“Don’t you think you guys care too much?” asked Zhang Heng.
“No. Imagine us doing minor repairs on a building that is already there. We will not go against the trend of events, and neither do we seek fame or profit. We are people who live in the shadow of history. The vast majority don’t know of our existence. This is also the reason why the Balance Blade can be passed on for thousands of years. In fact, most of the time, we are just bystanders, and within the organization, we prefer to call ourselves tinkers.”
The old trainer continued, “Speaking of the Balance Blade, it comprises two parts. The first part is the organization’s core members, the six most powerful assassins from the Balance Blade’s first generation. There are a total of seven of them. The second part is the people who have a partnership with the assassins or rely on the assassins to earn their living. This includes intelligence dealers, a small number of nobles, many civilians and slaves at society bottom rung, and weapon merchants and doctors. They are considered the peripheral members of Balance Blade.
“However, with the growth of the Balance Blade, the numbers of these two groups of people have changed. Although the organization has encountered several severe crises, it is still growing in terms of the Balance Blade’s peripheral members. On the other hand, the number of core members has been relatively stable. And it has only experienced a few expansions. About 400 years ago, we began to open up our organization to other assassins, allowing for an exchange of intelligence and resources. To us, they were considered peripheral members too. The responsibilities that came with it were relatively limited. In their eyes, the Balance Blade is just an organization that provides services to the assassins in exchange for rewards.”
“What about your core members? How many of them are there now.”
Dadatis did not answer the questions this time. “This is a higher-level secret. You will know when you pass the test and take my place as a core member of the organization.” After a pause, Dadatis continued, “You asked what you need to do after joining us. That, I can answer now.
“Just like how the original convener answered the six assassins… Becoming a Balance Blade member will not affect your daily life most of the time. Usually, only when the priest receives Kreis’s oracle would the Balance Blade summon its core members and intervene.”
“So all your actions are basically based on this so-called oracle obtained by a priest? Congratulations, this sounds reliable. Then can I ask how often she gets an oracle?”
“Mortals like us can never guess the will of the gods. Hence, no one can predict when the oracles will come,” Dadatis pondered for a moment, then added, “but if you are asking about the past, six oracles were received by the priest in a month, at most. And there was once; the oracle was received more than forty years apart. Some members did not even get to receive an oracle until they retired.”
“I kind of like the second scenario.” Zhang Heng said, “But I guess I don’t have such good luck. Since you appeared in the gladiator school and are looking for a potential assassin, it means that a new oracle has appeared.”
“That’s right.” Dadatis nodded.
“Your target is Mark Reuss? No, if it is him, you can eliminate him by yourself. You don’t need to work together with Habitus. The gladiators can get in touch with quite a lot of people… I think the only people that are hard for you to kill are individuals with high authority,” Zhang Heng analyzed.
“Unfortunately, I can’t tell you the name of the target at this stage, but what I can tell you is that the test for you is indeed related to this oracle. Do you want to be one of us?” asked Dadatis.
Zhang Heng shrugged upon hearing the words, “After I have heard so many secrets about you, do I have a second choice?”
“I know that you still have a lot of questions, and you cannot fully understand our belief. But as long as you are willing to open your eyes and carefully observe the world around you, you will feel that balance is everywhere. And I, as your Teacher, can teach you the quintessence of balance.”
“Uh…I don’t think you need to teach me about balance. What you said before is quite straightforward,” Zhang Heng said, “I clearly understand your philosophy and way of doing things.”
“I’m talking about combat skills.”
“Oh. I still need to learn from you.”
“…”
Dadatis was speechless. He could see that Zhang Heng disagreed with the Balance Blade’s idealism, not to mention how he did not seem to have much respect for Kreis. This might have something to do with him coming from the East, which made him different from most Romans. In Rome, everyone worshiped their gods wholeheartedly to the point of having high tolerance towards foreign gods. Zhang Heng was willing to join the Balance Blade because he wanted to learn their combat skills.
But now, Dadatis could not find a better replacement after Habitus rejected him. To Dadatis, Zhang Heng was born to be an assassin. Unlike a defective product like Habitus, it was as if Zhang Heng was the perfect assassin template created by Kreis. He was calm, low-key, had excellent observation skills and analytical abilities. Judging from his previous three moves, his physical fitness and reaction ability were also top-notch. And he did not even need to be refined. He just needed a little polish, and he would shine like a diamond.
If such a talented young man could not be absorbed into the Balance Blade, it would only be at the Balance Blade’s loss.
Dadatis had a selfish thought as well. As he grew older, he could feel that he was not as good as before. That was when he started to look for his successor. The previous three strikes that he landed on Zhang Heng had failed. He was disappointed and frustrated at himself. Though he lost the battle, he could feel joy surging through him.
Even though he had now confirmed that Zhang Heng was the person he was looking for, he was disappointed to see that the Asian man was not as excited as he expected. He was now like a man who fell into unrequited love. So, he told himself that he would need time to make Zhang Heng understand the Balance Blade’s idealism. It did not matter how Zhang Heng thought about Balance Blade and Kreis. For now, he just needed to make sure that Zhang Heng agreed to join the Balance Blade.
So he coughed and said, “According to the plan, I should first teach you our combat skills. But since they are already powerful, let’s not rush it first. I can teach you the assassin’s combat skills later. You seem to be very interested in Habitus’s footwork. So let me teach you stealth moves first. This is also one of the basic skills of an assassin.”
