The kingdom, the royal palace.
"Your Majesty, an assassin organization has recently appeared. They have already killed a large number of nobles. I suggest capturing them immediately," a noble advised.
"Yes, if this continues, the people will be in panic. We have guards, so the assassin may not succeed easily, but ordinary citizens are vulnerable," another noble added, exaggerating the situation.
"Moreover, Your Majesty, if left unchecked, even the nobles may no longer have the energy to manage state affairs."
The king rested his chin on his hand. He was not a king of the original story; so most of the power still lay in his hands. The nobles had to act according to his mood.
Silence fell over the hall. The nobles were extremely tense. When the assassin struck, they always left a clue—they had previously visited the Eight Fingers entertainment establishments.
This made the nobles who had been there very nervous. Perhaps the decision to capture the assassins had come too late.
"However, I suppose you all know the evidence the assassin left behind," the king said, and the atmosphere plummeted.
"Unfair…"
"Don't speak of unfairness. I only care about results. If you want the royal guard to act, it's simple. Your crimes must be repaid," the king said coldly. He needed to reclaim some power, and he knew the nobles would comply.
At that moment, some nobles' faces turned as black as a pan's bottom. They knew there was no way out.
If they didn't comply, the royal guard wouldn't act, and their lives would be at risk.
They could either give up part of their power to survive, or cling to it and die, only for the king to take everything in the end. The choice was clear to everyone present.
In the end, the nobles reluctantly handed over part of their power. Inside, they cursed the Eight Fingers and the assassin organization, but they knew that to regain their status in the future, they would have to serve the king even more loyally.
After the morning court ended, some nobles remained. The king said coldly, "What will you do next?"
"Whatever the king decides," the remaining nobles answered, too afraid to be bold. They had reason to suspect that the deceased nobles had been arranged by the king himself but lacked evidence.
The king began to outline the next steps. "Very well, the first step will be…"
…
Nearly a year had passed since the incident with the kingdom's Eight Fingers.
Ren looked at the map, intrigued by the red dots marked on it. This was the feeling of developing land—it was incredibly satisfying.
Keno had also become busy. She was the leader of the assassin organization. Her subordinates came from all over the world, a mixed group that even included personnel from various noble families.
Of course, those people could only accept and complete missions. They could never reach the core of the organization.
The one managing intelligence in secret was the Mechanical Spider. It never missed a clue. On the surface, however, Keno had trained her own female subordinates to act as the visible front.
These women had been kidnapped, sold, and endured hellish suffering. Their hatred for the nobles ran deep.
Since Keno had rescued them, they were more than willing to do things for her.
Besides, following Keno meant protection and income—a win-win-win situation.
Ren and Keno had been apart for a month. When they reunited, Keno hugged him tightly.
"Ren, I've missed you so much."
"Hmm." Ren patted her back.
After a long while, they let go of each other. With their own work to handle, both had become very busy.
Ren was occupied with expanding the assassin organization. He had spent decades as a carefree man, and this was the first time he intervened in the world.
He wondered how Momonga, traveling over a hundred years into the future, would react upon encountering his assassin group.
"How's the progress?"
"Very smooth. Those bastards finally have something to do after all," Keno said with a light laugh.
After keeping the nobles busy, they had little time to harass young women. Keno still had to make this common enemy stronger and more intimidating.
"What about the people below?"
"They despise the nobles who bullied them. Naturally, they work hard," she replied.
"Hmm. Next, the assassin organization needs to keep expanding just like the Adventurers' Guild. So our next opponents will be them," Ren said with a serious expression.
The Adventurers' Guild had stood strong for hundreds of years, with deep foundations. Any new organization wanting a share would face enormous difficulty.
As for other countries, Ren didn't care. He could absorb anyone willing to invest. Money entering the organization only made it stronger, not weaker.
"Then I'll continue developing our business and make our name known," Keno said.
She quickly figured out her next steps. The bigger her reputation, the easier for Ren to expand the organization's influence.
"Hmm. For now, we should work separately," he said.
"Separated again?" Keno complained slightly, but soon realized the urgency of the situation and hurried off to her work.
Ren frowned. He didn't plan to intervene.
If he didn't want Keno to be a mere figurehead, he couldn't restrict her at every turn.
The information he had collected about the kingdom suggested that its founding king was not ordinary. He was curious to see how Keno would handle the situation.
Soon, the kingdom struck back. The king now held absolute power and had no reason to rely on the assassin organization anymore. Their next move was clear: eliminate the group entirely.
Within the kingdom, Keno furrowed her brows. But, masked as she was, no one knew her identity. In fact, all the assassins wore masks—an internal rule.
"Should I contact Ren?" she thought at once.
But she quickly dismissed the idea. She didn't want to be Ren's figurehead.
She also had the intelligence Ren had provided.
The reason the assassins had failed was simple: the king's royal guard had been staking out the target for days. One of the assassins had already been killed.
The intelligence also recorded why the other side knew their targets.
The reason was simple: recently, Keno had been killing nobles who had previously visited the Eight Fingers.
If the king investigated even slightly, it would be easy to trace the connection between the two.
As long as these nobles were protected, it would be easy to block ordinary assassins.
Keno quickly decided on her next move.
For now, these nobles would be left alone.
She would take anonymous contracts and complete them according to the orders.
Her main goal now was to confuse the kingdom.
"It would be easier if I could act personally."
Keno leaned on the table, feeling a little disappointed.
Under her command, she only had one person who had reached the hero level; the rest were small fry.
Once her decision was made, Keno quickly passed on orders to her subordinates.
As for the kingdom's infiltrators, she didn't care.
Anyone entering her organization had to wear a mask, and this mask had a function: tracking and recording.
With this ability, if the kingdom was reported anything, she would know everything clearly.
"Planning to use this trick, huh? Then how will you respond to the kingdom's next move, Keno?"
Ren murmured while looking at the screen in the mirror.
The kingdom was just his test.
Now, he had a god's-eye view of the country.
"Occasional failure isn't so bad either."
Ren also left home, planning to go to the now chaotic Argland Council State.
This nation, where the guardian dragon had died, was perfect for developing his assassin organization.
He had one goal: by the time Momonga arrived, his organization would be rooted deeply across the world, shocking Momonga completely.
**********
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