It turns out that Letho was the one from the Snake Faction who had the biggest change in mindset after the formation of the Demon Hunter Cult.
Kolgrim and the other three were terrified by Reso's bold plan, but they also had a vague sense of anticipation to witness it.
In this mood, the three of them peeked at the scenery of the Kaedweni Palace through Alice's paintings and judged the passage of time.
…
Late at night, there was no unusual sound in the hall.
Candles were first lit in the palace hall, then gradually burned out. There were no servants coming and going, and even the guards only passed by occasionally during patrols.
The brightly lit areas at night are the bedrooms or study rooms, while the heavily guarded areas are outside the palace.
Who will focus their attention inside the hall?
In the corner, a landscape oil painting depicting the primeval forest of Kaedwen suddenly ignited with bright emerald flames. A steady stream of light poured out from it, gradually condensing into four figures.
They appeared in mid-air, and even the tallest and strongest one landed with almost no sound.
They looked at each other and immediately scattered like snakes.
Kolgrim, Serrit, and Oaks followed the plan and searched for landmark buildings to set fire to attract the attention of the night guards, while Reso identified the direction, turned around, and climbed onto the roof.
The weight brought by his sturdy muscles was not a problem for him at all. Lei Suo's huge body moved flexibly between the roof and beams like a nimble monkey.
Unlike the three snakes, this was his first time visiting the Kaedwen Palace, but the map drawn by Kolgrim and the others and the guard schedule they had figured out had already been imprinted in his mind.
--Sudden.
Lei Suo's figure changed from extremely active to extremely quiet. He turned around and flashed behind a bell using the shadow of the moonlight.
In the corridor below and in front of him, a team of guards were patrolling by; in the sentry towers above and to his left and right, the sentries turned around.
The patrolling guards circled the tower in front of them, while the sentries turned and observed in the four directions of east, south, west and north at a certain frequency. Their sights formed a large net in an irregular manner, covering everything in front of them.
Reso sorted out the information in his mind and found that the area in front of him was the most intensively patrolled between the castle lobby and the king's bedroom.
You need to wait a while and find a blind spot.
He kept a rhythm in his mind, observing the pace of the patrols and the turns of the sentries.
…
The patrol moved to the back of the tower.
But the sentry on the left focused his attention on Reso's bunker.
Not now.
…
The sentry on the left turned toward the empty city wall.
The sentry on the right had just left his sight.
But the ground patrol team turned to the front at this moment.
Not now either.
…
Reso muttered to himself, almost turning the sentinels' sight lines into lines in his mind, and constructed a perspective diagram in the empty space of the tower in front of him.
Finally. At a certain moment.
The patrol entered the corner, blocking the view; the sentry on the left once again turned his back to him and stopped guarding;
The sentry on the right was about to turn around and head towards Reso's hiding place.
But he paused, and then—
Yawned.
He closed his eyes involuntarily, and vaguely felt as if a crow flapped its wings and flew over his head; when he rubbed his eyes and opened them again, he did not notice that the shadow behind the clock tower had faded a bit.
…
It's just in front.
Reso leaped to the top of the tower with a few leaps, and with the help of the wide view from the height, he could take in the buildings below.
After recognizing the direction, he ducked down and reached the edge of the roof in an instant, just like skiing. Then he used his right hand to hold the beam as a fulcrum, and looked far away in the moonlight.
With a soft "puff" sound, he fell on the windowsill as if he had no weight.
The balcony just in front of him, three windows away, emitted the most eye-catching light in the dark night.
"It's not a bedroom, it's a study?" Reso tilted his head. Judging from King Henselt's famous style, he didn't seem like someone who would work diligently on state affairs in the middle of the night.
He easily sneaked to the windowsill above the study, hung upside down, and used the shadow to peek at the scene inside.
When he saw it clearly, he was slightly stunned, and then he curled the corners of his mouth.
"That way... it'll be a lot easier."
…
In the spacious study, there were more than ten guards standing in a staggered manner, leaning against the wall. Their eyes, which should have been alert to the surroundings, were firmly fixed on the center of the study.
It's not that I'm attracted, but that I can't bear it.
A pale-skinned elf was tied to a laboratory table, with dense needle holes, knife wounds, and gaps where flesh had been gouged out all over his body.
He was an experimental subject and seemed to have gone through a lot of torture.
Henselt was lying on the sofa with a glass of wine on his bulging belly, looking unhappy.
"Tell me quickly what breakthroughs you have made in your research. Look at the sky outside! If you can't give me satisfactory results, I will let you know the consequences of disturbing my sleep!"
Henselt pointed at the bound elf fiercely: "You will become like him!"
The warlock at the experimental table did not change color in the face of Henselt's threats and rebukes, but just bowed slightly.
