Chapter 175: Attack, The Derangement Squad
After the memorial ceremony ended, Ophelia solemnly promised Master Anderson that once Darkmoon Island and the Church of Order completed their talks, the Darkmoon family would send people over to discuss cooperating with the Allen family.
Master Anderson wept with joy. Karon felt that it might not have been a genuine outpouring of emotion, but that he had genuinely broken into laughter, because Karon had already informed the old man, through Alfred, of the rough course of events and had also provided certain arrangements to follow. Master Anderson knew the true nature of the supposed world-shaking romance.
He definitely believed his own ancestor. After all, not long ago that ancestor had ridden past him on the back of a dog. Under such circumstances, even for a seasoned old actor like Master Anderson, it would be hard to keep his cheeks from twitching. But his ability to recover a scene was very strong, and in Ophelia's eyes, the old patriarch truly was overjoyed that his family had gained protection.
She could sense that the overall strength of this family was rather weak. Even Tier 1 and Tier 2 members had been brought out to make up the numbers, something unthinkable on Darkmoon Island.
According to the itinerary, Ophelia was to return to York City. Master Anderson led his family to see them off. Watching the car drive out through the manor gates, the old man let out a sigh. Because of Young Master Karon's arrival, their family's fortunes had visibly begun to improve. He would never believe that all of this was merely simple ancestral protection from the past, because without Young Master Karon, Allen Manor might already have ceased to exist. How could it possibly have lasted until today?
Everything would get better; Everything was already getting better.
Master Anderson suddenly felt his hands itch, and instinctively touched the walking stick in his hand. His gaze swept across the area, only to realize that at some point, his second son had already made his way far off to handle the closing arrangements of the ceremony.
The old man gritted his teeth. That damned brat, even without legs and stuck in a wheelchair, he still moves this fast!
***
"What is the building I saw near the manor’s gate earlier?" Ophelia asked.
"I asked the servants. It is a performance hall that Miss Poelle had her family build while she was at home. She liked sitting there alone, enjoying the solitude that belonged to her." Karon deliberately blurred the time the theater had been built and its real purpose.
Ophelia sighed with feeling. "Just like how my ancestor built a palace on the island solely for Miss Poelle. When my ancestor was alive, he often stayed there alone as well. Perhaps at those times, they could sense the longing coming from each other."
Karon nodded. Yes, please continue your imaginings.
Two hours later, he pulled out a large bag. Inside were neatly wrapped portions of food: roast meat, roast chicken, smoked meat, sausages, and all kinds of salad. He did not ask Ophelia if she wanted to eat, but simply opened the packets one by one and laid them out.
Fannie understood at once and immediately prepared some of the drinks which always kept ready in the car.
"The road back is still long, miss. Let’s eat something first. I am hungry again." Karon said it in a declarative tone, then proactively handed a roast chicken to Ophelia.
"Alright."
Everyone began eating. The Darkmoon Island family's faith system was probably inclined toward strengthening the body, so their appetite would naturally increase greatly. Karon felt that this young miss must get hungry very easily.
That was indeed the case. Although Ophelia ate very elegantly, and not particularly fast, she kept eating the entire time. To keep her from feeling awkward for eating alone, Karon and Fannie kept her company throughout. Karon had even prepared extra, and, apart from the vegetable salad, everything was meat dishes, yet it all ended up eaten clean.
What an astonishing appetite... Karon increasingly felt that pushing away the dining cart that morning had been an especially grave sin.
Sinra took out a clean handkerchief and handed it to Ophelia. The young woman folded it in half, cleaned herself, and then, instead of returning it to Sinra, casually passed it to Karon. He did not stand on ceremony, but reached out and took it. He used the other half to wipe his mouth and hands.
This time the maid said nothing. In her heart, she was still rather grateful for the care Karon had shown Miss in those small details that afternoon.
"There are less than three hours left before we reach the hotel," Karon said with a smile.
"Mr. Karon seems very familiar with this stretch of road?" Miss Ophelia, now full, picked up on something.
"I simply have a good memory."
At that moment, a black owl flew to the front of the car. Paige opened the window, and the owl flew in and landed on her shoulder, then the owl dissipated into a wisp of black smoke. She announced, "We’ve received a request for assistance from another Whip of Order squad. They’re at a sanatorium ten kilometers to our northeast."
Karon asked, "We are in the middle of an assignment; Are there no other squads nearby?"
Paige answered, "The squad that sent the request for assistance is the rescue squad."
Fannie said, "We wait for the captain's order."
Not long after, Paige said, "The captain's orders are to ignore the distress signal and focus on our own assignment. We are to return to York City."
Ophelia spoke up, "I do not think you need to be so concerned about me. You can go rescue your own colleagues."
Fannie smiled. "Even if we didn’t have a mission, we would probably still be too lazy to rescue them."
"Oh, so that is how it is, hehe." Ophelia smiled as though she could understand it.
But not long after they resumed driving, Paige suddenly brought the car to a stop. "An anomaly has appeared ahead. The captain’s signaling us to be alert!"
