"Lord Lance?" The guards at the gate were skeptical.

  One of them took the badge from Stirling's hand, examined it with a keen eye in the firelight, and nodded slightly, "Patrol Shaman's special badge, exactly."

  "You alone?" A black-armored guard walked over. His helmet hid most of his face, so his voice sounded muffled.

  "Secret task." Stirling remained unfazed, completely unfazed.

  "You tow, follow him."

  The black-armored guard casually pointed at the two men and said.

  Two watchmen forthwith stepped out from the ranks and stood before Stirling.

  "I do not care what mission Lord Lance gave you. First, do not even think about leaving the city. Second, you only have two hours!" The black-armored guard tossed the badge to Stirling and said.

  Stirling took the badge, bowed and said, "Thank you, two hours is enough."

  With that, he ignored the two watchmen following behind and strode off.

  The two watchmen hurried after him, and the three figures quickly vanished into the dark.

  Stirling had an obvious goal. Once he left the inner-city gate, he went straight to the dojo, with the two watchmen close behind.

  At this moment, the streets of the outer city were still deserted. The lights at the Night Watch building were on. This showed they had got orders to assist with today's rebel investigation.

  Stirling observed his surroundings and sighed inwardly.

  Based on Lance's investigation and the clues he had received earlier, the only people connected to tonight's attack were those in Dojo.

  Now look what has happened! The entire Farfield City is in chaos. He's not sure whether he can enter the Array next month. Plus, there's a corpse in his yard that needs treatment.

  Tonight, he must put an end to this chaos completely.

  Stirling's eyes flashed, and his pace quickened.

  As he got closer to Dojo, Stirling's speed increased. In the next second, he leaped several meters away in one stride. Then he dashed into a nearby alley, making the two watchmen behind him drop their jaws.

  The two rushed over, only to find the alley empty; Stirling had vanished.

  "Keep searching around here; I'll go back and report!" One of them decisively told the other while he was running back rapidly.

  "Damn it! What the hell!" The other watchman cursed, panic on his face, but he still searched for Stirling.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Unbeknownst to him, he had already brushed with death several times along the way.

  Meanwhile, at Kim Dojo.

  Master Kim sat on a stone bench in the courtyard, coughing incessantly.

  "Cough, cough." Master Kim was much thinner than before, almost as if his flesh and blood had dried up.

  "Master, what should we do now?" Pillnar stood beside Master Kim, his distorted face filled with confusion and resentment.

  He didn't get why the assassination, planned for a year, had failed overall.

  This young man didn't know how many brothers in the sect would survive tonight. He also wasn't sure what the future held for him.

  Master Kim shook his head a bit upon hearing Pillnar's words. "Pillnar, you are still young, and you have a long road ahead of you. Leave the city right now before they discover your identity."

  "Master, what about you?" Pillnar asked anxiously.

  "Nowhere to escape. Khan's anode poison has corrupted me; most of my strength has been lost. I didn't expect he to have discovered our plan beforehand."

  Master Kim coughed while he spoke. The blood sprayed out, then immediately turned to vapor in the air. This showed how burning his blood was.

  "Master..." Pillnar's eyes were red. He looked at the old man before him and couldn't help but kneel on one knee.

  "Head up, kid. Head up. I've lived to seventy-six, and I've had my fill. Just a pity I can't see us samurai re-dominant in Saxon..." Master Kim murmured.

  "What about the rest of disciples?" Pillnar asked again.

  "These god-worshipping dogs have incredibly sharp noses. I'll stay here and stall them."

  "I've already dismissed the apprentices from the outer courtyard. There are piles of straw and firewood I've prepared in the kitchen. Set them on fire, then take advantage of the chaos to leave the city."

  "My disciples, I am so sorry for what I did." Master Kim's eyes welled with tears, his body becoming even more withered.

  "Master!!" Pillnar clenched his fists, his eyes also misting over. At that moment, he had never felt so useless, so incompetent. A deep sense of defeat surged into his heart.

  "Enough! Stop talking nonsense! Get out of here now!" Master Kim roared at Pillnar, who lay flat on the ground. Yet, he felt a strong sense of danger—an instinct only a grandmaster could sense.

  Pillnar knew this was not the time for sentimentality. He, without delay, stood up, bowed to Master Kim again, and hurried to the nearby kitchen. This room bore too many traces of their activity; it had to be burned altogether, leaving no future threat.

  Flames soon surrounded the dojo, with thick black smoke swirling in the night. The firelight was so bright that even the soldiers on the inner-city walls in no time saw it.

  "Sir! The outer city is on fire!" The soldiers on the city walls shouted urgently down below.

  "Hmm?"

  One of the black-armored guards snorted coldly. He mounted his blue-maned, red-tailed horse at once. Pulling on the reins, he shouted to those nearby, "Everyone, mount up!"

  "Yes, sir!!" With loud shouts, the black-armored guards jumped onto their demonic horses. A group of men then galloped through the city gates, racing toward the source of the fire in the night.

  In the firelight, Master Kim sat alone on a stone bench in the dojo's inner courtyard. He looked at the teapot and poured tea into a cup.

  However, his hands trembled a bit. Suppressing the anode poison drained him. If he weren't a Blood Boiling Grandmaster, he would have turned to ashes long ago.

  Just then, a figure leaped down from the rooftop, landing steadily in the inner courtyard.

  The figure was tall and straight, with a hint of concern on his face. Looking at the dumbfounded Master Kim, he quipped, "Old man, what were you doing? Defeat deities? Or defeated by deities?"

  Stirling took off his human skin mask on the way here. He didn't hide his identity from Master Kim.

  "Luis... Chilavert? What are you...?" Master Kim looked at the familiar face before him, yet felt it was never so strange, and muttered to himself.

  "Life force is depleted, flesh and blood are burned away... Good heavens, what witchcraft it is?"

  Stirling stared at Master Kim's thin face, clicking his tongue in surprise. Then he walked sluggishly over to him.

  "You..." Master Kim pointed a finger at Stirling, his eyes wide, stammering and unable to speak.

  "Stop talking nonsense, old man. Let me see what kind of witchcraft the Yearning Palace uses. I still have a tough battle to fight later!"

  Stirling walked over to Master Kim, took his arm, and rolled up his sleeve. He immediately noticed a red finger mark on his skin.

  "What the fuck is this?" Stirling wondered, extending a finger and probing towards the red finger mark on Master Kim's arm.