Chương 324: Chapter : 324

Anny screamed in pure terror. She forgot all about the secret files. She completely forgot about her tearful performance. She just wanted to survive. She scrambled backward on the ruined rug. She tried to crawl toward the elevator doors.

"Help me!" Anny shrieked. She reached her hand out desperately toward Naomi.

"Save me!" A third assassin dropped silently from the ceiling ropes right above Anny. He landed perfectly on his feet directly behind her. He held a short, wicked-looking silver blade in his right hand.

"Zinia! Stop him!" Princess Iris yelled. Zinia stomped her heavy boot on the floor. She tried to pull up a thick wall of solid rock to protect the blonde woman. But the penthouse floor was made of reinforced steel and thick carpet. There was no earth for her magic to grab. Her defensive spell failed completely. The assassin did not hesitate for a single microsecond. He brutally and efficiently eliminated Anny before she could ever testify in an official Imperial court.

He swung the silver blade in a smooth, flawless arc. The sharp blade sliced perfectly across Anny's neck. Anny's panicked scream was cut short instantly. Her beautiful blue eyes widened in absolute shock. Her hands flew up to her throat. She stumbled forward clumsily. She fell heavily onto the plush white rug. Bright red blood quickly soaked into the pristine white fibers. She hit the floor with a soft thud. She did not move again. The mastermind behind Dr. Carrion's murder was completely, permanently silenced.

The assassin stood over her body. He casually flicked the blood off his silver blade. He turned his featureless metal mask toward the 13th Unit. The penthouse living room was totally ruined. The cold wind blew harshly through the shattered windows. The elite girls stood frozen in shock. They stared at the fallen woman. The brutal execution happened too fast for them to stop it. Ken Eliot stayed flat on the floor behind the velvet chair. He kept his head down. He listened to the chaos. He did not look surprised.

He knew this would happen. The corrupt politicians always cleaned up their messes. Anny was just a disposable pawn in their massive, treasonous game. She had outlived her usefulness.

"Well, that escalated quickly," Ken mumbled to himself softly. He brushed a piece of broken glass off his navy blue suit pants.

"I guess we are not getting those secret files today. This is going to be a very long afternoon." The squad of masked assassins raised their glowing rifles. They aimed directly at the 13th Unit. They loaded fresh magazines into their weapons. The real fight was just about to begin. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The assassin stood directly over Anny's lifeless body. He casually flicked the bright red blood off his sharp silver blade, the drops staining the plush white rug. The other masked assassins raised their glowing magical rifles in perfect, terrifying unison. They aimed their weapons straight at the members of the 13th Unit. Dark red energy gathered at the tips of their gun barrels, humming with lethal intent. The beautiful, luxurious penthouse living room turned into an absolute war zone in a single second.

The real fight began right then. Sayma moved first. She pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose with her left hand, thrusting her right hand forward.

"Absolute Hexagon!" she shouted loudly. A bright, glowing golden honeycomb barrier snapped into place with a resounding crash of light. It covered the front of the entire group just as the assassins fired their rifles. Dozens of dark red energy bullets slammed into the golden shield. The noise was totally deafening. Bright sparks flew in every possible direction, illuminating the thick gray smoke pouring in from the shattered windows. Sayma gritted her teeth.

She planted her boots firmly on the carpet, holding the magical barrier strong. She refused to take a single step backward.

"We cannot stay on the defensive!" Naomi yelled over the deafening crossfire. Naomi did not wait for another round of bullets. Bright green wind magic swirled rapidly around her combat boots. She dashed forward, moving with blinding, incredible speed. She became a fierce red-haired blur, slipping right past the outer edge of Sayma's golden shield. An assassin aimed his rifle directly at her face. Naomi ducked entirely under the long barrel.

She spun her body in a flawless, graceful circle and swung her twin silver daggers. The sharp blades sliced right through the thick metal of the rifle, causing the expensive weapon to fall apart into two totally useless pieces. The assassin stared at his broken gun in pure shock. Naomi did not stop moving. She kicked the man solidly in the chest. He flew backward through the air, crashing violently into the remains of a pristine white leather couch.

"My turn!" Laxmi cheered wildly. The fire user absolutely loved a good brawl. She slammed her fists together, and bright orange flames erupted all around her hands, roaring like a wild beast. She threw a massive fireball across the living room, hitting another assassin right in the center of his tactical vest. The man flew across the large room and slammed into a beautiful glass coffee table, shattering it into a million tiny pieces. Zinia stomped her boot onto the floorboards.

"Stone Spikes!" Thick pillars of solid rock ripped right out of the floor, smashing completely through the expensive wooden tiles and hitting two assassins directly in the stomach, knocking them completely out of the fight. Luna let out a massive, dramatic yawn. The sleepy lightning user rubbed her tired eyes, pointed her right index finger at an assassin trying to escape on a rope, and mumbled, "Zap."

A jagged, blinding bolt of bright yellow lightning cracked through the air, shocking the man into instant, paralyzed unconsciousness. Princess Iris stepped forward, her silver rapier gleaming with brilliant, radiant holy magic. She moved with undeniable elegance, cleanly disarming the leader of the assassins with a flawless strike and a swift kick to his knee that sent him crumpling to the floor. The fierce battle raged, but it was overwhelmingly one-sided.

In exactly four minutes, the elite assassins were completely defeated, groaning on the floor amidst the wreckage of the penthouse.

"Secure the perimeter!" Sayma commanded, her chest heaving as she lowered her hands. She immediately reached into her pocket and pulled out a series of high-level magical warding tags. She threw them against the walls.

"I am locking this room down! Nobody gets in or out! I have just erected a Grandmaster-level isolation barrier around the entire penthouse. The space is magically sealed!" As the dust settled, Ken Eliot was currently putting on a masterclass in staying completely out of the way. The moment the glass had shattered, Ken had scrambled on his hands and knees, diving directly under a massive, overturned marble dining table.

He was currently curled into a tight, comfortable little ball in the shadows, trying to keep glass dust off his tailored navy blue suit.