Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 540: Rumour [Bonus Chapter]

"Who are you, and why are you trespassing into the—" one of the guards shouted, but before he could even finish speaking, Asher went straight to the point, as he did not want to waste a single second listening to the same repetitive dialogue he had already endured before.

Glancing at the mission permit scroll, they led Asher into the village while staring at him with cautious curiosity. As they walked, Asher spoke, "Has there been any missing person case within your village?" He asked the guard that was escorting him, just to know whether the kidnappers had already struck and he was already too late to intervene.

"No, we haven’t, although we’ve all heard about the disappearances of villagers from the Village Chief," the guards replied with a respectful tone, their posture remaining disciplined.

’Seems like I made it in time,’ Asher thought to himself as he walked, the guard leading him toward the Village Chief. Upon arriving, Asher stepped in without hesitation as the guard returned to his duties outside.

"Welcome to the Sand Village, it seems the Star Academy truly lives up to its reputation," the Village Chief greeted as he welcomed Asher warmly, "but forgive my words, I thought you will be heading to the Blackstone Village, as the last kidnapping happened there," he stated, as he wanted to understand why Asher had arrived here instead.

"I’m just coming from there, I’ve done the necessary investigation over there, and according to the kidnappers’ movement pattern, your village is next," Asher spoke without beating around the bush, his tone direct and devoid of unnecessary embellishment.

Hearing Asher’s words, the Village Chief immediately frowned. Although Asher did not provide him with concrete evidence, he had already suspected that soon his own villagers would be kidnapped; it was only a matter of time. After all, many other villagers from neighboring settlements had already been taken. Why should the villagers of the Sand Village be spared from such a fate?

For this reason, he had instructed the villagers to close their shops and cease various forms of work as early as 10 p.m. for security purposes, but even he knew that such precautions would barely make any meaningful difference against an organized and capable enemy.

"What do you need?" he asked, because if Asher had rushed from the Blackstone Village to his Sand Village and confidently claimed that the Sand Village was next, then he must have devised some form of strategy... right?

Asher smiled faintly at the question, "Actually, I need something simple," he began to speak, "I just need you to spread rumors around the village that another adventurer has arrived this time, but this time it is a lone adventurer; also give a description of me, like my armor and appearance," Asher instructed calmly, his expression composed and unreadable.

The Village Chief remained silent for a moment as he wondered why Asher required such a rumor to be spread. Did he crave attention? While Asher was indeed drawing attention to himself, it was not the type of attention the Village Chief was currently imagining in his mind.

"That is easy and can be done," the Village Chief stated after a brief pause, "when do you need it to be done?" he asked with a calm expression, keeping his suspicions and private thoughts to himself.

"Immediately," Asher replied without any visible change in expression.

"Then I will be right back," the Village Chief stated as he rose from his seat and walked into another chamber down the hall to carry out the request personally.

The plan was simple. Unlike his previous strategy, where he intended to casually walk around and allow the kidnappers to eventually notice him, this time he would ensure that the information reached them directly through whatever covert means they were using for intelligence gathering.

And also, if they were already preparing to make a move, this rumor would force them to pause their operation until they had verified the strength of this lone adventurer. After all, three different teams of adventurers had gone missing on this particular mission, and for a lone adventurer to still accept it implied that he or she possessed considerable strength... right?

Handle the adventurer first, then kidnap the villagers, that would inevitably become their revised plan of action.

But at the same time, Asher already had another strategy in mind to catch them off guard. Usually, he kept his presence concealed, suppressing his Life Rank to make it completely undetectable, but this time Asher planned to reveal the presence of a Dust Brightstar Life Rank, which was the third Life Rank among the ten named Life Ranks.

Obviously, when they sensed his Life Rank, they would likely dismiss him as insignificant and potentially capture him alongside the villagers.

As for his reasoning, if he emitted no Life Rank at all, it might lead to the assumption that he was overwhelmingly powerful, which could result in them dispatching their strongest operatives to deal with him. In that scenario, he would have no alternative but to engage in direct combat and defeat his opponent while deliberately keeping them alive. And Asher was certain that even if he tortured whoever that opponent turned out to be, they would not easily reveal any valuable secrets.

It would be far more advantageous for him to be captured alive as a seemingly insignificant individual, a mere small fry in their eyes.

"It’s done," the Village Chief returned from wherever he had gone to spread the instructions, and Asher did not bother asking how it had been accomplished, as the method did not concern him in the slightest, "anything else?" the Village Chief asked.

"No, I will handle it from here," Asher spoke as he rose to his feet. He turned to walk away to wait for the inevitable encounter he had carefully orchestrated, but he suddenly stopped mid-step. He had initially intended to leave the Village Chief completely in the dark regarding what he was about to do, but after brief consideration, he decided to provide at least a minimal explanation.

"By tomorrow, or perhaps even today, or anytime soon, I and some villagers will go missing, but just know that it is part of the plan," Asher spoke calmly before turning away again.

"What does that mean?" the Village Chief immediately shouted as he shot to his feet in alarm.

"Trust the Star Academy, Village Chief," Asher replied steadily before opening the door and stepping out. The moment he crossed the threshold, his presence shifted, transforming into that of a Brightstar Life Ranker, radiating a controlled but unmistakable aura. With that, Asher began parading around the village, visiting numerous locations under the pretense of conducting a thorough investigation, but in reality, it was all a calculated facade.

However, although he was merely maintaining appearances, his Omni Perception and Astra Sense were pushed to their absolute limits as he meticulously scanned every villager who passed by him, whether they were children playing in the sand, a crawling baby, or even a dove fluttering overhead. Asher did not discriminate, because who could predict what method his opponent might employ to disguise themselves or conceal their presence?

And with that, the game of cat and rat had begun in earnest, and which of them would ultimately fall into the other’s true trap remained a question yet to be answered.

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: Bonus Chapters, thanks for the Magic Castle, FatelessPen. Also, happy Valentine’s Day to everyone, where’s my gift?