Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 2127: Viper in Hand

Fifty kilometers east of Davos, a safehouse lay hidden deep within the jungles.

Surrounded by towering trees and concealed beneath a powerful camouflage formation, it was virtually invisible to anyone who did not know where to look. Or if they were a Runesmith.

The place served as a base of operations for agents of the Iron Covenant.

Their scheme was simple. First, they would disguise themselves as bandits, ambushing caravans, slaughtering merchants, and leaving their victims to rot along the roads. Then they would appear as ordinary mercenaries, offering their services to the very merchant companies they had terrorized.

The Night Guild had uncovered the ruse. Clearing the safehouse was one of the missions Adam had recently taken.

Of course, he didn’t fully trust the particulars of the mission. So he confirmed with his own eyes what these agents from the Covenant were doing. Last week, he had watched them attack a caravan, kill its Magus protector and others, steal all the goods, and leave a few alive so they could scurry back to Davos and report.

The most important part of the hunt wasn’t the hunt itself, but the preparation leading up to it.

Adam had spent days patiently studying the safehouse. He had scouted every approach, memorized their patrol routes, counted their numbers, and observed their habits. He had mapped every entrance and exit. Every blind spot. Every place a body could be hidden.

He had made certain that when the killing began, no one would come looking. There would be no witnesses. No interruptions. No escape. No evidence leading to him.

And now, everything was ready. The time had arrived.

First, he slipped through the camouflage barrier. He tweaked it and made it a defensive barrier that trapped everyone inside. He deactivated the recording artifacts placed throughout the compound. Then, he began silently killing the guards in the perimeter. They were Apprentices. Easy kills.

Time for the main course.

A guard stood at the entrance of the safehouse, posture lazy and slouched. His jaws parted, and he let out a slothful yawn.

Stab.

A small dagger shot inside his mouth and came out of his skull before embedding itself into the wall. The guard’s eyes rolled, and he fell to the ground.

The other guard beside him finally noticed something. He turned to his fellow guard. His eyes widened when he saw blood pooling on the ground. He opened his mouth to scream.

Stab.

Another dagger to the side of his head. It pierced the skull and penetrated the wall.

Adam appeared on the narrow road leading to the safehouse. For this mission, he wasn’t going to use spells. He arrived at the entrance and retrieved his daggers, not even bothering to cast them a glance.

According to the intel he had personally gathered, the safehouse was home to fifteen Apprentices, six Cavaliers, and three Templars.

The Apprentices were already dead.

Adam stepped into the safehouse. It didn’t take him long to locate the six Cavaliers. They were playing cards in a room, drinking booze and pulling smokers.

He opened the door. When the Cavaliers inside turned to look at who it was, all they saw was a dagger flying straight to their heads. Then darkness.

Adam closed the door.

The Cavaliers were dead.

Now only the leaders of this band of mercenaries remained.

Adam walked out to the vast open chamber where they stored all the stolen goods. There was quite a lot of them. Good money to be made when sold. Of course, Adam was going to take them all.

The Iron Covenant was being so generous. Wouldn’t it be impolite to refuse?

CLAP! CLAP!

The sound thundered in every corner of the safehouse. That ought to draw the three Cavaliers resting inside. Adam waited for them as he retrieved the stolen goods and put them inside his sleeve.

He soon frowned. There was too much for the taking. Not enough storage space inside his sleeves.

The sound of footsteps approached from the floor above. The three Templar Paladins arrived and looked at the scene of Adam looting their goods. When they saw the blood near the entrance, they immediately grew alert.

"Halt!"

"Bastard, stop!"

"Do you know who we are?!"

The three Templars rushed down the stairs. They weren’t wearing armor. They had been resting, after all. Besides, they believed that the three of them would be enough to deal with a single enemy.

"Iron Covenant," Adam murmured without even looking at them. "If you tell me the whereabouts of the one you report to—you know, the Transcendent Paladin—I’ll make your deaths swift."

He finally turned to them and asked sincerely, "So what say ye, my fellow man? Speak forth the truth and pass peacefully into the afterlife. Or resist, and suffer the full measure of my wrath."

"You motherfucker!" A Templar rushed forward, sword in hand and killing intent solidified.

FF-TSSHHHH!

His head exploded as something long and black and terrifying slithered through the air.

"Final warning," Adam said, Viper in hand.

The remaining Templars grew solemn. They exchanged glances and prepared to attack at the same time. This time they didn’t head first with rage. They were cold and calculating, using their battle formation to overwhelm the opponent.

Adam sighed.

He willed the Viper to transform from a whip to a thin, double-edged blade.

Then his footwork transformed into a beautiful dance as he twirled toward the opponent on the right. Like a gentle river, smooth and calm and peaceful, he parried the first sword attack.

Then the river transformed into a raging, wrathful force of nature. A black sword flashed, and the Templar was cut into four pieces. He died before the pieces of himself even fell to the ground.

Adam flicked his hand, and the blade turned into a whip. He evaded the last Templar’s attack as his own hand blurred. The Viper coiled around the opponent’s sword-wielding arm. With another flick, the whip transformed into a sharp blade.

Thud!

The hand fell to the ground. It was still holding the sword firmly in its tight grasp.

The Templar glanced at his severed hand, then at the bloody stump with pure horror. A guttural scream of pain and fear erupted from his throat before quickly dying.

The Viper had coiled around his neck.

Adam’s calm words echoed from behind.

"I will ask you again. Speak the truth and pass peacefully. Or..."

"I’ll speak! I’ll speak!" the last enemy blurted out, tears and snot streaming down his pale face.

The Viper constricted slowly, bringing with it the promise of swift death.

Adam hissed. "I’m listening."