CH 46

“Number Seven and Number Eight, you two go and occupy a vantage point. Your first task is to deal with the four people at the door, after which you are allowed to fire your bows freely in support.” Xin Ke started giving out tasks in a low voice.

“Understood!” Two people came out from the group immediately. No. 7 and No. 8 had archery skills just below Xin Ke’s level. They each carried a recurve bow and a quiver of arrows. Using their years of hunting practice, they both silently climbed up a tree in the courtyard.

The members of the War Wolves were not allowed to call each other by their real names and had to refer to each other by numbers.

Xin Ke soon heard a frog call and understood that No. 7 and No. 8 were ready, and he continued to assign tasks.

“No. 5 and No. 6, you two sneak in and cooperate with No. 7 and No. 8 to deal with the four people ate the door.”

“Understood.” Two more people came out from the group. They took out the military knife strapped to their legs, put it in their mouth, and then cautiously climbed the wall and got in.

“The rest of you, wait and rush in with me. Kill everyone except the target,” Xin Ke said, drawing out the Tang Dao from his back.

“Understood.” No. 2 took out a Tang Dao and a large round sword. He was essentially the tank of the team.

No. 3 and No. 4 both took out two crossbows and held one in each hand. They also had a military knife in their mouths.

Xin Ke gripped the hilt of his blade tightly. His eyes were fixed on No. 5 and No. 6. His heart lifted when he saw that them successfully get behind two of the guards without being noticed.

No. 5 and No. 6 both held a military knife in their hand. They quickly covered the guards mouth with one of their hands and used the other to stab the guards’ heart with their military knives. They even twisted the knives to make sure they were dead.

Whoosh!

Before the other two guards could react, 2 long arrows flew out of the trees and into the neck of the guards, killing them instantly.

No. 5 and No. 6 caught the corpses and put them down gently. They then gestured to where Xin Ke was.

“Action!” Xin Ke was the first one of the four people to get out and rush into the courtyard. They met up with No. 5 and No. 6 and the six people sneaked inside the courtyard.

They only walked for a few dozen steps before they saw 8 guards chatting. Xin Ke made a gesture and they immediately spread out.

“They’re partying again, leaving us out here in the cold wind. They won’t even give us some hot soup to drink.”

“Exactly. They make so much money, but won’t even raise a tiny bit of salary and just keep telling me to beat people up.”

“Ptui! Copper smelling merchants. I’ve helped them kill so many people but they always just give me a few copper coins.”

“I’ve heard that this time, we have to kill that nob- uh….” The voice suddenly stopped speaking. His neck had been pierced by a short arrow.

“Wha… uh…”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Before the guards could react, 4¹ people had been shot in the neck.

No. 5 and No. 6 quickly shot out four arrows and killed four people. There were only four people left, who were quickly dealt with by Xin Ke, No. 5, and No. 6.

Xin Ke shook his Tang Dao to shake of the blood on it. He had just killed two people instantly: one had been cut in the head and the other had been cut in the neck.

The whole process only took two seconds. Xin Ke led his teammates forward and silently killed the guards in the courtyard.

“Who?”

Whoosh!

A sudden shout of panic rang out. A long arrow followed, killing the guard who made the shout.

“We’re exposed, so let’s use brute force,” Xin Ke shouted. He charged forward with his Tang Dao.

They hadn’t expect to be exposed by a guard who had been slacking off in the grass.

In reality, they were able to hide for so long because of the carrots Liu Feng brought, which had cured their nyctalopia.

More than 90% of the people in this era have nyctalopia², including the guards. Xin Ke and his teammates didn’t have nyctalopia, which allowed them to easily assassinate many guards.

A dozen guards immediately rushed out from the inner courtyard. Xin Ke knew that they were the last of the guards. As long as he and his teammates killed all of them, only the target would be left.

Two long arrows flew from afar and took away two people’s life without waiting for Xin Ke to speak.

“Kill!” Xin Ke rushed to the guards and immediately brought about a string of blood with his blade.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Four short crossbow arrows flew out. Without waiting for the guards to fall, No. 3 and No. 4 put their crossbows back and took out the military knife in their mouths and threw them at the guards, killing another two.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The battle was over just as No. 5 and No. 6 took out their Tang Dao. Most of them were killed by crossbow arrows and longbow arrows.

“These guys are so weak, aren’t they?” No. 2 said, shaking the blood off of his Tang Dao. He had killed two people tonight, but he was unsatisfied.

“Shut up. The target is inside,” Xin Ke said in a low voice. He shook off the blood on his Tang Dao.

“Okay.” No. 2 held up his shield and entered the inner courtyard first. Xin Ke followed closely behind. No. 3 and No. 4 had already loaded their crossbows. No. 5 and No. 6 held their Tang Dao and guarded the two.

No. 7 and No. 8 also came down from the trees. They were the last line of firing support.

This was something they learned from the military camp, called Special Tactics: Assault Method.

Translator’s Notes:

² The author wrote 3, but I’m assuming it’s a typo because of the next sentence.

³ Also known as night blindness. It means a person’s inability to see (well) at night or in poorly lit conditions.

I’ll try to make up the chapter from yesterday some time this week.