The four great nations were prosperous. Just as Temeria had three high-level warlocks, Triss, Keira, and Fekat, serving it before, Kaedwen also had more than one warlock, but an "advisory group".
However, there are always one or two warlocks in a group who are too outstanding, which makes it easy for others to forget the rest of the advisory group.
For example, Sabina Grievousig, now known as the "Daughter of the Kaedwen Wasteland", has served as an advisor to Kaedwen for a long time, and her prestige and strength far surpass those of other members of the advisory group.
Sabina is also known for her hot temper, so she has a bad relationship with other warlocks in the advisory group; she is now far away on Thanedd Island and has not returned yet, which has given other advisors an opportunity to curry favor with the king.
"Your Majesty, if there were no breakthroughs in my experiments, I would not dare to disturb your precious sleep." The warlock smiled, "Please look—"
He turned his hand over, revealing a glass ceramic jar in his palm, which was emitting a long blue light.
Henselt frowned. "Is this... a [North Wind Bomb]?"
Ever since Lann killed so many people in the Civil War, all countries have paid more attention to magic and non-human races; and after Lann rebuilt the Witcher Cult, Witchers have once again entered the vision of the Northern high-level officials.
Everyone believes that a profession that the Lannisters strongly support must have its merits.
Therefore, the advisors of all the major countries followed the order and began to study the knowledge related to the demon hunter again. As one of the main means of the demon hunter, the alchemical bomb was the first to gain the favor of Kaedwen.
These weapons developed by warlocks and alchemists were developed and promoted by demon hunters, but they were not valued by the ruling class because they were too expensive and not popular. In human society, if a problem can be solved with a bomb, a dagger and an arrow can also solve it.
But Henselt particularly liked these alchemical bombs this time, because - they were interesting.
The process of using these bombs to kill non-human races in various ways made his blood boil: fire, poison gas, freezing, and shrapnel splashing, which were far more interesting than simple swords or whips.
If Mossack or Lane knew about this, they would probably sigh again: He is indeed Henselt.
"You woke me up in the middle of the night to ask me to freeze another elf? What's wrong with your brain?" Henselt shouted, "And we did it in the study. Are you trying to trick me into committing suicide?!"
The warlock quickly lowered his head and wiped the sweat off his face.
When Sabina was around, he had no chance to get close to the king. He had thought about tonight's show for a long time.
"Your Majesty, haven't you always asked us to innovate the use of these bombs? Sabina has only been studying magic and has not seen alchemy, but I have finally made a breakthrough after a long period of research!"
The warlock held up the improved [North Wind] in his hand like offering a treasure and moved closer to the tied elf.
"Generally, North Wind bombs only release freezing air after the explosion to slow down those affected, but the diffuse and dispersed power is so powerful that it is difficult to even condense blood!" The warlock said proudly, "And I have concentrated the materials in the North Wind to the point where they are in liquid form, which is enough to freeze blood, flesh, and bones into ice cubes and shatter them in an instant!"
"Except for the frozen parts, the rest of the test subject's body will not be harmed at all." The warlock said proudly, "They will remain conscious and watch their bodies being frozen, losing consciousness, and then shattered. And when they lose that part of their limbs permanently, their brains will not even have time to generate pain!"
Henselt said coldly: "So, no blood, no screams, no torture?"
The king's question made the warlock shake his head repeatedly: "No, no, your majesty, my new north wind will create a brand new kind of fear, a torture beyond ordinary pain, you will like it..."
"And..." The sorcerer showed the king the glass jar in his hand. It was not shaped like a bomb, but rather like a perfume bottle that had been magnified countless times.
"My new North Wind is more controllable. It can 'spray' freezing air, rather than releasing power through 'explosion' without any technical content like a bomb!" The warlock said confidently, "This is a great innovative breakthrough, just like liquid freezing materials. Your Majesty, you will experience the fun after using it yourself. I promise you..."
…
The sorcerer chattered incessantly, trying to arouse the king's interest and gain his favor.
He raised his hand and cast a spell to make the unconscious elf twitch and wake up. He waved to call his experimental assistant, turned around and directed the other party to demonstrate.
He didn't notice at all that when everyone's attention was drawn to it, a shadow quietly peeked in from outside the window.
"Buzz—whoosh—crack!"
The slight sound of a crossbow string loosening was heard first.
Immediately afterwards, an arrow pierced through the window and accurately shattered the improved [North Wind] in the apprentice's hand.
This happened so fast.
In an instant, the power praised by the warlock as "highly condensed" and "capable of instantly freezing flesh, blood and bones" burst out violently!
The apprentice and the elf holding the North Wind were the first to turn into ice sculptures, followed by several nearby guards. The power of ice continued to spread, and the laboratory table, books, chandeliers, ceilings, and windowsills all turned into ice in just half a breath!
