The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 235: Chapter 231 — Breaking Point

The run continued through the desert.

Seven hours stretched into nine, then twelve, then fifteen. By his estimate, it should’ve been around eleven at night, yet the sun still blazed overhead. Either it grew hotter the longer they remained beneath it, or they had simply been under it for far too long.

Skin had burned and peeled. Lips were so dry they had turned cracked and white. Exhaustion had slowed their pace to a crawl, the cadets looking as though they could collapse at any moment.

Their eyes had grown hollow, fierce, and desperate. Even worse, the tree line to the north had become clearer and seemed even closer, whereas the west remained nothing but an endless stretch of desert.

Zephyrion could tell from the desperate looks on the cadets’ faces that they wanted nothing more than to head north. They were on the verge of breaking.

He knew it.

When that happened, he would completely lose the trust he’d managed to build with them.

A minute passed before he turned toward Kaiden, who ran a step behind him. He looked just as exhausted, yet his eyes retained their usual fierceness.

"I want you to do something for me."

Kaiden narrowed his eyes but didn’t object, waiting for him to continue.

Zephyrion gave a slight nod and began speaking.

Another hour passed, and soon the expected breaking point came.

"Ah, I’m done with this bullshit!" Lucien Donvaire barked from behind. "We’ve been running for thirteen hours! Thirteen bloody hours! Enough already! You made the wrong choice, so just admit it and spare the rest of us!"

Vaelor joined in with a scoff.

"I doubt he will. He’s too busy trying to prove he’s right to care if the rest of us suffer."

"Ah, I couldn’t care less about all that! Haaa... I’m dying here. Look! The tree line! Our salvation! North is obviously the right way, for iron’s sake. The only reason I followed this long was because I didn’t want to split from everyone else. But enough is enough!"

"Listen up, the rest of you!" Vaelor called, as though the speech had been rehearsed. "We’re done heading west. We’re going north. You all have eyes. You can see which direction actually makes sense. Whether you come with us or not is your choice... but this is your chance."

Vaelor, Lucien, and their entourage came to a stop.

Whether their words had gotten through to them, or many had simply seized the chance to rest, Zephyrion wasn’t sure.

But the majority of the cadets stopped.

Ahead, Zephyrion came to a stop as well, his expression unreadable.

"Ah... I’m so fucking tired!"

"My throat... I can’t... I’m gonna die..."

"Do we really have to pass this stupid test? Can’t we just fail already?"

"Speak for yourself..."

Many cadets slumped onto the ground, breathing heavily as they wheezed.

"See?" Vaelor smirked at Zephyrion. "They’ve finally opened their eyes. If you and your little pack want to keep marching into the desert, be my guest. Just stop dragging everyone else down with you."

Nedra, Draven, and Kaelith stood with them, silently making their stance known.

Zephyrion felt the cadets’ weary eyes on him and realized he’d already lost them. They’d finally reached their breaking point.

They no longer believed in him.

"No..."

Tobias, Fiona, and Kaelion’s expressions darkened, having realized the same thing.

Zephyrion watched as the cadets slowly pushed themselves to their feet and began making their way toward Vaelor and Lucien, who stood watching with faintly amused expressions. Their eyes seemed to say only one thing. They’d won.

Then, a flash of light caught his attention. His gaze shifted toward the horizon. Something was reflecting the sunlight at steady intervals.

’Finally.’

Zephyrion suppressed the thrill rising within him and called out,

"Horus."

Horus, who still stood by his side, immediately straightened.

"Prime!"

His voice rang out loudly enough to draw the attention of the other cadets. They all turned toward him, wondering what was happening.

Zephyrion pointed toward the flashing light.

"It’s Ferran runic code. Decipher it."

Horus blinked at the distant flashes before nodding.

"Yes!"

Every Ferran was taught Ferran runic code from childhood, a method of communication unique to Ferrans, making use of rune patterns only metal ascendants could understand. Tapping sequences and flashing lights were simply different ways of conveying it.

Soon, Horus began deciphering the message.

"Set-tle-ment... a-he-ad. Settlement ahead!" he shouted, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"What? There’s a settlement?"

"So... we were actually going the right way?"

"Wait, who’s flashing the signal? What if it’s the enemy?"

"Hold on... where’s Kaiden?"

Many eyes searched for Kaiden, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Zephyrion stepped forward then.

"I sent Kaiden ahead to scout the area. He was to signal us the moment he found something. It seems he has."

He allowed a moment to pass, his gaze sweeping over the weary cadets.

"I know you’re all exhausted. Believe me, I am too. But we can’t stop now, not after everything we’ve been through together. I know I’m asking a lot of you... but trust me just a little longer. Can you do that?"

"I trust you, Prime!" Horus fisted his chest, and the other cadets around him, also short and lithe, quickly followed suit.

"Yeah! The Prime saved us! I’m with him!"

"The Prime wouldn’t lead us the wrong way!"

"Come on! We’re almost there!"

The cadets who had been making their way toward Vaelor and Lucien immediately turned back and hurried toward Zephyrion. Even Nedra, Draven, and Kaelith left their side.

Vaelor’s expression darkened completely, while Lucien’s turned ashen. Neither had expected this turn of events.

"What should we do, young lord?" Brom Ocren asked.

Vaelor gritted his teeth before letting out a sharp huff.

"We lost this round. Follow them."

He strode off before Lucien could even speak, his gaze cold.

With Zephyrion leading the way, they headed toward the flashing light, reaching Kaiden about thirty minutes later.

The boy looked utterly pale and worn out, as though he could collapse at any moment.

He had run far ahead of the others to scout the area, so his condition was understandable. Yet if Zephyrion hadn’t believed he could handle it, he wouldn’t have chosen him.

After all, Kaiden possessed some of the greatest tenacity he’d seen in a long while.

"There."

They followed Kaiden’s outstretched arm down the towering sand dune they had just crested. Below, at the very edge of the desert, stood a large iron gate, with walls stretching endlessly in either direction.

A large walled settlement. Beyond it lay an endless stretch of forest. Clearly, the towering sand dune had hidden it from view all this time.

But now...

They had finally left the desert.