Chapter 189: Chapter 116: Coming in Droves
In just a moment, the Auxiliary Brain had collected a vast amount of data on the Assassin Sect from the internet. Yan Fei took a careful look and realized he truly was ignorant of the wider world. The Assassin Sect was not some unknown name; on the contrary, they were the most famous assassin organization in the world, with a history that is nearly a millennium old.
In historical records and even in fantastical tales, there were numerous legends and depictions about the Assassin Sect. According to documented evidence, this sect was terrifyingly proficient, having assassinated countless famous figures, including some significant historical personalities and even kings of European Principalities. The very name of the Assassin Sect struck fear in the hearts of all throughout Europe and the Middle East, as they wrought havoc for centuries.
The fearsome reputation of the Assassin Sect was related to their methods of training assassins. In the travelogue of Marco Polo, the process of creating these assassins was detailed:
“Huo Shan, between two mountains and within a valley, built a great garden, unmatched in beauty. It contained every fruit from around the world, as well as opulent palaces like none on earth had seen before, adorned with gold and embedded with a hundred different things, with conduits containing wine, milk, honey, and water. The most beautiful women of the world, skilled in music, dance, and singing, filled the place, dazzling all who saw them.”
This garden was constructed in accordance with human imaginations of paradise, but on normal days, it was blocked by massive stones, inaccessible to ordinary people, with only those granted permission by Huo Shan able to enter this “paradise.”
After constructing the grand garden, Huo Shan would regularly recruit a group of boys, around twelve or thirteen years old, all of whom volunteered to become warriors. Huo Shan trained them until they reached seventeen or eighteen, at which point he would drug them with a sleeping potion and carry them into the grand garden. When these young men awoke, they were so stunned by the beautiful sight before them that they believed they had entered heaven and began to indulge to their hearts’ content.
After these young men spent several weeks in bliss, Huo Shan would have them drugged again, and then removed from the garden. Upon waking and realizing they were no longer in paradise, they felt profoundly disappointed. That’s when Huo Shan would tell them, “If you complete the daunting task assigned by our organization with your dying breath, you can return to ‘paradise’ after death!”
Thus, assassins of the Assassin Sect often carried out assassination tasks with no regard for their own lives, yearning for death, and as a result, they were often successful.
In those KB years, once the Assassin Sect identified an assassination target, they would first write a polite letter to the individual. The letter was relatively courteous, asking the person to offer gold and silver as a ransom to save their own life. If the ransom was received, the Assassin Sect would then spare the target. However, if no ransom was sent within the stipulated time, they would proceed with the assassination.
The Assassin Sect was historically the first group to evolve assassination methods into an art form, possessing potent killing skills. No matter what means the victim had for defense, in the end, they would be successfully assassinated by the sect. Countless individuals throughout history did not take the threats of the Al-Assassin seriously, only to meet their demise the following day, including several kings. The death of these individuals also contributed to the imposing reputation of the Assassin Sect.
According to historical records, the base of the Assassin Sect was located on a snowy peak in the Middle East. Whenever their leader assumed their position, they would change their name to Huo Shan, known also as the Old Man of the Mountains. This mysterious organization stretched for centuries, having a hand in countless historical processes, earning them the title of history’s makers.
It was this immense notoriety that even led to the English word “assassin” originating from this very sect. Even in the novels of the Chinese Martial Arts master Quan Tong, there were mentions of the Assassin Sect, regarded with utmost admiration. The sect’s biography even inspired an American game developer to create a major video game series, the renowned “Assassin’s Creed”, which later was adapted into a film that enjoyed success at the box office. This indicates how extensive the influence of the Assassin Sect was, truly formidable indeed.
However, the historical Assassin Sect had been eradicated by the Mongol armies on their western campaign several centuries ago; for the past few hundred years, there had been no sight of them, so it was assumed they had vanished into the annals of history. Unexpectedly, after several centuries, they had re-emerged in Shanghai, targeting Yan Fei and kidnapping Lu Pingping, demanding a 3 billion US Dollar ransom from him.
Yan Fei was shocked that this infamous historical assassin organization had targeted him; this was completely contrary to his previous deductions, as the people he suspected had nothing to do with Lu Pingping’s kidnapping. If this Assassin Sect was indeed that historical assassination organization, then they were not the type to be directed by any other individual or organization, nor would they be connected to the bounties on the Dark Web. Their confrontation with him was likely purely motivated by his money, evidenced by their initial demand for a 3 billion US Dollar ransom. According to historical lore, as long as the ransom was paid, the Assassin Sect would spare their target. But those who attempted resistance met with a terrible end, dying a horrific death.
While Yan Fei’s Weight Loss Cookies had not yet entered the International Market, the Chinese Market alone had made him enormously wealthy, so it was no surprise that the Assassin Sect would set their sights on him. Although Yan Fei was powerful, and even had the Drone Avatar at his disposal, he still felt a bit out of his depth when facing the Assassin Sect, known as history’s makers.