People in the Alliance, Time Management Master

After he finished speaking, the room fell into a deathly silence that lasted for several seconds.

A sense of unease flashed through Mallory's mind, replaced by annoyance and disdain.

“What brings you here, Mr. Swain?” He emphasized the word “Mr.” instead of addressing the other man by his official title. “Oh no, I should ask… why are you here?”

A defeated soldier who has been discharged from the military will not be welcomed in the entire Noxus.

Let alone Mallory being a general, even the most ordinary Marine wouldn't take Swain seriously.

A useless person without strength and courage is not worthy of the respect of Noxians.

Even though he was once one of the empire's most outstanding generals.

"It's a long story, General." Swain remained calm, showing no anger at the other's arrogance.

Mallory snorted, boldly and rudely sizing up the man, his gaze sweeping over every inch of his body. He wore no insignia, the only markings being the scars that bore witness to a soldier's bloody past.

"I don't have time to waste on idle chatter. If you have something to say, say it; otherwise, get lost!"

“Well, efficiency is good, but haste is not.” Swain sighed softly. “To make a long story short, I’m here to kill you, General Mallory.”

The room fell silent again.

Mallory flamboyantly picked at his ear, his face contorted with rage, the bulging muscles blending with his aged wrinkles and scars.

"I think I heard correctly? The empire's universally acknowledged useless man attempted to kill a glorious general?"

"Yes, you heard me right, and I didn't misspoke." Swain was serious, yet a faint smile was revealed in his expression.

"You're courting death..." Mallory frowned, reaching for the greatsword leaning against the table leg. "Just for those words, I could hang you a hundred times over!"

"Yes, you have the right to hang me a hundred times... but unfortunately, you will never see any of them."

In an instant—at least in Mallory’s view it was an instant—the cripple gripped his throat with inhuman strength and then raised it with one hand.

He had no room to resist or even react; his mind went blank, with only the mournful cries of carrion ravens echoing in his ears.

He had heard that sound before…on the beach, and on boats. At night.

He used to feel only hatred towards them, but now he has a new emotion—fear.

“The birth of power struggles requires sacrifices, I’m sorry.” Swain stretched out his other hand and raised Mallory’s greatsword. “But rest assured, the Empire will remember you forever.”

Mallory wanted to scream, to beg for mercy, to offer everything he had to save his life. But he couldn't make a sound.

He could only watch helplessly as the heavy sword that had accompanied him in achieving great feats of arms pierced through him bit by bit, until it penetrated his liver, lungs, and bones, and then emerged from the other end of his body.

His clothes were instantly stained red, and more and more blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, covering the entire table.

"Farewell, General."

Swain gently placed the body on the table, then closed his eyelids with his hand.

After doing all this, he slowly walked around the table, sat down in the gold-inlaid chair, and looked at the only window in the entire room.

"Come in and have a chat, you two."

A rustling sound came from outside the window.

Immediately afterwards, two figures jumped in through the window, their longswords gleaming with a dangerous cold light.

“Congratulations on getting this far,” Swain said in a low voice. “You’ve worked hard. Sit down, have a cup of tea, and take a break.”

The grey-robed captain raised an eyebrow, looking warily at Mallory's corpse, his mind filled with confusion.

Why... do the Noxians kill each other?

"Surprised?"

Swain finally revealed a smile, elegant yet deadly.

“I’ve solved a problem for you guys, now it’s your turn to help me…”

"Huh?!" The gray-robed captain quickly raised his longsword, ready to deal with the attack from the terrifying cripple in front of him.

But Swain didn't move.

The person who was moved was his most trusted teammate, Corey.

A longsword, marked with the mark of the first earth, pierced through his chest.

"Mission accomplished, sir."

The grey-robed swordsman Corey drew his bloodstained longsword and saluted Swain.

Chapter Eleven: The Outbreak of Syndra

Syndra is spacing out again.

This time, her subject of observation was a sea worm.

The girl stared at the insect, and the insect, perched on the moss-covered wooden board, stared back at her. Beside them stood a group of assassins, swords in hand, their expressions solemn. The whole scene exuded an eerie atmosphere.

"Although I don't want to spoil your fun... I think it's better to be serious now."

Mu Bai nudged the girl with a helpless expression, reminding her to pay attention to her surroundings so that she wouldn't be caught off guard.

“Hmm.” Syndra nodded slightly, her gaze never leaving the insect. “I was watching very carefully.”

"What I mean is... never mind, you see."

Mu Bai gave a wry smile and moved half a body's distance closer to the girl.