As she spoke, she spread both hands and started chanting. The same black mesh that had appeared yesterday wrapped itself around the VIP car. Fannie pulled a black case out from under the seat. She opened it and began assembling something. Very quickly, a red rifle was put together. The whole process flowed like water, carrying a strange kind of beauty.
There was a click as a round was chambered. Fannie leaned sideways against the car door and fixed her gaze on the outside. Her rifle was obviously a high-end piece.
Karon hesitated for a moment, then took out the most basic little Arts revolver he carried with him. Then he too copied Fannie's posture, leaning against the car door on his side and watching outside.
Time passed, second by second. Outside, it was utterly quiet, and the order to stand down never came.
"It looks like the problem is serious." Ophelia spread her hand. The female warrior seated beside her handed over the greatsword she had been carrying on her back. The warrior herself drew two daggers from her sleeves and held them tight.
Sinra took out a gray pistol that was flowing with an Arts aura. Karon noticed that even the maid's pistol looked more advanced than his little revolver.
Ophelia laid the greatsword across her knees and closed her eyes. At that moment, movement finally came from the perimeter, but it was neither fighting nor the sound of Arts.
From Karon's side, he saw two rings of light appear on the slope below the road. They should have been rings summoned by Arts, and within them were some figures supporting one another.
An owl flew over again. Paige opened the mesh to let it approach, and it ended up staring eye to eye with Karon through the car window.
Paige opened the window, and the owl turned to fly to her side, where it dissipated again.
"It’s a distress signal," Paige said. Immediately after, she straightened and said, "Captain's order: stay alert and prepare for battle!"
Karon was slightly puzzled. The group descending the slope was clearly another Whip of Order squad. Logically speaking, at this point, even if they had failed their assignment, they should still have gone up to receive them. Yet the captain's order was for them to stay alert.
But Karon did not doubt the captain's judgment. On the contrary, he liked Nio's decisiveness very much. No matter what, putting one's own safety first was never wrong.
Crack!
The sharp sound of a whip exploded through the air. It should have been Nio in the darkness, swinging his whip. The sound was a warning, a warning to the other side not to continue approaching them. If it were later proven that this really was just a squad retreating from a failed mission, Nio's action would certainly lead to complaints from them, but clearly the man did not care.
"The captain signals that they have appeared on the other side too," Paige said.
Karon was curious. She should have some special channel of communication with the captain. It was not a radio, but likely some kind of sound-transmitting holy relic.
"I see them," Fannie stated.
Karon instinctively looked in her direction. Their car was currently positioned in the middle of the road, with slopes on either side, but Karon could not see any light on the other side. He did notice that Fannie's eyes had turned gray. She must have gained vision beyond normal human limits at this moment.
So now there are Whip of Order squads descending from both slopes? At this point, even Karon could confirm that the scene was strange. It was as though the enemy had deliberately designed an ambush circle and was waiting for them to enter it.
Paige immediately restarted the car and shouted, "Captain's order, break out to the rear!"
The rear was the direction from which they had come, while the front was unknown. If they were breaking out, the rear was naturally the better choice. Paige yanked the steering wheel hard left and slammed her foot on the accelerator. The car made a wide turn.
Ophelia sat firmly in the middle of the seat, unmoving. The warrior at her side and Fannie across from her were pressed against the windows, and neither of them moved either.
Only Karon needed to reach out and seize a handhold, and even then, his body was half lifted by the force. Sinra simply tumbled forward in front of Karon, landing on her knees.
He gave a start. He was genuinely worried that the pistol in her hand might go off at that moment.
The turn completed, and Paige began driving at full speed, but after only a short distance, she slammed the brakes.
Buzz! Buzz! Suddenly, a huge earthen wall appeared in front of the car. If not for the timely braking, the whole vehicle might have crashed straight into it.
"Open the doors and get out!" After shouting this to Karon, Fannie immediately threw open the door on her side.
Karon also yanked open the door on his side and jumped out. At the same time, he grabbed Sinra, dragging her down out of the car as well. Ophelia's figure also appeared outside the vehicle. Just as everyone got out, a sharp, towering earth spike suddenly shot up from beneath the car, piercing straight through the chassis and impaling the whole vehicle in the air.
Paige pressed both hands to the ground and began chanting. In an instant, muffled explosions came from below the earth, followed by blood seeping up through the soil.
Bang!
Clack!
Bang!
Clack!
Bang!
Fannie began firing, cycling the chamber and firing in rapid sequence. In the darkness, bursts of red light flared one after another. Karon clearly understood that this was a phenomenon that only appeared when Arts bullets hit their targets.
"The captain's order is to continue breaking away!" Paige shouted.
At that moment, Karon saw fierce explosions erupting where they had just been, along with violent waves of Arts energy. Clearly, the captain and the others were already engaged with the enemy's main force and were holding them back.
Compared with that, what their side needed to deal with was probably only a group that had temporarily pulled away to block them.
