Building a Kingdom and Conquering the World

Screams echoed through the bandits' hideout. Blood covered the floor, spreading like dark paint. In the shadows, the only thing that shone was the flash of silver daggers. The whole place was almost completely dark, lit only by a few torches on the walls, their flames flickering.

The building was massive, perhaps the largest structure in the Outer District—once a noble estate, now repurposed as a warehouse for smuggled food from the Inner District.

"Search every room," Leier ordered as they entered a long corridor lined with dozens of doors. "Find the leader. Keep him alive. As for the others, no need to show mercy."

"Understood," the two Shadow Guards replied, blood dripping from their daggers. At that moment, the tribal tattoos on their skin shimmered faintly, reacting to the command. Their forms blurred into the darkness, nearly invisible to the naked eye. Only someone with heightened perception might catch the faint ripple of their movement.

Leier, however, was different. Her blood pulsed in perfect harmony with her tattoo. Whether it was due to her natural affinity or the years she had trained with it, her presence vanished entirely. Even someone like Henry might struggle to notice her when she activated it.

Doors burst open one by one as the Shadow Guards moved like ghosts through the hallway. Most of the rooms were stacked high with sacks of grain, but others held bandits sleeping soundly in the dark.

"Hey! Who opened the damn door?" a voice shouted from one of the rooms, echoing through the corridor. "I am trying to sleep here!"

"It wasn't me!" another grumbled. "Hey, rookie, go close it."

But no reply came.

The moment the Shadow Guards confirmed the room was full of sleeping bandits, they struck. Their daggers flashed like silver streaks in the dark. Silent. Precise. Throats were slit before the bandits could even open their eyes. In seconds, the entire room was silent again. The assassins moved on without pause, disappearing into the next door.

Leier moved quickly down the corridor as well, kicking open doors in search of the leader. She was in a rush. Even though she had guards posted outside to stop anyone from entering or escaping, there was always a risk. If someone managed to send a message or trigger a magical alarm, the entire mission could fall apart. And here, where magic was more common, especially under noble control, she wasn't willing to take that chance.

That's why she hadn't come through the front gates. It was safer to sneak in through the same filthy tunnels the bandits used. She could not risk setting off any hidden spells or traps that might be guarding the mansion's entrance. Better to take control without anyone noticing.

It didn't take long for them to find the leader.

"Captain! I found him!" Xena called out. The moment she raised her voice, the power of her Tribal Tattoo faded, revealing her form like mist clearing from the air. Leier and the other Shadow Guard joined her at the doorway.

Inside, a bald man sat on a wide bed, three naked women sprawled around him. He was awake, staring calmly at the intruders, showing no fear. Leier had expected a startled or panicked reaction, but this man was disturbingly composed, not even a single ounce of fear or desperation in his eyes…maybe only curiosity or anger.

"Who are you?" he asked, scratching the sides of his head, where a few patches of hair remained. The top was smooth, as if he had pulled out every strand himself. His presence and tone reeked of arrogance and decay.

"Are you the leader of this place?" Leier asked, her eyes scanning the room. Something felt wrong. The stillness in the man's eyes put her on edge. An instinct deep inside her told her not to step through that doorway.

"And who wants to know?" he replied, ignoring her question.

Leier didn't waste time with more words. Her hand flashed, a dagger was thrown slicing through the air toward him.

Without flinching, the man grabbed one of the women by the hair and yanked her into the blade's path. She woke with a scream, high, terrified and painful, just as the dagger pierced her chest. She went limp in his arms. Blood splattered all over the man's face and bed.

This man is dangerous. A Fourth Stage Warrior, at least.

"Attack!" Leier ordered.

The three of them charged into the room, weapons already in hands.

"Get away from me!" the man snarled, tossing the woman's corpse aside as he kicked another off the bed with a thud and lunged for the curved sword resting beside him. In one motion, he unsheathed it and blocked Xena's strike with a loud clang of steel.

"You filthy whores!" he shouted, spinning his blade in an attempt to disarm Xena. But before he could press the attack, another dagger came flying toward his back. He twisted, just in time to avoid it, sending Xena stumbling backward from the force of his movement.

"Ahhh!" The two remaining women, now covered in their sister's blood and bruises of their own, shrieked and scrambled away from the chaos. They pulled the sheets over their bodies, trying to shield themselves as they cowered at the edge of the bed.

Leier didn't stay still. In a flash, she appeared behind the man like a ghost, her single blue eye glowing cold and sharp. But her weapon didn't carry the intent to kill. She needed him alive.

"If you're going to play," the man said, a grin curling on his lips, "you should play more seriously."

Before Leier could react, the curved sword in his hand lashed out at her, she hadn't even seen him turn around.

She blocked the strike with her dagger, the impact spinning her sideways. But Leier had trained for years under General Luther, a Fifth Stage Warrior. She knew how to use an opponent's strength against them. Without hesitation, she turned the spin into a counterattack, twisting in mid-air and slamming a kick toward the man's face.

He hadn't expected the move and took the hit full-on, but still, Leier was thrown backward, tumbling across the floor.

"This is going to be tough," - she thought, forcing herself back onto her feet. Her arms shook slightly from the force of the block - "He's stronger than I expected. I thought maybe a Third Stage warrior… a mage, at most. But someone this powerful, hiding in the slums?"

The man slowly cleaned the hot blood dripping from his nose, looking at it curiously. It had been ages since he last saw his own blood.

"Incredible! I didn't think you would be able to endure that defense." - the man said, chuckling. "You're lucky. Not even my older brother's soldiers put up such a fight."

"He's tied to a noble family... or maybe he is a noble himself," Leier thought, narrowing her eyes as she tried to pinpoint the origin of this man. Holding firmly the dagger in her hand, readying herself to fight.

The man's grin widened. "Now then… maybe I should start with the weakest one first."

His gaze shifted to Xena, who stood ready in a defensive stance.

"I'd love to hear you scream," he said.

He launched forward, kicking off the floor with terrifying speed.

"Dodge!" Leier shouted, hurling another dagger at his back.

But to her surprise, the man didn't continue toward Xena. Mid-run, he suddenly pivoted, rebounding off the ground like a spring-loaded trap, and shot toward the other Shadow Guard, who was still recovering from their last exchange.

There was no time to react. His blade flashed, and pierced clean through the Shadow Guard's chest.