Chapter 33: Silver Badge 207

Nephthys felt the confidence in Cohen’s tone and asked cautiously, "I heard that the high-ranking official his uncle is cozying up to has entered the cabinet and is a favorite of the Prime Minister."

Cohen was slightly surprised and asked, "Do you know who it is?"

Nephthys replied, "It seems to be the Lord Chancellor."

In his mind, Cohen immediately recalled the scene of his first imperial council meeting after regaining the memories of his past life. At that time, when Snape voiced his opposition to the Prime Minister's resolution to postpone the date of the King’s coming-of-age, the first person to jump out and fight on the Prime Minister's behalf seemed to have been the Lord Chancellor.

He remembered now: it was the new Lord Chancellor, Baron Gore Phillip.

Cohen patted Nephthys on the head, signaling her not to worry. "It’s just a mere Lord Chancellor. Don't worry, I will make you proud and help you take back what belongs to you from the DuPont family!"

"Thank you, sir!"

A look of tenderness and gratitude welled up in Nephthys’s eyes. The sight of her moved expression filled Cohen with vanity.

"Alright, enough with the lovey-dovey act. Come out and take a look—there’s a situation!"

A deep, middle-aged voice suddenly rang in their ears. Nephthys shuddered, her face changing instantly. Cohen, however, gave her a gentle gesture to indicate she had nothing to fear. He recognized the voice; it was his uncle, Prince Haug.

Cohen was not surprised that his uncle was following him. He had offended many people at the arena over the past two days, so naturally, his uncle would not feel at ease letting him roam outside alone.

Cohen led Nephthys out of the living room to the grove outside the manor. The eerie scene before them drew a soft gasp from her. A middle-aged man stood there composedly, and not far from him lay a black-clad figure wearing a silver mask.

Nephthys stared at the middle-aged man for a long time, only to find that she could not make out his features no matter how hard she tried. She felt a brief moment of alarm; coming from an ancient and prestigious warlock family, she understood that this was a visual distortion caused by immense power. The man was deliberately masking his identity.

Seeing the man in the black robe lying on the ground, Cohen gave a soft "oh" and asked, "Who is this?"

Prince Haug replied, "He appeared outside twenty minutes after you entered the manor. It looks like an assassin from the Black Tomb."

"The Black Tomb? What is the strength of this assassin?"

"Fourth Rank."

Haug paused, then added, "He was Fourth Rank before. Now, he should be considered a cripple."

A flicker crossed Cohen's eyes. "As long as he’s not dead, that’s fine!"

He removed the assassin’s mask, revealing the plain, unremarkable face of a middle-aged man. Cohen scrutinized the silver mask and spotted three numbers in a hidden spot on the bottom left corner: 207.

"Silver Badge 207," Cohen muttered softly.

"What?" Haug asked.

Cohen regained his composure and explained to the two of them, "This assassin’s code name is 'Silver Badge 207.' In the 'Black Tomb,' assassins below the legendary rank are categorized by three types of badges: gold, silver, and copper. Each Gold Badge assassin leads several Silver Badge assassins, and each Silver Badge assassin leads several Copper Badge assassins. Communication between superiors and subordinates is strictly one-way. Among peers, only those at the Gold Badge rank or above may communicate with one another; otherwise, all contact is prohibited outside of active missions."

Cohen continued to search the assassin, quickly pulling out a magic scroll and a diamond-shaped stone. He handed the scroll to Prince Haug, signaling him to isolate it with magic power, then held up the stone and explained, "This is a communication stone used exclusively within the 'Black Tomb,' and it is also a symbol of their identity. A Silver Badge assassin like this one is already authorized to accept orders directly from a 'Salesman'."

Nephthys interrupted suddenly, "Wait, the 'sales' in 'Salesman' wouldn't happen to refer to murder, would it? And what does 'accepting orders' mean?"

Cohen nodded and explained, "That’s internal jargon for the 'Black Tomb.' The 'Salesmen' are responsible for accepting client commissions, determining the bounty for each operation based on the target’s strength and background, and assigning the task to a suitable assassin. When an assassin accepts a task from a Salesman, it is called 'accepting an order.' The internal management of the Black Tomb is extremely strict; only assassins with a code name of Silver Badge or higher are qualified to accept orders from a Salesman. The others can only operate under the guidance of a Silver Badge assassin."

Prince Haug chimed in from the side, "Does that mean we can follow the trail through this assassin to find the Salesman, and thereby identify who placed this commission?"

Cohen shook his head. "The 'Salesmen' hold high status; assassins below the legendary rank aren't even qualified to see them. Besides, there’s no need for that much trouble. After a client places an order with a Salesman, the Salesman provides the client with a temporary communication stone to communicate with the operative assassin."

Prince Haug immediately said, "Then we only need to control this assassin to lure out the client."

Cohen chuckled. "I actually have a better idea."

Prince Haug was taken aback, then quickly realized, "You don't mean to impersonate this 'Silver Badge 207,' do you?"

Cohen tossed the communication stone in his hand and said, "Why not? Such a good opportunity to infiltrate the 'Black Tomb' shouldn't be wasted. According to the organizational principles of the 'Black Tomb,' very few people inside actually know the true identities of the Silver Badge assassins. We have a good chance of blending in."

Prince Haug shook his head. "It's too risky. The 'Black Tomb' is extremely tight-knit. There have been other organizations that tried to infiltrate it in the past, but they all failed without exception. I believe they must have other, more secret ways of verifying identities beyond just the communication stone."

Cohen nodded. "Of course they do. Before joining the organization, assassins of Silver Badge rank or lower have their own aura integrated into their superior’s communication stone. The auras are passed up layer by layer, eventually reaching a legendary-rank elder. If an assassin dies, his aura vanishes, alerting his superiors to develop a new subordinate."

Prince Haug caught on quickly. "Then what if that legendary-rank elder dies too?"

Cohen continued, "The Black Tomb headquarters possesses a semi-divine artifact. The communication stones used by the assassins are derived from this artifact; you could say it governs all the stones. Once the artifact detects the fall of a legendary-rank elder, it automatically collects all the auras from that elder’s communication stone and generates a new one."

Cohen looked at the thoughtful Prince Haug and added, "Of course, the collection of the auras is a process that takes about two hours."

Prince Haug understood Cohen’s meaning perfectly. "In other words, we just need to take out this Silver Badge 207’s Gold Badge superior and the legendary-rank elder who manages their branch. Then, if we change the aura on the communication stone within two hours, we can fish in troubled waters and successfully infiltrate them?"

Cohen nodded. "That is exactly what I mean."

Prince Haug frowned slightly. "The difficulty is immense. The Gold Badge superior might be manageable, but as far as I know, legendary-rank elders generally stay within their respective regional headquarters. It is very difficult to strike at them."

A mysterious smile appeared on Cohen’s face. "If it were before, it would indeed be very difficult. But in a few days, they will all take the initiative to strike and gather in Florence!"