A Dragonslayer’s Peerless Regression

Chapter 97

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The arrow had a magic bomb attached to it.

Fortunately, Sieg's Meteoric Iron Armor activated its shield, preventing him from suffering any damage from the explosion.

"Are you alright, Carus?"

Carus nodded as he spat dust out from his mouth.

Sieg led Carus out of the room.

Boris and Simon had finished their preparations and were waiting for his command.

"Simon, there's a sniper! Protect Carus. I'll handle this!"

Boris and Simon took Carus outside.

Sieg immediately headed toward the window and climbed onto the roof.

He expanded his senses to locate the sniper.

'Where are they?'

At that moment, another arrow flew toward Sieg.

He drew his Meteoric Iron sword and cut the arrow in half.

Shhh!

This time, instead of a bomb, a poisonous powder dispersed.

However, Sieg, who had Immunity to Hundred Poisons, was unaffected by the poisonous powder.

Sieg gauged the sniper's location based on the arrow's direction.

'Right below the rooftop of the building 500 meters to the left.'

He unfolded his Swift Wind Technique and dashed between the buildings.

Arrows rained down on him as he ran.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions erupted around him, but Sieg ignored them and charged straight toward the sniper.

Bang!

He broke through the building wall and rolled inside.

The startled sniper quickly shot an arrow at Sieg.

Ping!

However, the arrow was useless against Sieg, who had activated his Dragonscale Armor skill under his Meteoric Iron Armor.

Sieg lunged at the sniper immediately.

Bang!

Using a shoulder charge imbued with the Energy of Metal, he sent the sniper crashing into the wall.

"Argh!"

Subduing the sniper in a single blow, Sieg grabbed him and interrogated him.

"Who sent you?"

The sniper clenched his teeth and attempted to commit suicide with poison.

However, Sieg wouldn't allow such methods to succeed.

Crack!

Sieg dislocated the sniper's jaw, forcing his mouth open, and extracted the poisoned tooth from his molars.

Clatter!

After fixing the jaw, Sieg questioned the sniper again.

"Speak quickly. Who sent you?"

The sniper glared at Sieg and shouted defiantly.

"The vengeful spirit of Pavela will haunt you forever!"

Sieg kicked the sniper's stomach.

"Ugh!"

Sieg yanked the sniper's hair, pulling his head back.

"When did Pavela's people start training snipers? It reeks of Assassin's Den. Did the Assassin's Den master tell you what to say if you were caught?"

The sniper was utterly dismayed at how thoroughly Sieg had seen through his tricks.

'What kind of man is this?'

In his life as an assassin, he had encountered all kinds of people, but never someone like this.

Sieg struck the sniper's throat.

"Ugh!"

"Don't roll your eyes, punk. If you're with Assassin's Den, you wouldn't be here alone. How many came? Tell me quickly."

Before waiting for an answer, Sieg pulled out a dagger and used an electric skill.

Zzzzt!

"Argh!"

Even though the assassin was trained against all kinds of torture, the electric torture caused unbearable muscle contractions.

"Th-three! Three!"

As soon as the assassin confessed, Sieg stabbed him in the neck with the dagger, killing him.

There was no point in further interrogation since Assassin's Den would never give up their clients.

'It'll be troublesome if Assassin's Den are involved.'

Assassin's Den was a mercenary group based in the desert and had a long tradition.

They were especially renowned, alongside the Scorpion Clan, a dark sorcerers' clan, in the underworld.

Sieg climbed out of the building and heightened his senses to find other Assassin's Den assassins.

He sensed something in the distance.

It was the direction Simon and his party were fleeing with Carus.

'Assassin's Den's men are trailing Carus. Is it an assassination request from the Empire?'

Sieg swiftly leaped over buildings, chasing down the Assassin's Den assassins.

Whoosh!

Apparently aware that Sieg was pursuing them, one of the Assassin's Den assassins stopped and turned back.

Swish!

