It could be said that the assassin managing to react in time to the trap was truly impressive.
But Tris had already anticipated that he could do so—and exploited it perfectly.
By simultaneously closing the distance and launching an attack at extreme speed, the blade-wielding assassin, momentarily distracted, failed to react in time to the "Dimension Slash."
However, someone else reacted in his place.
The masked assassin, moving at astonishing speed, arrived just in time and shattered the attack with a swing of his sword.
The fact that he could break "Dimension Slash" with a single strike proved that his counterattack was anything but ordinary.
Yet even after blocking it, the leader himself felt a deep sense of dread toward that attack.
If he had been even slightly slower, one of his subordinates would already be dead.
Moreover, the pain spreading through his arm after deflecting the strike continuously warned him of just how dangerous his opponent was.
Having narrowly escaped death, the blade-wielding assassin was about to thank his leader.
But a sudden pain erupted from his chest, cutting off his words.
Looking down, he saw a massive, bleeding hole.
Although Tris's slash had been blocked, another attack launched at the same moment had torn through his chest, destroying everything inside.
With his life gone, he became the first to fall in this battle.
That attack came from puppet No. 4: Sniper—one of Tris's newest creations.
It was the very same kind of attack once unleashed on Noct.
This puppet did not resemble a human or any animal.
It had four metal legs, allowing it to move flexibly and anchor itself firmly to the terrain.
Its body was spherical, with a long, flat structure mounted on top.
Anyone with the right knowledge would immediately recognize it as something resembling a weapon known as a "gun."
With its four legs and spherical body, the weapon could easily rotate and aim in any direction while remaining stationary.
It was integrated with four magics for ease of use:
"Sky Walk," "Light Bending," and "Eye From Nothingness"—all used for movement, concealment, and observation.
But the final magic, "Magic Bullet," was where Tris had invested the most effort.
Unlike the simple version used by the "Feathers," the "Sniper" version had far greater damage and firing speed due to its specialization.
More importantly, when infused with a large amount of mana, "Sniper" could make its bullets far more lethal.
Although the firing rate would slow significantly, the enhancement was enormous.
At that point, each bullet possessed terrifying speed and penetrating power, with a range exceeding 5 kilometers.
Of course, such long-range shots would be meaningless without precision.
Tris's "Magic Bullets" carried a spatial attribute, allowing them to travel straight without air resistance.
The 5 km limit existed because beyond that, the mana sustaining the bullet would gradually dissipate until it vanished.
Additionally, "Eye From Nothingness" could be focused in a single direction rather than covering a wide area.
This allowed the puppet to observe distant targets and adjust its aim with perfect accuracy.
While "Feathers" were created mainly for reconnaissance,
"Sniper" was built for one purpose only: long-range assassination.
Returning to the battlefield, after a moment of shock, the masked leader immediately reacted and ordered the remaining assassin to locate and eliminate the source of the long-range attack.
As a result, the main battlefield temporarily became a two-against-one situation.
Some might wonder why Tris didn't simply assassinate the masked leader or Zyron outright.
The answer was simple: the risk of failure was too high.
First, the blade-wielding assassin had stepped into a trap, making him the best target.
Second, both the masked man and Zyron were in peak condition.
Zyron's defensive magic and the masked man's sensing ability—something Tris had already observed—would greatly increase the chance of a failed ambush.
Since the first strike was the most crucial, Tris needed to use it wisely to reduce enemy numbers.
Greedily aiming for a better result could have wasted that precious opportunity entirely.
In fact, the outcome was even better than he expected.
The attack not only killed one enemy but also forced the remaining ones to constantly stay alert against long-range ambushes—exactly what Tris had hoped for.
Now that one of the twins had temporarily left, Tris felt even more confident in quickly eliminating the assassin in front of him.
Meanwhile, although Zyron was fighting Tris's puppet, he reacted immediately upon noticing what happened.
He made his puppet leap into the air and slam both fists into the ground.
The attack shattered a large area of terrain and released a powerful shockwave outward.
Although Tris's puppet avoided the attack, the same could not be said for the environment.
With a single shockwave, the smoke was torn apart and blown away in an instant.
The shattered ground also destroyed the traps Tris had painstakingly prepared.
Fang, while staying wary of long-range attacks, kept his eyes locked on Tris and spoke:
"You didn't say the brat had allies, Zyron."
His voice carried undisguised anger.
Not knowing the target's strength was one thing—but lacking any information about possible allies was far more serious.
Who knew whether there was just one… or many more?
At that point, it was worth questioning who was actually hunting whom.
After all, one of his subordinates had already been killed mere seconds after the battle began.
"I've already shared all the information I had. And your group accepted the risks when taking this job," Zyron replied, while skillfully controlling his golem to continue attacking Tris's puppet.
"The number of targets has increased. The danger level has risen. The original payment isn't enough."
"The brat should have plenty of storage rings. Kill him, and we split everything."
"We take two shares. You take one."
"Agreed."
In the end, as long as the reward was high enough, countless people were willing to risk their lives—even knowing the danger.
This was especially true for assassins like Fang.
Believing Tris had allies, Fang now shared the same thought as the boy:
Kill the enemy in front of them as quickly as possible.