Hitman with a Badass System

(Three days later)

Noah landed on the beautiful valley with green foliage and newly sprung buds. Majestic mountains surrounded this valley, void of any life, and had a story to tell about an unspeakable horror that transpired several years ago.

"What do you sense, teacher?" Noah asked Andreas after he landed in the middle of the valley. Andreas's ethereal figure appeared before Noah. Following Noah, several guardians and a guardian ship came to the scene. The flying ship cast a large shadow upon the ground as more and more guardians carrying various tools descended from the ship. While Andreas was looking around the valley, beyond the distant horizon, dark and vengeful cloud formations started to imprint their marks on the crystal-clear blue sky, signifying the imminent arrival of an intense and powerful thunderstorm.

"Lots of people died here, Noah," Andreas said. Noah heaved a long sigh as he expected Andreas to tell him otherwise. When Ghost was in his home, he said something about a village called Hogsfeet in Gondolin. The moment Noah asked Hammond about this village, Noah saw the utter terror and shock in his eyes. Noah didn't want to believe Ghost was wrong about Hammond. However, the look in Hammond's eyes when he asked about the village was apparent. Hammond hid his involvement in the village's disappearance until Noah pressed him.

"What are your orders, Supreme Guardian?" Neela came to Noah carrying a pickaxe with several runes engraved. In addition to the guardians with digging tools such as pickaxes and shovels, several drillers and contraptions capable of excavating got dropped from the ship above.

"Dig here," Andreas said to Neela. Noah's team and the others had no idea what was buried in the ground. Since they were ordered to dig, each had their own idea. Some thought of priceless artifacts, and some thought of a dungeon. As the first drilling contraption penetrated the ground, strong gusts of wind were unleashed and started to impulse the dim and murky clouds closer and closer. The once clear sky was steadily engulfed by darkness. Clusters of storm clouds washed away the sky's brilliant colors. These dark clouds created irregular openings in the nebulous sky, simulating a vast abstract painting with every imaginable color. The air started to feel thick and heavy, as though it was trying to suffocate the valley. Howling and wailing came the barren wind as darkness enveloped the valley.

Noah looked up at the darkness in the sky and imminently thought of Ghost, the God of Darkness. He felt like Ghost was watching and laughing at them.

"He is going to be right again," Noah said.

"No, Noah. He just sees the darkness in everyone and assumes the worst of them. You do the opposite," said Andreas.

"Maybe I should change how I see things,"

Andreas shook his head as he flew closer to Noah. He floated beside Noah and watched the guardians dig silently for a few moments.

"I have lived for thousands of years, Noah. My long life has allowed me to see through people for who they are. Hammond is no murderer. We don't know the complete story of what really happened here or who was responsible for it. But I can tell you one thing, the empress was in on it. Nothing would happen without her knowing, so how did she not know what happened here?  And ask yourself this question, how did the Dark Lord know about this?" said Andreas.

A sudden bolt of lightning shattered the darkened and ominous sky in the utmost vicious manner, snapping Noah out of his train of thought. Earth-shattering rumbles of thunder followed the lightning and sent shockwaves to the surrounding areas pugnaciously. Then for a short moment, everything retreated into oblivion. The relentless wind held its breath and intensity. Abruptly, several twisted streaks of pure light tore open the dark sky, opening the way for a heavy downpour. The rain came down from the sky like an army of miniature arrows, destroying everything in their paths.

Bolts of giant lightning, devastating thunders, and unpredictable rhythms of the merciless torrential rainfall unleashed the evil force of nature. The wicked thunderstorm continuously exerted its intense attacks on the valley and the guardians. The sky had opened, releasing continuous heavy rain, which flooded every corner of the valley, filling the holes created by the contraptions. The rock-like raindrops were pounding and hammering against the contraptions with a vigorous rhythm as rumbling thunders replicated the perpetual pounding sounds of a drum concert. Water levels slowly rose in the valley, threatening to stall the guardians.

"The Dark Lord was threatened by Hammond and his intelligence, Noah. He will do anything to manipulate you into punishing Hammond," Andreas stated.

Eventually, the guardians managed to dig a large hole and waited for Noah to venture into the dark hole. Noah strolled toward the hole under the heavy downspout. When he reached the edge, Neela and his team of elites, including Alvaro, came to his side.

