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墨書 Inktalez
The night enveloped the land, leaving only a crescent moon hanging in the sky, emitting a faint silver glow. This weak silver light was not as glaring as the sun, yet it could drive away the darkness that shrouded the earth, allowing the land, which had lost sunlight, to still retain a semblance of brightness.
An ancient castle stood, having witnessed hundreds or even thousands of years, yet it was not lonely or desolate. This was the castle of Reed, the patriarch of the Frank Family. Surrounding the castle was a vast estate, comparable in size to an international park, so large that one could easily get lost within it.
Every corner around the ancient castle was guarded by hidden sentries. Numerous patrol teams roamed the area with advanced rifles from Y Country in hand, making the castle as secure as a fortress, seemingly impenetrable even to a tiny mosquito.
However, tonight, a group of guests arrived at Reed's estate. Reed was unaware of their arrival. Under the cover of darkness, Lion and his companions moved like phantoms, one by one replacing the surrounding sentries with their own people.
Their actions were swift and cautious, aiming to remain undetected. They succeeded; they had thoroughly understood the patrol schedule of the sentries and could strike without raising any alarm.
After two hours of operation, while Reed remained oblivious, Lion and his team had successfully replaced the sentries with their own men. This would greatly aid their next rescue plan; with the cooperation of these sentries, their retreat would be much easier.
Night Peak, Lion, Afterimage, Seductive, Demon Slayer, and Starfall acted separately. Before proceeding, they had made comprehensive arrangements regarding who would do what, along with timing and meeting points.
As their actions progressed according to Lion's plan, once they dealt with the sentries, Night Peak and others quickly returned to their prearranged meeting point.
Night Peak quietly assessed the current situation: "Lion, we have completely cleared out the sentries. Our success now depends on our timing; if we are too early or too late, our operation will be compromised."
"Yes, we must stick to our original plan. The visible sentries are crucial; if we disturb even one of them, Reed will know we have invaded his estate. At that point, we will face the entire Elite force of the Frank Family!" Lion emphasized. "Everyone stay alert; understood?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Alright, let's begin!"
Taking advantage of a gap before the patrol team arrived at their location, Lion and his five companions swiftly moved through the night with incredible speed, resembling ghosts gliding through darkness—only their shadowy figures were visible.
Thanks to intelligence gathered from Jessica's side, Lion and his team were well-acquainted with Reed's estate layout and sentry placements. They had made thorough preparations beforehand: first eliminating hidden sentries and then slipping into the castle during gaps in the visible patrols.
Now was an opportune moment for Lion and his team to infiltrate the castle. Therefore, Lion led Night Peak and others swiftly toward it. Time was short; if they did not seize this opportunity well enough, they risked being surrounded by enemies. However, at this point, Lion and his team were already committed to risking their lives.
"Wait!"
Suddenly stopping in his tracks at the front of the group, Lion raised a hand to signal Night Peak and others behind him to halt. He turned back and gestured ahead where a figure stood with its back to them—appearing to be distracted.
"Let me take care of him!" Night Peak volunteered eagerly. Regardless of whether Lion agreed or not, he stealthily approached without making a sound.
This was an essence of Chinese martial arts—the Lightness Skill. Many believed it to be merely fictional in martial arts stories; however, that was not entirely true. Martial arts simply exaggerated aspects of Lightness Skill; while feats like walking on water were impossible with it, it indeed allowed for light-footed movement without any noise.
"Good skills. It seems I underestimated Evil Ghost too much before. He really knows how to hide himself. If I hadn't seen him show off today, I wouldn't have realized that there are masters among the common people!" Lion said softly, smacking his lips.
The guard, Distraction, finished his task and comfortably shook himself, just about to turn and leave. However, he didn't expect that death had already descended behind him. Night Peak drew out a dagger, quickly covered the man's mouth with one hand, and with a swift slash, dragged him into the shadows.
Night Peak waved to Lion and the others, signaling them to come over. Just then, the Patrol Team arrived in this area, causing Lion to stop in his tracks. The group's brows furrowed in unison as they prepared for a fight.
Only Night Peak remained somewhat calm, quickly diving into a darker spot and remaining motionless. The hazy moonlight was not enough to reveal Night Peak's figure; it would be hard to notice unless one looked very closely.
"Brothers, stay alert and pay attention to your surroundings!" the leader of the Patrol Team instructed his squad. "The chief has given orders that someone will definitely come to cause trouble soon. We must be cautious and not let them sneak in."