Shurikens were thrown towards Sieg.

Thud!

Sieg caught the shurikens between his fingers.

The surface of the blades gleamed blue, indicating they were poisoned.

Sieg imbued the shurikens with the Energy of Metal and hurled them back at the assassin.

Thunk!

"Ugh!"

Failing to dodge, the assassin was struck in the thigh and tumbled on the rooftop. Sieg approached and crushed the assassin's neck with his foot.

Snap!

The assassin's neck broke with a single move.

Confirming the assassin was dead, Sieg immediately pursued the next target.

* * *

Ping!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions erupted with every arrow that flew.

Riding horseback and fleeing with Carus, Boris, and Simon's party could not escape the assassin's barrage.

Simon shouted at Boris.

"Boris! Protect the Prince! We'll hold them off!"

Boris nodded and sped up with Carus.

Simon and his subordinates slowed down to search for the assassin chasing them from above.

'Where on earth are they?'

Being a top-level assassin, it was difficult to spot them with the naked eye.

Just then, a marble rolled towards Simon's party.

"Evade!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The explosion this time was much larger.

Simon's ears rang from the blast, and the vibrations rattled his brain, making it difficult to focus.

He steadied himself and shouted to his subordinates.

"Tend to the wounded! I'll pursue the enemy."

Simon drew his dagger and climbed up the building wall.

An arrow flew his way as soon as he reached the rooftop.

Thwack!

Although he parried it with his dagger, a cloud of poison instantly burst forth.

"Argh!"

Inhaling the suddenly released poison gas, Simon started feeling breathless.

'Damn it.'

Determined to take down the assassin before he died, he lowered his stance and charged.

Whish!

As he swung his dagger, the assassin backed away and fired more arrows.

Even within the realm of assassins, assassin's Den had a completely different style compared to the south.

Assassin's Den's assassins considered it the highest form of assassination when the target did not even realize they were dying.

This was starkly different from the brutal southern style, which involved announcing the reason for the target's death before killing them.

"Ugh!"

Simon felt his strength waning.

It was then that something approached him.

Whoosh!

With poisoned eyes that obscured his vision, Simon swung his dagger toward the approaching presence.

Click!

But the intruder merely seized Simon's arm and threw him aside.

"Ugh!"

The person then forced something down Simon's throat and poured something into his eyes.

"Gasp!"

His vision returned suddenly, and he could breathe again.

When he regained his senses, he saw Sieg looking down at him.

"You alright, Simon?"

"B-Boss, I'm sorry. We must pursue the assassin immediately...."

But Sieg shook his head.

"I've already caught the last one."

Glancing around, Simon noticed the subdued assassin Sieg had captured.

Gathering the assassin, Sieg and Simon headed down.

Fortunately, there were injured members but no fatalities.

Sieg spoke to Simon.

"It seems like the Empire has turned to Assassin's Den for a job."

At the mention of Assassin's Den, Simon's expression darkened.

"If it's Assassin's Den, it won't end with just one attempt. The Black Market is practically their home ground."

Sieg nodded in agreement.

"Is there another route through the border crossing outside of the Black Market?"

Simon pondered briefly.

"There is one place. It's a little further from here. Also, that tunnel exits close to Ishtar's territory."

At the mention of Ishtar, Sieg contemplated and then nodded.

"Let's head there. If it's near Ishtar's territory, the Empire or Assassin's Den won't act rashly."

In the worst-case scenario, Sieg even considered crossing into Ishtar's territory through the forbidden Forest of the Forgotten to reach the Troy Duchy.

Although it would take considerable time, the immediate priority was ensuring the safety of Prince Carus.

Simon instructed his subordinates to return to the cartel with the captured Assassin's Den assassin and their injured members.

Thus, Sieg, Boris, Simon, and Carus decided to traverse the wastelands of the lawless zone on their journey.

"We have plenty of food and water. Let's depart immediately."

Sieg had already stocked his inventory abundantly with survival essentials.