Time ticked by, but the revelry inside the ship's cabin continued. Every clinking of glasses and the soldiers' shouts of cheers tugged at the fragile nerves of the rebels.

The cawing of night crows mingled among the sounds, sharp and faint, barely perceptible yet undeniably present.

Mu Bai turned half his body to the side, blocking Syndra while peeking his head out from behind cover and quickly glancing at the room not far away.

There was still no movement.

Those two have been inside for several minutes; whether the assassination succeeded or not, they should have come out by now…

Just as Mu Bai was hesitating whether to sneak over and check the situation, a system notification suddenly sounded:

Mission [Resistance, Justice, and Victory] Completed

The cooldown of the skill [Kleptomancy] has been reset to zero; the probability of successfully stealing skills with the next [Kleptomancy] is increased to 100%.

Hmm? The mission is complete?

That proves Mallory has been killed... but why haven't the other two come out yet?

“They’re out!” Oken’s excited words dispelled Mu Bai’s doubts.

The candlelight in the room flickered, and a slightly thin figure emerged from it, his gray robe and longsword stained with crimson.

"Where's the captain?" a grey-robed swordsman asked anxiously. "Why are you the only one who returned? Did the assassination succeed?"

Corey looked at him, smiling but not answering.

Or rather, he answered the question in another way—by wielding his sword.

To everyone's astonishment, the grey-robed swordsman who had asked the question collapsed heavily to the ground, clutching his neck. The dull thud seemed to be a command; Corey immediately turned his sword and thrust it at the nearest rebel.

Oken rolled quickly, barely dodging the attack, but his arm was still slashed open.

Corey, however, was relentless, continuing to swing his sword, attempting to kill these "friends" who had been laughing and talking just half an hour earlier.

Fortunately, another sharp longsword stopped him.

"How come there are rare dogs everywhere... You people are disgusting."

With a slight exertion of his wrist, Mu Bai's Storm Slash, carrying a gust of wind, instantly severed Corey's longsword. The sharp sword wind, undiminished in power, then cut through Corey's right wrist tendon.

The other grey-robed swordsmen and rebels immediately stepped forward and subdued him.

But Corey didn't show much panic. He raised his head and, before anyone could react, shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Assassins! Ionian assassins! Come quick—"

His shout was cut short, but the sound had been enough to attract the sentry's attention. Almost instantly, a flurry of footsteps sounded in the distance.

"Damn it, retreat! Retreat!" Bolton, the grey-robed swordsman whose rank was second only to the captain, immediately took on the responsibility of command and hurriedly ordered everyone to jump into the sea and escape.

"Stop looking, it's time to go." Mu Bai patted Syndra, signaling her to hurry up and run away.

"Oh." The girl nodded and immediately grabbed the sea worms from the ground and stuffed them into Mu Bai's cloth bag.

Hmm? There's something soft and slippery in the bag... It feels like my socks...

"You're really taking it easy..."

Mu Bai's eyes twitched, and he grabbed the girl's hand, about to jump into the sea.

But at that moment, countless ravens suddenly swooped in from all directions, frantically pecking at the rebels who wanted to jump into the sea.

Under the suicidal attack of the ravens, everyone was forced back onto the deck.

"You killed General Mallory, and now you think you can just walk away?"

A middle-aged man in heavy armor and a coat emerged from Mallory's room, surrounded by several ravens whose mournful, shrill cries sent chills down one's spine.

The group of rebels stared at him angrily, and instantly understood everything.

We've been tricked!

"Weren't we leaving?" Syndra blinked in confusion. "Why aren't we leaving now?"

"..." Mu Bai looked at her helplessly, not knowing how to explain for a moment.

This girl didn't take tonight's events to heart at all...

"Things are a bit complicated, I can't tell you now." He gently patted the girl's head. "I'll explain it to you when we get back."

"Oh." Syndra nodded obediently, her eyes gradually becoming unfocused—she was starting to drift off again.

As the two men spoke, countless Noxian soldiers surrounded them, each fully armed and glaring menacingly. Mallory's second-in-command stepped forward and exchanged a few words with Swain, a satisfied smile immediately spreading across his face.

"These thugs have killed our glorious General Mallory!" the lieutenant shouted. "Arrest them! Execute any who resist!"

"Yes!"

Nearly a hundred Noxian soldiers launched an attack at the same time, and the dozen or so rebels were immediately caught in a fierce battle. Even the traitor managed to escape in the chaos.

"Run!" Oken drew his dagger and shouted to Mu Bai while fighting back, "It's my fault... Run! I'll hold them off!"