Chapter 67 Special Tactical Assassination
The moonlight was gentle, and the full moon was high in the sky, making it a perfect night for moongazing. The usual sounds of insects were conspicuously absent.
Beyond the castle's backyard walls lay the back mountain, now barren of leaves due to autumn, with only bare trees and discarded yellow leaves.
A meandering stream from the back mountain flowed through the castle's grounds, providing life to the backyard garden. Strangely, while elsewhere, the trees and flowers had withered to a yellowish hue, the backyard garden remained lush and green.
Carter's knights, all having resided within the castle and participating in its defense, were privy to the fortress's vulnerabilities. They knew the breach in the war stronghold, the easiest point of infiltration was the castle's backyard.
One could enter the castle by simply following the stream from the back mountain. Sixteen knights had gathered at the back mountain, standing atop a small hill, gazing towards the illuminated section of the castle. There, in the castle's study, the highest structure of the fortress resided.
"We are sixteen, and the castle has only a few occupants. Do we all need to go?" one asked.
"Is our leader's mind clear today? Has anger clouded his judgment? I doubt we'll have much success tonight," another remarked.
"Enough. Let's focus on the mission and not on personal gain. We must be cautious," the knight captain, a prudent man, interjected.
The others smirked. They had always been successful and had no faith in the newly appointed noble. It was said that his subordinates were taught by a disabled man.
The common soldiers, who only knew how to run and chant, needed to be properly trained. Even a little practice with a spear would have been beneficial. With such soldiers, a single charge could easily defeat them.
"The moonlight isn't favorable for stealth tonight. It will be challenging," one knight observed, looking at the moon and the barren forest ahead.
"Don't complain. Let's split up and make our way. The task is relatively simple tonight. Don't get hurt; it would be embarrassing," the knight captain said, leading the way into the forest.
The sixteen individuals formed teams of two, three, and four based on personal preferences rather than discipline.
The knights entered the forest, gripping their swords. Their eyes were sharp, particularly attentive to the shadows of the trees.
The sound of snapping dry branches echoed continuously in the silent night, carrying far into the distance.
"I was supposed to have some fun with a woman tonight, but now it looks like we're here for bloodshed. Hopefully, the women in the castle will give me some pleasure."
A knight grumbled, swinging his long sword lazily in his hand, somewhat absent-minded. He pondered whether it was time to retreat, settle down in a small town, and find a wife to live a peaceful life.
Having grown weary of the daily killings, he felt he had earned enough coins.
As he broke another twig, a hand emerged from beneath the fallen leaves, grabbing his ankle. Before he could react, he received a punch to the throat, followed by a swift twist of his head.
"Is this my first blood?" Under the moonlight, a face painted with leaf juice camouflage revealed itself. It was Leo, tasked with eliminating all intruders.
Leo dragged the lifeless body into a pit, wearing a camouflage suit made of yellow leaves, and silently moved toward his next target.
Anyone who dared to challenge Henry would be eliminated!
This was their territory, and if their actions disturbed Henry, it would be their failure.
"I need to take a leak. I had a bit too much oat wine before coming." a knight said, waving his hand to signal his companions to go ahead.
"We'll go ahead. Hurry up, or you won't get a share." another replied.
"Be careful not to get eaten by wolves! I heard there are werewolves around here!" the knight warned sarcastically.
The knight waved his hand impatiently and cursed, "Get lost! Child's play won't scare me."
The two companions chuckled and walked away. They still had a distance of 6500 to 9800 feet from the castle's backyard, so they didn't need to speak quietly.
"I don't know why the master recruited him."
"Who knows? He's quite passionate. The last woman I had, he took her away. It's disgusting."
The two men gossiped about their companion, unaware of the movement in the area covered by yellow leaves.
The sound of something cutting through the air. The two experienced knights reflexively dropped to the ground, but then they saw two figures pouncing on them. Dirty hands covered their mouths, and before they could struggle, a flash of light caught their eyes, followed by a sharp pain in their chests, and then darkness engulfed their consciousness.
"I've taken care of it!" Number Five slowly removed his hand from the knight's mouth, not bothering to remove the dagger from the corpse to prevent blood from gushing out and creating a strong smell of blood.
They could come back later to retrieve the dagger when handling the bodies.
"I'm good here too." Number Six raised an eyebrow, sneering, "These two are really stupid. They actually thought the arrows were meant for them and obediently lay down, saving us some effort."
The arrows they shot were deliberately off-target. Otherwise, once they hit, the other party would definitely scream, which would alert the enemy.
"Let's go. There are still a dozens of people. I wonder how the others are doing." After dealing with the bodies, Number Five pulled out another dagger from his thigh.
"Isn't there one more behind? I'll deal with him." Number Six waved his hand and went to lurk in the back.
Number Five spread his hands, his sharp eyes looking towards the direction of the castle, and said coldly, "The life now is something I never dared to imagine before. You scum actually dared to covet Henry's things; you deserve to die."
Number Five was like a lone wolf on the hunt, bending down and groping forward. He had to kill all the enemies before they entered the castle's backyard to avoid disturbing Henry's work.
