CLANG—!

  The three shadows striking at Kael were blocked with casual ease.

  The sound of metal colliding with metal rang out incessantly. Kael’s reverse-grip blade moved in a blur, the sheer force of his parry knocking all three figures back.

  However, the aura that erupted from the attackers caused Qin Ming and Tiger-Hunt to freeze in shock.

  Peak Class-rank!

  And not just any class—these were the dreaded Assassins.

  Their fighting style was far more treacherous and ghostly than the Swordsmen found in the Combat Simulation Room. They specialized in striking from the shadows, disappearing, and striking again.

  aside from classes with extreme defensive capabilities, almost every other profession lived in fear of Assassins of the same level. Even if one possessed high combat awareness and could parry a sneak attack, the psychological toll was immense.

  There is a saying: You can guard against a thief for a thousand days, but a thief only needs to succeed once.

  As long as an Assassin remained hidden, they controlled the pace. The target had to live in constant fear, looking over their shoulder every second. A moment of relaxation meant death.

  "I didn't expect Assassins. No wonder we couldn't pinpoint their location earlier." Blood Wolf stood at the entrance, his squad already forming a defensive battle formation outside.

  The three figures landed on the floor, pausing for only a split second, but it was enough for everyone to see them clearly.

  They were dressed entirely in black night-suits, their faces obscured by hoods and tight masks. Even the edges of their daggers were coated in a matte black light to prevent any reflection.

  "They are dangerous. Be careful," Tiger-Hunt warned, gripping his Furious Greatsword tightly as he locked onto the three intruders.

  "I can't tell which faction they belong to," Qin Ming said, wiping the blood from his cheek and assuming a defensive stance.

  From the brief exchange earlier, they knew the truth: they couldn't keep up. The speed gap was too wide. Unless the Assassins actively attacked them, Blood Wolf and Tiger-Hunt would struggle to land a hit.

  The training in the simulation room had indeed improved their combat techniques and instincts by leaps and bounds. However, technique couldn't completely bridge a raw stat gap in Agility. If the target was Kael, there wasn't much the others could do to intercept.

  The three Assassins exchanged a glance. One of them raised a wrist, revealing a glowing Trial Mark.

  [Class Skill: Shadow Mist!]

  Instantly, a thick black fog erupted within the small confines of the shop. It swallowed all light, plunging everyone into absolute darkness.

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  "It's an Assassin skill! Watch your backs!" Qin Ming shouted immediately.

  But the moment the words left his mouth, they were devoured by the fog.

  Qin Ming frowned deeply. Silence effect?

  "Damn it! The shop is completely covered," Blood Wolf cursed from the doorway. He wasn't inside the mist, but he couldn't see a single thing happening inside.

  Tiger-Hunt tensed every muscle, ready to swing at anything that moved.

  They hadn't expected the Assassins to possess such a high-level skill. This was a premeditated assassination with no intention of leaving survivors. Shadow Mist masked all movement and sound. With their current strength, fighting three peak Class-rank Assassins inside this sensory-deprivation field was suicide. They could only hope to protect themselves.

  "Manager..." Shier, hiding behind Kael, trembled in fear, clutching the corner of his shirt tightly.

  The darkness blinded them. It deafened them. But it couldn't remove their sense of touch or the suffocating fear of the unknown.

  Just as panic began to set in, a calm, indifferent voice cut through the silence.

  "You seem to have frightened my clerk and my customers. That isn't very nice."

  The voice was faint, yet it rang with absolute clarity in everyone's ears.

  "That's the Boss's voice!"

  "Manager Kael can speak through the mist?!"

  Even the three Assassins hidden within the fog were startled, their movements faltering.

  Shadow Mist was a Class-rank skill empowered by the laws of the world. Blocking sound was one of its core absolute effects. To break it, one would need a higher-level skill or a specialized transmission spell. Yet, they hadn't felt any fluctuation of Battle Qi or Magic Power.

  How did he do it?

  That should be impossible!

  Before the shock could fade, Kael’s voice echoed again, colder this time.

  "I don't care what you do outside," Kael said. "But inside this shop... no one causes trouble!"

  [System Alert:]

  Violation Detected: Host's Store Manager Authority has been challenged.

  Countermeasure: Defensive System Activated.

  Directive: The dignity of the Store Manager is inviolable within the premises!

  BOOM!

  A terrifying force erupted from Kael.

  The pervasive Shadow Mist was blown away instantly, shattered by the sheer force of Kael’s presence.

  A pressure as vast and heavy as the ocean descended upon the shop.

  As the mist vanished, the three Assassins were revealed. They had already lunged to within inches of Kael’s face, their daggers raised.

  But there they stayed.

  Frozen.

  They were suspended in mid-air, immobilized by the crushing pressure. No matter how hard they struggled, they couldn't twitch a single muscle.

  "What... what kind of power is this? What is this pressure?!"

  Tiger-Hunt, who was closest, gritted his teeth. His bones creaked audibly under the weight of the aura.

  Qin Ming wasn't fairing much better, sweat pouring down his face as he struggled to remain standing.

  Even Blood Wolf, standing at the door, was caught in the blast radius. He was blown backward, flying out of the shop entirely.

  "Captain! Are you okay?" The squad members rushed to help him up.

  "Cough, cough! A terrifying aura just appeared inside... It seems we don't need to worry," Blood Wolf coughed violently to clear the congestion in his chest.

  His eyes were wide with shock and awe as he stared at the small shop.

  The open door acted like a bizarre boundary line. Inside was a storm of god-like pressure; outside, the night was calm.

  This power exceeded Blood Wolf’s imagination. He knew with absolute certainty that if the owner of this aura wished it, he could crush them all with a single finger.

  "Stay away from the door! Just guard the perimeter! Don't let them escape!" Blood Wolf ordered, waving his men back.

  Though, deep down, he knew the Assassins weren't coming out.

  Inside the shop, the eyes of the three Assassins were filled with a terror and despair that shouldn't exist in trained killers.

  The crushing pressure had locked their bodies completely. They couldn't move. They couldn't blink. They couldn't even commit suicide.

  Capture.

  For an Assassin, this was the ultimate taboo.

  Every Assassin trained by a major faction had multiple ways to end their own lives instantly—poison pills in the teeth, hidden mechanisms, magical contracts. If a target proved too strong, they were trained to sacrifice themselves to protect the secrets of their masters.

  But now... they were denied even the right to die.