Chapter 2083 - 2081: Challenge Letter (The Weather Turns Hot When It Wants, Cold When It Wants)

The Thirteen Fatal Swords are indeed formidable, but not invincible.

Even though once the Fifteenth Sword is executed, it will certainly be fatal, Fang Zheng knows its weakness.

The premise is that the swordsman must perfectly execute the first to the Fourteenth Sword before being able to unleash the Fifteenth Sword.

So someone might ask, can’t I just start with the Fifteenth Sword? Wouldn’t that be a guaranteed win?

The logic is sound, but unfortunately, it’s impossible. It’s like playing a fighting game; you need to build up energy to execute a special move, dreaming of pulling off a big move without it is futile.

Moreover, the Transcendent Fifteenth Sword doesn’t mean the others are mere decoration. In fact, if we liken this swordsmanship to a plant, then the first thirteen swords of the Thirteen Fatal Swords are like the plant’s roots, while the Fourteenth Sword is the leaf, and finally, the Fifteenth Sword is the blooming flower.

Not to mention that the Thirteen Fatal Swords are Yan Shisan’s signature skill. Many don’t even survive the completion of the thirteen swords, let alone witness the transformation of the Fourteenth Sword. Only Xiaofeng Xie in the entire Jianghu is qualified to witness the Fifteenth Sword.

Of course, Fang Zheng is an exception. But he doesn’t bother comparing, since Fang Zheng is beyond the norm, him intervening is like the GM bullying regular players.

Hence, even though the Thirteen Fatal Swords are powerful, they’re not invincible. The method to counter it is simple; just take the opponent down before they execute the Fifteenth Sword.

Like Fang Zheng, regardless of whether the opponent is Yan Shisan or Akame, he can settle it with just one sword, thus the other fourteen swords are unnecessary.

In this world, even if Akame can master the Thirteen Fatal Swords smoothly, it depends on whether her opponent will give her the chance. Reinhard might get flustered and fail due to knightly elegance, Esdeath estimating a fifty-fifty chance, but Fang Zheng believes Lina Inverse would definitely not give Akame the chance, delivering a Dragon Break Slash to end it swiftly.

Nonetheless, if Akame is willing to learn, Fang Zheng directly imparts guidance, leaving her to comprehend it herself.

However, in Main’s view, this is rather terrifying.

She doesn’t know what Akame has gone through, she only knows now besides eating and sleeping, Akame sits alone at the training ground, holding a short knife, carving wood as if possessed, not responding to conversation. Although Akame was always a quiet person, now to Main, she seems like she’s possessed by ghosts.

"Wait a minute, what did you do to Akame? She’s my boss’s most cherished person, I’m telling you, if anything happens to Akame, my boss will come after you!"

"Relax, she’s just comprehending the sword technique, nothing major."

Fang Zheng obviously won’t be intimidated by Main’s few words. He casually brushes off the topic and immediately changes the subject.

"Alright, time to get to work, come with me."

"Eh? Wait a minute, what do you want?"

Upon hearing this, Main immediately steps back two paces, looking warily at Fang Zheng.

"You don’t need to work today, the target today is rather troublesome, you better find a spot outside to watch the show."

"Hah?"

Main’s eyebrows instantly rise hearing this.

"What do you mean by that, do you think I’m a hinderance?"

"Precisely."

Fang Zheng nods slightly.

"My target today is the Duke of Croatia, got it?"

"Wait a minute, you really plan to deal with him?"

Main’s expression immediately shifts upon hearing this. The Duke of Croatia is a royal family affiliate and a key figure among the ministers’ faction. He is intimately linked to the various cruel deeds perpetrated by the Empire in many places; simply put, a greedy, brutal and terrifying man.

Even Night Raid had attempted multiple times to plan his assassination, but it’s practically impossible because...

"You know, it’s Grand General Budd who protects him! He’s a renowned strongman alongside Esdeath!"

Indeed, this is why Night Raid hasn’t targeted the Duke of Croatia; it’s not that they don’t want him dead, it’s that they can’t defeat him. Grand General Budd is responsible for guarding the Imperial City and Imperial Family, though not widely known, his and his guard company’s strength is recognized.

"I know, that’s why I have to kill him."

Yet, Fang Zheng’s response surprises Main even more.

"I intend to show Budd what fate befalls the scum he protects. This is the beginning, an announcement. Isn’t Budd responsible for protecting the Imperial Family? Starting today, I will eliminate every person he is tasked to protect, one by one, up till the Emperor."

"You... you’re insane..."

Upon hearing this, Main looks at Fang Zheng as if viewing a madman.

"Today the Duke of Croatia will be speaking in the Nobility District. Hmm, this is an excellent opportunity. You better head to the back mountain outside the Imperial City to wait. Today, you’re only to observe, do not intervene. Budd is not someone you can casually eliminate; just enjoy the show."

"Ugh... Since you say so, I really do want to see how you’ll take down the Duke of Croatia under the protection of Grand General Budd!"

To Main’s inquiry, Fang Zheng sees no need to respond.

He will speak through action.

Strictly speaking, the Duke of Croatia doesn’t enjoy Budd’s "close protection", he’s not the Emperor and lacks this privilege.

This time, the Duke of Croatia is speaking at the Nobility District’s square, standing on the third-floor balcony of a lavish building beside the square, surrounded by guards, while Grand General Budd is stationed at the gates to supervise and guard, barring others from entering.

"Dong...Dong..."

Accompanied by the ringing bells and falling petals, a man in a lavish suit, appearing rather somber, emerges from the room, walks onto the balcony, and raises his hands to the crowd below.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we all know that the Imperial City is presently facing threats from rebels!"

