Chapter Eighty: The Assassin

First of all, I want to thank qaz6542998 for voting to urge more chapters of this book. However, due to some matters in the past few days, I’m afraid I won’t be able to live up to these votes for now. Secondly, the story may introduce some leveling-up content later, and this chapter serves as a prologue, with a slight element of the protagonist facing hardship. I hope everyone can forgive me for that!

“This border town now belongs to you, Bishop Zhou. Everything within the town is at your command. If there are those you wish to deal with, just go ahead—any issues with the Empire, I’ll shield you from them.” With a final smile and a handshake, Li Jiahao, realizing there was nothing more to be gained today, gathered his guards and stepped into the teleportation array to return home.

Only after Li Jiahao’s figure had completely vanished did Zhou Tian turn, a sly smile spreading across his face, and look back at the group led by Wang Fugui.

Under Zhou Tian’s gaze, sweat once again began to bead on the foreheads of Wang Fugui and his companions.

To begin with, daring to lay hands on a bishop of the Church of Light was already a grave offense. Now, with Li Jiahao directly granting Zhou Tian lordship over the border town, the matter in question—which could have sparked conflict between the Empire and the Church—was, on paper, resolved. Yet for the offenders themselves, the gravity of their situation had only deepened.

Mistakenly arresting a bishop of the Church might have earned them the Empire’s wrath, but the severity of their punishment would still have been in the hands of imperial officials. With the right means and willingness to pay the price, it wasn’t impossible to save their own necks.

But now, with Zhou Tian as lord of the town, their lives and deaths were entirely in his grasp. According to the laws of the Empire, Zhou Tian had the full right to deal with those who dared such insolence. Killing them, or even exterminating their entire clans, was now perfectly justified and legal.

Understanding their predicament, the group could only tremble before Zhou Tian, praying he might show some mercy and overlook their transgressions.

“I could have killed you all,” Zhou Tian said, his first words chilling them to the bone.

“Spare us, my lord bishop! Spare us!” At once, Wang Fugui and the others pleaded for mercy once more.

Satisfied with their reaction, Zhou Tian nodded and continued, “However, I know you probably didn’t intend to target me personally. So, if you confess and identify those who tried to extract the Church’s secrets from me, I’ll pardon your crimes.”

It was only then that Wang Fugui and his men realized why someone of Zhou Tian’s status could have been so easily captured by them, and why he had uttered such strange words when brought to the security office.

Alas, understanding now that Zhou Tian had orchestrated these events to ensnare the men behind them did them no good. Even if they doubted Zhou Tian’s ability to bring down their powerful patrons, there was no question he could destroy them with ease.

Still, Zhou Tian’s authority had not yet been established in their hearts. Though his position inspired fear, it did not guarantee obedience. Thus, after hearing Zhou Tian’s ultimatum, the captain of the security squad was the first to step forward and mock, “Lord Bishop, things in this border town aren’t like elsewhere. Even if you’re the lord now, that doesn’t mean you can do as you please. If you’re willing to—”

“Enough!” Zhou Tian didn’t need to hear more to guess what the captain intended. Waving his hand in disgust, he gave the order. The venomous vipers he had stationed nearby struck immediately, killing the captain on the spot.

With just a word, Zhou Tian had ended a man’s life. Though he still wore a genial smile, to the others his face had become utterly terrifying.

None of the survivors doubted that if they gave unsatisfactory answers to Zhou Tian’s questions, they would meet the same fate as the captain. No one wanted to die. Some of the more timid men wet themselves in terror, abandoning all other considerations. “We’ll confess! We’ll tell you everything, it was—”

But before the names could be spoken, a shadow flitted among them. Out of nowhere, an assassin emerged, swiftly slashing with a dagger and cutting down the remaining security officers before they could speak.

“How dare you!” Zhou Tian was truly enraged now. Though his methods were not supreme, he had been using his status with calculated intent. Had his plan succeeded, he would have been able to clean out the local tyrants of the border town.

Yet everything was ruined by the assassin’s timely intervention. The total slaughter of the security team rendered all his previous efforts futile. After today, who would dare testify against those he sought to bring down? The promising situation was utterly destroyed, and Zhou Tian’s fury blazed.

“Since you’ve come, you won’t be leaving.” No matter how angry he was, there was no remedying what had happened. But the assassin responsible—he would not let go.

With a guttural snarl, Zhou Tian summoned wave upon wave of venomous serpents, encircling the area for ten meters in every direction, trapping himself and the assassin at the center.

The assassin was stunned by the sudden appearance of so many snakes. Unaware of Zhou Tian’s abilities, he had no idea the bishop could control such a swarm. Now, surrounded by deadly reptiles, he was at a loss for a solution.

Zhou Tian, seeing his advantage, wasted no time in directing the snakes to close in on the assassin.

His original witnesses were dead, and his plan could not continue as intended. However, seeing the assassin gave Zhou Tian a new idea. All he needed was a plausible excuse. With the security team gone, he could use the assassin as his witness. If he captured the man alive and extracted the names of the conspirators, he would have all the justification he needed to eliminate them.

But Zhou Tian was perhaps underestimating the professionals of this world.

The system’s abilities were indeed formidable. Even with just the shop function, Zhou Tian had enough power to subdue the world’s top experts. With proper use, he could easily ascend to godhood. However, he had yet to fully unlock the system’s capabilities; his own strength was lacking, and the system’s arsenal was limited. While he could ambush and defeat foes a hundred times stronger, his raw power was far less than he imagined.

Surrounded by snakes, the assassin was indeed alarmed. The vipers, though not especially strong, were lethally venomous—a single bite could be instantly fatal.

Yet panic did not mean surrender. Just when Zhou Tian thought victory was in his grasp, the assassin vanished without warning. The disappearance was so sudden that Zhou Tian stood dazed for several seconds.

A few seconds—normally no more than the blink of an eye. But in that instant, the assassin crossed the snake ring and appeared behind Zhou Tian, dagger in hand, slashing silently at his throat.

Unprepared, Zhou Tian should have had no way to avoid the attack. But at that critical moment, a longsword flashed into existence, intercepting the dagger with a sharp clang. The assassin’s strike was blocked.

The sudden attempt on his life left Zhou Tian drenched in cold sweat. Shock gave way to rage and shame—he had nearly been killed by someone he hadn’t even taken seriously. Face flushed, he dared not underestimate his opponent again and immediately summoned his strongest capturing artifact—the Immortal-Binding Rope.

This time, nothing went awry. Though the assassin did his best to evade, the rope’s homing feature caught him just as he tried to turn invisible and flee, binding him tightly and sealing all his abilities.

Only after successfully subduing the assassin did Zhou Tian breathe a sigh of relief, turning to face his unexpected savior.