Hitman with a Badass System

After leaving the Winston manor via a teleportation array, Noah appeared in an empty room lit with candles. This was one of the guardian guild's safe houses in Dalgarum. The guardian guild had safe houses everywhere except in the dark ocean, obviously. A circular chakra with countless intricate runes and symbols glowed underneath Noah's feet. He stepped out of the chakra as his team appeared in the room one by one.

"Everyone is here," said Norvin. He quickly transformed into his true form and leaped onto Noah's shoulder. Dark curtains blocked the sunlight from entering the room. Noah went to the windows and slightly moved it to see the ocean through the glass. The crystal blue ocean stretched endlessly into the horizon. Everywhere he looked, the dwarves littered the complexly planned streets. This complexity was about to make Noah's life much easier. Since it was still midday, most of the dwarves were at their work and not terrorizing the streets.

"What's the plan, Supreme Guardian?" Neela, a fledgling guardian, asked Noah. She was one of Noah's elites handpicked to be on his team. The twelve guardians in the room served and answered only to Noah. They might not be as strong as the alpha guardians or many in the guild, but each of them was loyal, incorruptible, and upheld the guardian guild's morals like their lives depended on it. To fight evil and win against corruption, Noah needed more than cultivation power. He needed soldiers with morals.

He planned to make them the next generation of great elders who fought beside Andreas. Of course, Noah had the option to resurrect the elite elder guardians with the keys scattered throughout the world. However, Noah avoided searching for the keys regardless of Andreas's words. Because lately, Noah and Andreas had more disagreements and arguments than usual. Noah didn't want the elder guardians to join Andreas and sway him to do something he was against. Besides, Noah barely had enough time to search for the arrows Qin Jiu forged. Unlike Michael, Noah preferred to get things done with his own hands instead of sending the guardians.

"Nothing too complicated. Hit the shipyard, find the weapon the dwarves built and the blueprints, destroy them, and get out of there before Han Torum learns we were there," Noah simplified the plan. Hearing his plan, Neela removed the silver helmet, revealing her squared face with fiery red hair. Freckles spread around her nose and cheekbones like sprinkles on a cake. They added an extra layer to the red-haired beauty. Although she was nowhere close to Xanali or Alicia in terms of beauty, Neela had a warrior spirit that Noah admired. She was a valuable asset and a good friend to him.

"But Supreme Guardian, are we going to destroy the blueprints alone or the weapon too?' asked Neela. The silvered armored soldiers focused on Noah, waiting for his answer.  Instead of giving them a quick answer, Noah looked at the blue ocean through the window. He focused on the rhythmic waves to achieve a sense of peace both physically and mentally.

"Both. If we take this weapon, someone else will create a countermeasure. It would eventually lead them to build a more powerful weapon. Then another countermeasure and another more powerful weapon. Eventually, it will become a cycle until we have nothing but wars on our hands. It might sound dramatic and my imagination at this point, but I promise you, it will happen," Noah explained to Neela, paused for a moment, and continued.

"I don't think the Dark Lord will destroy the weapon. In fact, he will use it against us in a heartbeat," said Norvin, resting upon Noah's shoulder.

"Exactly my point. I am not him, and we won't use such a brutal killing machine against anyone, including the people in his army. They deserve punishment, not death," said Noah.

"Can I speak my mind, Supreme Guardian?" asked Neela.

Noah nodded. He always allowed his team to speak freely and listened to them instead of outright shutting them down. Noah believed to be an effective team, communication was vital.

"When the final war with the Dark Lord arrives, people will die, Supreme Guardian. Both sides will suffer casualties. Deaths are inevitable. This weapon might be the edge we need against the Dark Lord,"

"Wars are won by soldiers, not by weapons. If you believe in a weapon more than yourself, you need to reevaluate yourself," Noah said calmly about what he truly believed in.

"Before we leave, when are we going to address the elephant in the room?" Norvin turned his gaze toward Noah.

"What?" asked Noah.

"We never talked about the Dark Lord knowing about the auction. We knew Valmas went missing, presumably dead, who had supposedly received an invitation to participate in the Han Torum auction. And we never found the invitation on his body. You and I both know Gaya written all over the dead bodies," said Norvin.

