The Martial Unity

2447  Final Trump Card

For a moment, none of them could even move.

The entire conference hall was frozen stiff.

The projection of one of the allies of the East Panamic Treaty Alliance falling over dead with his neck gushing blood completely shook all of them where they sat. The Emperor of the Kalionen Empire spontaneously had his throat slit as the projection of his body leaned over, bleeding profusely.

They all simply stared at the projection of the corpse in unadulterated horror.

And yet, it was just the beginning.

SPLAT!

"AARARGHHHR!!!"

They trembled in their seats as another ally of the East Panamic Treaty Alliance was assassinated where he sat. The three-dimensional projection of his severed head rolled across the table.

The others recoiled away from it in horror despite the fact that it was merely a projection!

And yet, it didn't stop.

SPLAT!

"AGRGAARHH!!!"

SPLAT!

"…!"

SPLAT!

"NO—ARCK!!!"

One by one, in rapid succession, all of the members of the East Panamic Treaty Alliance fell dead as their throats were slit, or their heads were decapitated, or their backs were stabbed, or their hearts were stabbed, or their hearts were stabbed through the back.

Regardless, they died.

One by one, in a horrifying sequence of assassinations, they died.

The killing blows were blindingly fast, far too fast to be caught on camera.

It gave the impression that the Grim Reaper itself was reaping their lives.

Prime Minister Edward was frozen.

He was utterly frozen.

He watched with horror and terror as the leaders of nations that were members of the East Panamic Treaty Alliance died one by one in the middle of the meeting. The leaders physically were in their respective nations and participating in the meeting virtually. It meant that there was literally nothing that Prime Minister Edward could do to stop the various assassinations that swept across the meeting.

Some of the leaders understood what was happening and tried to shut down the projector on their end.

And yet—

SPLAT!

THUD

Their heads fell apart from their bodies.

Whoever was killing them wanted the rest of the conference hall to see what was happening first hand. Whoever was responsible for these attacks wanted to inspire terror in those who were partaking in the conference.

SPLAT!!!

Deep in the Kalionen Empire, the nation led by the first victim, a dark hazy figure blasted through the aristocratic citadel.

BOOOM!!!

She leaped out of the building, soaring down head-first as she took off her hood, revealing a mischievous smile on her face.

The Silent Shadow had struck once again. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"GET HER!" A roar escaped the citadel as dozens of Masters chased after her. "DO NOT LET HER ESCAPE! CONTACT HIS SAGEHOOD TO RETURN IMMEDIATELY!"

"Hahaha!" Master Reina burst into laughter as she saw countless Masters chase after her across town. "♪Catch me if you can~♫"

She giggled with amusement and ecstasy as she pulled out a transmitter. "Mission successful! Time to run away before the Sage arrives!"

WHOOSH

Her Martial Embodiment blazed into life, turning her into a silent shadow, as she weaved through the nation, evading her pursuers with physical and hypnotic stealth combined.

"Tsk, put the nation under emergency lockdown!" one Master growled. "She cannot be allowed to escape! Not after what she has done!"

WHOOSH

She disappeared into the shadows with a confident smile on her face. "Huhuhu… I have prepared for four years for this day. You can't catch me."

A list of political figures.

A list of targets.

Targets that she needed to kill simultaneously when he gave the command.

Despite the fact that she herself was stuck in one and only one nation, all the leaders of all members of the East Panamic Treaty Alliance fell dead in the Alliance Summit held by Prime Minister Edward.

This was one of the special assassination techniques that the Silent Shadow had developed. She called it the "Bodyguard Flipper." It was a grade-ten assassination technique that she had created in collaboration with Master Zeamer.

It was a form of indirect assassinations where she hypnotized the bodyguards of important figures to execute a killing blow when the proper trigger for the hypnotic suggestion occurred. It was an extremely preparation-heavy form of assassination that she usually reserved for times when she was unable to get past the security of her target in any direct fashion. It took repeated exposure with the targeted bodyguard over an extended period of time and could only be administered as long as they weren't aware of it. In the past four years ever since Emperor Rael returned from his illness and plotted the rise of the Kandrian Empire, she had spent her time preparing for the day that he would inform her of the impending time to assassinate all the leaders of the enemy alliance in a singular, simultaneous fashion.

"There may come a day where the credibility and trust of the Kandrian Empire is compromised," he had informed her four years ago. "When that day comes, your service will allow me to deploy strategies that I would rather not use unless I have no choice."

Even as she relished her first assassination and getaway in a long time, the assassinations continued and concluded.

Prime Minister Edward stood frozen in horror as he stared at the projections of the corpses of his allied leaders. His firm grip over the atmosphere and the flow of the meeting had been shattered as it became entirely evident to everyone that he was just as shocked by what had happened as they were. He didn't understand.

BZZZT

BZZZT

BZZZT

Moments after they died, the projections shut off, leaving the rest of the conference members in frozen horror of what had just unfolded before their very own eyes.

President Raymond and the clan leaders of the Sekigahara Confederate were just as absolutely aghast at what had happened. They were utterly paralyzed by the sheer calamity of what had struck their alliance.

Yet, it wasn't the loss of the leaders that gripped their hearts with dread.

It was the image of power that had been shattered in the eyes of the potential allies that sat on the other side of the table.

Pure terror appeared on their expressions as they very clearly understood the message that the Kandrian Empire had sent to all of them. Join the East Panamic Treaty Alliance and you're next.

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