Chapter 160: Black Snake Club

Robin's figure flashed, evading the attack like a phantom, then turned, his right hand forming a fist bathed in golden Order light, and he hurled it toward the assailant.

The assailant clearly hadn't expected Robin's speed, and in a hurry raised a dagger to block.

With a "clang," the metallic clash echoed through the alley, and the assailant was knocked back several steps by the powerful force.

Robin stared and saw the assailant wearing black nightclothes, his face covered with black cloth, only a pair of cold eyes exposed.

Before he could speak, several black shadows surrounded him from all directions, blocking him in the alley's center.

These people, well‑trained, spread out in a fan shape, gradually tightening the encirclement; their weapons flashed with cold light, exuding thick murderous intent in the silent alley.

The assassins underestimated Robin's strength.

At the moment the leader swung his blade down, Robin flicked his fingertips, and a golden chain shot through the air, coiling around the opponent's wrist like a living thing.

Amid the sound of bones cracking, the dagger clanged to the ground; the assassin stared in terror at his twisted joints, the chain containing crushing legendary‑level power.

"You are… an Order Knight?" a trembling whisper came from behind.

He himself is at the early stage of a Legendary Knight, able to easily heavily wound him; his power absolutely surpasses that of an ordinary Legendary Knight.

Robin tore off his hood, the golden Order emblem swirling at his temple; he raised his hand and waved lightly, and the remaining weapons in the assassins' hands suddenly shattered into powder.

The nearest assassin tried to flee, but was instantly bound by chains that sprouted from the ground, bundling him like a rice dumpling, hanging and swaying in mid‑air.

"Who sent you?" Robin stepped over the scattered broken metal, his boot soles grinding sparks.

The leading assassin bit open the poison sac hidden between his molars, black blood spilling from his mouth, yet he stared at Robin with a resentful, poisonous gaze: "Our boss won't let …" before he cut off his breath.

Robin crouched, dipped his fingertips into the black blood; the moment the pattern touched, the blood droplets turned into blue light specks and vanished.

He frowned, stood up, kicked away the corpse of the assassin at his feet; these people had taken the fortified drugs from the Eastern Black Market, their meridians already corroded to a thousand holes, leaving no living breath.

The gilt sign of the Black Snake Club flickered at the street corner, its neon‑like lantern casting Robin's shadow on the wall, stretching it into a sharp sword shape.

He ripped off his cloak and tossed it into the gutter, revealing an inner lining embroidered with the Wei Er Ke family crest; since the other side wanted to pin the crime on the Wei Er Ke family, he might as well walk boldly into this dragon‑and‑tiger den.

The instant he pushed open the club's main doors, a lavish aura hit his face.

In the central fountain pool floated rose petals; scantily clad maidens carried silver trays weaving among gambling tables, the sounds of dice, laughter, curses, and Gold Coin clashing intertwined.

A glass‑shattering sound suddenly came from the second‑floor corridor; Robin looked up and met the gaze of Liya leaning on the railing, she had changed into a scarlet low‑cut long dress today, the pearl pendant on her earlobes trembling, yet when she saw his temple emblem, her pupils contracted sharply.

"It seems you've run into trouble, Baron." The butler wearing white gloves suddenly appeared at his side, smiling as he took Robin's coat, "The Black Snake Club has a rule: blood‑stained blades do not enter. But your blade…" he glanced at Robin's waist‑bound Judgment Sword, "may be an exception."

Robin followed the butler through the gambling hall, his peripheral vision catching a few men in tailcoats quickly exchanging glances.

As he passed the third‑floor corner, he suddenly stopped, looking at the massive oil painting hanging on the wall—depicting Duke Huo Ke holding a scepter, a giant dragon bound by chains at his feet.

Liya's voice came from behind, deliberately lowered and trembling: "They just received word that seven corpses are blocking Hongye Alley."

"Eight." Robin turned, his fingertips still tinged with lingering blue light specks, "One slipped through the net, ran down the sewers." He stared at Liya's terrified expression, then suddenly seized her wrist, pressing her against the icy wall, "Now tell me, you arranged to meet me tonight—what exactly do you want Duke Huo Ke to see?"

Liya's back slammed into the wall, the pearl pendant fell with a sound, rolling a delicate tinkling on the carpet. She looked up at the swirling golden pattern in Robin's eyes, then laughed, her scarlet skirt sweeping over his blood‑stained boot: "I want him to see that the heir of the Wei Er Ke family has teamed with me for a secret talk in the Black Snake Club, so when the silver ore of Cangyan Valley is exposed, everyone will think you intend to betray Duke Huo Ke."

Robin's fingertips suddenly tightened, but when they touched her pulsing wrist pulse, he abruptly released.

From a distant gambling table came the sound of a dice cup shattering, mixed with a noble's uncontrolled curse.

He then noticed a pale‑blue bruise behind Liya's ear, its shape matching the outline of Duke Huo Ke's ring.

"You've been watched." He stepped back half a step, wiping the blue light from his fingertips with his cuff, "Since you left the banquet hall, the duke's eyes have never ceased."

The candle holder at the end of the corridor suddenly went out, and a metallic scraping sound rose from the shadows.

Robin spun, drew his sword, the Judgment Sword's cold blade cleaving the darkness, only to see the butler holding a silver tray five steps away, two cups of steaming wine within.

"Your judgment is admirable," the butler bowed, his white hair falling over his face, "but in the Black Snake Club, no guest can survive leaking a secret—unless," he lifted his eyes, pupils an eerie silver‑gray, "you become this place's new master."

Liya's breathing suddenly quickened; she recognized those eyes—they belonged to the true controller of the Black Snake Club, the legendary, long‑dead "Shadow Earl."

Robin's sword tip steadied on the other's throat, Order power forming serrated patterns on the blade: "I'm not interested in becoming master, but I can make a deal with you."

The wall behind the butler suddenly flipped, revealing the entrance to a secret passage.

In the damp mildew scent, the faint roar of gears turning could be heard.

Liya staggered, gripping Robin's arm; the warm touch passed through the fabric: "The club's vent is about twenty zhang away; with your Order chains you can blast the rock layer. But Duke Huo Ke placed…"

"Twelve Mechanical Sentinels." Robin replied, the Judgment Sword projecting a faint golden map in his palm, the very intelligence report he had just retrieved from the assassin corpses, "and each sentinel's core embeds a Western Realm Wizard's heart."

He suddenly grabbed Liya's hand, pressing it against the stone wall; the moment the crests touched, the whole rock melted like flowing water, revealing a deep blue‑glowing passage.

The butler let out a low laugh: "Seems you know everything, Baron." He stepped aside, the wine on the silver tray somehow already placed before the two of them.

Robin and Liya exchanged a glance; no one dared touch the red wine on the tray.

(End of Chapter)