Unsealing Emptiness

They were heading straight towards the Howling City where the Han family was residing. There were hardly any people on the road since it seemed like it could rain at any moment.

His task was to kill that quiet man standing guard behind the Family Head.

He had a decent chance of killing that man in a single blow if he was caught off guard. He needed to not only get close to him but also find him while they were alone to do this.

“Killing him is easy... but my mission is not to kill him, but to kill him without leaving a single trace...” Ozul thought about the matter and felt even that old Beastkin lady might have not been able to do this.

“Their plans must have changed after finding you,” Raven voiced her opinion. They could freely talk since they had confirmed that no one was around.

Ozul nodded his head. He also thought the same. After all, he doubted there was any man or even a Spiritual Tool that wouldn’t leave a single trace of Spiritual Essence. Only he was an exception since his abilities didn’t stem from the Spiritual Essence.

.....

“I only need to find an opportunity when that Lin person is not in the residence,” Ozul muttered to himself.

Commander Lin and his target were both almost equally powerful. With his unique abilities, both wouldn’t expect their death so swiftly, but he also didn’t know if they had any trump card for such situations.

If he gave them even a second to think, although the chances were minimal, the matter could get out of hand. One would say he was overly paranoid considering his abilities, but that is just how he had always been.

As the Howling City came into view, Raven spoke, “You ran away from the Han residence. People would still be looking for you.”

“Hmm?” Ozul paused for a second, and then muttered “Oh that might work...”

He looked at the three fellows following him, ‘It’s time they become a little useful...’

. . .

*Thunder!*

With loud noises of thunder expressing its anger, the clouds began to weep.

The sound of water splashing through the streets gradually drowned out the voices of people.

There were still a few spots in the city where folks refused to take shelter from the rain.

However, the majority of those there were beggars or drunks.

It was in one of such inconspicuous corners that two men could be seen talking amongst themselves, ‘trying their best’ so no one could hear them.

‘Unfortunately’ for these two ‘unlucky’ men, an old drunkard just around the corner could hear their conversation with his years of sharpened hearing.

“Yes yes! I’m talking about the prisoner who escaped from the Han family’s dungeons!” exclaimed the man with the weaker build.

“...” the man covering his head with something stayed quiet.

Although the old drunkard felt something was off, he ultimately threw that thought to the back of his head and focused on their conversation while acting asleep.

“You don’t have any words, huh! I knew it! The Han family has been publically looking for that prisoner. Once we tell them that he is hiding in the neighboring town, they will surely reward us with riches!” the person ‘excitedly’ exclaimed.

“...”

“Ah! You are right... no one else knows except us, so we can just get our reward after this rain stops.”

Hearing their conversation, the old drunkard’s eyes lit up with greed. He had no money to buy another bottle of beer. This was his chance! All he needed to do was report that prisoner before the others!

‘Coincidentally’, the two men slowly walked away after having their ‘secret’ conversation in that corner.

The old drunkard found the opportunity to wake up and he immediately sped in the direction of the Han residence. Considering that the Han family is the overlord of the entire Howling Province, he would surely swim in riches today!

Watching the old drunkard stumbling his way through the heavy rain, the two people turned around with satisfaction.

“Hey! It’s been like the 10th guy and you still can’t act properly! You’re too rigid!” Zier complained tiredly.

Ozul ordered them to do this, but the only suitable person for this job was Zier. It was a pity that for a normal conversation, at least two people were required.

Raven was quickly eliminated since she was even worse than Blaze in this matter.

Even now, it was mostly Zier steering the whole one-sided conversation.

“Whatever... This many should be enough,” Blaze commented before turning around.

They had done what was told, now it was up to Ozul to do the job.

. . .

Lurking near the Han residence, Ozul saw random people suddenly approach the guards and get escorted inside.

It took only half an hour before he saw the man he wanted to see leave the residence on a horse. He was the Commander Lin of the Han family, one of the two people sent by the Blue Lion Kingdom’s Royal Family.

‘The Royal Family must have many people in the Soul Liberation stage of Nascent Soul Realm for them to send so many to different cities to ensure order...’ he was reminded again that he was currently against a whole kingdom.

Before departing, the old Beastkin lady informed him that the Blue Lion Kingdom’s Royal Family had dispatched powerful individuals to various Provinces and Counties to maintain stability.

Only then did Ozul receive an explanation for how two individuals stronger than even the Han family’s head could be working for them.

Commander Lin had other guards following him on horses as they sped in the direction of the nearest town.

‘They must have been furious after I left so easily...’ he judged since it didn’t take long for Lin to believe in the words of some random drunkards or beggars about his appearance in the other town.

Having created the opportunity he needed, Ozul jumped inside the residence.

He avoided other people and quickly made his way towards the building he sensed the strongest Spiritual Essence from.

The rain helped hide his tracks while no one could sense him anyway.

‘They are all on high alert...’ he noticed as the number of guards he had barely dodged was quite unusual.

The whole family was on edge after the assassination attempt on the young master of the mansion and the escape of a prisoner.

Ozul, on the other hand, didn’t waste any time getting to the Family Head’s office. Only two guards stood outside the chamber, which was connected to the halls, save for the Family Head and the guy sent by the Royal Family.

He didn’t enter the building, instead opting to remain outside.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he could discern the exact location of the man. He stood right behind the Family Head’s chair, his back facing the window.

All of his focus was to not catch that man’s attention and with the cover of heavy rain, it seemed to be working well.

‘He is constantly on guard against anything with Spiritual Essence... and that is my advantage... always has been.’

A small wisp of black particles gently seeped into the room as Ozul guided them to remain hidden in the shadows. The black smoke accumulated for a few minutes before condensing into a solid thin needle.

As the fire lamp wildly flickered in the room, the Family Head didn’t notice a hair-thin black needle bolting inside his guard’s ear and leaving from the other one before it dispersed into a cloud of smoke which also scattered throughout the room and seemingly vanished.

*thud!*

Two seconds passed when the Family Head heard the sound of something heavy falling on the floor.

Finding it odd that his ever-so-silent guard sent by the Royal Family had maybe bumped into something or dropped something, the Family Head placed his book on the table and turned around.

His pupils instantly constricted as the Family Head unconsciously took a step back, bumping into the table which caused the lamp to fall off, causing a small noise that was instantly drowned by horror-stricken yelling from the man in the room,

“GUARDS!!! WHERE...”

One of the men sent by the Royal Family was now lying dead on the ground with no visible injuries. Meanwhile, he hadn’t heard a single squeak!

Confusion clouded the Family Head’s mind and he continuously shouted for Commander Lin. After this guard, Commander Lin who was also sent by the Royal Family was the strongest person in his Han residence.

Guards quickly rushed into the room and were also horrified at the scene which greeted them.

In under a minute, the whole Han residence was in an uproar.

The culprit in question, however, had long left the estate.

The Purity1 needle had punctured through that man’s brain. He had made sure that the needle did enough damage before leaving.

They would take a long time to understand just how he had died much less catch him.

Leaving unseen was his priority, him not having any Spiritual Essence already ensured that nothing could be traced back to the organization of Beastkin.

Although they would quickly learn that someone had set up this whole situation for the assassination, there was practically no hint as to who did it and why. This is exactly the kind of confusion that the old lady wanted.

Before the news spread and Commander Lin was called back to the residence, Ozul grouped up with the trio and left the Howling City.

The rain seemed to have been their blessing since they didn’t require much effort to hide from prying eyes while leaving...