The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 250: Chapter 246 — Dark

Kaiden had always believed in one thing: power ruled all. His entire life had revolved around that singular truth. When his father died and his house fell a decade ago, he’d blamed it on powerlessness. They simply weren’t strong enough, he told himself. Because of that, he’d trained nonstop since before he even awakened, determined to raise his house from the depths into which it had fallen and ensure such a thing never happened again.

However, the past few months had shaken that belief. He would have never thought he’d meet anyone like Zephyrion. Cold, powerful, and talented beyond measure. Kaiden had always considered himself mature for his age because of the cruel things he’d endured during his childhood, yet since his first battle, and defeat, against Zephyrion, he’d begun to suspect the latter had gone through even worse.

Through those purple eyes, Kaiden always sensed an endless, unfathomable depth. Always moving. Always calculating. Never still. No matter how hard he tried, he could never guess what Zephyrion was thinking.

The attack on Zephyrion’s image at the fortress... if it had been him, if he possessed Zephyrion’s power, he would’ve beaten the crap out of every cadet until he found the one responsible for spreading the rumor and vandalizing the table.

Yet Zephyrion hadn’t even reacted. Despite being hated by the cadets, he’d simply gone on with his life as though none of it mattered. Then, over the next few days, the entire paradigm shifted. After a single event, every cadet now worshipped him, as though the rumor never even existed.

Kaiden had shuddered.

Even more unsettling was last night, where he’d been beaten to a pulp. Kaiden had been so consumed by humiliation afterward that he’d overlooked one simple fact: Zephyrion had arrived far too quickly. Clearly, he’d been lying in wait, trying to ambush them, yet no one, not even Kaiden, had realized it.

A lot of people believed Zephyrion’s strength came from his overwhelming talent. Kaiden had always thought differently.

It was his mind.

It worked in ways Kaiden couldn’t even begin to comprehend. As much as it pained him to admit it, there was something deeply unsettling about standing before someone whose thoughts you could never read.

However, at the same time, Kaiden found Zephyrion... admirable. Because he’d shown him that raw power wasn’t the only path to true strength.

This was why, in total darkness, surrounded by enemies on all sides, despite his anger, despite his reservations, Kaiden found himself asking one question.

’What would he do?’

Total darkness. An enemy that could smell and sense them in the dark.

Zephyrion would first eliminate their advantage.

He shut his eyes and focused. The next moment, he formed a barrier around them, one that blocked all sound and smell.

"Kekekeke."

The laughter grew louder as the pickers neared. The sharp hum from using the metal element had drawn them over, yet the absence of sound and smell left them unable to pinpoint the cadets.

’It worked!’

Kaiden almost jumped for joy, but quickly forced himself to calm down.

’It’s not over yet.’

Unfortunately, blocking sound and smell also meant blocking the air. With about thirty cadets inside, it was only a matter of time before they ran out.

’What would he do next?’

Kaiden’s mind raced, replaying every moment he’d spent with Zephyrion. With the pickers’ advantage gone, the next step would be... increasing their own.

’How...?’

Right now, it was utterly dark. If they couldn’t see, how were they supposed to fight?

Kaiden paused.

’Wait...’

He recalled all those times Zephyrion had beaten him into the ground. More often than not, he’d used Kaiden’s own strength against him.

In this case, the pickers couldn’t see them either, yet they could still hunt using sound and smell. He had taken both advantages away... but who was to say they couldn’t turn those same senses against them?

He turned toward the trembling cadets.

"Alright, listen up. We’re sitting ducks here. We have to move."

One cadet immediately panicked.

"B-but..."

"Shut the fuck up."

Even through the darkness, Kaiden’s glare was enough to silence him.

Even through the darkness, Kaiden’s glare was enough to silence him.

"Listen, I’m not your fucking babysitter, alright? I’m not responsible for you. If you wanna stand here and get your eyes gouged out, that’s your fucking problem. I’m leaving this place with or without you. So if you’ve got enough brain cells left to understand that, shut up and listen."

The cadets fell deathly silent.

Kaiden nodded. The next moment, he laid out his plan.

And after an uneasy silence, a hesitant cadet spoke up.

