Chapter 359: Talkative Assassin
Within the transparent barrier, the Ranpelrouge Sisters, who had always been calm, finally looked surprised.
To them, assassination attempts weren't particularly rare. After experiencing the major assassination at the Black Thorn Building, they had learned to remain calm in such situations.
Moreover, while Euphy had practiced under the guidance of a Transcendent, she had no combat experience. As for Karen, she also hadn't been taught how to fight; she only knew to protect herself and her sister.
Thus, they could only leave the fighting to their guardians, remaining unflustered even as the situation deteriorated.
"It's Big Brother Assassin!" Karen immediately started clapping her hands excitedly.
"It's him..." Euphy hugged Karen, preventing her sister from moving recklessly, but she too watched the assassin's every move without blinking, fearing he would disappear in the blink of an eye.
When the assassins saw the Fairy Palace Assassin empty his submachine gun, they immediately focused their fire on this sudden variable. Transcendents like the masked strange creature even used awakened spells to try and eliminate him!
However, the Fairy Palace Assassin moved with bizarre footwork, his body suddenly accelerating. He not only easily dodged all attacks but even closed in again to eliminate an assassin, seizing their two pistols.
This action alone made all the assassins' faces change. They scrambled for cover—the Fairy Palace Assassin, now armed with pistols, was far too intimidating!
The masked strange creature's expression shifted. He had long heard that the Fairy Palace Assassin possessed a 'Lightspeed Reflex' ability, which not only allowed him to dodge attacks but also gave him an almost infallible predictive capability in combat.
Unlike Transcendents, the Fairy Palace Assassin had the killing power of Transcendents, but none of their weaknesses!
With a wild sweep of his brush, the masked strange creature forced the Fairy Palace Assassin from the front line, then took cover himself.
He knew too many unforeseen variables had occurred in this operation.
According to the original plan, to prevent Karen Lanpelucci from escaping, they had to kill Euphy Lampeluji first. This would plunge Karen into anger, fear, and sadness, with the best outcome being her complete mental breakdown.
The worst-case scenario was that Karen would go berserk and fight them.
Their group included not only the Card Assassin but also powerful assassins sent by various countries, all aiming to stifle Britain's rising hope.
How could they possibly fear fighting a frantic little girl with no combat training?
Once Karen was eliminated, they would all scatter. As Transcendents, surviving in the wilderness for weeks or evading pursuit in the vast Lianjiang District wouldn't be difficult. A few might die unluckily, but who would care?
The problem was that after they had positioned the snipers, Euphy Lampeluji suddenly interrupted her interactions with the guests and stayed with Karen Lanpelucci, which was the first variable.
But the assassination could wait no longer, so they boldly initiated the sniper attack. Unfortunately, all four snipers failed. Karen's Awakening Ability was more terrifying than intelligence reports suggested—she could sense danger the instant a bullet left the chamber and immediately raise a protective barrier!
Even so, the plan hadn't completely failed. Although the assassins had to attack head-on, they outnumbered the defenders two or three to one and had powerhouses like the masked strange creature among them. If stealth failed, they would use brute force!
The strength of the Heavenly Lotus Academy teachers was within the masked strange creature's calculations. If they could exhaust the defenders before reinforcements from the Lianjiang City District's Tactical Bureau and Public Security Bureau arrived, they still had a chance!
It was at this point that the second major variable appeared!
The Fairy Palace Assassin!
The masked strange creature watched this distinguished man from the Mysterious Country, grinding his teeth in hatred—the first variable was an accident, but this second one was a deliberate obstruction!
The Fairy Palace Assassin seemed to have it in for the Cards; he appeared whenever they made a move!
In the early days of the Spiritual Energy resurgence, before Karen awakened, the Fairy Palace Assassin could already dominate the field with his strength alone. Now that more time had passed since the resurgence, how much stronger had he become!?
"We must play our last card now (in French)..."
Meanwhile, when the Fairy Palace Assassin moved behind the Ice Wall created by Bai Ji, everyone couldn't help but stare at him intently.
This was a living being from the Fairy Palace!
The first person from the Fairy Palace to join the secular world!
The person from the videos was actually here, in reality!
Euphy couldn't help but put Karen down and stand up, looking at the Fairy Palace Assassin and saying, "Thank you for rescuing us again."
The Fairy Palace Assassin smiled faintly and nodded. "You're welcome. It's what I should do."
Ren Suo, who had been fiddling with his ring, noticed Euphy's sparkling eyes and flushed cheeks, and was suddenly stunned.
No way? Has she fallen for a game character again?
Fairy Palace Assassin: Correct. Another lovestruck girl has fallen for me. Alas, what is this thing called love, that makes one ready to live or die for it?
Tch, why is it that even a game character gets out of the 'single' status faster than me... Why do I feel like this isn't the first time?
Fairy Palace Assassin: One learns in due order, and each art has its specialist. That is all.
Are you saying you're especially good at attracting the opposite sex?
Fairy Palace Assassin: Why not consider the opposite—perhaps you're particularly unskilled at attracting the opposite sex? But don't worry. Heaven endowed me with talent, it will find its use; a thousand gold pieces scattered, and they will return. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. It's just that people like me are a rarity...
Because the Fairy Palace Assassin commanded everyone's attention, no one noticed Ren Suo's currently constipated expression.
Even Ren Suo hadn't known before summoning him that this polite, courteous, and handsome Fairy Palace Assassin was such an incredible chatterbox.
