Chapter 34

Lambert returned alone to the guild of "Twilight of the Spirits."

However, even though it was originally a place with few people, there was almost no sign of human presence from the surrounding buildings.

On the ground, there were several footprints that seemed to have been made recently.

The guild of "Twilight of the Spirits," along with its first-floor tavern "Spirit's Hearth," had its walls and windows smashed.

There was no doubt that this was the work of the Earl.

"... An attack on the members and the suppression of the base at the same time. It seems quite thorough."

Lambert said this calmly, but inside, he was burning with anger.

Although it was for a short period, he was grateful to "Twilight of the Spirits" for accepting him, a suspicious person, and providing him with a foothold to learn about the city of Ainzas.

Fiona, Lloyd, and Lily would surely be saddened if they knew about this state of affairs.

Moreover, he felt a deep hatred for the Earl Obock's malicious tactics, which repeatedly and meticulously harassed "Twilight of the Spirits."

Although he had never met the Earl directly, there was no doubt that he was an extremely evil person.

(No further reconnaissance is necessary. There's no choice but to storm in directly.)

He didn't know what kind of relationship "Twilight of the Spirits" had with Earl Obock, but he had a good idea.

When a powerful person goes to such lengths to root out something, it's usually someone who opposes them, as has been the case since the Eight Nations Unification War.

The guild master of "Twilight of the Spirits," Germain, seemed to be secretly investigating Earl Obock.

He had mentioned that he intended to leave the guild.

It was likely that Germain feared Earl Obock would take action, sensing that the "Dragon of Mithril" had started to take an interest in "Twilight of the Spirits."

Lambert made his way into the interior of the "Twilight of the Spirits" guild.

"Twilight of the Spirits" was a small-scale guild, and the adventurers registered with the guild were not always inside.

There were usually only the guild master, the receptionist, and a couple of other adventurers.

(The reason for storming in here must be Germain, the guild master? No, this is a main street of a large city, albeit with fewer people... If Germain was the target, it would have been better to ambush him outside.)

There were no bodies inside the guild.

It was unclear whether everyone had been taken away or had managed to escape, but there was still a glimmer of hope.

Lambert opened Germain's office.

Inside, the shelves were ransacked, and papers were scattered everywhere.

"Given the extent of the damage, it's unlikely this was a robbery for money. They must have wanted to know how far Germain's investigation into the Earl had progressed."

As Lambert muttered this, a voice came from outside the room.

"That's not all."

The door was kicked open, and a thin man in a black coat burst in.

"I know you."

As Lambert replied, he quickly drew his greatsword and swung it widely.

He simultaneously killed the man who had burst in and deflected a silver needle that had been shot through the broken window with his greatsword.

The man, spewing blood from his chest, was slammed against the wall.

Lambert picked up the silver needle that had fallen to the ground and glared out the window.

It was a setup where one person would draw attention while another would attack from a blind spot.

But such a trick wouldn't work on Lambert.

"If anyone came back to check, you intended to kill or capture them. I knew you were hiding. Show yourselves."

Lambert threw the needle back out the window.

A man caught the needle with his bare hand and broke through the window, entering the room.

Like the first man, he was dressed in black and was tall, though not as tall as Lambert.

As the tall man entered, the windows in the room were broken, and three more men and one woman, all dressed the same, appeared.

The number of presences matched. They seemed to have realized that hiding was futile.

"I'm surprised. I didn't know such a man was among 'Twilight of the Spirits.' The main force was supposed to be destroyed by the 'Dragon of Mithril' while they were exploring the underground labyrinth. I didn't expect you to notice our presence. When did you?"

The men were confident in their ability to hide their presence.

The tall man who had thrown the needle was the leader and was more upset that his location had been accurately detected than that his subordinate had been killed with one strike. He was even more upset that the silver needle had been deflected so easily.

"Before I entered. I sensed five sinister presences."

The tall man frowned slightly upon hearing this.

He took it as a mere provocation.

But Lambert's words were true.

The attackers had hidden their presence well, but not well enough to surpass Lambert's undead perception.

"Who are you?"

