Mystery: But the Witch's Path

Chapter 23 Criminals

June 8, 1346, evening

Almost three days have passed since the last banquet, and Altair's "factory plan" is still in the works.

He then arrived in the East District, preparing to carry out another assassination. As before, based on the information gathered from his investigation, he ambushed the "target" on their likely route, and planned to shoot and eliminate them as soon as they appeared.

The path in front of us, with its faint lights, is the only way to reach our "target".

Altair lay listlessly on the rooftop, gazing at the crimson moon in the sky, overcast due to emissions from the Backlund factory. The city's nightscape was worse than that of his own time.

When they heard a sound coming from the corner of the intersection, they turned around and saw five drunk people helping each other walk over.

As time passed, the distance drew ever closer. Having confirmed that these were his targets, Altair rose slightly to better prepare for the sniping.

The lever rifle is indeed cool, but lying prone makes reloading difficult.

As Altair finished firing his gun and packed up his belongings to leave, he instinctively looked down at the corpses.

1, 2, .....4, 4, ! One body is missing!

So he immediately jumped off the building and went forward to confirm.

There were indeed four corpses, but one person escaped. Looking at the bloodstains before him, he thought, "You can't escape."

Altair followed the trail of blood closely, and when he reached the corner of the alley, a dagger suddenly appeared in front of him and slashed towards him.

Altair instinctively bent his body backward to dodge the attack, completing a difficult backbend.

After seeing the dagger graz the spot where his head had just been, he immediately turned to the side and kicked the dagger away.

As the dagger fell, Altair also watched the person in front of him warily.

Thinking to myself, "To survive a '.45-70 round-nosed bullet' shot to the chest and still have the strength to escape and fight back—is this even a normal person?"

When the enemy realized Altair hadn't attacked immediately, they panicked and cried out, "Who sent you? Don't kill me! I'll give you money! I have lots and lots of money..."

"I also have a house in West Backlund, and I also have..."

Seeing that Altair had no intention of letting him go just because he was willing to pay for his life, he hurriedly said, "Do you know what an Extraordinary is? I can give you the recipe, and you can use it to concoct potions to become an Extraordinary."

When Altair heard the word "Extraordinary," he already knew why the person was still alive despite all that—they were Extraordinary.

But I was still curious about how someone could withstand a bullet wound, surviving even with a hole in their chest. So I asked, "What kind of potion recipe do you know, and what's its name?"

When the assassin in front of him asked about his potion recipe, he knew he still had a chance of survival. "After all, who can refuse to become an extraordinary one?"

He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "'Criminal,' don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand. The potion recipe for this path is called 'Criminal.' Furthermore, I myself am an Extraordinary being of this path, and I can guarantee the recipe is correct. And look, I can still move even after being shot by your high-powered 'High-Pressure Steam Rifle,' which proves this path is very powerful and will definitely satisfy you..."

Upon hearing this news, Altair lost interest. Only someone with a screw loose would choose the 'Abyss Path'.

Taking advantage of his momentary lapse in vigilance, I quickly ran behind him, stomped on his knee, and caught his head with my hand and shoulder. With a 'crack,' my target was completely lifeless.

When everything was over, Altair released his body, and the lifeless body fell to the ground.

Looking around, he realized that perhaps because of the commotion, someone had turned on the gas lights in the house, but no one came to stop him, possibly out of fear.

Thinking of this, Altair shook his head with a self-deprecating laugh. What's happening now is probably more common in the East District, after all, the East District's security is only slightly better than the Dock District.

At this point, not wanting to cause trouble, he could only helplessly drag the body into the depths of the alley.

Upon seeing the dark red gel-like substance oozing from the chest of the corpse before him, Altair simply collected it in a cigarette case he had prepared beforehand, put it in his pocket, and left this place of trouble.

I don't have a cheat like the "Source Castle," and I can't keep storing "extraordinary traits" in cigarette boxes for a long time. This is just a last resort. I can only do this for now. The "real method" is to use materials to make a "Wall of Spirituality" to seal and preserve them after returning to the manor.

As for where the cigarette case came from, Altair could only express his 'apologies' and think to himself, 'Using your cigarette case to store your 'extraordinary characteristics' isn't too bad for him.'

After leaving the area where the incident occurred, Altair also took a side road home. To pass the time, he walked and danced, taking elegant steps all the way home.

If someone were to pass by at this moment, they would surely mistake Altair for a pitiful person who had been frightened into madness. After all, what normal person would be running around and jumping around like this after their clothes are covered in blood?

.......

When they arrived home, they entered through the door that Hahn had left open. Seeing Hahn still sitting at the door, they went over and found him asleep. They gently patted his shoulder and said, "Hahn, wake up, I'm back. Don't sleep here, go back to your room and sleep."

When Hahn slowly opened his eyes, he saw Altair with large patches of blood on his clothes. Pointing to the bloodstains, he anxiously asked, "Count Altair, what happened to you...?"

Upon seeing Hahn's reaction, Altair looked at his own clothes and realized something was amiss, saying, "These aren't mine. I picked them up from the enemy during the 'hunt' today."

When Hahn heard Altair's words, he put down his fingers with relief, shook his head slightly and sighed, asking helplessly, "Count Altair, it seems that today's trip did not go very smoothly. Should we take a break for a while?"

When Altair heard Hahn's concerned words, he shook his head and said, "It's alright, Hahn. I just happened to run into an extraordinary person. Ordinary people are no match for me. Don't worry."

He then took out the spoils of war and handed them to Hahn, saying, "These are the spoils of war I obtained this time. They are the extraordinary characteristics of a 'criminal.' Please seal them away with materials for me."

"I'm going to take a shower first. Now that you mention it, I do have an unpleasant smell all over my body."

.........

After explaining everything, Altair returned to his room, took off his blood-stained clothes in the bathroom, and casually threw them aside, intending to deal with them the next day. He then sat in the bathtub for a warm bath.

But in his heart he thought, "It seems that 'assassinating' extraordinary individuals is indeed better than killing ordinary people. Originally, I expected that under normal circumstances, it would take at least three months to complete the 'role-playing'. Now, after this period of high-intensity 'role-playing', plus the 'extraordinary individual' tonight, I have a feeling that I can prepare for advancement in a month."

Based on the 'extraordinary materials' that he has collected so far, he has no shortage of extraordinary materials up to 'Sequence Six', but the materials for 'Sequence Five' and beyond are considered 'restricted items' in various churches, countries and forces.

I can only rely on "Mr. World" to buy it for me.