Chapter 306 - 304 : A Reckless Plan (1)

Chapter 306: Chapter 304 : A Reckless Plan (1)

By evening, a thin veil of mist had settled over a deserted village.

Arthur stood in the shadow of a roofless house, looking down a street that had not seen ordinary life in years.

Weeds grew between the paving stones. Doors hung crookedly from their hinges, and faded curtains stirred behind broken windows.

Beyond the abandoned buildings, the Temple of Moonlight rose against the darkening sky.

Or rather, what remained of it.

One of its towers had collapsed. Another leaned at such an alarming angle that Arthur wondered what was still holding it upright. The pale stone of the outer walls bore scorch marks, while the symbols carved above the entrance had been deliberately defaced.

Yet the compound surrounding the temple was anything but neglected.

Floodlights illuminated the approaches. Guard towers overlooked the surrounding streets, while protective enchantments shimmered faintly along the perimeter. Armed patrols moved between the checkpoints, their presence ensuring that no unauthorized person could approach unnoticed.

The entire village had been designated a restricted zone.

No civilians.

No pilgrims.

No visitors without authorization.

Arthur glanced back toward the checkpoint they had passed through earlier before turning to Max.

"I did not expect getting into the village to be that easy," Arthur remarked.

Max adjusted the mask covering the lower half of his face.

"Money is a beautiful thing, my friend."

Around them, his seven companions waited in silence, all wearing masks. Some watched the rooftops, while others kept their attention fixed on the road leading toward the temple.

"And corruption," Max continued, "is one of the few things you can find everywhere."

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"The gatekeeper?" he asked.

"A good friend of mine," Max replied.

Arthur gave him a skeptical look.

"He seemed remarkably willing to ignore us."

"I made him a generous offer," Max explained.

He glanced toward the distant checkpoint.

"Too bad he will probably be executed when someone investigates what happened tonight."

Arthur stared at him for a moment before giving a dry nod.

"I wish everyone had a friend like you," he remarked.

Max smiled beneath his mask.

"Thank you."

Arthur looked at him.

"That was not a compliment."

"I decided to accept it as one," Max replied.

He crouched beside the broken wall and peered toward the guarded compound.

"And for your information, he was not a good man," Max added.

Arthur turned his attention back to the temple.

Max’s voice lost its amusement.

"Getting into the village was the easy part. The real difficulty starts there."

He pointed toward the guarded compound.

Arthur followed his gesture.

A narrow service road wound between the temple’s outer buildings before reaching a secured entrance. Several guards stood beneath the floodlights, while others patrolled the perimeter in carefully spaced intervals.

Max checked his watch before turning back to Arthur.

"You remember the plan?" he asked.

"Unfortunately," Arthur replied.

"The guards rotate every hour. The next change is in five minutes," Max explained.

He gestured toward his companions.

"They create the diversion as the two shifts meet."

Then he reached into his storage ring.

Two identification cards appeared in his hand, followed by a pair of neatly folded white robes.

Max kept one set for himself and held the other out to Arthur.

"Once everyone is looking in the wrong direction, you go in."

Arthur accepted the robe.

"And you?" he asked.

"I make certain you reach the service entrance. After that, my part of the job is finished," Max explained.

He held Arthur’s gaze.

"If you get caught inside, that has nothing to do with us."

"Comforting," Arthur replied dryly.

"You already swore the mana oath. No names. No locations. Nothing that could lead them to my people," Max reminded him.

Arthur slipped the false identification card between his fingers.

"I remember."

The oath lingered faintly within him, an unpleasant pressure that reminded him of the promise he had made.

Max studied him for another moment before turning his attention back to the road.

Arthur unfolded the white robe.

"What exactly are your people going to do that will draw enough attention away from a place like this?" he asked.

Max’s eyes creased slightly above his mask.

"Watch," he replied.

Headlights appeared at the far end of the street.

A large transport van emerged from the mist, its headlights cutting through the darkness as it approached the temple compound. Its tires hissed against the damp stone.

Almost simultaneously, a group of guards emerged from the service entrance.

Twenty men.

Arthur studied them carefully.

Most carried the familiar aura of A-rank fighters.

Two, however, stood apart from the rest.

Their auras were heavier and more controlled, radiating a pressure that set them distinctly above their companions.

S-rank.

The van stopped beside them.

Its side door slid open, and another twenty guards stepped out.

Eighteen A-rank fighters.

Two more S-rankers.

Forty guards now stood gathered beneath the floodlights, their armor reflecting the harsh white glare.

Arthur’s gaze narrowed.

Beside him, Max turned toward a blue-haired woman crouching near the wall.

"Nyra," he called.

She looked up at him.

"It is time," Max told her.

Nyra gave a brief nod.

Across the street, one of the newly arrived guards rolled his shoulders, loosening up after the journey.

"We are here for the next shift," he announced.

An S-rank guard from the outgoing group nodded.

"Good. The place is yours," he replied.

He glanced toward the van before looking back at his companions.

"I am going to find a bar that serves something worth drinking."

Another guard laughed.

"Do not spend all your pay before you get home," he teased.

The first guard shook his head.

"I still have to buy something for the children. They will never forgive me if I forget again."

A few of the others chuckled.

For a brief moment, the heavily guarded compound seemed almost ordinary. The men exchanged casual remarks as they prepared to trade places, seemingly unconcerned about the danger lurking beyond the temple walls.

Then a faint beeping sound came from beneath their feet.

One of the S-rankers stopped smiling.

His expression changed as his gaze snapped toward the ground.

"Everyone, ru—"

BOOM!

A blinding flash swallowed the road.

The explosion tore through the gathering, unleashing a violent shock wave that struck the abandoned houses. Loose shutters rattled, and dust poured from cracked walls as fragments of stone hurtled through the air.

Arthur braced himself against the broken wall, shielding his face as debris scattered across the lane.

For a moment, the glare left him unable to see anything beyond the blinding light.

Then the brightness faded, leaving behind a thick cloud of smoke and swirling dust.

Arthur’s eyes widened.

The transport van had been torn apart.

A section of the road had collapsed into a smoking crater, its fractured edges glowing beneath the floodlights. Twisted metal lay scattered across the stones, while flames flickered among the wreckage.

Arthur turned sharply toward Nyra.

The blue-haired woman remained crouched beside the wall, one hand still closed around the small device she had used.

Max watched the rising smoke for a moment before turning toward Arthur.

"Nyra is a master at making explosives," he explained.

Arthur looked back toward the ruined road.

As the dust began to settle, four figures emerged from the wreckage.

Only four.

The S-rankers.

One stood behind a fractured barrier, blood running down his temple. Another staggered forward, a portion of his cloak missing and his armor battered by the blast.

A third dragged himself free of the wreckage before straightening with a furious snarl.

The fourth remained almost unnervingly composed, his gaze sweeping across the destruction as he assessed the situation.

Around them, none of the A-rank guards rose.

Bodies lay scattered across the ruined approach. Shattered weapons, broken armor, and twisted pieces of metal littered the stones.

A severed arm rested near one of the van’s broken wheels.

Farther away, a bloodied helmet had rolled against the curb.

Arthur’s gaze drifted toward the spot where the guard had been standing moments earlier, the man who had spoken about buying something for his children.

Nothing moved there.

For a brief moment, Arthur remained silent.

Then an alarm began to howl.

Red warning lights flashed along the temple walls, bathing the ruined approach in an ominous crimson glow.

Shouts erupted from within the compound.

The diversion had begun.