Chapter 172: Darkness Walker

“Is this your idea of a date?” Diane asked me as we passed through the threatening stares around us.

“Oh, come on, it’s not that bad of a place,” I told her.

“Rick, they haven’t taken their eyes off us since we got here,” Diane kept complaining.

“Hey, hottie~” one of the men in the crowd called out to Diane when he saw her pass by.

When I turned to see where that whistle at Diane had come from, I found myself facing multiple men staring at us, and from their faces, it was pretty hard to tell which one had done it. I could have killed all of them right there for that disrespect, but I let it go. If the person I was looking for heard about the carnage, I would have come here for nothing.

We were a little ways from the borders of Greenville. Northwest of the town, beyond the forest, there was a camp protected by the terrain, as if it were a dome without a top.

This place was currently a hideout for a group of mercenaries. At that hour before dawn, with the sun still asleep beyond the horizon, only our lanterns and the mercenaries’ lanterns lit the place.

“We won’t take long. I just need to find someone here. After that, we’ll get out of here as soon as possible. Besides, you’re an Assassin—better yet, a Shadow Assassin, with the Valkyrie powers I gave you. Why are you so nervous?”

Diane stared at me as if I were an idiot. “It isn’t part of an Assassin’s job to enter enemy territory through the front door.”

“But what about when we destroyed the Goblin village?” I asked her.

Her gaze sharpened. “I didn’t have much of a choice after being dragged into the village, Master.”

At that moment, I remembered that I had carried her in my arms, like a newlywed couple, and gone down the slope without any warning.

“My bad about that. Despite the threatening stares, it’s not like they’re actually dangerous,” I said carelessly.

According to my Tamer Appraisal, none of the people we passed by were Awakened. Even though they were armed mercenaries with scars on their bodies as reminders of battle, we had an unfair advantage against them. There was nothing to worry about.

“Relax,” I told her. “We’re two Awakened. In the worst-case scenario, we’ll definitely be able to get out of here without much trouble.”

But they also had something we needed. Information. In my old world, I’d heard that information was power, and even in this world, that was true too.

Even with all the information I had about SCRL, I didn’t know what had happened to Leo in this city, or how his encounter with Equidna had gone. That information was beyond my reach. At least until I found someone who had that information, and then I could act while taking it into account.

This band wasn’t much compared to us in terms of strength, but they were extremely well informed. Greenville was a crossroads town, with several roads cutting through it and leading in different directions across the kingdom.

What these bandits did was set up their hideout near the town and use spies to gather information on travelers they could target.

They didn’t rob cargo that passed through the town. That careless move could give away their location near a town where the Silver Fang had an outpost. Their way of operating was more subtle and efficient than that.

They were a group specialized in obtaining information. With a few spies in town, and sometimes even by paying off corrupt soldiers, they had access to a pile of information about who passed through the town. That same information could be sold to anyone.

Sometimes, a trade rival’s cargo would pass through here, and they could sell that information. What the client did after learning that—one of the possibilities being sabotage—mattered little to them. Although these men could face normal humans in combat, they didn’t need to risk their necks for their business to work.

In SCRL, Leo ended up drawing too much attention and even had to meet with their leaders by force. But I was walking in here without a rope binding my wrists. I was here as a client.

Although the three guys in front of me didn’t seem to think that way.

“Where do you think you’re going?” the one in the middle, with his hair slicked back, said to me.

“I’m going to talk to your leader,” I said, straight to the point.

“And you think you can just walk into our camp and talk directly to our boss?!” he said to me, trying to assert himself. He was a little taller than me, but I managed to keep my expression cold.

The man in front of me, glaring at me angrily, wasn’t an Awakened either, so to me, he wasn’t much different from a chihuahua barking at me. He seemed agitated and furious, but in terms of real strength, he wasn’t a real problem.

“I’m here for business. As soon as I settle things with him, I’ll leave immediately,” I said in a monotone voice, but the idiot in front of me still wanted to act tough.

I would have liked to avoid violence, if possible. But if he tried anything against me, it was obvious I wouldn’t just stand there and let him beat me up. Still, it seemed the conflict was inevitable now that two more had gathered the courage to step up.

“Rick,” Diane called to me, “let me handle them.”

“I thought you didn’t want to fight here.”

“I didn’t, but it’s not like we have a choice. And besides, I’d like to test something,” she told me, her determined gaze fixed on the mercenaries.

“If that’s what you want, you can fight,” I told her. “But no crippling them or cutting off limbs. Like I said, we’re here for business. It isn’t good practice to cause permanent damage to someone before negotiations.”

“Understood, Master,” she replied, placing herself between me and the mercenaries.

One of the men whistled when Diane stood in front of them.

“Wow, what a hot babe!” he said in an exaggerated way.

“A woman that beautiful being with that guy is a waste, don’t you think?” another shot back.

“Hey, miss, don’t you want to stay with us? We’ll make you feel good.”

Despite everything she heard, Diane’s face didn’t change, her expression as unmoving as marble.

The first one who had spoken to her grew agitated when he saw he was being ignored. “Hey, we’re talking to you!”

His hand tried to touch Diane’s shoulder. Bad idea.

In one quick defensive movement, Diane took his hand and forced his arm behind his back, immobilizing the attacker.

“It hurts!” he cried.

“Don’t worry,” Diane said in a monotone voice. “I won’t break your arm. Just get out of our way, and we won’t have to fight.”

After saying that, Diane pushed the man she had single-handedly subdued back towards his group in a peaceful gesture. But who said those idiots wanted peace? They wanted a fight, drawing their weapons to attack the white-haired girl.

Meanwhile, the rest of the mercenaries merely watched the fight attentively, enjoying the brawl.

“How unnecessary,” I whispered to myself, then said, “Diane, end this fight as quickly as possible.”

“But without causing permanent damage, right?” she said without taking her eyes off the enemies’ swords.

“Can’t you do it?” I asked in a challenging tone.

“Against these guys, I can’t even call this a fight,” she told me with a faint smile on her face.

With that single provocation from Diane, the mercenaries’ patience ran out, and all five of them charged at Diane with their weapons in hand.

My Shadow Assassin then called upon her skill, “Darkness Walker.”

At that same instant, Diane disappeared from where she had been standing, as if she had become one with her surroundings.

’So that’s what she said she wanted to test,’ I thought inwardly. ’The sun still hasn’t risen, and she couldn’t use her power earlier when it wasn’t night yet.’

The mercenaries didn’t really understand what had happened. Out of nowhere, their target had vanished. The shock came after that, when the first of them bent forward, his nose bleeding as if he had taken a knee to the face.

The man right beside him collapsed to the ground with his eyes rolled back. Two down, only three left.

The guy in the middle might not have been an Awakened, but it seemed he wasn’t a complete idiot. His eyes on the ground seemed to have already figured out Diane’s trick. Although she had become invisible, her feet still left footprints and dragged dust wherever she passed, clearly visible in the light of the lanterns.

I had to commend him for his boldness. Even against an Awakened—worse yet, against an invisible enemy—he swung his sword in an arc towards Diane.

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