’m the leader here. Of course I go first.”

The dress slipped off fully.

But what they saw wasn’t skin.

Underneath was a tight black uniform, sleek and fitted to perfection.

Her body poised in stance.

Her hand already holding a short dagger.

And in her ear, a small device.

Something they didn’t recognize.

A mana talkie.

Before any of them could move, three quick flashes.

Their throats were slit in perfect succession.

None of them had time to scream.

Their bodies dropped almost at once, blood pooling silently on the wooden floor.

The woman tilted her head and smiled.

“Mission complete~”

She tapped the device in her ear.

A voice came through, clear and calm.

“Good. Our side is done too.”

Another voice followed.

“My~ I thought they’d put up some resistance. Bit of a disappointment.”

As the blood settled on the floor, the room fell silent once more.

Then, a faint ripple in the air.

Shadows moved.

Masked figures emerged.

Each one wearing sleek black gear.

Light armor.

Silent boots.

Identical white masks with no markings.

They were the elite cleanup squad.

The Shadow of Armand.

Directly under Alf’s command.

Feared.

Unknown to outsiders.

And never seen twice by enemies.

One of them stepped forward.

“Good job, Erisa.”

The woman, now re-dressed in her black uniform, turned with a light smile.

“Likewise.”

She gave a small bow.

“If you please…”

The masked figure nodded.

“Sure. Go. Leave cleanup to us.”

Erisa winked.

“Thank you~”

Without another word, she vanished into the hallway.

The shadows got to work immediately.

One collected the bodies.

Another began cleaning blood with a special magic item that left no trace.

A third placed a cleansing crystal in the room, activating a silent seal to erase all mana residue.

No signs.

No evidence.

No delay.

Within minutes, it would be like the infiltrators were never there.

After the cleanup was complete.

Inside the tavern backroom and in the nearby forest where the remaining intelligence units had been silently eliminated

The shadows moved.

Not a trace remained.

No bodies.

No blood.

No aura.

Only silence.

The last masked figure gave a small nod.

“Let’s head back.”

Another voice responded quietly.

“Understood. We’ll report to Mr. Alf.”

With that, they vanished into the darkness.

After that.

Inside Garius’s private room, the atmosphere was calm.

A quiet hum from the mana lamp overhead, a scroll left open on the desk.

The door opened softly.

Alf stepped in and bowed.

“My lord.”

Garius looked up from the document.

“Hmm?”

“Cleanup is done.”

Garius nodded once.

“Good.

We don’t need rats sniffing around inside our region.”

He leaned back slightly in his chair, fingers steepled.

“Even if they can’t copy or rebuild what we’ve created…

I still hate it when they sneak in.”

His voice dropped, cold.

“Because once they realize they don’t understand our systems—

they stop gathering information.

And start sabotaging the people.”

Alf said nothing.

He didn’t need to.

The Armand region had no tolerance for that kind of threat.

( End Of Chapter )

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