"What do you hope to find in there, Supreme Guardian?" asked Neela.

However, Noah did not give them any answer. Instead, he just stepped forward and fell straight into the hole. While falling down, Noah summoned a ball of light to illuminate his surroundings. He descended for a minute but saw nothing but mud around him. When Noah hoped everything Hammond said would turn into a dream, he began to smell the strong stench of rotting corpses. The smell overwhelmed Noah and almost made him throw up his inside out. Noah immediately stopped descending and formed a bubble around his face to filter the air. Even for a god like him, the stench was too much. He slowly descended down with an orb of light hovering above his head until he saw a face in the mud. Noah was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the rotten face in the mud as he flew back a meter. The face had yellowish eyes as skin slowly fell down, revealing grayish facial bones. The face looked fresh despite being buried in the ground for five years.

Once Noah returned to where he saw the face, he touched the head as it fell off from the mud. Soon, Noah conjured several orbs of light and willed them to float around the hole. To his shock, the light illuminated countless bodies, barely decomposed to the bones. In fact, something kept the bodies from decomposing. Noah's heart sank, looking at the bodies buried within. He even noticed children among them.

"Am I the only evildoer and criminal in your eyes?" The Dark Lord's words rang in Noah's head.

"Hammond had a hand in all this," Noah mumbled under his breath.

"The dwarves forced him to build that device, Noah," said Andreas.

"They had his girlfriend. He had no choice," Andreas sighed.

"These people need a proper burial," Noah couldn't think about Hammond or anyone except the poor people buried alive in their own village. Since the empress sought after everyone who had a hand in the Hogsfeet village massacre, Noah had nothing to do except give the villagers a proper burial. They deserved it that much.

With a heavy heart, Noah flew upward and exited the hole. Noah felt a lump in his throat as he couldn't utter anything. His heart bled for the villagers and wanted to rip those dwarves to shreds. The killing intent he buried deep within started to slip through his heavy heart. Fortunately, the dwarves who were responsible for the massacre were hung to death by the empress.

"Neela," Noah called Neela.

"I want to meet the leader of Han Torum. Set up a meeting," said Noah. Looking at Noah's eyes burning with rage and anger, Neela dared not to question him even though she had so many.

"Would you like me to do anything else, Supreme Guardian?" asked Neela.

"Dig out all the bodies inside. I want to give them a proper burial," Noah's words stunned Neela. Bodies were the last thing she thought were buried in the ground. After issuing the orders, Noah flew away from the valley to clear his head. He wanted to be alone to calm his mind and soul.

Just after Noah left the valley, a dark-robed figure landed on a mountaintop from where one could see the entire excavation. The figure slowly removed the hood, revealing the striking golden hair and the pointy ears that were neither too pointy nor blunt like human ears. On her forearm, she had a black spider with glowing red eyes tattooed on it.

Looking at the excavation site, the half-elf placed her hand on her ear.

"Elder Trista," The half-elf talked in the sweetest voice. Her voice could alone seduce even the most strong-hearted man.

"I have eyes on Hogsfeet,"

"Good. Keep yourself hidden and wait for them to unearth all the bodies," said Trista.

"Remember Spider. This is a simple task, so do not fail me. Lenora's life depends on your success,"

"Come on, Elder Trista. I have finished much harder tasks for Elder Lenora. This is just a simple monitor and report. If anything, this task is way beneath my standards," Spider snickered.

(Read chapter 648-Vampire Death Squad to refresh your memories)

"It would be a simple task if Noah Winston wasn't there. The Dark Queen wants you to locate the one called Hammond without alerting Noah of your presence,"

"Elder Trista. What if that human doesn't show up as the Dark Queen says? I could track him down," said Spider.

"Apparently, Hammond has a hand in their deaths. So the Dark Queen believes the guilt in him would bring him here to pay his last respects. I agree with her. Humans like him tend to fight their guilt by doing pointless things," said Trista.

"If what I heard about Hammond was not an exaggeration, I doubt Noah would let him out of his sight. How does the Dark Queen plan to take him down when the Supreme Guardian is around?" asked Spider.

"Who says anything about the Dark Queen taking him down?" Trista asked Spider. Her silence spoke more volumes, and the mere thought of seeing him stirred the excitement Spider hadn't felt in years.

"Report to me as soon as you see Hammond. Then, you might get to see the Dark Lord as you wished,"