48 Hours a Day

Chapter 886: Surrounded

The moment the assassin with the scimitar got distracted, Zhang Heng’s retrieved the Persian short sword he used to deflect the arrow, then performing a quick slash in the air. When the assassin with the scimitar snapped back to reality, he saw the blood on Zhang Heng’s weapon. When he was not paying attention, Zhang Heng had slashed his neck and chin.

“It’s not a good habit to get distracted during a battle.” At that time, Zhang Heng had retreated to the marble pillar. After that, the assassin with scimitar collapsed on the ground slowly. Zhang Heng fought two enemies at the same time, and he succeeded in killing one of them. Not to mention that the ambush was premeditated. Since these assassins decided to get rid of him tonight, it meant that his identity was finally exposed. To make matters worse, it could also mean that the Balance Blade was completely defeated in the war with the Hounds and Altrus.

And unlike the cannon fodder assassins he dealt at the bridge earlier, the assassins who ambushed him at his domus tonight were highly skilled, probably the Hounds’ core members. In terms of strength, the Hounds’ assassins were slightly worse off than the Balance Blade’s assassins. However, they were still be considered top-tier assassins around the world. Zhang Heng still could not keep up with these experienced killing machines when it came to assassination skills. That said, he still had his Lv4 swordsmanship with him. Once his opponent missed the first hit, there was a high probability that they would defeat him in a head-on battle.

The bad news was that his opponent had the intention of facing him one-on-one tonight. After Zhang Heng killed the scimitar assassin, two more assassins came out from the other two marble pillars. They looked at each other and moved slowly to where Zhang Heng was hiding.

Since there was an archer on the second floor, Zhang Heng could not stick his head out to observe the situation. In other words, he would not be able to see the two assassins that were approaching him quietly. When the two assassins arrived at the pillar when Zhang Heng was standing, they swung their daggers and tried to deliver a fatal blow to Zhang Heng. However, Zhang Heng was no longer standing at that pillar.

Fortunately, the two of them reacted quickly. They immediately raised their heads and looked above them, seeing a shadow under the eaves. The space was wide enough for a person to climb over without being noticed by others.

One of the assassins immediately reminded the archer, “Be careful, God’s Eye! The target has left his original position. He may be heading towards you.”

The heart of the archer on the second floor named God’s Eye tightened when he heard what his allies said. He had witnessed how Zhang Heng fought at the bridge, killing three assassins with a clean hit. He did not even perform a second move on them. Earlier, the scimitar assassin had also been killed by him in a split second. It could only be said that the gladiatorial champion of the Amphitheatrum Flavium had lived up to his reputation. As an assassin that was excellent in using the bow, the last thing he wanted was to be close to Zhang Heng unless he had a death wish.

Therefore, he did not hesitate after hearing the reminder from his companions. Immediately, he began to pay extra attention to his surroundings while maintaining a squatting posture. He then began to move quietly.

He knew that the previous two arrows he fired earlier had exposed his position, and staying here any further would prove extremely dangerous. His decision had saved his life. Zhang Heng moved quietly to the second floor like a ghost. The latter’s companion did not discover him until his shadow fell on the spot where the archer assassin squatted earlier.

It was then that the archer assassin had moved away, and he immediately turned around and aimed at Zhang Heng. He then completed his next action in one go with not a single second wasted. Unfortunately, Zhang Heng was only quicker. The moment he released the bowstring, Zhang Heng had already sliced the wooden bow with a single slash. Without the supporting force, the arrow fell straight to the ground.

However, Zhang Heng couldn’t do anything to the archer assassin after that because another assassin dashed out from the next room to stop him. The latter had been waiting quietly for him over there. Since Zhang Heng was wearing the Heart of Kreis, the assassins had failed to detect his movements. Hence, the assassin missed the opportunity to attack Zhang Heng with the archer assassin.

And Zhang Heng did not expect that the Hounds would regard him as a powerful opponent. To make sure that they could kill him, they dispatched at least five top-tier assassins to deal with him. Zhang Heng also wasn’t sure if other assassins were waiting to ambush him in his domus. Though he failed to kill the archer assassin, he got to at least destroy the latter’s weapon.

The next moment, Zhang Heng dashed to the two assassins downstairs before climbing up to the second floor. With the Persian swords in his hand, Zhang Heng managed to push back the opponent in front of him. After that, he ran and rolled into the room where the slave girl lived before. Fortunately, there were no other assassins in the room.

Zhang Heng pried open a piece of the wooden floor as fast as possible and took out the Pestilence Bone Bow and Paris Arrow that he had hidden in the floor. When the assassins dashed into the room and saw Zhang Heng holding a bow and arrow, they ran out immediately.

Under normal circumstances, the assassin would think that he was now safe, but the arrow that flew out of the room took a quick turn and flew toward him. And it landed on his forehead.

After that, Zhang Heng approached him and retrieved the Paris Arrow from the corpse. Right after that, he kept walking and jumped directly onto the roof. As expected, it seemed the Hounds were determined to kill him, having placed their men on the roof to ambush Zhang Heng. They blocked off all the possible exits.

However, Zhang Heng didn’t panic when he saw the enemies, simply looking at them approaching from all directions. He then jumped directly into the air and spread out the huge pair of wings behind him. They were expecting him to be affected by the gravity, but Zhang Heng flew past the dumbfounded assassins and plunged into the distant darkness.

It wasn’t long before the Hounds’ assassins came back to reality and realized that they had failed the mission. They were not thinking about explaining the failure but were thinking about the magical scene they just witnessed.

Some of them heard some rumors about Zhang Heng, but none took it seriously until they witnessed it with their eyes.

The leader assassin then said, “The Balance Blade is gone. It’s not a big deal to let him, a core member, escape. Whether he is human or something else… it doesn’t matter anymore. When the sun rises tomorrow, his wanted portraits will be all over the streets and alleys. If he is smart, he should leave Rome tonight. He will have no place to stay in Rome anymore.”

The harsh words made the magical scene less impactful now. However, the assassins could still see the doubt and anxiety in each other’s eyes. Since they had the victory in hand, they decided to suppress their doubts, for now, trying their best to forget what just happened.