But the warlock next to Henselt did react quickly - he was concentrating on the bomb.
He was actually not as confident as he appeared, and was always on guard against any accidents with the bomb.
The moment the glass crackled, he immediately opened the protective shield, tightly protecting Henselt and several nearby guards behind him!
Saved a life.
The freezing air of [North Wind] continued to be released for five breaths, until the study was turned into a glacier. From this perspective, the scientific research ability of this warlock is worthy of recognition.
When the warlock breathlessly removed the shield, he shouted before anyone else could react: "It's an assassin! Outside the window! There's an assassin!"
Henselt gave the warlock a cold look and tilted his head towards the few remaining guards.
The four remaining guards looked at each other, formed a simple formation, and walked cautiously towards the window.
They had just seen the arrows and knew the enemy's position. It was incredible that they could sneak into the palace in the middle of the night, but maybe the enemy underestimated the power of [North Wind] and was also killed?
The window sill had frozen over and cracked, becoming as brittle as a cookie. The cold sword in the guard's hand probed the even colder darkness outside the window.
The enemy seemed to be hiding in there, lurking like a poisonous snake, just waiting -
A chance!
With a loud "boom", the roof of the study suddenly collapsed, and the frozen ceiling turned into hail and hit the people in the room.
The moment Reso's strong body landed on the ground, it shot out at a speed faster than it was falling, and in the blink of an eye he crashed into the group of guards from behind.
He did not use a sword, but only unsheathed a sharp dagger, which pierced through two spines in an instant like a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue. After two "bangs" fell to the ground, he killed half of the enemies.
The third guard reacted, roared, and swung his sword. The small dagger collided with the steel blade that was five times larger. At this moment, the guard felt that the assassin was holding a battle axe instead of a dagger!
His wrist was bent without any resistance, and the huge force even forced the sword in his own hand to his throat. He was uncontrollably scratched by the opponent's force - click!
The sword blade and throat were broken together.
So there was only one guard left.
Lei Suo looked at the other person's terrified eyes, but he did not draw his dagger. Instead, he quickly stretched out his left hand to grab the other person's neck, and lifted it behind him like a chicken, blocking it -
With a "boom", the warlock released a fireball towards Lei Suo with all his strength.
This magic was not burning, but carried a violent tearing sensation. The huge heat exploded in the body of the guard who was used as a shield by Reso. His whole body seemed to have turned into a bomb, and countless flesh and blood splashed around him.
And Lei Suo was at peace.
…
The warlock looked at the assassin who was staring at him and took a deep breath.
This body type has great power and great speed.
It was less than ten steps away and he only had one last chance to cast a spell.
However, I am a warlock and the other party is just an assassin.
One magic is enough!
The warlock skillfully condensed the fireball again, and Letho lowered his center of gravity and charged forward like a tiger, tearing through the blood rain.
He held the dagger horizontally, and took each step with great force. The frozen floor could not bear the weight and began to shatter. Some cracks even spread to the wall and began to shake dangerously.
It was as if the entire frozen study room could not withstand Lei Suo's running and collapsed!
The warlock sneered and looked at the aggressive Letho and his only weapon - a dagger.
Can he also split the fireball with a dagger?
With a "whoosh" sound, a fireball swayed and sprayed out.
What blocked its way was not a dagger, but an empty left hand.
[Alder Seal: Bone-piercing]!
Ice met the flames.
"Not an assassin!" the warlock screamed, "You are a hunter..."
He didn't get to say the rest of the words. The dagger didn't split the fireball, but split his neck.
Reso coldly drew out his weapon and shook off the blood on it.
He turned around and saw Henselt, who was already pissing and shitting, lying by the door. He had broken the frozen door handle and pulled it out. He slapped the frozen door in vain. There was also a lot of noise outside the door. The guards who were eager to protect their master were also blocked by the door and could not move forward.
Lei Suo took a deep breath and looked down at the floor which was becoming increasingly icy. He decided not to use too much force anymore.
So he approached Henselt slowly, step by step, with light steps.
"Wait, wait!" Hensel shouted in a panic. "Who sent you? I'll pay double... ten times the price. Was it him? Was it Lanny..."
Phew.
Reso grabbed Henselt's hair with his left hand and cut his throat with his right hand; with another cut, the round thing was held in his hand.
He weighed it and was suddenly stunned. In the past, after the Snake Sect finished the assassination, they would bring something back to their employer to show that they had completed the mission - this thing was usually a head, and he had even developed a professional habit-like muscle memory.
But now——
Reso threw Henselt aside in disgust, listened to the anxious shouts of the guards outside through the door for a while, and twisted his neck.
Then he lowered his head, lowered his shoulders, and with a "bang" he smashed the cracked icy wall and landed lightly on the roof of a nearby building.
After a few rises and falls, it disappeared into the night.