That’s right, this time the Duke of Croatia is here on behalf of the Emperor to calm the people’s hearts. After all, a few days ago, Main’s cannon shot had everyone in the nobility district on edge, no one wants to be blown up with their entire room while sleeping, and to the point where even their bodies cannot be identified—it would be truly miserable!

As a result, many nobles have even considered leaving the Imperial City during this period, finding a place to hide away in peace...at least they won’t worry about being blown up!

But of course, that won’t do, as the nobility and bureaucrats are the foundation of the Empire’s operation. If they all ran away, the Emperor wouldn’t be able to enforce his decrees beyond the palace.

Thus, the Duke of Croatia was entrusted with this emergency mission, speaking here on behalf of the Emperor. His message was nothing more than rhetoric claiming that those bandits are not a match against our Empire, among similar such arguments. Essentially, it was to calm the people’s hearts, possibly suggesting that the person who was blown up had explosives hidden under their house and the bandits merely got lucky by igniting them and thus blew up the house...

Fang Zheng obviously didn’t feel like listening to this nonsense. The building was surrounded by the Empire’s Royal Guard, leaving no room for him to slip in—though technically, so to speak.

However, this doesn’t mean Fang Zheng was out of options.

He didn’t approach the building directly; instead, he took a turn down the alley and climbed up the wall of an adjacent building, quickly making his way onto the rooftop. Then Fang Zheng lowered his body and swiftly sprinted across the rooftop towards the tall, white building ahead.

"Hmph, so secretive, like a monkey."

Witnessing this, Main remarked sarcastically, then watched as Fang Zheng sprinted all the way to the edge and took a leap forward!

"Is he insane?"

Upon seeing this, Main screamed, knowing that the buildings were separated by over ten meters—he couldn’t possibly make the jump!

In fact, that was true; given the body’s attribute level was of the Soulstone’s rather than Fang Zheng’s, no matter how skilled someone is, they couldn’t make such a leap. So, Main watched as Fang Zheng passed the building and fell downward...

"——————!!"

Just as Main was about to scream in fright, she saw Fang Zheng suddenly reach out and grab onto the windowsill on the wall, then, with a powerful pull, he stabilized his swaying body and quickly climbed up to the eaves.

"Phew........."

Seeing this, Main finally breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment there, she had thought Fang Zheng would definitely fail, but it turned out he had initially aimed for the windowsill below instead of directly jumping onto the eaves...though this guy’s daring is extraordinary, hasn’t he considered what if that spot suddenly collapsed?

Fang Zheng certainly hadn’t thought about it; this was the "rule power" of the Soulstone—whatever he can climb, will never collapse!

After all, the Soulstone he had borrowed wasn’t that of Laura and Drake; if it were those two, Fang Zheng would have to be cautious of collapses even on flat ground!

Fang Zheng flipped onto the eaves, and then his sleeve sword flashed, directly piercing the back of a guard who had just turned, swiftly taking him down. He held the guard’s corpse and, as he slid it down, he simultaneously pulled out the crossbow from his back and fired at another guard, the arrow piercing the soldier’s throat, killing him instantly.

"Thud!!"

The guard fell to the ground, the sound causing the soldiers guarding ahead to quickly turn, yet by this time, Fang Zheng had already let go of the corpse and stood up. With a flick of both hands, two daggers accurately embedded into the foreheads of two soldiers, their bodies lurched, and they collapsed to the ground.

Could it be that the Little Li Flying Dagger never misses its mark is a lie?!

How magnificent!

Watching Fang Zheng so effortlessly take down the rooftop guards, Main couldn’t help but scream in surprise. To be honest, she always found this man annoyingly repulsive, but seeing him in battle, he lacked the stealthy cowardiness typical of assassins, exuding an unexpectedly elegant and graceful demeanor, akin to dancing.

In comparison, their Night Raid’s assassinations seemed like the act of third-rate mountain bandits...

But what now?

Main, stationed here, could clearly see Croatia giving his speech. Fang Zheng was currently above him on the rooftop, but the problem was that there were many nobles facing Croatia, listening to him speak. If Fang Zheng appeared, he would be noticed immediately, so how could he carry out the assassination?

Jumping down directly? Though not impossible, Main felt it wouldn’t be Fang Zheng’s style...

At this moment, the Duke of Croatia finished his speech and raised both his hands high.

"Long live the Emperor!!"

Simultaneously, Fang Zheng took out three round balls from his pocket and tossed them outward.

"Bang bang bang!!"

Accompanied by three soft explosions, the balls burst open, releasing countless petals that fluttered down, eliciting gasps and exclamations from the crowd. They thought this was a finale arranged by the Duke of Croatia, quite unexpected.

The Duke of Croatia himself was taken aback, lifting his head in surprise to gaze at the petals descending from above.

He had clearly not ordered such theatrics, so who did it?

And did it quite well, though a bit crude—could have added some fireworks...

"Splash."

However, the Duke of Croatia’s thoughts ended here.

After the petals settled, the crowd redirected their gaze, only to discover an additional figure in a white robe suddenly appeared behind the Duke of Croatia. He stood there, motionless, while the Duke of Croatia’s eyes widened, looking ahead. Then everyone watched as the white-robed man gently pushed—next moment, the Duke of Croatia fell from the balcony!

"Bang!!"

The Duke of Croatia fell from the third floor onto the ground, causing screams to erupt. At this moment, Grand General Budd turned toward the balcony, sighting the silent figure standing there.

The man’s face was shrouded by a hood, revealing only his chin, yet Budd felt he was being watched.

No, that didn’t matter.

What mattered was that he had killed a member of the Royal Family in front of everyone!!

At this moment, Grand General Budd could no longer suppress his anger. He reached out, pointed at Fang Zheng, and roared.

"Assassin—————!!"