A chatterbox who also randomly spouted classical poetry and archaic sayings!
From the moment Ren Suo summoned him, the Fairy Palace Assassin had been chattering non-stop with Ren Suo via their Mind Link, as if he'd been trapped under Five Finger Mountain for centuries with no one to talk to:
A true gentleman is not born different; he is merely adept at utilizing external aids. Is a little chaotic Spiritual Energy in a firearm enough to make them hesitate to use it? Can't they just disperse that bit of energy?
Ah? You find me noisy? We may not have the phoenix's wings to fly side-by-side, but our hearts share a telepathic bond. In this world, we are soulmates!
To achieve so little, what a waste of a good body. Sigh, how can someone so weak be an assassin? They'd be better off reincarnating as a white bamboo rat in their next life.
Ren Suo was incredibly annoyed by the incessant chatter, but he couldn't remove the "Rippling Spring Sounds"—the mysterious power of the Mini-World Game Console compelled him to wear it—so he had no choice but to listen.
At that moment, Euphy suddenly said loudly, "Sir, if we are fortunate enough to survive tonight, may I have the opportunity to repay you (in English)?"
She blushed and continued, "I hope to see you again. All the joys, angers, sorrows, and pleasures of the first half of my life—all the past you weren't a part of—I want to share them with you. Then, I hope... I hope you will be part of the second half of my life with me (in English)."
Ren Suo didn't know what expression to make. Those were his lines! Should he start charging royalties? Some translation fees at least?
Ren Suo blinked and silently asked, Can you date?
Fairy Palace Assassin: A man's infatuation can be shed; a woman's, never. I wouldn't want to hold anyone back.
Ren Suo: Then hurry up and reject her.
So the Fairy Palace Assassin looked at Euphy and said, "You've become much braver since we last met. I don't know who gave you that courage, but compared to me... you still... (in English)"
The Fairy Palace Assassin glanced at Ren Suo. "Cherish the one in front of you (in English)."
Euphy looked taken aback, then forced a smile and sat down. "I was too forward."
Ren Suo was startled by the Fairy Palace Assassin's glance. Why are you looking at me? We're not that close. And why did it feel like this wasn't the first time he'd heard that phrase tonight? Albeit not in English...
"Big Brother Assassin!" Karen called out in her clear voice. The Fairy Palace Assassin looked at her, swiftly replying with an "Mm-hm?" as if to catch her words before they fell. "Karen~"
Suddenly, the Fairy Palace Assassin drew his pistols and fired at Bai Ji, Liao Yonghai, Dong Chengling, Qiao Muyi, and the others. His movements were so fast that before anyone could react, the shooting was over.
PING! PING! PING! PING! The sounds echoed as several scorching hot bullets fell to the ground, some with two bullets fused together.
Everyone was startled, but no one acted rashly. Qiao Muyi quickly understood what had happened and exclaimed in surprise, "You... did you just shoot down the bullets aimed at us with your own bullets?"
"It was my duty." The Fairy Palace Assassin looked at them, smiled kindly, then glanced outside and fired four more shots with incredible speed.
Vice Principal Yuan Chu, bloodied from battle, now completely lacked his usual composure. Seeing the Fairy Palace Assassin's actions, he couldn't help but ask, "Did you take out those snipers?"
In the battle just now, Yuan Chu had suffered the most from the snipers. Most Cultivators moved constantly, making them difficult targets, or were entangled in close combat with assassins, preventing snipers from firing recklessly. Only Yuan Chu, a typical ranged spellcaster who stood stationary, was an easy target.
He had nearly been hit by sniper fire several times. The most dangerous moment was when a bullet grazed his shoulder, tearing away a piece of flesh. The pain made him grimace even now.
"No, they were out of range. But I shattered their scopes, so you don't need to worry about snipers anymore." The Fairy Palace Assassin's tone was calm. "Apologies. In the Fairy Palace, my marksmanship is considered merely an ordinary skill, so this is all I could manage..."
With Ren Suo feeding him lines, the Fairy Palace Assassin's boast was perfectly executed—understated, yet opulent, and it even elevated the Fairy Palace's image. Everyone could only look on with awe and reverence.
The Fairy Palace Assassin suddenly turned his head, looking towards the entrance of the banquet hall. "Another group of assassins has arrived, probably their reserve team."
The Fairy Palace Assassin's earlier attack had cost the assassins many men. They had paused their assault, taking cover and waiting for their reserve team to arrive before launching another major offensive.
It was a brief lull in the fierce battle, but it was about to end.
Ren Suo remained seated in his VIP spot. His own combat power wasn't remarkable, and even if he wanted to heal the injured, he couldn't leave the transparent barrier yet—Karen refused to lower the shield protecting her sister.
Since the assassins' primary targets were Karen and the others, no one else wanted to enter the barrier—they might die even faster inside.
But Ren Suo was not inactive.
His mobile phone had been in a call all along:
"Hurry up, we're almost at our limit!"
"The Fairy Palace Assassin is here! If you don't come now, you'll miss the big news!"
"Remember to leave a team outside to surround them, don't let them escape!"
Yu Kuangtu replied, "We're flying over now! We're just short of commandeering a helicopter!"
While everyone else was still reeling from the assassins' initial attack, Ren Suo, safe within the barrier, had already called and ordered reinforcements from the Tactical Bureau's elite units!
Thanks to the Mysterious Country's infrastructure development, even a remote place like Heavenly Lotus Academy had a full mobile signal!