The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 290: Chapter 285 — Ash

”F-fire! The fucking forest is on fire!” one head cadet shouted.

”W-what the hell are they doing over there?! Why isn’t anyone putting it out?!”

Gordon pinned one of them with a sharp look. ”Then send more cadets. I don’t care if you have to drag every water in this fortress, put that damn fire out!”

”Yes!”

Gordon instantly turned towards Malach, about to ask how they should proceed, but froze the next moment.

Malach’s eyes were wide open, a faint tremble running through them, yet stretched across his face was a large, unnatural grin. It was a disturbing contrast to the cold aura pouring off him. Gordon stared for half a second before wisely deciding not to say anything, turning his attention back to coordinating the others.

Soon, several more northern cadets rushed into the forest to help. By then, the entire place had descended into chaos, with cadets scrambling in every direction as the flames continued to spread.

”Put it out!”

”Water! We need more water!”

”The water isn’t doing shit!”

”Then cut the damn trees down!”

”We tried! That’s not fucking working either!”

Several northern cadets tried everything they could think of, dousing the flames with water, smothering them beneath sheets of metal, even cutting down the burning trees to stop the fire from spreading. Yet no matter what they tried, the flames stubbornly refused to die.

Eventually, even the cadets who had rushed over to help realized they were fighting a losing battle. An order to retreat quickly rang through the forest, and moments later, northern cadets began pouring out from between the burning trees.

Standing calmly atop the southern fortress wall, Zephyrion watched the devastation alongside the other head cadets, each of them wearing varying expressions.

Zephyrion himself looked remarkably calm, as though he were watching a baby crawl for the first time.

The others were nowhere near as composed.

Especially Nedra, who was staring at him with slightly trembling eyes.

’What the hell is he?’

None of them had known about Zephyrion’s intention to burn the forest until tonight. And when he finally told them, they had stared at him as though he had clearly lost his mind.

The forest was far too vast. Worse, they weren’t dealing with ordinary people. Every cadet here was superhuman. Putting out a normal forest fire would be as easy as taking a walk.

Zephyrion hadn’t bothered explaining himself.

Instead, he had simply handed each of them gallons of a strange, slimy liquid whose origins Nedra still knew absolutely nothing about and told them to use it to start the fires.

Reluctantly, they had done exactly that.

And now, they could only watch as the vast forest was slowly reduced to ash.

Nedra had never quite met anyone like Zephyrion before. Infinitely calm, ridiculously intelligent, with a deep, mysterious air around him that made it difficult to tell what he was thinking. Then there was the fact that he could be incredibly domineering at times, something Nedra found far more thrilling than she would ever willingly admit.

’Oh, this is bad. I actually like him. No, fuck that, I really like him. But I’ve spent years making it clear I’m a feminist who doesn’t need a man. What the hell am I supposed to do now? Chase after one? I’d never hear the end of it. But... but look at him!’

Nedra bit her lip, her dilemma clearly written across her face.

Lumi seemed to notice the practically drooling stare she was directing at Zephyrion and slowly turned to give her a strange look, her expression basically asking what the hell she was doing.

Nedra hastily cleared her throat and looked away.

’Shit! Did she fucking catch me!?’

Feeling something suspiciously wet at the corner of her mouth, she quickly wiped the drool away before exhaling.

’Relax, Nedra. Relax. Even if she did, she can’t talk. It’s her signs against my words, and there’s no way in hell I’m losing that argument.’

Reassured by that thought, she straightened slightly. But as the seconds passed and Lumi still hadn’t stopped staring at her, that confidence gradually began to crumble.

’What the hell is wrong with her!?’

Somehow, the fact that Lumi was simply staring at her with narrowed eyes without saying—or rather, signing—a single thing made it even worse. Nedra shifted slightly, suddenly unsure of what she was supposed to do.

Luckily, after what felt far longer than it probably was, Lumi gave her one last lingering look before finally turning away.

Nedra quietly let out a breath of relief. Then, a moment later, a strange feeling gripped her.

’Wait... did she just mark her fucking territory?’

The others were just as shocked by what Zephyrion had accomplished and made no effort to hide it, their widened eyes fixed on the burning forest. Draven, especially, was practically showering Zephyrion with praises, a wide grin plastered across his face.

In any case, with the forest gone, the northern advantage had been completely erased. What had once been a vast stretch of woodland separating both fortresses was now little more than open plains.

Eventually, though, the excitement died down as Zephyrion turned away and faced Kaiden.

”I need you to do something for me. It’ll be dangerous.”

Kaiden narrowed his eyes. Almost immediately, he felt Kaelion’s gaze settle on him and clicked his tongue.

’The hell are you looking at? Weak, my ass. Just watch.’

His ego was still bruised from earlier, and right now, he desperately needed something to prove himself again.

Without hesitating, he nodded.

”I’ll do it.”

”Alright. Follow me.”

...

Back in the northern fortress, Gordon stood at the entrance with gritted teeth as the northern cadets slowly filed through the gates. Several were burned and covered in soot, their clothes singed in places, exhaustion clear on their faces.

’That fucking bastard.’

Gordon cursed under his breath. Yet the cadets’ miserable state wasn’t even the worst part.

Beyond the fortress, the forest was gone, replaced entirely by a vast, smoking expanse of blackened earth and ash. Even from this distance, the acrid stench of smoke hung thick in the air.

’Seriously, who the fuck burns an entire forest!? Who even thinks of that!?’

Gordon had never heard of anything like this before, not even in the history books. How Zephyrion had even thought of doing something so absurd, he had no idea. However, there was no denying that with the forest gone, so was one of their greatest advantages.

’He’s insane. Completely fucking insane. And we underestimated him. Badly.’

Gordon shook his head, still staring at the devastation. Then, a moment later, a thought suddenly occurred to him, and his gaze shifted toward the wall.

’Shit... what about the Prime?’

He froze.

Malach was still standing atop the wall, exactly where Gordon had last seen him. Except now, the unnatural grin from earlier was completely gone, replaced by a cold, expressionless mask. His crimson eyes were even worse, carrying a chill that made Gordon instinctively swallow.

He had known Malach for a long time, but he couldn’t remember ever seeing his eyes that cold.

Gordon quickly looked away, wondering just how the Prime intended to respond to this.

Yet, amidst Malach’s silent fury and Gordon’s unease, neither of them noticed the fierce-eyed cadet covered from head to toe in soot quietly filing through the gates alongside the rest of the northern cadets.

Soon, the last of them entered, and the massive gates slowly swung shut behind them.

Like that, Kaiden entered the northern fortress.