Chapter 22 - Suspicion
Alanda checked the assassin's pulse and confirmed that he had really died. But it did not make him happy. Even if he were to go and ask Ramin Tranko about it, that guy would only say that his member acted on his own accord. There would be no point in forcing this issue anymore.
Not long after, a few more warriors of the Tribe arrived at the site.??
"Take this guy away. Be careful because he died from poison, I don't want to see you falling dead as well."
The warriors quickly followed Alanda's orders and brought the assassin's corpse away. Alanda also told Diakar to go treat his fist's injuries. Hamarlia then invited Alanda into her house and deeply thanked him.
"There is no need to be too courteous. It is the Tribe Warriors and Elders' duties to protect the young generation. We were expecting this to happen, so your kids had not been in real danger to start with."
Hamarlia then asked.
"Was that an assassin from that Nari Tribbe that everyone is talking about?"
Alanda shook his head.
"No, Juri has already formed an alliance with the Nari Tribe, so there is no way they would try to attempt an assassination. If anything, they would try to kidnap your children instead. Killing them would bring no benefit to the Nari Tribe."
Alanda continued.
"The ones who tried it was the Tranko Tribe. They share the same territory as us and have been coveting our Liman Mountain for a long time already. Although it can't be considered much, the fact that we have an ore mine and the others don't is definitely a reason for envy. But if they want to take it from us someday, they would need to surpass us in strength. To do that, our Tribe can't become stronger than it is, so that's why they tried this assassination plan. They took advantage that we let them inside of our Tribe and sent someone to do the deed."
"Unfortunately, the assassin killed himself, so we can't prove that it was them who ordered it."
Hamarlia couldn't help but ask with a concerned face.
"Does that mean they will keep trying?"
Alanda laughed after hearing that.
"They definitely won't. At least, not in such a shady way as this one. They sent a Peak Energy Gathering expert. How many warriors at this level do you think they have? I would be impressed if they had two or three more. They are the hope of their Tribe since they still have a chance at the Foundation Establishment Realm. This last guy's death is already a very big blow to them."
Rean and Roan heard that and sighed in relief as well. One time is okay, but nothing can guarantee that they will stay alive if more kept coming.
Rean and Roan pretended they didn't notice, but Alanda was looking at them with some doubts. He had been waiting for an assassin ever since the guests came into the Tribe. When he finally noticed the enemy's presence, Rean and Roan suddenly appeared at the house's entrance. He couldn't help but feel surprised by that. The timing was just way too good.
But that's okay; he could still accept that it was just a coincidence. But such a belief started to disappear after seeing what those two did. At first, they were just playing with Opril and Diakar. However, when that assassin dodged to the side, both of them jumped right in front of his leg. Alanda was alarmed that the assassin would take that chance to attack the babies. Even he didn't expect the twins to jump at that moment.
But then the unbelievable happened. The assassin didn't notice them at all and stumbled on the babies' bodies. Not only that, but he miraculously went in the direction of Opril's attack. Only then Alanda noticed that the babies jumped there only when the assassin couldn't see them anymore. Simply put, they used the assassin's blindside.
'Are they really just babies? Already in the Blood Replacement Stage, a never seen before aptitude colors, and that action just now. It is too hard to believe that they only have a child's intelligence. It far surpasses the realm of talent.'
However, there is no doubt that Rean and Roan are newborn babies. That is not something that one can simply disguise with.
'I need to talk with Juri later. At least, I don't feel like they have any ill intentions against our Tribe.'
Hamarlia noticed that Alanda seemed absent-minded.
"Is everything okay, elder? Did you get injured anywhere?"
Alanda quickly came back to himself.
"Oh! It's nothing, don't worry. Anyway, it should be safe from now on, so I'll be taking my leave. I will pass by sometimes to check on you and your babies."
Hamarlia bowed and thanked the elder.
Roan then commented while looking at Rean.
"We will need to be more careful. We didn't notice Alanda's presence at all, so chances are that he saw our actions today. Probably, those extra visits that he plans to take are just to check on us."
Rean shook his head.
"It is okay. I believe that Alanda already understands that we are not as simple as we look like. The fact that he didn't point it out at least means that he doesn't intend to do anything against us for the time being. So if we suddenly become like completely normal babies, it would be even more suspicious instead. You know as well as I do that we wouldn't be able to hide it forever. It is good as long as mother and father don't get too worried."
Roan wanted to deny it, but he had to admit that their actions today were too catchy. If Alanda wasn't there, they would have hidden it without a problem, but because he was, their pretense was quite useless. It was also true that their progress would get the others' attention sooner or later as well.
"Anyway, it seems like he intends to pretend to not have seen anything. Since he wants to play dumb, we might as well keep playing dumb too."
Rean nodded.
"Besides, if he comes to visit us without telling in advance and catch us training with his Spiritual Sense thing, we wouldn't notice at all."
Rean and Roan reached an agreement. Perhaps, it is not a bad thing that they were found out.