Building A Business Empire From Scratch In Another World-Chapter 211: Blood In The Night
As the sun dipped below the horizon, it seemed to bleed vibrant hues of crimson and violet across the skies of Astheria.
The evening air was thick with enticing aromas,freshly roasted bread mingled with smoke from bustling street vendors, while a faint metallic tang hinted at mana engines humming quietly throughout the city.
Yet, beneath this ordinary calm, danger lurked unseen,like a snake slithering through tall grass.
It had been five long days since the last ambush.
Five days filled with tense silence. Five days where Felix remained vigilant, watching and preparing for what was to come.
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The commercial zone in Wulleamp District buzzed with life as always.
Crystal lamps illuminated the streets, casting a warm glow against the sleek glass walls of the latest Morningstar Store.
Inside, laughter echoed,families delighted by magical appliances, children eagerly reaching out to touch the glowing panels of the Tideweave Spinner.
"Please don't press that!" an employee exclaimed half in panic and half in amusement as he gently guided a small boy away from an enticing display.
The atmosphere felt warm and inviting,a sanctuary of safety and hope.
Clara stood near the counter, meticulously scanning ledgers and checking inventory reports on her clipboard.
Her neat handwriting filled every margin; every unit accounted for, every sale logged.
Today had been good.
A faint smile crept onto her face as she thought, 'Maybe… just maybe things are finally calming down.'
Outside, street musicians played soft melodies while merchants called out to late-night shoppers.
The city radiated comfort and prosperity,the kind of peace Felix had promised to build.
But peace is often fleeting…
High above the rooftops, dark figures flickered against the twilight sky,silent shadows slipping across rooftops like ink swirling in water.
Cloaked in enchantments that muffled their presence, they moved unnoticed.
Their leader,a tall assassin wearing a horned mask,raised two fingers.
His voice was barely audible even to his men: "Target confirmed. Store 17. Eliminate witnesses."
And then he leapt into action.
The first explosion shattered the tranquility of night.
A massive fireball erupted through the side of the building, sending shards of glass and plumes of smoke cascading into the street like confetti at a grim celebration.
Screams pierced through chaos as civilians scattered in every direction.
Flames danced along shattered storefronts; mana circuits sparked violently before bursting into blue fireballs.
"Protect the civilians!" Clara shouted above the din, her voice cutting through panic like a knife.
Heart racing but resolute, she rushed forward to pull a young girl from under debris just moments before another explosion rocked nearby.
Across the street, three black-cloaked assassins advanced with an eerie grace, their blades shimmering with a sinister glow of mana.
In a heartbeat, they struck down two fleeing men,silent, efficient, merciless. But just as they prepared to press on, shadows erupted from the ground like dark flames.
From every corner of the street, figures clad in black armor emerged,silent specters with masked faces and eyes glowing faintly with violet mana.
The Abyss Hall had been waiting for this moment.
Their leader stepped forward, his voice calm amid the chaos. "Form shadow rings. Protect the perimeter."
With that command, mana flared around them. The ground cracked underfoot as the battle erupted into full force.
---
Sparks lit up the air as blades clashed violently. Abyss Hall assassins moved with perfect synchronization; their daggers flashed like lightning in the firelight.
Each step was calculated; each movement lethal.
One operative vanished into smoke and reappeared behind a Black Thorn assassin, slitting his throat before his body even hit the ground. Another conjured shadow spears that impaled two enemies mid-leap.
But don't underestimate the Black Thorn agents,they were no amateurs! They countered with poison mist bombs and mana grenades that filled the air with a thick purple haze.
An Abyss Hall agent coughed and stumbled, only to be impaled through the chest in an instant. Blood sprayed across cobblestones like crimson paint on a grim canvas.
"Hold the line!" snarled their leader as chaos consumed the streets around them. Shops burned fiercely; civilians screamed in terror, the night transformed into a horrifying tapestry of fire and blood.
Meanwhile, Clara crouched behind an overturned display, clutching a wounded child to her chest.
Her heart raced so violently she could barely hear anything over the cacophony of destruction.
Smoke stung her eyes as she caught sight of a fallen body nearby, an Abyss Hall agent, his mask shattered and blood pooling beneath him like dark ink on parchment.
Tears threatened to spill down Clara's cheeks as she bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.
She'd always dealt with numbers on ledgers: losses, profits, shipments but this? This was real! The acrid smell of charred flesh mixed with ringing steel and dying screams formed a nightmare she couldn't escape from.
"Family Head … where are you?" she whispered shakily to herself.
Then came a loud crack that split through all other sounds,a signal that changed everything.
Abyss Hall's reinforcements descended from above, five more agents clad in black landed gracefully amidst shattered tiles below them.
The leader barked orders firmly despite raging flames around him:
"Section Three, push north! Section Four, cover the civilians! Don't let a single one escape!"
In the heart of chaos, the assassins moved like shadows,silent and deadly. One of them unleashed a flurry of shadow knives that erupted into bursts of dark energy, while another conjured a protective barrier that consumed incoming mana bolts like a hungry beast.
Slowly but surely, the advance of the Black Thorn began to waver. Yet, victory came with a heavy toll. The ground was strewn with bodies,some allies, some foes,remnants of a brutal clash.
By the time the last operative from Black Thorn fell, what was once a vibrant district lay in ruins.
The crowd had scattered like leaves in a storm. Flames crackled ominously as city guards arrived too late to make a difference. All that lingered was the acrid scent of ash and despair.
Felix's carriage screeched to an abrupt stop near the devastation. As he stepped out silently, flickering flames danced across his white coat, casting it in shades of orange and gold,a stark contrast to the horror around him.
His gaze swept over the scene: burned storefronts reduced to charred skeletons, lifeless bodies being carried away by grim-faced responders, and a broken sign that once proudly proclaimed "Morningstar Store 17."
Amidst this desolation stood Zephyr, his black cloak tattered and his face smeared with blood. "We contained them," he rasped. "But… we lost people." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
Felix advanced slowly, each step crunching over shards of glass that littered the ground. He remained silent at first; instead, he absorbed everything,the dead stares fixed on an indifferent night sky and the thick smoke curling upward.
Clara approached hesitantly from the side, her hands trembling as she fought to regain her composure. "They killed innocent people… children were here too," she whispered, her voice breaking under the weight of grief.
Turning towards her with calm resolve yet eyes burning with icy determination, Felix replied softly but firmly: "I know."
Zephyr bowed his head in sorrow. "We've identified them,they are Black Thorn elites. Their coordination... this wasn't random."
"Of course it wasn't," interrupted Jarvis as he emerged from the shadows, wiping bloodied gloves on a cloth with practiced ease.
His glasses gleamed in the firelight as he surveyed the carnage before him. "This was meant to send us a message."
Felix's gaze remained locked on what remained of Morningstar Store 17; flames reflected in his pupils like molten gold,a haunting reminder of loss.
For just a moment, silence enveloped them all.
Then Felix broke it quietly yet resolutely: "We've played defense long enough."
He turned, his voice low but sharp as steel. "It's time to hunt."
Zephyr's eyes sparkled with a grim satisfaction, a flicker of anticipation igniting within him. Meanwhile, Jarvis's lips curled into a cold, knowing smile.
The wind shifted, whispering through the night as if it carried the weight of unspoken promises. The fire crackled nearby, sending sparks dancing into the dark sky.
