"Transcendents' extraordinary nature doesn't need to be repeated," Huan Yu's voice grew heavy, "Just do it."
Zhang San looked to his side, where, at this moment, the nearly hundred assassins had already been reduced to just over twenty.
He pointed at ten of them and said, "You guys go down, take daggers with you. If he isn't dead, kill him. If you can't kill him, drag him underwater, deplete his oxygen. If he is dead, haul his body up."
Those ten glanced at the water, then at the drifting snow.
At this time of night, everyone knew the lake's water must be ice-cold to the bone. To jump in now could mean a serious illness from the chill.
However, they had no choice.
The ten gritted their teeth, stripped off their clothes, and threw them by the lakeside before diving headfirst into the water.
As they swam towards the lakebed, they suddenly noticed a black shadow swiftly approaching from below.
An assassin hadn't even reacted before someone locked onto his neck and twisted it, breaking it on the spot.
The black shadow didn't pause, kicking off the corpse in the water, using the momentum to shoot like an arrow at another assassin.
Before the assassin could draw the dagger from his waist, the shadow had already reached him, snapping his neck again.
The dark figure used the corpses to shuttle back and forth underwater. Each time he struck, his speed was incredibly fast, in stark contrast to the assassins who were slowly paddling along.
It was deep into the night, and the visibility at the bottom of the lake was extremely low. It wasn't until Qing Chen had eliminated five assassins that the others realized what was happening.
They trembled as they scanned the pitch-black lakebed around them, the dark waters brimming with unknown dangers.
The icy cold water of winter was like knives slicing against everyone's skin.
That underwater shadow was like a manifestation of fear, incessantly reaping lives.
It even reminded the assassins of certain legends of water monsters.
The shadow was too fast, not at all like a speed any human could achieve underwater.
The assassins realized that the shadow was that sniper, not only still alive but also capable of remaining underwater for over ten minutes without asphyxiating.
Moreover, the sniper hadn't fractured any bones and was swimming faster than any of them!
As the shadow approached, one assassin swung out a dagger to block it, yet with a mere flick, the assassin felt something extremely sharp glide across his neck.
Immediately after, the blood that sprayed from his neck tainted the already dark waters of the lake even denser with night.
It was the Puppeteer, infused with Knight Vital Energy, silently claiming lives in the water.
Qing Chen not only slaughtered the assassins one by one but also consecutively sacrificed them to the Puppeteer, making the little snake seem exhilarated, not minding at all that it was being used as a blade.
Gradually, the remaining three assassins realized they were no match and began swimming towards the surface.
But by then, it was too late for escape. Qing Chen, who had just advanced to D-Class, had boundless strength and could be seen underwater catching up to the assassins and using the Puppeteer to wrap around their ankles, dragging two of them back to the depths.
The last assassin swam desperately towards the surface. He felt he was almost at the light shimmering on the water, the glow from the lamps of Weiyang Lake Park was just within reach.
The assassin reached out his arm, trying to break the surface with his hand.
But in that instant, the assassin suddenly felt something, he didn't know what, wrap around his ankle, fiercely dragging him back down.
The hand he had stretched out was only a dozen or so centimeters from the lake surface, then he watched in despair as it grew further and further away.
It seemed as if he would forever sink into the black abyss of Weiyang Lake.
Zhang San stood by the lake for a long time. He could sense there was movement under the water, but he couldn't see exactly what was happening.
The lake continued to burst with bubbles, but not a single person resurfaced.
Five minutes passed, exceeding the breath-holding limit of a normal person underwater; even if the assassins hadn't found the Daytime Boss's body, they should have surfaced to breathe by now.
Even if they had been killed by the Daytime Boss, their bodies should have floated up by this time, right?
Yet, the surface of the lake remained undisturbed, nothing appeared.
Fear began to take hold of the assassins around Zhang San; everyone felt as if the pitch-black Weiyang Lake was a monstrous entity that had swallowed all ten of their comrades whole.
At this moment, Huan Yu finally understood that the Daytime Boss not only hadn't died but also had the strength to bear the lake's cold and consecutive kill ten assassins underwater.
This terrifying combat ability, combined with an unceasing will in battle, was vaguely inducing a sense of dread.
Huan Yu sank into contemplation.
"Something's off here. There's something strange about this Weiyang Lake. Let's leave!" an assassin said.
Continue your adventure at My Virtual Library Empire
Zhang San sneered, "Strange? It's merely the sniper who isn't dead."
"But he's been down there for more than ten minutes, and we haven't seen him come up for air," another assassin interjected.
Zhang San pondered for a moment, "He must have prepared to use a jump into the lake as his escape route, maybe even stashing oxygen tanks on the lakebed in advance, then waited for us to go down looking for the body to strike hard."
Suddenly, Huan Yu spoke over the communication channel, "No need for further attempts. Retreat."
For Huan Yu, these junior assassins were merely tools, and as long as the Time Travelers kept emerging, with his status from the Inner World, he could continue to produce them endlessly.
Zhang San was different though, a solid C-Class Awakener and a mercenary who had mixed in the Middle East for years before becoming a Time Traveler during a home visit.