Re: Evolution Online Chapter 318: Stalking and baiting the assassin

Chapter 318: Stalking and baiting the assassin

"The dark elf can permanently kill? In a single hit?" Liam clenched his fist, both in nervousness and excitement.
Wasn't this a bit too unfair? Over-powered? Ridiculous?
He did not think that such a method existed. He wouldn't have even believed that such a method existed, but now he was seeing this with his very own eyes.
"I need to be very careful." Liam doubled back on his efforts to remain unseen and in stealth.
This enemy in front of him was probably the most powerful he had seen so far. The ability to permanently kill was nothing short of terrifying.
He had half a mind to just return back without engaging with this person. However… something like this was also an opportunity that he couldn't miss.
"Hmmm…" Liam was conflicted.
He was not a betting person and even if he was, he would never go all-in on any single play, at least not until he was sure of the results and 100% confident.
And against this elf… he would definitely be risking things…
He had the level advantage, he was stronger than him, and not to mention he had a mysterious ability that could end his life once and for all.
Neither Alex nor Mia was worth taking this risk.
He should be running in the other direction right about now, not wanting to face this game-breaking elite and die a horrible death.
It was their misfortune that they had managed to cross paths with a monster like this. Maybe it was even fate's way of correcting things.
It did not matter. Liam knew that he absolutely should not engage with this monster, not for the women, not for obtaining the technique.
It was not worth it.
However, he still stood rooted to the spot, watching the scene, waiting and observing everything.
This was because…
The dark elf was an assassin!
If he was a hunter or a mage or a warlock, Liam would have left by now but the overpowered opponent in front of him was an assassin.
And thanks to his recent utter and humiliating defeat against another person using invisibility potions, he already had a counter prepared for this particular situation.
This was something he had done to take care of Kouske or the other three in case they tried something similar again, but it would help him perfectly right now.
And this was the only reason why he was still hanging around, waiting and watching for a chance to appear.
Liam continued to observe the group as they all slowly and silently recovered from their shock.
A couple of them cried but most seemed to be simply frozen, not having the energy or the brain capacity to react further. Only a sad silence hung on their lips.
Finally, after a couple of minutes, it was Alex who spoke up. "We need to keep moving. There is no point in just standing here."
She let out a small sigh and then started walking again, her feet dragging and limping on the ground.
The others looked at her as if she was crazy. What was even the point in doing so? Wasn't that guy just going to kill them all?
At first, no one followed her but a couple of minutes later, one by one slowly peeled away from the ground and also started walking.
Mostly because they did not know what else to do. They were utterly despondent at the moment.
Liam saw this and couldn't help but smile. With just a few words, Alex had made the others move and follow her.
Even with all her other flaws, this woman had a relentless spirit. She still hadn't given up!
He had to admit that such a quality was impressive. Now he was more than sure that the assassin was probably going to target Alex last.
But the question was who was he going to target next?
Liam already had a plan in mind and he only needed one more chance to act but before that…
Seeing the group move out of his sight, he could tell that the dark elf also probably followed them.
The man wanted to enjoy their misery so he wouldn't have let them out of his sight. That meant that he was free to examine the corpse in front of him.
Was he really a player who was permanently killed and unable to be resurrected? Or perhaps he was overthinking things?
Considering that the assassin had plenty of time to deal with these guys and torture them, chances were that they could have also been fed with a rare herb or a pill or some other curse or spell.
The guy could have even killed these people several times and then allowed them to escape, only dealing the final blow now. There were truly several possibilities.
It also did not necessarily have to be a skill that he is activating with the dagger. Or maybe it was poison smeared on the dagger?
Liam squatted down on the ground, touching the blood that had seeped out of the person's neck.
He was careful not to touch the corpse itself as that would break his [Stealth] and just touched the blood that had leaked out.
He scooped the clotted mass in his hand and rubbed it with his fingers. "It's very coarse. It definitely feels like a pill residue or some sort of powder."
"I have never heard of a pill with this effect before? Just how is he killing these people? Should I do this or not?"
"The chances of a one-hit kill is very less. I think I should be fine."
He stood up, made sure that his [Stealth] was still holding, and continued following the group. He already made his decision.
If he got his chance then he was going to take it.
As he continued following the group, he started slowly moving closer and closer to them. To be more specific, he moved closer to a particular person.
A slightly mature-looking man who was probably in his thirties or forties.
After observing every member of the group, Liam hypothesized that this man had to be the dark elf's next target.
He was the next weakest and he looked the most anxious and nervous.
The sadistic dark elf would probably kill this person to get the maximum enjoyment and thrill out of it.
At least this was his theory.
And if he was correct, then his best chance would also be when this event happened.
Sweat trickled down Liam's forehead and his pulse raced like a batmobile. He was taking an insane amount of risk. He needed this to pay off.
Seconds dragged on like hours as everyone continued in silence, including those in stealth and those not in stealth and soon the moment arrived.
Just like Liam predicted, the black figure of the dark elf appeared once again and he appeared right behind the same guy Liam had guessed!
SLASH
THUD
A dagger flashed under the moonlight and the person clutched his neck as blood spurted everywhere.
His anxious eyes turned lifeless the next second and he dropped dead on the ground, still staring with dread and unwillingness.
The dark elf sneered enjoying this response. This time he had particularly slowed down a bit more to savor the taste.
And at the exact same moment…
BOOM!
Something exploded in the air, covering everyone present in that area with a black and sticky liquid.
Alex, her group, and also the dark elf assassin!
Every single member of the team was covered in the thick wet sticky liquid.
And before the dark elf could figure out just what the hell this was and what was happening, something else flashed in the moonlight and a dozen attacks bombarded him.
"How do you like my tar bomb?" Liam grinned as he used every bit of mana he had to deal the maximum burst damage that he could.