The four quickly completed preparations, left the village, and darted toward the wasteland.

The scorching sun relentlessly beamed down, with the arid wasteland stretching infinitely.

Carus, the weakest in stamina, grew exhausted the quickest.

"Ahhh. Sieg. Can we take a short rest?"

Carus rarely asked to rest first during their journey, showing how brutal this wasteland was.

Sieg opened his map to locate a suitable resting spot.

They finally found a shaded hill, where Sieg and the group took a brief respite.

Sieg pulled food and water from his inventory and handed them out.

Boris observed Sieg and commented.

"Every time, I'm amazed by how much your spatial artifact holds, boss."

Recalling that he had vaguely described his inventory as an ancient relic with spatial magic, Sieg replied nonchalantly to Boris's words.

"That's why money is good, Boris."

"Indeed."

Boris nodded in acceptance of Sieg's response.

As they rested briefly, a dust cloud emerged from a distance.

Sieg and Simon stood up, alert and on guard.

Using his Dragon Eyes, Sieg analyzed the approaching group.

'A gang of outlaws?'

After describing the appearance and attire of the group he saw, Simon's face turned grim.

"They're infamous bounty hunters in this lawless zone. It seems like the Empire has spread Prince's information to not just Assassin's Den but also to the outlaws."

Upon hearing Simon's words, even Boris joined in preparing to guard.

Behind them, Carus also raised a crossbow, standing ready.

Thud, thud, thud!

A dozen riders, brandishing weapons, charged toward Sieg's group.

"One hundred thousand gold is right there! Catch them!"

The bounty hunters charged in high spirits.

Then Sieg shouted to Simon and Boris.

"Close your eyes!"

He then unleashed a Flash Bomb skill towards the bounty hunters.

Flash!

A tremendous burst of light blinded the bounty hunters.

"Argh!"

While Sieg protected Carus, Boris and Simon moved in, dealing with the bounty hunters.

Swoosh!

Boris, a blue knight-level, and Simon, possessing a corresponding skill level, easily handled the blinded outlaws.

After Boris and Simon finished dealing with the outlaws and returned, Sieg spoke.

"We must hurry. If there's a bounty of one hundred thousand gold, more than half the outlaws in this lawless zone will come after us."

Sieg's group rode swiftly through the wasteland once more.

As he had predicted, outlaws emerged from various corners of the wasteland, pursuing them.

Most were minor threats, easily handled by Boris and Simon.

Watching Boris and Simon dispose of the outlaws and return, Sieg checked the map.

'It's still half a day's journey to the tunnel; I wonder if Carus's stamina will last.'

Carus was already physically and mentally exhausted, his energy drained.

Even Simon and Boris, deprived of proper rest and continuous movement, were not in great shape either.

Concluding that it might be impossible to continue moving, Sieg sought a resting place.

"We'll set up camp here."

Sieg dug out a space beneath a large rock, pitching a tent to provide shade.

Completely drained, Carus immediately collapsed and fell asleep.

Sieg spoke to Boris and Simon.

"I will stand guard. Get some rest."

Admiring Sieg's remarkable endurance, Boris and Simon laid down beside Carus to rest begrudgingly.

Sieg, meanwhile, consumed a separate store of Kraken legs to replenish his mental strength, stamina, and mana through devouring.

Afterward, he summoned the chimera, Gurav.

Gurav emerged from Sieg's shadow, excited to be outside after a long while, and darted around energetically.

"Gurav, play around the area, and if you find any suspicious folks, give them a bite. If they don't die, bring them here."

Kiiieee—

With excitement, Gurav bounded around the wasteland.

But then,

"Arghhh!"

Shortly after being released, Gurav returned with a suspicious individual.

Sieg examined the person Gurav had brought back.

"Ugh..."

True to Sieg's orders, the intruder was not quite dead yet.

Sieg searched the suspicious man's belongings.

Then, he identified the intruder's identity.

'An Imperial hound, huh?'