Chapter 433 - 407: Hunting Time

Chapter 433: Chapter 407: Hunting Time

The night wind was like a cold rasp, grating against the Stukas’ wings.

Altitude: eight thousand meters.

Below the clouds, the Black Stone Mountain Range coiled across the land like a dormant python. This was the heart of Hector’s territory, and the source of that putrid stench.

"It’s right there."

Mia hugged Ola’s stout waist tightly from behind, her entire body pressed against the Dwarf’s broad back. Her voice trembled, not from the severe cold at this altitude, but from a spasm of mixed fear and excitement.

She released one hand, extending a slender finger to point with certainty at a pitch-black valley below.

"I don’t need a map... Every ridge on this path, every swirl of the air currents, is etched into my nightmares."

The veins on the back of the hand Mia used to grip the saddle bulged, her nails digging so deep they nearly pierced the leather. Her hatred for her former master, the man who had treated her as a plaything and tortured her at will, was more bone-chilling than the high-altitude wind.

Kael’s cold voice projected directly into everyone’s mind. ’Roger that.’

’Gebei Squad, prepare for airdrop.’

’Target: Outside Mine No. 7.’

’Engage and kill all hostiles. Leave no survivors.’

Kael adjusted his Goggles and checked the shortsword at his waist. He turned his head to look at the small figure not far away.

’Are you scared?’

Xiaolan shook her head. She was busy tucking her last dagger into her boot, her movements as practiced as if she were arranging cutlery.

’Good kid. Hold on tight.’

Kael patted the Knight in front of him and issued the command.

’Descend!’

The white raptors, which had been gliding smoothly at high altitude, suddenly folded their wings.

A powerful feeling of weightlessness washed over them. Ten Stukas silently pierced the thick clouds, diving toward the valley.

The wind howled in their ears, but as they neared the treetops, the behemoths displayed astonishing control. They abruptly spread their massive wings, using the immense drag from the airflow to decelerate.

"WHOOSH—"

The gust of air sent dry leaves scattering in all directions.

There was no earth-shattering impact as they might have expected. Giant talons gripped the soft Humus Soil, and powerful leg muscles bent to absorb the force of the landing.

The ten Big Thief Gulls came to a steady stop among the shadows of massive fir trees, making almost no sound other than a faint thud upon landing.

Kael undid his safety buckle and slid down the bird’s wing. The moment his boots touched the ground, he sprang forward, pressing himself against a massive tree trunk to stand guard.

Soon after, Xiaolan, Mia, and the other squad members also landed swiftly, silently fanning out to form a temporary defensive perimeter.

Ola patted his old companion’s neck, signaling for it to crouch low and hide its form amidst the dense bushes.

The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet.

No insects chirped, no birds called. There was only the CRACK of dry branches rubbing against each other in the wind, a sound like the sharp snap of shattering bone.

’Position one, secure.’

’Position two, secure.’

The squad members’ reports sounded one after another in their minds.

Kael made a hand signal, pointing toward a faintly visible watchtower ahead.

It was the first line of defense for the workshop’s perimeter.

Normally, a vital location like this would be heavily guarded. But at this moment, there was only a single, lone figure on the wooden watchtower, leaning against the railing, motionless.

Kael moved in quickly, crouching low and using the bushes for cover.

Fifty meters. Thirty meters. Ten meters.

The guard still didn’t react, not even turning his head.

’Something’s wrong.’

Kael pushed off the balls of his feet, vaulting lightly onto the watchtower’s ladder. His shortsword left its sheath in a flash of cold light, aimed straight for the man’s throat.

"THUNK."

There was no spray of fresh blood, nor the muffled sound of a blade sinking into flesh.

The tip of his sword felt like it had stabbed into a bundle of rotten stuffing.

Kael flicked off the "guard’s" helmet.

It revealed a burlap sack with a comical smiling face drawn on it, stuffed full of moldy straw.

"Hah."

Kael sheathed his sword and spoke coolly over the public channel.

’They’re all scarecrows.’

’Hector’s been completely defanged.’

Mia’s voice cut in, sharp and tinged with gloating.

’He’s scared. The front line collapsed, so he pulled away everyone who could still breathe. This place is just an empty shell now.’

’Don’t get careless,’ Kael warned on the channel. ’Keep moving forward.’

The squad moved like a group of ghosts, quickly passing through the outer defensive zone.

The sights along the way confirmed Mia’s suspicions.

The defensive perimeter, which should have had a guard every few steps, was now as desolate as a graveyard. Most of the guard posts were occupied by these crudely made scarecrows, some with incomplete armor, looking utterly farcical in the cold night.

They continued on until they neared the entrance to the mine pit.

Finally, they detected the presence of living people.

It was a five-man patrol. Although they wore the uniforms of the Black Iron Guard, their sloppy gait and the cheap liquor bottles in their hands gave away their true caliber—a gang of hastily assembled grunts.

"What shitty luck, having to patrol this godforsaken place in the middle of the night."

The fat guy in the lead kicked a pebble, cursing under his breath. "Heard that thing down below leaked again? Killed a few people?"

"Who gives a damn," another, skinnier man said, taking a swig of liquor. "They were just laborers anyway. As long as they don’t make us go down there. That smell... UGH, just one whiff and I feel like I’ve lost ten years off my life."

They failed to notice several shadows sliding down the rock face to a position right above their heads.

Kael held his shortsword in a reverse grip, preparing to strike.

