Chapter 416 Question Master (1)
Chapter 416 Question Master (1)
In a flash, three days had passed. Apart from occasional attacks from the Metal Sharks, nothing of significance happened. Except for one thing. Ashton had officially chosen ten members from the guards to join his faction.
Surprisingly, those who didn't get selected weren't salty about it. It could be blamed on Ashton's rigorous selection methods. To be fair to the candidates, Ashton reduced the time limit of his 1-on-1 duel to thirty seconds.
But none of them could even last ten seconds despite being given a head start. However, someone did come close to outlasting the time limit.
His name was Jeno. When Ashton first saw him, nothing stood out about him. However, Ashton soon realised even [Detection] skill wasn't absolute.
[Detection] could inform him about the stats and tendencies of the opponent, but it did not tell Ashton how the person would use those stats to their advantage.
At first, Ashton was leaning towards not accepting Jeno. Fortunately, he changed his decision after exchanging blows with him. Why? Simply because Jeno used his brain instead of non-existent muscles.
Jeno knew he would never be able to lay a finger on Ashton, let alone defeat him. He was unlike the rest, who went all-out thinking they could 'defeat' or even deal a blow to Ashton.
As a result, instead of senselessly fighting, Jeno prioritised his survival over victory. Right before his turn, he had swept up some sand and filled his pockets with it.
Once the round began and Ashton got close enough, Jeno unleashed his deadliest attack and threw a handful of sand into Ashton's eyes. But rather than capitalising on Ashton's temporary disability, Jeno decided to use the crucial moments to create distance between him and Ashton.
He planned to repeat the process till the timer hit zero. Unfortunately for him, Ashton had long since given up depending on his sight. The rest of his senses were just as honed as his vision.
Even before Jeno got another chance to spray sand into Ashton's face, the match was over. He thought it was over. It came much to his surprise when Ashton not only accepted him into his faction but also gave him the position of second-in-command.
Ashton's faction was much smaller than the others, with only ten members, excluding him. But he wasn't going for numbers in the first place.
In fact, the entire recruitment process was a front for him to look for people who could be a hindrance to Phantom or had some ability to protect Eula from the assassin. Once they were prepared, Ashton handed them a few weapons made by Vulcan.
Vulcan naturally wasn't going to budge on the topic, forcing Ashton to get his hands dirty. The old man could refuse him, but how could he refuse Aegis's cute face?
The overall situation in the mansion was better than ever before. The guards had become quite dependable in accomplishing assigned tasks.
The only thing bothering Ashton was the Phantom. It had been days since Ashton killed the doppelganger sent by that bastard, and he was yet to make another move. Ashton could feel he wasn't the only one thinking something was amiss.
The mercenaries who used to sit and thoughtlessly chat amongst themselves were now getting wary of each other. Ashton had long since predicted this scenario.
Phantom wasn't someone who would fight pretty. Instead, he was a master of phycological warfare. Instead of showing himself, the bastard would cause mistrust to flare amongst sworn allies and strike when the relations are at the worst.
This was the reason why Ashton did not want unnecessary people in his vicinity. Having needless additional manpower in this situation was the worst option a strategist could come up with. Amongst hundreds of people, Ashton only trusted a dozen.
[At least the frequency of the attacks has increased recently. That Phantom guy might be planning on attacking sooner than you think.]
"I hope so." Ashton remarked solemnly, "These people won't last for long otherwise. Give them a day or two, and they'll be after each other's throats."
Ashton's hunch couldn't have been more accurate because, soon enough, a fight broke out in the barracks. Usually, he wouldn't have paid any attention to it, but right now, even the littlest spark of distrust could cause an explosion within the mansion.
As a result, Ashton rushed to the site, only to find Vimur and Laihud were trying their best to control the situation. Surprisingly, the ones fighting weren't the mercenaries or the guards as Ashton had expected but the servants living inside the mansion.
'Oh right, I forgot the servants used the barracks along With the guards. But now, the building was used strictly to house the guards.' Ashton sighed, 'Still, it's better to contain these idiots before things go out of hand.'
"You soldiers have no right to stop us from using 'our' rooms as we please!"
One maid yelled at the top of her lungs while the rest cheered her on.
"We are not stopping you from going anywhere," Laihud tried to calm down the raging crowd, "but this room is being used as an armoury for the soldiers and the mercenaries. No one is allowed to enter without explicit permission. Please try to understand-"
'A maid wants to enter the armoury when no one has had a problem with it before. It's a bit strange.'
[I concur. Something seems a bit... off.]
Ashton used [Detection] on the maid in front and... Didn't notice anything suspicious. However, the abnormal behaviour of the maid caught him off guard. She was sweating, even though the wind was pleasantly cool.
"Calm down, please!" Laihud yelled, "If you do not cooperate with us, we might be forced to use physical means to stop you."
"Now you want to attack us?" The maid yelled back before turning to her colleagues, "I told you these people are up to no good. A few servants have been missing since morning, and instead of helping us look for them, they threaten us. Are you still going to stand like we're in the wrong?"
Even if the majority initially intended to stay obedient, upon thinking about the soldiers laying a hand on them, everything quickly turned chaotic. The servants began resisting and attacking the soldiers. The entire place was a mess.
Upon hearing two people were missing, Ashton immediately went into action.
"Raven, have you seen anyone enter from the beachside?"
"No, master. I have not."
"Damn it! Take the skeletons and search the beach for anything suspicious!" Ashton yelled as he rushed towards the mansion, "Celeste, where is Eula?"
"Taking a shower at the moment."
"Alright. Do not let anyone get close to her until I'm there, understood?"
"Affirmative."
"This bastard caused a diversion." Ashton yelled through his gritted teeth, "I was laying a trap for him, but the bastard had no intentions of targeting anyone but Eula."
[You thought you outsmarted him, but he outsmarted your outsmartness. Tsk, too bad that fucker will have to die. I kind of like him already.]
"Now is not the time for your remarks, Astaroth," Ashton mumbled, "Aegis, transform into the biggest and most vicious creature you can and follow me!"
"Kyuu~ Roar!"
"You're not escaping this time."