"If she killed them, there is a good chance she would attend the auction, Supreme Guardian. We can nab Saravar and the Dark Queen herself. Two birds in one stone," Neela suggested, but Noah brushed it off with a smile.

"Just imagine what Ghost would do if we captured his love of life. Just imagine,"

Norvin closed his eyes for a moment and only saw death and destruction. Fear crept down Norvin's spine, just imagining the Dark Lord bringing his wrath as Noah said.

"Not to mention it's Gaya, we are talking about. If capturing her was that easy, Xanali and Nagaland would have done it by now. Until I am certain something could hold either of them, I am not going to risk trying to capture them. It has only led to death,"

This was the biggest reason why Andreas and Noah had such arguments lately. On the one hand, Noah believed it was not wise to try to capture the Dark Lord without finding a way to hold him down. On the other hand, Andreas argued that the more they leave the Dark Lord alone, the stronger he would become and the harder it would be to capture him later. In a sense, both of them were right. Even Skyhall was dumbstruck after Michael escaped the cage that was designed to keep him restrained. Not only did he escape, but he also killed Peter inside the very cage that Alicia put him in.

Every time they tried to capture him, they ended up with more blood on their hands. Hence, Noah decided to let the Dark Lord be until he finds a way to stop him permanently.

"Enough talking. Let's go and finish the task at our hand," Noah waved his hands as he prepared to leave the room. When he talked about the Dark Lord and Gaya, he noticed a sliver of fear in everyone's eyes, including Norvin's. That fear was the Dark Lord's most powerful weapon, and Noah knew he must find a way to break this fear. As long as the people feared the Dark Lord, they would be easy to brainwash and swayed to the dark side.

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After leaving the safe house, Noah and his team used the dark alleyways to reach the sea without drawing much attention. As Noah stood on golden grains of sand, he looked up at the brilliant sky adorned with dazzling blue color and puffy clouds that formed different shapes in the sky. The goddess-like sun's face was being embraced by the demure navy fingertips of the skyline. The small crystals in the sand glimmered and twinkled brilliantly against the sun rays. Away from the immense sea, white foams from the waves gathered gently onto the golden shore. Every sight and sound stimulated a sense of composure and serenity. The effect was heightened by the absence of the noisy bustle of guardians complaining, rummaging of scrolls, and Andreas's lectures, only to be exposed to the never-ending music of the waves and to breathe the fresh air instead of the stale atmosphere of his room. It was not easy to describe the effect of this sight, but it could only be strangely deciphered in his mind.

His team was ordered to equip normal clothes instead of silver armor, which would most definitely draw attention from the dwarves. Eventually, Noah reached the ocean, where he saw a couple of dwarven kids building sand castles. The sight of children playing without a worry in the world warmed Noah's heart. Looking at them made him want to destroy the weapon even more.

If the weapon fell into the wrong hands and they started to slaughter people with it, the blame would ultimately fall on the dwarves. It was not fair to blame all the dwarves for something a few dwarves filled with hatred had done. While Noah was drowned in the serenity of the beach and thoughts, one of the dwarven children noticed Noah. She waved at Noah, showing no hatred and hostility toward humans. This was the world Noah had been trying to create lately, a world without hatred and fear toward one another. In fact, he was more focused on solving disputes between races and helping commoners than dealing with the Dark Lord and his army.

Noah waved back at the kid, which brightened the kid's face like someone had lit a candle inside her head. Then before the other kids could notice Noah, he disappeared into the ocean with his team. Instead of going to the shipyard on foot, they decided to go underwater.  That way, the element of surprise would be on their side, and they could catch the dwarves before they alert Han Torum.

Hammond and the weapons he helped the dwarves build were off the books operation. So even if the Guardian Guild infiltrated it and stole the weapon, Han Torum couldn't retaliate directly because such an operation doesn't exist officially. However, Noah planned to keep the guild out of the picture because the last thing he wanted was a cold war between the Guardian Guild and Han Torum. At this point, any conflict the Guardian Guild gets into would benefit the Dark Lord more than anything.

Noah and his team were quick swimmers. They managed to reach the shipyard, which was built in the water, in a few minutes. But before emerging from the water, Noah closed his eyes, spreading his senses around the area to locate the dwarves in the shipyard. Having no idea a team of guardians was under them, the dwarves continued with their day-to-day work which was building ships and a weapon of mass destruction.