Chapter 39: The Men in Black

"Clack! Clack! It is the third watch of the midnight hour, all is peaceful and safe!" At twelve o'clock in the morning, the night watchman of Luolong County walked to the northern area of the city, shouted a few times at the top of his lungs, then yawned and walked away, his eyes bleary with sleep.

Once the night watchman had walked far away, three masked men in black emerged stealthily from the shadows of a street corner. Their footsteps were light, and they made not a single sound as they moved; clearly, they were all experts who had practiced Lightness Skill.

The three men in black arrived silently outside the house Meng Dayong had purchased.

"Are you sure this is the place?" asked a burly man in black, gripping a Ghost Head Broadsword.

"Boss, don't you worry. I've been watching it all day; those hunters are indeed staying here," a thin man in black whispered.

"The lamps are all extinguished; it seems that bunch of hunters is asleep. It is now the middle of the night, the time when people are in their deepest slumber."

"In a moment, we will sneak inside silently. Our priority is to take care of that half-grown boy first; he is a Second Grade Lower Tier Martial Artist. Once he is finished off, the others will be nothing but lambs waiting for the slaughter."

"Shouhou, can you confirm which room that half-grown boy is staying in?" the burly man said.

"I scouted the location during the day. That half-grown boy and his father are staying in the room directly facing the courtyard gate."

"Good. Shouhou, Pangdun, be quick and nimble for me later. Once we pull this job off, we'll split the wealth inside three ways. I'll even treat you to flower wine—drink your fill, eat your fill of meat, and play with the women as you please."

The burly man's words made the other two men in black boil with excitement. Isn't that why they do this line of work—for silver and women?

They had heard that this group of hunters from the mountains was filthy rich. Not only had they bought a Pill, but they had also bought two secret manuals, and they had the money to buy such a large house. They must have other good things on them; this was a group of fat sheep. As long as they killed them all, they would make a fortune.

If they pulled this job off, it would be enough for the three brothers to eat, drink, gamble, and carouse for a long time.

"Don't worry, Boss. This isn't our first time doing this kind of thing; we'll definitely do it beautifully," said the man nicknamed Pangdun.

"Shouhou, you go in first." At the burly man's command, Shouhou gathered his Qi and lightened his body, leaping upward. His body shot up more than two meters high, and then his right hand pressed against the top of the three-and-a-half-meter-high wall. With a grab and a push, his body vaulted over the courtyard wall like an agile night cat.

When Shouhou landed, his hands and feet touched the ground simultaneously, and he didn't make even the slightest sound.

He was extremely cautious, lying on the ground to listen for movement inside the rooms. He only heard the sound of snoring coming one after another from the eight rooms. It seemed these hunters from the mountains had poor vigilance and were completely unprepared for anyone to kill them at night.

"Heh heh! Dying in one's sleep is quite nice; at least they'll be dead before they can feel any pain."

Shouhou grinned, then tiptoed to the courtyard gate, undid the bolt, and supported the door panel with both hands, slowly opening the gate without making a sound.

The burly man and Pangdun walked in. All three drew their weapons and headed toward the room where Meng Yifan was.

The burly man was a Second Grade Middle Stage Martial Artist, while Shouhou and Pangdun were both First Grade High-Level Martial Artists. The mission they had received was to kill Meng Yifan and Meng Dayong.

With their strength, they could have killed Meng Dayong and Meng Yifan even with a direct frontal assault, but in this line of work, the emphasis was on a single-strike kill. Frontal assault was not their style; sneaking in to kill while the enemy was asleep was their customary method.

The three of them coordinated tacitly. After exchanging a glance and confirming everyone was ready, Shouhou took a Dagger, gently inserted it into the door crack, began to nudge the bolt bit by bit, and then slowly pushed the door panel.

Then, as the door opened, Pangdun's body flickered as he darted into the room. But the moment he stepped inside, he felt his left leg trip over a thin wire, and immediately, a tinkling sound rang out in the room.

As the bell rang, the burly man's expression changed. He knew that killing the enemy silently was no longer realistic. What they had to do now was rush in while the enemy was still groggy from being startled awake and finish the battle as quickly as possible.

"Full assault!" the burly man shouted, then kicked the door open and rushed inside with his weapon, bringing Shouhou with him.

The door being opened instantly triggered the triggers of the crossbows on both sides. Only two crisp sounds of bowstrings were heard, and two crossbow bolts were fired directly at the doorway. At that moment, all three men had just rushed into the room, and the two bolts came straight at them, scaring them into dodging to the side in a hurry.

"Ah!" Pangdun let out a miserable shriek. In the darkness, he stepped on a bear trap. The bear trap, made of refined steel, had immense power. Once the mechanism was triggered, it snapped shut violently, and the serrated jaws clamped fiercely onto Pangdun's right leg.

"Crack!" Pangdun's right leg was snapped directly by the bear trap, and he howled in pain.

On the other side, Shouhou did not escape unscathed. His left foot stepped into a bear trap. In that split second, he hurriedly channeled his Lightness Skill, wanting to pull his left foot out, but although he was fast, the trap closed even faster. In the end, it still severed three toes on his left foot.

Meng Dayong was a hunter, and the thing he lacked least was bear traps. They had set thirteen bear traps inside the room, covering almost every place one could step.

To dodge the crossbow bolts, the burly man also unfortunately stepped on a bear trap. However, he was a Second Grade Middle Stage Martial Artist with skin like steel and iron; the bear trap clamped onto his left leg, but it only left a white ring, failing to break his defense at all.

The burly man bent down, grabbed the bear trap with both hands, and with a violent heave, pried it open. By this time, Meng Yifan and Meng Dayong had already been startled awake. They reacted quickly; once awake, Meng Dayong gripped his Mountain Opening Blade and charged at the burly man.

"Courting death!" the burly man roared, brandishing his Ghost Head Broadsword and hacking toward Meng Dayong's head.

Meng Dayong swung his Mountain Opening Blade, clashing against the burly man's blade. The massive recoil forced Meng Dayong to take a step back. Only then did he realize that this burly man was actually a Second Grade Middle Stage Martial Artist, a level stronger than Meng Dayong's current strength.

The burly man was also startled. The intelligence said there was only one Second Grade Lower Tier Martial Artist here, but now there were two. Shouhou and Pangdun had both been injured by the bear traps, their combat effectiveness greatly reduced. If he had to face two Second Grade Lower Tier Martial Artists alone, it would truly be quite troublesome.