Marvel: A Lazy-Ass Superman Chapter 739: The Assassins’ Brotherhood

"So, that young man who was with you that day was from that Assassin Brotherhood you mentioned."

Henry, the Kryptonian, had originally been working on components for upgrading the mecha on the eleventh floor in the middle of the night. Instead, he had been dragged downstairs by the Spartan amazon and ended up rolling around together with her on the king-size bed on the eighth floor. The frail Kryptonian had no choice but to comply. After all, the woman was simply too ferocious.

After an enjoyable bout of friendly wrestling, Henry looked at Cassandra, who was glistening with sweat, and asked casually, as though making small talk, "So you’re an elder of the Assassin Brotherhood?"

Henry had also learned a little about Cassandra the Eagle-Bearer from Tina and Gilgamesh. Apparently, more than two thousand years ago, they had spent some time together running wild around the Aegean Sea.

According to Gilgamesh, Cassandra had commanded a trireme named the Adrestia, assisting the Eternals in tracking down and eliminating Deviants.

The Spartan amazon in question was sitting before the vanity mirror, tidying her hair. As for her age, it was best not to dwell on it. She had no qualms about displaying her well-trained trapezius, rhomboids, latissimus dorsi, erector spinae, and gluteus maximus.

She answered, "Actually, very few people know my true origins or identity. Only assassins from one particular bloodline have an ancestral teaching passed down through the generations saying that, when confronted with a supernatural incident they cannot resolve, they may seek assistance from a certain person in a certain place.

"That bloodline was severed several times over the years. I had to step forward, find the people who carried the bloodline, and guide them so that the tradition could continue. Even if the current heir isn’t willing to inherit it, there will always be descendants who are.

"Other than that, I don’t casually interfere with the development of the world. Unless it’s an event on the scale of global destruction, I have always remained an observer, allowing the heroes of each era to create their own history.

"I understand my own mission very well. It lies somewhere in the future, not in the past or the present. And honestly, nobody likes having someone constantly pointing fingers at them. I’m not suited to being that sort of motherly leader."

Henry understood. "That’s also why so many of the young people you led showed such rebellious attitudes. You could have easily taught them a lesson. Why didn’t you?"

"Why bother? I had no intention of working with them a second time anyway. Even this time, the Assassin Brotherhood simply assembled whoever happened to be nearby. They weren’t specially selected. They were just people who were in the area."

"Aren’t you an elder?"

"Not many people know me. The identity of ’elder’ was only temporarily assigned to me. It’s not just the High Table that doesn’t know who I am. There probably aren’t many people within the Assassin Brotherhood who know either."

Henry couldn’t help asking curiously, "So what exactly is the relationship between the High Table and the Assassin Brotherhood? It doesn’t sound like a superior-subordinate relationship."

"It’s not. Nor are they equals. Rather, one of the High Table’s seats, along with the position of elder, is controlled by a faction of the Assassin Brotherhood in the Middle East."

"A faction? Is the Assassin Brotherhood really that divided? With all these different factions?"

Cassandra explained, "Before the invention of the telegraph and telephone, messages could only be transmitted by letter. Once you got a little farther away from the center, local organizations naturally began doing things their own way.

"They weren’t going to report every little matter to the Mentor of the era and ask for guidance. That habit continued. There are Assassin organizations practically everywhere in the world: Europe, the Americas, South America, North Africa, Southern Africa, East Asia, Central Asia, Australia, Southeast Asia...

"Although everyone follows the same creed and cooperates with one another, and they do their best to carry out the Mentor’s orders, the methods and practices of each region still differ somewhat. There’s no way to completely standardize the entire world."

Henry nodded. "All right, that makes sense. Was it always like this, or did things change at some point?"

Since Henry wasn’t asking about any modern secrets and was merely discussing history, Cassandra had no objection to talking about it.

She organized her thoughts for a moment before continuing.

"Originally, people like us who possess Isu blood, the so-called ’tainted blood,’ established the Hidden Ones in Egypt before the Common Era. It was the first organization whose cohesion came not from an individual, but from a creed.

"This tradition remained active throughout the former Egyptian-Syrian region and eventually developed into the powerful Order of Assassins. However, in the thirteenth century, their stronghold of Masyaf became a target of the Mongol armies.

"At the time, the Mentor, Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad, disbanded the stronghold and scattered the Assassins throughout the world. He also carried the Creed across the globe, attracting anyone who identified with its ideals and wished to become an Assassin.

"However, a considerable number of Assassins continued operating in Syria into the modern era. They became the High Table’s Assassin seat, and were also its most powerful military force during the early days. That’s why the Assassin elder possesses the final authority to make judgments."

Henry said, "It sounds like the elder isn’t actually above the High Table. It’s more like... Hmm, I’m not sure how to describe it."

Cassandra explained, "The High Table is the supreme organization responsible for establishing and enforcing the rules. The elders are responsible for supervision and judgment. It isn’t that the elder’s status is higher than the High Table and they can order the entire system around. The two simply have different areas of responsibility."

"I led a group of Assassins in joining the New York Continental’s operation because the Assassin seat on the High Table asked other Brotherhood members for assistance. Since the matter involved a new type of vampire, I decided to participate.

"Sometimes, certain special missions of the Assassin Brotherhood are released to all contract killers under the guise of Continental assignments. Sometimes this is simply a way to contact their own people in other regions and have them carry out the mission. Other times, it doesn’t matter who completes it.

"So the relationship between the Assassin Brotherhood, the High Table, and the Continental is more like a situation where everyone is intertwined. As far as I know, quite a few Assassins who don’t belong to the faction controlling the High Table’s Assassin seat are also part of the Continental’s system."

Henry sighed. "What a mess. By the way, is it really okay for you to tell me all this? You seem to have very few taboos. You say whatever you want."

"What does it matter? If you leaked all of this, I’d just reveal that you’re an alien. We’d probably both be sent to a psychiatric hospital together. Nobody would believe either of us was telling the truth."

"That’s true."

"Besides, according to my experience, little men who are frank and honest in bed generally aren’t bad people. They’re trustworthy. Tina and the others trust you too. You wouldn’t betray their trust, would you?"

"While I appreciate that kind of trust, I have a serious problem with the words ’little man.’ What’s little about me? Was the lesson you received just now not enough?"

"Hehe. Is the little man angry? How come I don’t remember receiving any lesson?"

"μαλακα! You Spartan woman!"

Speaking in Greek, Henry walked over and picked up the woman sitting before the vanity mirror. Amid her surprised cry, he tossed her back onto the king-size bed.

After all, their positions had been reversed during the first round.

"Your Greek is pretty good, little man. Unfortunately, my actual native language can only be found among obscure university disciplines. If you want to use my native language to sweet-talk and tease me, you’ll have to work harder."

"Then let’s stop talking."

The second round of their friendly match began immediately, without even waiting for the bell.

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