A hand pressed down on his shoulder.

Mia leaned out from the shadows. Her purple eyes, now glinting with an uncanny light, showed no trace of her former timidity. In its place was the playful cruelty of a cat toying with a mouse.

"Let me."

Mia licked her lips. "I didn’t come all this way back just to do nothing. I should at least give my enemy’s dogs a little welcome gift."

Kael hesitated for a moment, then withdrew his hand.

Mia took a deep breath and formed a strange hand seal in front of her chest.

Invisible psychic ripples spread out from her as the center.

The patrolling guards who had been complaining suddenly stopped in their tracks.

The skinny man at the rear suddenly snapped his head up, staring at the fat leader in front of him. In his vision, the fat man’s back began to twist and bloat, transforming into a fanged plague monster dripping with pus.

"Mon... Monster!"

The skinny man let out a high-pitched shriek, drew the Longsword from his waist, and hacked at the fat man’s back like a madman.

"SQUELCH!"

The sharp blade sank into flesh.

"AH! Are you crazy?!"

The fat man screamed and turned around. But in his eyes, his attacker wasn’t his own subordinate, but a hideous demon that had just crawled out of the mine pit.

"Die! Die!"

The fat man roared, smashing the mace in his hand violently down on the skinny man’s head.

Chaos erupted.

The five men, as if possessed, shrieked and brandished their weapons, launching fatal attacks on their former comrades.

Blood splattered, and screams echoed through the empty valley.

Mia squatted on the rock, chin in her hands, watching the slaughter below. A string of laughter like the chiming of silver bells escaped her lips.

"Bite him! Yes, bite his throat! Ha, brilliant."

In less than a minute.

The battle was over.

The five men lay in pools of their own blood, dismembered, but even in death, their faces were frozen in masks of extreme terror and madness.

One wasn’t quite dead yet.

The skinny man, one leg severed, was struggling to crawl away, still muttering incomprehensibly, "Monster... monster..."

A small figure descended from above.

Xiaolan landed in front of the skinny man.

Without any wasted motion, she gently plunged her dagger into the back of his neck, severing his spine.

She withdrew the blade, flicked it clean of blood, and sheathed it.

The movements were as fluid as flowing water, without a single wasted motion.

’Cleanup complete.’

Xiaolan stood up, her voice young yet cold.

Kael leaped down from the rock, glanced at the bodies on the ground, and then at Mia, who still looked like she hadn’t had her fill.

"Next time, be quicker."

"Oh, come on, I just wanted to liven things up a bit," Mia said, sticking her tongue out before shrinking back behind Kael.

The group arrived at the mine pit entrance.

It was a massive gate of refined steel, its surface smooth and cold, without any fancy decoration.

Xiaolan walked up, about to put her shoulder into pushing the gate open.

A hand suddenly clamped down on her shoulder. Kael silently shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the dry, rusted crevices of the door’s hinges—in this environment, the shriek of rusted bearings would be enough to wake the entire camp.

Kael gestured to a subordinate behind him.

Someone immediately came forward, took a metal flask from their tool pouch, and began to oil the hinges.

After waiting several seconds for the liquid to fully seep in, Kael gave Xiaolan the "continue" signal.

Xiaolan reached out again, placed her palm against the heavy gate, and applied steady pressure.

This time, the gate, which weighed half a ton, seemed to float on a surface of oil, swinging inward smoothly without making the slightest sound.

At the same time, a stench so thick it was almost tangible billowed out silently from the opening, carried on a damp, cold wind.

The smell was like thousands of dead fish left to bake under the hot sun for three days, mixed with sulfur and the stench of burnt corpses.

"Cough, cough... BLEGH..."

Mia covered her nose and dry-heaved. "What in the world is in there..."

Kael gave a hand signal.

The group put on special beak-shaped masks and filed inside.

Behind the gate was a wide passageway sloping downward. Dim yellow Magic Lamps hung on the walls, stretching the group’s shadows long and distorted.

It was too quiet.

It wasn’t the quiet of an empty place, but rather the oppressive silence before a storm.

Kael stopped in his tracks.

He took a black metal canister from a leather pouch at his waist.

"According to the plan, we scout ahead first."

He twisted off the lid.

"SKITTER SKITTER SKITTER..."

A dense, rustling sound emerged.

Countless black, rice-grain-sized insects poured out of the canister. They had hard carapaces and tiny compound eyes—the very same reconnaissance-type Soldier Ants bred by Sarah.

After landing, the insects didn’t scatter randomly. Instead, like an organized army, they quickly split into several dozen streams, spreading deep into the earth through cracks at the base of the walls, ventilation ducts, and drainage gutters.

’Connecting to the hive network.’

’Visual sync initiated.’

In their minds, their vision began to fracture.

Countless fragmented images pieced themselves together, constructing a three-dimensional map.

Dark pipes, dripping rock walls, abandoned mine carts... every detail was laid bare under the watch of these countless "eyes."

As the Soldier Ants ventured deeper, the images began to grow disturbing.

Scratch marks appeared on the walls.

They were marks gouged into the solid rock by human fingernails. Some of the scratches still held traces of dried blood and broken nails.

Tattered scraps of clothing were scattered on the ground, along with the skeletons of some unidentifiable creatures.

’Depth: three hundred meters.’

The lead Soldier Ant sent a message.

’High energy reading ahead. Life signs... extremely chaotic.’

Kael tightened his grip on his shortsword.

They were approaching the heart of hell.