The patrol team did not notice anything unusual and walked past, continuing their patrol mission. Lion and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief and moved toward Night Peak.
"Damn it, that bastard just said to watch for movements around us. I thought we were really going to fight! Who knew that idiot was just talking nonsense!" Lion said irritably. "Let's go; there won't be another chance like this. We need to hurry into the castle."
With that, Lion moved first and rushed toward the castle, while Night Peak and the others followed closely behind. As they dashed forward, Lion suddenly found a hook in his hand and threw it toward a small window of the castle. The hook landed perfectly and latched onto the window.
Without saying much, Lion climbed up the rope directly, followed by Night Peak and the others who quickly ascended as well. Time was running out; another Patrol Team was on its way. If they remained outside the castle walls any longer, they would all likely die!
Although Lion appeared clumsy, his agility was remarkable. In no time, he was the first to climb inside the castle. Soon after, Night Peak and the others followed him in and stowed away the hook.
Lion surveyed their surroundings and quickly whispered, "We are currently on the fifth floor of the castle, while our boss is trapped underground. While Reed hasn't noticed us yet, we need to rescue him immediately and then retreat!"
The group did not speak but swiftly moved quietly downwards through the castle. However, when they reached the fourth floor, which had been dark until now, lights suddenly turned on, followed by the sound of alarms echoing throughout the castle.
"Damn it! This place even has an infrared security system! Now our identities are exposed. We need to retreat immediately and plan again later!" Lion cursed as he turned to run downstairs, with Night Peak and the others quickly following behind.
"Hmph! Since you've made it this far, you won't be leaving!"
Before Lion and his group could reach the entrance on the first floor, they saw Hank leading a group of trained Special Forces closing in from all sides. They were surrounded both front and back; their situation felt like being wrapped up like dumplings. Lion decisively led everyone toward a nearby room while providing cover fire.
Suddenly, intense gunfire erupted in the silent castle as bullets flew through the air like rain. Occasionally, explosions from Grenade could be heard as well; this cacophony undoubtedly alerted Frank Family outside.
"Damn it! These bastards are quick to react! Just after setting off the alarm, they've already surrounded us!" Afterimage said with a bitter smile. "In this situation, there's no way to retreat now; it looks like we're really going to die here?"
"Shut up! Until the last moment comes, whether we live or die is still in our hands!" Demon Slayer tightened his grip on his rifle and unleashed a frenzied barrage at the enemies; however, their firepower was overwhelming, forcing him back under heavy fire.
Night Peak peeked down at the castle's underground level and saw reinforcements pouring into the castle—those were Reed's troops. Once they arrived, Lion and his group would essentially be trapped like cornered beasts.
"Ha ha, listen up inside there! As long as you don't resist us and obediently lay down your weapons to surrender, I might spare your lives!" Hank laughed maniacally and said, "Don't doubt my words. With just a command from us, you will die, just like a hornet's nest!"
"Get lost! Stop giving me lectures! Your life is right here; if you have the guts, come and take it! If not, go hide like the coward you are!" Lion immediately shot back angrily at Hank's words.
"You really are asking for punishment. Since you all want to die here, we can certainly send you on your way. After all, with Shura outside, we can play however we want!"
Hank continued to laugh wildly, but he was directing his subordinates to close in on Lion and the others' last stronghold. Once they broke through that final line of defense, Lion and the others would have nowhere to hide!
"Damn it! If you have the guts, come over! One for one, two for two; if I'm going to die, I'm taking a few of you with me!" Starfall shouted angrily, throwing a grenade outside that exploded in a burst of sparks but failed to hit any enemies.
Even though Lion and the others were skilled fighters with excellent marksmanship, they couldn't unleash their abilities in such a small room. The enemy's numerical advantage had them pinned down tightly inside.
Now all it took was a command from Hank for Lion and the others to leave this world entirely. However, Hank had no intention of killing his captured prey; he wanted to capture Lion and the others alive.
"Hmph, if they want to capture us alive, then let them come. We'll fight back immediately; there might still be hope!"
Night Peak took out a grenade, ready for one last desperate fight. Lion and the others nodded in agreement and also pulled out grenades. They planned to detonate them as soon as Hank's men got close. If they were going to die, so be it; there was no room for thought now. Fighting back might just give them a glimmer of hope!
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