World Domination System (Web Novel)
chapter-396

"He can't be serious right?"

As Brranx asked this question to the other top assassins sitting near him, an expression of both hope and fear flashed across his face.

He was the introvert among the top assassins, and when the sect leader had gone to talk to him in order to gain his support, he had avoided the man just like he avoided almost all public gatherings.

Assassination was his love. The joy of wading through countless obstructions to sink his dagger into a target's neck was…extraordinary.

And, of course, the riches which came with a successful assassination felt so good to count.

He was a self-proclaimed hoarder, as his happiness came from just seeing all those riches and knowing that he had earned them step by step, coin by coin.

In fact, even today, he was going to miss this event and train.

However, when he heard the sect leader mention 'betting', a tingling had gone down his sign.

Yes! The opportunity to multiply his riches by using his skill in something he loved!

As a top assassin, Branx was confident that he could accurately assess the tournament's scenario and work out who would win.

In fact, among all 5 top assassins, he was the most powerful both in terms of ability and age.

He had retired most recently, but he was still enticed sometimes to take on novel contracts.

Be that as it may, he was determined to make use of this opportunity to win big.

Although the other top assassins didn't like him much due to his nature, they all respected his ability.

So, Agmar answered, "He is. The sect leader is an upright man. He does what he says. I believe that he just wants to give everyone a fair chance of winning by participating in this event in our own way."

Hearing this uncharacteristically cheery response from a man who was usually taciturn, all 4 other top assassins turned towards him, with Jaggrv even saying, "What the f@@k has gotten into you to make you so happy?"

"What? Having such a great sect leader is happiness in itself."

This made them all shake their heads and drop the matter, resolving to find the answer later on.

Of course, if they got to know that the reason was that the sect leader was responsible both for reuniting him with his son and also allowing him to take part in the tournament, they would definitely have been very surprised.

"Yeah, he's serious, all right. He will honor all the bets. So, what information do you guys have on the participants? Maybe we can share it so that we can all bet together against the sect leader?"

Always one to try and take advantage of a situation using his words, Stefan said this and made the other top assassins get up and leave.

He was known for being so wordy that it had even become an essential part of his assassinations-once, apparently, he had talked someone guarding him to sleep before escaping and carrying out a successful assassination.

Only Jaggrv remained, but even he said, "Way to kill a meeting, old friend. You know we are all grouchy bastards who are ready to use every opportunity to become richer. How the f@@k did you expect that your plan would be carried out? Anyway, good f@@king luck, I'm off too." before walking away and leaving Stefan alone.

Stefan, on the other hand, only smiled on seeing this, as if it had been his agenda all along. He knew that they were all individuals with their own singular quirks and habits, and his goal was to make sure that there would be no banding up happening.

Getting up, he walked to the handrail himself, waiting for the tournament to start.

Meanwhile, Daneel was smiling to himself while listening to this whole conversation.

Indeed, he was shamelessly spying on his own subordinates, but he saw nothing wrong with that.

This was definitely something that would not have been possible before the upgrade, as the system's range had been limited to 100 meters in all directions around him. However, now, the system could scan, eavesdrop and analyze all information in a gigantic globe of one-kilometer diameter around him.

Frankly, he was awed that he was able to do something like this, and he would be foolish not to use it.

Well, to save Angaria, he was ready to do anything-even if it meant spying and listening in on private conversations so that he could find out more about those who would have the most authority when he was absent.

Indeed, this was his motive. When he was off training or doing something else, he didn't want to have variables whom he didn't understand. If he knew enough about their natures and motivations, he might be able to predict their actions and plan and command accordingly.

Daneel realized that he was turning more and more into someone who might be called a 'villain' back on Earth, but he really didn't care.

This was Angaria, where there was no place for that idealistic, overly-righteous naïve brat who wanted to save everyone without doing anything 'wrong'.

"Everything is ready, sect leader."

Receiving this message from a reptilian nearby who was responsible for setting up the scenarios, Daneel smiled and teleported to the middle of the stadium.

He was now standing on the top of the building that had been set up for the tournament, and as the spectators slowly started to realize this, he magnified his voice and shouted, "HELLO!"

This made the chatter completely die down, as everyone closed their mouths and focused on the sect leader.

"Like I already said before, I hate speeches! But as sect leader, I should at least say something now. Well, I don't know about all of you, but I am definitely looking forward to this contest. Assassination is this sect's lifeblood. So, I wanted to choose a skilled assassin to represent me. Let's all have fun and cheer these young and talented assassins on! Let the tournament begin!"

Finally!

As the crowd cheered on hearing his words, Daneel felt happy that he was finally seeing something normal.

If he was being honest with himself, he would have admitted that he had grown to like cheering, and hearing none for quite some time had slightly disturbed him.

As he teleported away, the crowd focused on the reptilian who had given Daneel the go-ahead before.

Appearing at the place from where the sect leader had disappeared from, he said, "I'm Grrev, and I'll be your announcer. The judges are the instructors who train young assassins. All contestants will be given a score based on how well they have carried out the assassination after taking into account factors such as bad judgment calls and overall time taken. In this first scenario, the target is a regular human who is on the top floor, surrounded by guards who all outstrip the contestant in power. Their goal is to avoid having the alarm go out. All other data must be assessed by the contestant using their own methods. First contestant: Neggvt."

As the tournament began in this fashion, Daneel made his way over to the private area that had been set aside for him and the top assassins.

Here, he saw that a man was already sitting and watching the proceedings.

On noticing that it was actually the sect leader who was currently supposed to still be in a coma in the medical bay, Daneel was quite surprised.

After Daneel appeared at a spot behind him, the sect leader turned around before smiling slightly and standing up.

Daneel wasn't scared of the man, but he still ordered the system to stay on high alert.

However, when he saw what the sect leader did next, he tried hard not to have his jaw fall in shock.

Standing with his arms to the side, the sect leader bowed so low that his head almost touched the ground.

Moreover, he stayed in that position, saying, "Thank you for helping my sect to overcome the calamity, oh Basilisk Rider. I am truly indebted to you. I place myself at your service."

Daneel could never have expected the sect leader who had appeared so arrogant during their first meeting to act in this way.

He could hear sincerity in his tone, so much so that he knew without a shadow of doubt that this man was speaking from his heart.

Walking forward, Daneel raised the reptilian by his shoulders and said, "It was my duty. I must say that I took quite a liking to your sect, especially after your son beat me up so much that I almost went crazy. Moments like those really form a bond, you know."

At this, the previous sect leader stared at him for a second before chuckling.

The atmosphere easing up, Daneel let the reptilian's shoulders go and said, "I hope you have no hard feelings that I'm choosing someone other than you to command in my stead."

"That's all right, sect leader. I have only ever wished for the good of the sect."

"Good, good. So, you must have heard about that small betting ring. Wanna join in?"

Daneel couldn't help it. The sect leader was surely someone who must have built up a tidy fortune, and money was something that Lanthanor really needed right now.

To his delight, the sect leader took out three things from his pocket.

A snake scale, a trident-shaped trinket and a communication trinket.

"Yes, sect, leader, I would love to. But please don't be mistaken, I haven't taken out these items for that purpose. These are the sect-protecting trinkets that a sitting sect leader must pass on to his successor. I couldn't do that before, but I will now. The scale is a Champion-level one-time use attack trinket, and the trident is a Peak Warrior Level attack trinket-the strongest we have, not counting the items you retrieved."

"And the communication trinket?"

"The communication trinket…is to contact the Champion-level figure whom we helped long ago. Follow me. He said that he wants to meet you."