"...You really think that’ll work?"

"How the fuck should I know? I’m not god."

A moment of silence passed before, with a sigh, he added,

"But there’s no reason it shouldn’t. So let’s move."

With everything settled, they got into formation, and after several moments of apprehension, moved out.

Every cadet had their assigned role. Their formation remained unchanged, the outer cadets with large shields covering the group, the inner cadets wielding spears. The only difference now was the presence of four seemingly idle cadets within the formation. Their purpose, however, soon became clear.

"Kekekekeke."

"Now."

The cadets at the rear immediately thrust their spears out. Several squelching sounds echoed, followed by heavy thuds.

’It worked.’

Kaiden smirked. The four youths had one job: to listen and feel their surroundings using the metal element. The moment a picker got close, they alerted the spearmen.

"Now."

The cadet facing the front called out, and immediately the front spearmen thrust their weapons forward, killing several pickers in an instant.

"Don’t stop. Keep moving!"

They trudged through the dark caves, cutting down every picker that attacked them. The deeper they went, the fewer pickers seemed to appear. The once-frightened cadets quickly grew more optimistic and confident. Perhaps they could actually survive this.

Soon, they emerged into a wider space, and Kaiden instantly spotted a thin ray of light filtering through a hole in the far wall.

’Sunlight!’

His heart leaped. After several long minutes, finally, a chance to escape this hellhole. He quickly drew the others’ attention to it, and immediately, they made a beeline toward it.

Thud.

The group froze.

Kaiden frowned from the rear.

"What is it?"

"I-I don’t know..." the cadet stuttered. "I think I bumped into something."

Kaiden’s frown deepened.

"A rock?" He dismissed the thought almost immediately with a shake of his head. "Doesn’t matter. Go around it."

"O-okay."

They shifted to the left, trying to go around it. But they had barely taken another step when another thud echoed.

"Another one?"

"Y-yes."

Kaiden frowned. Was this area rocky? They’d been moving without issue this whole time. Why were they suddenly appearing now?

"Just go around it again."

They did, but a moment later...

Thud.

"Again..."

They kept moving, occasionally bumping into obstacles along the way. It unfortunately slowed their pace, but Kaiden didn’t really care. As long as they reached their destination.

"Kekeke."

The group froze.

The sound had come close. Too close. The last thing they wanted was a fight, not when they were this close.

"Move. Faster."

Their pace quickened, and almost immediately, they slammed into something hard enough to knock it backward.

However, this time, it yelped in pain.

"Wait!"

The group halted.

Kaiden swallowed. He was no genius, but even he knew rocks didn’t yelp. Especially not...

"Kekeke."

Kaiden’s expression stiffened.

’No...’

He quickly swept his gaze around, a sense of dread creeping up his spine.

"Don’t move. Don’t say a word."

The cadets obeyed without hesitation, but it was already too late. The last picker they had hit had already exposed their location.

Another laugh echoed. Then another. Then another. Until laughter filled the entire space.

"Prepare for battle!"

Kaiden tightened his grip around his spear, gritting his teeth.

’Shit, shit, shit!’

How had he missed this? Those "rocks" hadn’t been rocks at all. They’d been full-grown pickers. They hadn’t wandered into a rocky stretch of the cave.

They’d walked straight into a den of pickers!

The laughter came from every direction, making it painfully clear they were surrounded.

"Oh shit! Oh shit! What do we do?! What do we do?!" The cadets panicked.

"Don’t fucking panic! Hold your guard! Keep fighting!"

Despite his words, he could still hear the clatter of weapons against the ground as the cadets trembled. He turned toward the ray of light.

’We only have to make it outside.’

"We push for the light! Keep moving!"

The crackle of laughter intensified, followed by the light patter of footsteps rushing toward them.

"Now—!"

Bam!

A picker slammed into one of their shields before the rear cadets could warn the others, causing the formation to stagger.

Another rammed against it. Then again. Then again. From all sides, throwing the formation back and forth.

"Now!"

"Now!"

"Now!"

Their spears pierced through several pickers, yet it did nothing to stop the relentless barrage. Clearly, he had severely underestimated their numbers.