Chapter 35: Assassinating the Captain

After three work cycles, Ninglu decided to launch a new round of offensives.

Thierry and Szczesny needed time to assemble their regiments, and Bukayo was still in the preparation phase.

Ninglu decided to take only the First Regiment to conquer Szczecin and Mazov.

He set out with his team, clutching his repaired heavy halberd, leaving Woyiqiehe behind to continue developing waterproof weapons.

Yelena hurried over to join the team; she had not expected King Ninglu to conquer the powerful Lukebo Hive City in such a short time.

Mazov, Upper Hive, ventilation shaft.

Maria Kornikova, two meters and one centimeter tall, applied tubular machine oil to her curved blade.

Another woman, with a shaved head, who was maintaining her Jiguangchangqiang, glanced at the time on her tactical wristwatch and said in a low voice.

"Maria, the agreed-upon rendezvous time has passed by thirteen standard minutes; Pironkova should be dead by now."

The six of them were divided into two teams to carry out assassination missions, acting individually to hunt after infiltrating the Hive City.

"Tsvetana, she isn't coming; she assassinated Baron Bereszynski, triggering a pursuit by the security forces—it is impossible for her to escape with her abilities."

"So it was her doing; I thought it was you."

Tsvetana exclaimed; of the six, the other five each had their own strengths, but only Maria surpassed the others in every aspect.

"My target is the Captain, Pironkova created the opportunity for me."

Maria said, wiping the blade with a yellow silk cloth.

"Follow me."

Tsvetana hesitated for a few seconds; if anyone else had attempted an assassination while the target was on alert, she would have thought it was madness, but Maria had the ability to exploit every opportunity.

Walukiewicz, the Captain of Mazov, felt like he was going crazy; his communicator kept beeping incessantly, and he didn't even want to check the messages.

"Walukiewicz, our heir to the Skorupski Family has been dead for two work cycles; has the murderer still not been caught?"

"Walukiewicz, I am the new Patriarch of the Drogowski Family; my father Bereszynski died in the last work cycle, you must hand the murderer over to me."

"..."

After wearily dealing with the urgings of the various families, Walukiewicz, whose hairline was clearly receding, decided to vent his anger on his subordinates.

He switched to the command channel and roared angrily at all the squad leaders.

"You bunch of trash, you can't even lock onto the location of one assassin."

"Damn it, if you don't find him today, don't even think about standing down."

After hanging up the communicator, he gulped down a glass of water and finally felt a little better.

At this moment, the communicator beeped again; Walukiewicz's body shuddered, and he answered it listlessly.

"Captain, found him, the assassin has been found; she is hiding in the B-118 Chemical Plant."

Walukiewicz's spirits lifted, and he shouted loudly.

"Keep a close eye on him, I'm coming right now."

The Captain immediately stood up and gathered his men.

"Follow me, today we must catch that idiot who is causing me trouble."

He boarded an open-top command vehicle, and the vehicle started up and sped down the street.

Two kilometers from the target point, a blinding light suddenly flashed, striking the high-speed wheel.

The command vehicle immediately lost balance and spun into a wall.

"Assassin!"

Walukiewicz drew his laser pistol; he had not expected the assassin to be so bold, and even less expected to be attacked before entering the factory area.

【Those trash subordinates didn't report the assassin breaking through; could there be more than one assassin?】

Walukiewicz did not give orders aloud; he did not want to become the assassin's target. He crouched and trotted to the wall of a roadside building to observe his surroundings.

He discovered that the laser gun had been silenced; there was no sound when firing.

The assassin's marksmanship was precise; with every shot, one of his men fell to the ground.

After observing for a dozen seconds, he finally determined the assassin's position at the water tower via the light beams.

【An experienced assassin; that water tower supplies water to fifteen nearby factories, there are too many escape routes.】

The Captain pulled out his communicator to contact his squad leaders, and he said in a low voice.

"Idiots..."

As he spoke, he did not notice a figure silently approaching quickly from the shadows.

"B-138 Water Tower, repeat..."

"B...", a cold light flashed, the curved blade swept past, and the head fell to the ground.

Blood splattered on her face, but there was not a ripple of emotion in Maria's heart, not even a shred of satisfaction from completing the mission.

After Ninglu conquered Szczecin, he dispatched the Seventh Company to seize the destroyer Termalika at the spaceport, while the other destroyer, Nowy Sacz, was dispatched to participate in the war against Xenos pirates.

In the royal palace, besides finding a Potion Material for a Sequence 9 "Reader", he also harvested the main material for the Sequence 8 "Midnight Poet" corresponding to another Sequence 9 "Sleepless"—a poem passed down for a thousand years.

The Magdan people were the outcasts most rejected by mainstream culture among the Vostonians; they valued the type of knowledge that the Tech-Priest despised most—culture.

The Szczecin royal palace treasured two poetry collections by poets from Old Terra: one was The Nightingale and the Spring by Musa Jalil, and the other was Harmony of Light by Herbert.

Ninglu left the Third and Ninth Companies to hold the fort and immediately led his troops to attack Mazov.

As soon as he broke into the Upper Hive, he immediately noticed something different; the security forces that had been the first to react and block him in the previous three Hive Cities did not appear.

The resistance Ninglu encountered came from the regular army of Mazov; after he crushed the defenders, Yelena brought two assassins to see him.

As he listened to the briefing, he recalled that Maria was the only one of the six who had held his gaze for a moment.

【Her will is extraordinary.】

Ninglu evaluated her in his heart, while Maria's cold voice proceeded to the final part of the briefing.

"As I thought, after the Captain died, the various families immediately began fighting over the position of Captain, completely forgetting to hunt for the assassin; they were still bickering until you broke into the Hive City."

Ninglu nodded and said approvingly.

"Well done, it exceeded my expectations."

He then said to Yelena, "The three who are alive have passed my test."

Besides Maria and Tsvetana from Mazov, one Assassin from the less successful Szczecin also survived.

"Mazov and Szczecin are left to you; accelerate the reconstruction speed according to the methods of Teziwoke."

In the palace of Mazov, Ninglu also found a "Reader" Potion Material, and once again only found two Potion Materials, which were still two poetry collections by poets from Old Terra.

One was "Twilight" by Anna Andreyevna Akhmatova, and the other was "Shock" by Adam Zagajewski.

Ninglu dispatched the First Company to raid the spaceport and seize the Destroyer Vistula.

Only after he returned to Teziwoke and met Kaminski did he understand how much the Magdan people were being ostracized.

Upon seeing him, the Sage immediately spoke.

"King Ninglu, you have punished the Magdan people, and the Omnissiah is greatly pleased; before I came, the bell of the Omnissiah rang three times."

Ninglu did not respond; he believed that art also had its value.

The Sage continued.

"Luoxiji has forged armor for you; please fulfill the agreement as soon as possible and deal with the Xenos pirates."

"Sage, I will depart before the Yekai Shift, and I will set foot on the Xinggang in the next work cycle."

"Please take Luoxiji with you; he will provide you with assistance."

(End of this chapter)