"We retreat first!" Fannie led the way while Paige guarded the rear. Karon moved together with Ophelia and the others in the middle as they ran up a slope beside the road. They ran for roughly ten minutes without stopping, and they were not attacked again during that time.
When they reached a small depression, Fannie signaled for everyone to move to the far side. She then climbed up a nearby tree, disappearing into the branches as she began to observe.
While fleeing, to run ahead blindly without restraint was a foolish thing, because it could leave one's own side exhausted, with no strength left to fight if danger came again. Another reason was that Fannie did not want to get too far from the captain and the others, because she believed they could resolve the situation, provided they were given some time.
Karon flattened himself against the ground, watching the front warily while gripping his revolver tightly. Of course, he knew that the gun in his hand would not be able to do much under these circumstances, but right now, he needed to hold something.
Ophelia, on the other hand, sat there with her greatsword stabbed into the ground and said, "Why do I feel that this time the assassins are not targeting me?"
Earlier, it had been very obvious that two inexplicable Whip of Order squads had appeared and approached their car. If nothing unexpected had happened, one should have been the squad originally carrying out the mission, and the other should have been the squad sent to reinforce them.
But something seemed to have happened to those two squads, and if someone truly wanted to assassinate her, they should not have needed to go to such lengths. This was no longer about assassinating her. It had nearly become an act of open war against the Church of Order. She did not think she was worth such a price. Even for forces with old grudges against Darkmoon Island, it would not make sense to expend such a great cost just to kill her or sabotage this round of talks.
Their side still did not know the situation on the captain's end. Paige also seemed to have lost contact with the captain. Was it due to distance, or was some kind of interference at work?
Karon also noticed something else. Sinra, who had gotten out of the car and fled with the others earlier, had fallen behind at some point and was no longer with them. She was probably only an actual maid who was responsible for daily service. In the current environment, Fannie and the others would not care about the woman’s presence at all, and would focus solely on Ophelia's safety. Even Ophelia and the female warrior had no time to pay Sinra any attention.
This was not coldness, but simply that a noncombatant at such a moment was nothing more than dead weight. Besides, if Sinra curled up in some corner with her head down, she might actually be safer.
Inwardly, Karon felt a trace of regret, not because he was worried for Sinra, but because before falling behind, she should have swapped pistols with him.
Bang! Fannie fired from the tree above. She aimed north, which was the direction Karon had been facing earlier.
He instinctively pushed off the ground with both hands and sprang up, because he felt that Fannie's shot had not been meant to kill, but to warn!
Sure enough, a mass of black mist suddenly appeared before Karon, followed immediately by a wave of foul stench. He knew there was no longer time to run.
"Order—Protective Wall!"
"Order—Protective Wall!"
"Order—Protective Wall!"
"Order—Protective Wall!"
"Order..."
Ordinarily, the low tier Arts Protective Wall would have been somewhat useless in a situation like this, but what if one piled layer upon layer of uselessness together?
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
A series of crashing impacts followed, but one layer after another managed to weaken the attack, and the thing's advance was finally stopped.
Paige leapt forward from Karon's side. Threads appeared in her hands. After she jumped into the black mist, the threads suddenly spread out and then tightened savagely!
Bang!
It was like juice bursting everywhere, as though some huge thing had been directly shredded apart by Paige. The reeking fluid splashed even onto the ground in front of Karon. Although it was blocked by the final Protective Wall, he still was struck by the nauseating stench. Even now, he still did not know what had been charging at him within that black mist.
At that moment, black mist rushing toward them also appeared from two other directions.
Panmir leapt out and plunged into one mass of black mist. In the next instant, a scream came from within it.
At the same time, Fannie also jumped down from the tree. There seemed to be a bayonet affixed to the end of her rifle. The moment she landed, the tip of the bayonet stabbed into the existence within the black mist, immediately followed by a bang. She had apparently switched to a special bullet, and blood exploded outward together with black mist.
Karon instinctively moved closer to Ophelia. His teammates were all defending on the outside, so what he needed to do was naturally to protect the mission target. At that moment, he suddenly sensed that the ground beneath his feet had become soft, as though it had turned into sand.
"From below!" Karon shouted. He was just about to summon the Sea God's Armor and the Darkmoon Blade, while grabbing Ophelia's arm to pull her behind him. At a moment like this, there was no longer any room to care about hiding his strength or anything else. If he lost his life, what meaning would the rest have?
Yet Karon failed to move Ophelia. Instead, she caught his wrist with a reverse grip and flung him aside.
"..."
The young woman held her greatsword, which was already embedded in the ground. A dazzling crimson light immediately burst from it. The light bathed Ophelia herself, and a similar radiance seemed to ripple across her whole body.
She then violently yanked the sword out of the ground. A centipede, whose upper half had already been thoroughly mangled, was dragged out. The greatsword released strands of crimson light that completely shredded the rest of the centipede's body while it was still in midair.
After finishing the kill, she slung the greatsword over her shoulder. The sight of her slender frame carrying such a massive blade created a striking contrast.
Seeing this, a sudden sense of relief rose in Karon’s heart. Fortunately, he had made sure that she was well fed.
