After the danger passed, Bloody Edge silently dropped back to the floor. He was light as a feather, dampening the fall skilfully, making great use of his high agility attribute.
The thief continued his mission sneaking along the corridor. After a few more close shaves he soon came closer to an actual city. Mist dwarves still followed the dwarven instinct to construct large cities underground but with less focus on mining and blacksmithing and more space to experiment with magic.
But Bloody Edge didn't need to infiltrate the real city. He followed the path described by Liam and soon found an opening leading to a giant cave. Bloody Edge emerged halfway up the wall and looked towards the ground. Immediately his chest tightened.
The mist was faint allowing Bloody Edge to watch as thousands of mist dwarves gathered at the bottom of the cave preparing for the upcoming war. Most soldiers were training lightly while their blacksmiths – if you could call them that – used magic to infuse the mist into weapons and armours.
Bloody Edge easily made out a few leaders, especially the commander. It was a dwarf so tall he didn't fit the word at all. With a height of more than three meters and three eyes on his stern face he looked more like a demon than a dwarf. His black armor which seemed to switch between a chain mail and leather armor only highlighted the impression.
Even form high up Bloody Edge could feel the power that the commander deliberately emitted, perhaps to keep his soldiers in check. He could only pray that the assassins he was about to summon were strong enough to deal with the commander.
Bloody Edge took a few steps back, hiding carefully, as he pulled out a black scroll. This was the reward of the quest Liam sent him on. With a thought it got activated. The scroll slowly dissolved and three assassins in black garbs appeared in front of Bloody Edge, awaiting his orders.
The assassins were like shadows in the dark. If they wanted to hide from Bloody Edge, he would never be able to spot them. He knew that they were powerful, but they also came with disadvantages. The assassins could only operate within a certain range around the summoner and would only remain for fifteen minutes.
Knowing this, Bloody Edge didn't waste time and ordered the assassins to kill the commander. The three figures nodded behind their black masks and disappeared on the spot.
Bloody Edge was startled. He pushed his senses, feeling carefully for them, but he found no signs of the assassins. This fact didn't make him discouraged, instead instilling confidence. Bloody Edge carefully peaked into the cave.
A few moments passed when the commander in the air suddenly frowned. The mist below his feet spread to the surroundings, probing the empty air. Just as he wanted to caution the soldiers, the situation abruptly changed.
A black figure appeared silently out of nowhere above the commander's head. They held a single dagger aiming right for the demon-dwarf's neck.
The commander let out a loud snort. Others immediately shouted orders.
"Enemy attack! Get into formation!"
"Assassins!"
"Protect the commander!"
The mist dwarf army moved quickly. With extreme discipline they formed teams, watching each other's backs. This was clearly not a group of mindless monsters.
But the assassins only focused on the commander, who reacted swiftly. Within a split-second mist condensed behind the attacking assassin, transforming into a large, curved sabre made from black metal. It flashed, moving faster than the assassin and instantly passing through the attacker's body.
But the dwarf commander didn't appear happy. As his sword cut apart the enemy, their body became intangible like a shadow and continued on its path. The commander had barely enough time to catch his weapon and use it to defend himself before the assassin reached him.
The sound of metal clashing echoed through the cave as the commander managed to deflect the attack.
"Now! Attack the enemy!"
An officer on the ground gave an order and multiple groups moved instantly. They raised bows and staffs and unleashed a shower of attacks towards the assassin.
But the black clad figure suddenly unleashed a cloud of black smoke. All the attacks passed through without doing any harm. A moment later the smoke cleared up and what appeared where two assassins striking towards the commander.
"Child's play."
It was the first time that the commander spoke in his deep, frightening voice. He suddenly turned around and swung his sabre in a wide arc ignoring the two assassins.
His weapon met resistance, and an assassin was revealed while the other two turned into harmless smoke as soon as they touched the commander.
Bloody Edge watched everything with bated breath. He couldn't help but be worried watching the commander's skilled moves, but so far the three assassins hadn't attacked together yet.
Both sides exchanged multiple moves within a few seconds. The assassins were elusive, making it impossible for Bloody Edge to tell which was the real body. Meanwhile the commander defended himself stably waiting for his chance to counterattack.
And half a minute later he saw his opportunity. The assassin was forced to change his path due to a rain of attacks from the army. The commander revealed a grin.
"Got you!"
Suddenly the mist spreading through the cave surged. The commander's body fused into it and instantly appeared elsewhere. His weapon flashed, aiming for the retreating assassin's back.
"Ouh!"
Even the trained assassin let out a pained groan as the black sabre cut into his back just short of bisecting his body. But as the commander revealed a victorious grin the situation suddenly changed.
The blood coming out of the assassin's wound didn't flow randomly. Instead, it created a blood-red magic circle on the assassin's back. The commander let out a horrified shout:
"Blood magic?! You are..."
But before he could speak further a red light engulfed him. Blood magic had the advantage of low mana cost and quick activation, leaving the commander no time to dodge. Hit by the red light the dwarf found himself unable to move for a moment. Even his connection to the mist was cut off.
Of course, the assassins wouldn't miss the opportunity their comrade created by paying for it with a heavy injury.
"Protect the commander!"
"Damn!"
"Careful!"
The soldiers let out frantic cries as two more assassins appeared behind the commander's back. Their inconspicuous black daggers flashed and pierced into the dwarf's back.
"NOO!"
The commander shouted in despair as terrifying magic sucked the life out of him. His grey skin paled and shrivelled. His cheeks turned hollow. Eventually the light disappeared from his eyes.
The assassins retrieved their weapons and the commander's hollow husk fell to the floor, crashing into the ground. Silence engulfed the cave as all the mist dwarves were shocked.
They only reacted a moment later.
"Kill them!"
"Attack!"
"Revenge!"
At this point the assassins had already disappeared. When the army began to move, the black figures suddenly ambushed the various officers.
The other mist dwarves were not on the level of the commander. They could barely defend themselves. At least one in three attacks caused a serious injury or death. For the next five minutes the assassins wreaked havoc among the army, turning into their nightmare.
Unfortunately, the assassins couldn't stay forever. The summon duration ran out and the three black figures disappeared. For a while the soldiers didn't dare to move afraid that the three monsters would come back to haunt them. But soon they confirmed that the assassins had retreated for some reason.
Bloody Edge still watched the cave with a fascinated expression. His heart was beating from excitement. This was what a real assassin should be like! At this moment he developed a slight dissatisfaction towards his class.
Just then a loud shout brought Bloody Edge back to reality.
"Someone must have intruded! Find him! Don't you dare let him escape!"
Bloody Edge felt a chill run down his spine. He was too enthralled by the fight and forgot to escape! Inhaling sharply, he turned around and instantly sprinted back the way he came from. But the soldiers also swarmed out, filling all the tunnels.
Bloody Edge constantly heard the steps of the mist dwarves. He even saw a team travel through the mist, which made them faster and their steps lighter.
Hiding above a wooden beam the thief let out a wry smile. He constantly saw teams of soldiers passing below him. He knew it was only a matter of time until they found him. Now that they were searching actively the mist dwarves would definitely investigate possible hiding spots.
Bloody Edge did his best, sneaking carefully, avoiding the soldiers as good as possible. But his escape didn't last long. He was again sitting on a wooden beam when a certain team passed which methodically shot bullets of mist towards all the beams. One of them slammed into Bloody Edge with terrifying power.
"Ah!"
With a startled cry Bloody Edge fell to the ground and his stealth got cancelled. More than twenty soldiers instantly surrounded him.