"Fine, you'll know as a gift from the underworld. We are the underground guild, 'Dagger of the Night'... No, let's not use that name. In the shadows of the bustling city of Ainzas, the underground guild is just a guise. We are the Earl's direct secret unit, 'Dagger of the Night.' I am the leader, Hailzart. Don't think we are cowards for being many. We have our own pride."

As he spoke, Hailzart crossed his hands, with four silver needles fitted between his fingers on each hand.

As Hailzart took his stance, the other three also readied their weapons.

"You modern secret units are quite talkative, aren't you?"

"Our expertise is not just assassination. If the assassination fails, we will show you our coordinated attack. Besides... I can't let my pride be tarnished after my throwing needles were so cleanly returned."

"..."

Lambert was silent for a moment, not understanding what Hailzart meant.

"I'm saying that if I had backed down after my needles were returned so sharply, I would have lost my standing. I almost failed to catch them. I will coordinate and attack from blind spots, but I declare that I will deliver the decisive blow with these silver needles!"

As he spoke, Hailzart leaped up.

The remaining three split in different directions.

Hailzart, clinging to the ceiling, quickly released eight silver needles.

At the same time, the three others attacked Lambert from three directions, staggering their timing.

"What are you saying?"

Lambert swung his greatsword three times.

The greatsword split the ceiling and smashed a nearby table.

He killed the two who had attacked him and only one, who could not withstand Lambert's overwhelming pressure, managed to escape the greatsword.

The eight silver needles scattered in different directions, and Lambert caught the rear end of one of them.

From Hailzart's perspective, in an instant, two of his subordinates were torn apart, and the silver needle was in Lambert's hand.

He couldn't understand how the needle had ended up in Lambert's hand.

"What... what kind of speed...!"

"You just said something strange."

"What?"

"I just lightly threw it back at you."

It was only then that Hailzart realized he was facing someone who had reached a level beyond human.

"No... way..."

The sight of his three subordinates being easily dispatched by Lambert confirmed the truth of his words.

But Hailzart still couldn't believe it.

Lambert stroked the tip of the silver needle with his armored finger and leaned in.

"The poison is transparent... I can't tell."

Lambert drew back his arm.

Hailzart couldn't follow the trajectory of the silver needle with his eyes.

He just stared in shock as the needle pierced his chest and even penetrated the wall behind him.

"It's faster to aim for the body than to wait for the poison to take effect."

Only someone like Lambert, who could pierce a wall with a thin needle, could say such a thing so casually.

"..."

Hailzart placed his hand on his chest, watching the blood drip.

He forced a smile, his face contorted, and glared at Lambert, beads of sweat rolling down his face.

"R... remarkable..."

Those words were Hailzart's last show of strength.

He coughed up blood and fell to the ground.

"You were a proud man, despite being an assassin. I don't dislike you, but you weren't quite suited for a secret unit."

Lambert watched Hailzart take his last breath and quietly sheathed his greatsword.

"Heh heh... No matter how strong you are, you can't stand against Lord Hector... Even if you are stronger in raw power, his sword skills have reached the divine realm. I hope you are trembling in fear. You can't escape from the Earl."

The woman, who had failed to attack Lambert and was sitting on the floor, said this with a trembling voice.

"Hmm, you still say that after seeing the difference in strength?"

"I'm leaving first. Even if I return alive, I'm afraid of the Earl. I'll wait for you to suffer and be sent here."

She spoke bravely, but it was clear she was just putting on a brave face.

She seemed to be terrified of Earl Obock and Hector.

Seeing the tension in her jaw, Lambert quickly struck her face with the sheath.

"Blah!?"

Blood and a molar flew from the woman's mouth.

On the molar was a black stone-like substance.

"A suicide poison."

Lambert said this calmly and crushed the molar.

"K... Kill me! Kill me! I can't afford to show mercy to the enemy...!"

The woman, spitting blood, shouted.

"I deliberately kept you alive, the most cowardly one. I didn't fail to kill you because you didn't charge in. I could have killed all three of you at that moment. Do you understand what that means?"

"U... g... g..."

The woman groaned, reaching into her mouth and touching the spot where her molar had been.