A quiet, secluded courtyard inside Blood River City.
Three figures suddenly appeared out of thin air.
"Ha! That was incredible! Who would've thought a Shadow Devil Martial Saint would fall so easily to us!" Marcus Meng couldn't help but laugh heartily.
"We only succeeded because of Ian's planning and movement technique. Otherwise, there's no way we could've killed a Shadow Devil Martial Saint!" Fiona Li said with a smile, clearly excited.
"Exactly. This all came down to Ian—he deserves the most credit!" Marcus Meng nodded in agreement. "The kid's got guts and brains, not to mention he wields a miraculous technique. His future is guaranteed to surpass ours."
"No question about it!" Fiona Li agreed.
"Enough," Ian Song waved his hand. "The Shadow Devil Martial Saint was killed by you two working together—it had nothing to do with me. At most, I just played bait!"
"How can that be?"
Hearing Ian Song refuse to take credit, both Fiona Li and Marcus Meng were caught off guard.
Ian Song smiled. "I'm not in the army, so military merit doesn't mean much to me. But it's different for you two—merit can help you get promoted. So, you should split the credit for this one between yourselves!"
Hearing Ian Song say that, Fiona Li and Marcus Meng both felt a warmth in their hearts.
"But doesn't that mean you're getting the short end of the stick?"
"Not at all. Don't forget, I also killed a ten-thousand-man commander and two late-stage Grandmaster bodyguards."
Only then did the two realize they'd overlooked something: Ian had actually killed three late-stage Grandmasters in an instant—even though he was only an early-stage Grandmaster himself.
An early-stage Grandmaster instantly killing three late-stage Grandmasters—no one would believe it if they heard. It was just too outrageous.
With things said this far, Fiona Li and Marcus Meng didn't insist anymore. Still, their attitude toward Ian Song changed noticeably—they became much more relaxed, clearly treating him as a true friend.
Getting two Martial Saints as friends for the price of one achievement—Ian Song was quite satisfied.
"Should we go see the commander right now?" Fiona Li asked, looking to Ian Song and Marcus Meng for their opinion.
"A big achievement like this definitely needs to be reported to the commander right away!" Ian Song nodded.
"Alright, let's go now. I wonder if the commander will be annoyed getting woken up in the middle of the night!" Marcus Meng joked.
"No way. If he finds out we killed a Shadow Devil Martial Saint, he'll be over the moon—how could he not be happy?" Fiona Li said dismissively.
With that, the three of them headed together to the Commander’s Headquarters.
It was already past midnight, but commander Raymond Lei was still awake, working through documents.
Ian Song had the command token Raymond had given him. He showed it to the captain of the guards, Darren Dong, and they were immediately let through.
"What are you three doing here together in the middle of the night?"
Seeing the three of them, Raymond Lei looked a bit puzzled.
"Commander, we have some fantastic news to report!" Fiona Li couldn't help showing a bit of pride on his face.
"Enough with the suspense—just spit it out," Raymond Lei shot him a glare. Fiona Li had served as his personal guard for years, so Raymond knew full well he liked to keep people guessing. Still, aside from that little quirk, Fiona was excellent in every other way.
"Commander, take a look at this!"
Fiona Li took out the corpse of the Shadow Devil Martial Saint, Morris Shade, from his storage ring.
"This is a Shadow Devil's corpse—wait, no, this is the corpse of a Shadow Devil Martial Saint!" Raymond Lei sprang to his feet and strode over to the body. The corpse had two fatal wounds: one from a sword, one from a saber.
The sword wound pierced straight through his head, and the saber wound pierced his heart.
Judging by the true qi lingering around the wounds, this Shadow Devil Martial Saint hadn't been dead for more than half an hour. Raymond could also tell that the sword wound was Fiona Li's work, and the saber wound was Marcus Meng's. In other words, the Martial Saint was killed by the two of them working together.
"How did you manage that?"
Raymond Lei looked at the two, eyes full of admiration.
Shadow Devil Martial Saints are experts at hiding and escaping. Even I wouldn't be confident I could kill an early-stage Shadow Devil Martial Saint—after all, they never fight head-on. They only ambush and assassinate, and if they miss, they just vanish without a trace.
"Commander, here's what happened..."
Fiona Li started explaining, and soon laid out the whole story in detail.
After listening, Raymond Lei looked at Ian Song with a complicated expression. This kid is just too monstrous—should I try to keep him here by force?
But he immediately rejected the idea. Ian Song is Sanctum Martial Academy's treasured prodigy—if Raymond tried to keep him here by force, the academy would go to war over it.
Suddenly, an idea struck Raymond Lei. "Ian, I have a thought—I'm planning to form an Assassin Camp, with all members being Martial Saints. How about you be the captain?" This time, Ian Song didn't refuse. "I can be the captain until my contest with Lance Xuanyuan is over."
"Great, it's settled then!"
Raymond Lei clapped his hands in delight.
"Commander, can I join the Assassin Camp too?" Fiona Li asked eagerly.
"Me too! I want in!" Marcus Meng wasn't stupid—he immediately chimed in. With Ian in the camp, earning merit would be a breeze.
"You can join, but you'll have to follow Ian's orders!" Raymond Lei said, looking at them.
"No problem, I'll listen!" Fiona Li blurted out.
"I'm willing to listen too!" Marcus Meng nodded vigorously.
Raymond Lei nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, you're in. But the Assassin Camp will be kept secret for now—we won't announce it to anyone outside!"
After a bit more discussion, Ian Song and the others took their leave. Although Raymond Lei didn't mention merit on the spot, he definitely wouldn't shortchange the three of them.
Watching Ian Song leave, Raymond Lei couldn't help but sigh. Ian was the heart of the Assassin Camp—once he left, the camp would struggle to function. Since he couldn't keep Ian for himself, he might as well make the most of him before he left.
Thinking this, a mischievous smile crept onto his lips.
By the afternoon of the next day, Ian Song and the others received their rewards: Marcus Meng and Fiona Li were each credited with a First-Class Military Merit.
In the army, promotions depend mainly on military merit, which comes in nine ranks—ninth is the lowest, special merit is the highest. First-Class is just one step below special merit, and will be a huge help for their future promotions.
On top of that, each of them received one million taels of silver and a ninth-grade spirit artifact as a reward.
As for their military rank, nothing changed—after all, deputy general is already the highest position under the commander.
Because Ian Song deliberately downplayed his own contribution—and since he wasn't really a soldier—he didn't receive military merit. Still, Raymond Lei didn't shortchange him, awarding him two million taels of silver and three bottles of rare elixirs.
Ian Song was quite satisfied with this arrangement.