The continent of Belrand is not only home to a mercenary guild but also to a more mysterious assassin's guild.

The top three assassin organizations on the continent even transcend races and span across the continent.

Kains did not know which assassin organization the enemy belonged to, but he knew there was no reasoning with them. They were like venomous snakes hidden in the grass, launching deadly attacks with almost unerring accuracy, as evidenced by their actions against the mercenary group along the way.

For the "Blue Enchantress" mercenary group, today might very well be an inescapable trap.

Thus, while Kains issued the retreat order to the mercenary group at the first opportunity, he himself rushed forward recklessly, determined to fight for a sliver of survival for his team.

It wasn't just Kains who thought this way; Adeline, Ilaya, and Angus almost simultaneously charged at the assassins coming through the mist.

Adeline's magic wand swung rapidly, sending out large fireballs from the tip of her wand like a cannon, bombarding the black-clothed assassins emerging from the mist.

Ilaya's arrows were even faster than the fireballs, piercing through the thick fog with fighting spirit, aiming straight for the vitals of the black-clothed assassins.

The continuous clashing sounds of weapons and arrows rang out without stop.

Ilaya's unerringly accurate arrows were surprisingly knocked down one by one by these black-clothed individuals with their sharp, black short swords.

At the same time, ice spears shot out from the mist, colliding with Adeline's fireballs and extinguishing them all.

When Kains's sword clashed directly with the short sword of a black-clothed person, his heart sank completely.

The enemy had already made targeted preparations against the mercenary group. The man in front of him could easily block Kains's frontal sword strike, indicating he was at least one level higher than Kains. The ice mage hidden in the mist who could so easily extinguish all of Adeline's fireballs must be a high-level mage of at least level seven.

These emerging black-clothed assassins were all warriors of level four or above; otherwise, they couldn't have blocked the elf archer's arrows from such a close distance.

Angus had already charged into the group of assassins, but two black-clothed individuals were enough to entangle him.

Assassins of at least level four, this organization was terrifying!

As Kains and others were held up, the mercenary group hesitated briefly about whether to continue retreating or to turn back to support their leader.

This brief hesitation allowed a few black-clothed assassins at the forefront to bypass Adeline and Ilaya, instantly closing in on the tail of the mercenary group.

"Die!" A mercenary turned around and pulled the trigger of his crossbow, sending a volley of bolts toward the assassins.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Again, a series of clanging sounds as most of the bolts were deflected by the assassins' swords. However, at such close range and with the intensity of the volley, many bolts still struck the bodies of the assassins.

But these assassins seemed to feel no pain, allowing the bolts to remain in their bodies as they charged into the mercenary ranks.

"Are these guys monsters?" some mercenaries were momentarily stunned.

"Retreat, everyone get out of here!" Kains roared loudly while fighting the black-clothed individuals.

But it was too late; with continuous thudding sounds, the black-clothed assassins swiftly and precisely stabbed their short swords into the vital points of the mercenaries.

The well-trained mercenaries were no match for these assassins, unable to block the ferocious attacks, and one after another, they fell.

The dozen or so black-clothed assassins who had charged out of the mist caused the group of over fifty mercenaries to continuously retreat.

"Brothers, no more retreating, let's fight them!" a tall mercenary swung his huge axe at the approaching assassins.

The assassin facing him was significantly shorter but dodged the mighty axe swing by ducking down, then sprang up from the ground like lightning, stabbing his short sword upwards into the throat of the tall mercenary, quickly pulling it out to attack the next one.

The tall mercenary, clutching his throat as blood spurted out, stared in disbelief as he slowly fell forward.

Arthur, still protected in the middle of the group, had blood-red eyes. He rapidly fired several arrows, each easily deflected by the swords of the approaching assassins.

Arthur's attempts only earned him a glance from an assassin who had just killed another mercenary, a look that seemed to say, "I remember you."

!

ChatGPT

Arthur's attacks only earned him a brief glance from the assassin who had just killed other mercenaries, a look that seemed to say, "I've remembered you."

That brief glance sent a chill through Arthur's entire body. It was as if he was back in the scenes of the orc tribes hunting, where in the cold gaze of the assassins, they were no different from prey; no matter how much they struggled, the outcome would be the same.

Kains's sword shone with fighting spirit as he unleashed three swift strikes, forcing the black-clothed man in front of him to retreat a few steps, intending to turn around and address the mercenaries' plight.

As soon as Kains turned, the black-clothed figure closed in on him like a ghost, his short sword bursting with fighting spirit, aiming directly for Kains's back.

Kains had no choice but to swing his sword back in self-defense.

While Kains was entangled, Adeline, Ilaya, and Angus also found themselves in dire straits.

The ice mage blocking Adeline had emerged from the mist, also clad in black and wearing a black mask, distinguishable from the other assassins only by the white bone staff he held instead of a black short sword.

Three white ice shields rapidly circled the assassin mage, with one end of the bone staff emitting a white chill. With each swing of the mage's staff, ice spears and ice bolts shot out, their frequency and density surpassing Adeline's fireballs.

Adeline was forced to retreat continuously, barely able to counterattack. Her hastily conjured fire shield was shattered as soon as it appeared by the opposing ice spears and bolts, barely managing to sustain herself through dodging and all-out magical output.

Once Ilaya was engaged in close quarters, his archery was severely limited. Two assassins, known for their speed, precisely targeted the elf archer's weakness, sticking close to Ilaya and giving him no chance to create distance.

Angus, too, was entangled by two black-clothed assassins, but his situation was even more perilous than Ilaya's.

As a hunter, Angus was not known for direct combat. Facing professional assassins of the same level five, it wasn't long before he was struck by several blows, narrowly avoiding fatal injuries.

Angus's body continuously bled, his movements growing increasingly slower.

The two assassins surrounding him also slowed their attack frequency, but their eyes, like those of wolves, were fixed on Angus, ready to pounce for the kill at any moment.

Kains saw the entire mercenary group's predicament, his forehead veins bulging and eyes bloodshot, his sword energy growing more intense with each roar.

The black-clothed person opposite Kains let out a disdainful sneer, "Stop your futile struggle; none of you will