Chapter 175: The Assassination Failed
"You can blame yourself for provoking the wrong people," said the leader of the Black Cloaks, preparing to use a dagger.
He aimed it at Daniel's throat, but suddenly something stopped him.
"Hah? This? How!?" What stopped him was a hand—Daniel's hand.
Daniel slowly opened his eyes and, with his golden pupils, scanned all the uninvited guests in his room.
"I don't remember inviting any guests," he growled, and with a flick of his wrist, crushed the leader of the Black Cloaks.
"Retreat! Damn it, now!" For a moment, the leader's face contorted in pain, but he endured it and pulled back, ordering a retreat.
Although they outnumbered him and could have killed him, they didn't want to take that risk. Their goal was to make it look like a suicide.
According to their intel, this boy had a good relationship with the leader of the Awakened Association in this city, and they couldn't let the law enforcement or investigators get involved.
Especially considering the boy was no ordinary person. He had gained a lot of fame recently and was still regarded as an unknown genius who had defeated the number one ranked genius of the country in a ranking event.
The Black Cloaks immediately began to exit as soon as they heard the leader's command. Each one made their way to the windows and left.
One of the Black Cloaks, whose hand had been severed, pulled out a circular object from his inventory and slammed it onto the ground.
A thick cloud of smoke enveloped the room, successfully disorienting Daniel's spiritual senses.
The Black Cloak with the severed hand, along with two others in the room, used the opportunity to escape.
"Cough, cough... how ridiculous," Daniel growled. How could he let them get away?
He summoned all his Fallen Ones—three of them to guard his family and the rest to chase after the Black Cloaks.
"Who were they?" Daniel didn't chase after them right away. Instead, he wondered who they even were.
He couldn't understand why anyone would want to assassinate him. While he did have a few enemies in the Celestial Domain, in this world there was only one person he could think of who might do something like this.
"If that bastard is behind this..." A cold light flickered in his eyes.
Daniel got up and followed them. Though he could sense that they weren't very powerful, they were fast.
They likely had a movement skill that increased their speed.
He went to his sister's room and, upon seeing that Alice was peacefully asleep, sighed with relief. He checked the rest of the house with his spiritual senses and, confirming that everything was fine, exited through his sister's window.
Instead of running, he flew out and sped after the Black Cloaks with explosive speed.
"My lord, we've found a few of them," suddenly Nariok's voice resonated in his mind.
Without hesitation, Daniel used Fallen Step and teleported directly to where Nariok was.
"So, these are the ones?" He glanced at the figures in front of him.
There were three of them, all at Rank C. It was only natural that such weak ones couldn't escape Nariok.
"Well, you woke me up, and that's enough reason for me to kill you. But since I'm a kind person, I'll give you a chance to survive."
"Tell me, who sent you?" Daniel asked indifferently.
The Black Cloaks exchanged glances but didn't speak. Each one pulled out a pair of black daggers and readied for battle.
"Then you've chosen the hard way," Daniel chuckled slightly and then summoned The Heavens Honor sword from his inventory.
The Black Cloaks shuddered as they felt the sword's aura, and in that moment, Daniel attacked them.
This was the first time he used his new sword in a real fight, and he wanted to test it out.
He killed each Black Cloak with a single strike, though they weren't weak, they were only Rank C. To be worthy of fighting him, they were far too weak.
[The Heavens Honor absorbed three souls.] [The Heavens Honor became slightly stronger.]
Daniel glanced at the notifications briefly before signaling Nariok to pursue the remaining Black Cloaks. He needed to find out who had sent them.
Nariok nodded and disappeared. Daniel didn't stay idle either, flying back into the sky to observe everything from above.
He activated his spiritual senses to see if any of the remaining Black Cloaks were in his range. The answer was no.
But just then, he heard Wurak's voice in his mind.
"My lord, we've captured four of the Black Cloaks."
Without hesitation, Daniel used Fallen Step again, appearing where Wurak and one of his fallen knights were.
He gave them the same offer he gave the others, but this group of Black Cloaks also chose the hard way.
Daniel sighed and again killed all of them. They were all Rank C except for one who was at the peak of the rank, but still, they were too weak for him.
"I need to find that Rank B Black Cloak," he muttered. He was sure that among the Black Cloaks, there was a Rank B member because he had sensed their aura.
Most likely, they were the only one who could answer his questions.
He ordered Wurak and the other fallen knight to track down the remaining Black Cloaks, and without delay, they left to carry out their master's command.
Daniel didn't have to wait long. His other Fallen Ones reported back one by one, telling him they had managed to capture more Black Cloaks.
He examined them all, gave them the same offer, and in the end, when none of them agreed, he killed them all.
"How stubborn," he muttered. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. All these Black Cloaks preferred death over answering his questions.
"Only two Black Cloaks should be left now." If he wasn't mistaken, it should be the one whose hand he severed and the Rank B Black Cloak.
He sent all his Fallen Ones after them, and it wasn't long before he received the confirmation.
"My lord, we found the one whose hand you severed," Vorak and Nariok's voices echoed simultaneously in his mind.