In the drizzling rain, ten people were seen half running through the forest. One of them was a girl with blue hair. She walked in the front row among the men in gold and white armor.
"How far do you think we need to go?" One of the armored hunters complained to his partner. His lips seemed to be wrinkled from the cold night.
"Who knows? Far enough to leave us cold in the rain," another colleague chimed in.
"What are we saving monsters for?"
"Shut up, don't complain too much. If the white-haired man hears about it, we can be reported to the leader."
The man clicked his tongue. After that, they kept their mouths shut again.
Isaac who was listening to the whispers of their conversation didn't respond. He didn't like them, the members of the Golden Dragon, their nature was far different from Ling Tian. He even didn't want to take them on the homunculus 'rescue' mission.
After a heated conflict in the camp, Ling Tian as the party leader agreed to Isaac's plan. He was willing to lend his men to join the homunculus rescue operation.
Isaac only needed eight people. At first, he only chose from the members of Nine Sky. One of them was Aditya. However, Ling Tian persuaded him to bring some people from the Golden Dragon. The man felt the need to lend his guild power as a form of responsibility and participate in this plan.
Ling Tian couldn't come with them because he had to take care of his men. So did Wang Yi. Guo Chen insisted on coming along, but was refused. Isaac wanted his trusted man to remain in the camp to guard against the monster attacks.
The reason he only brought troops in small numbers was so it did not attract the attention. In fact, he could actually complete this mission by himself. However, people would be suspicious if he was the one moving alone.
So, these eight people only served as meat shields.
After a long journey, they arrived at a cave. There were two homunculus with pale skin and white hair guarding at the front.
"We've reached the place."
They hid behind the bushes, watching two human monsters wielding spears.
"Are we going to finish them off?" Aditya asked. The dark-skinned man shook slightly. His teeth trembled as he spoke.
"Yes," Isaac replied curtly. He looked back and saw the eyes of his subordinates one by one. "Which of you can kill without a sound?"
Two men raised their hands. They were both the members of the Golden Dragon.
"Good. I will distract them. You finish them off."
"Alright," they replied in unison.
The two men got up and lurked into the bushes. They hid close to the two homunculus who were on guard. The two of them hid in separate places.
They gave Isaac a signal that they were ready. Then, Isaac threw a stone near the bushes where they were hiding. The homunculus heard it.
The two homunculus seemed to be looking at each other. It wasn't long before one of them set out to check on the sound. Isaac threw another stone. The remaining homunculus guarding the mouth of the cave finally got curious too. The creature came to check it out.
After they showed their backs, the two hunters who were hiding quickly jumped from the bushes and killed them quickly.
Splat! Splat!
Blood spilled on the ground. The sound of the rain covered them. The monsters died without making a sound.
Isaac smiled with satisfaction after seeing them doing their job well.
'Good.'
They were grouchy and obnoxious, but at least they were useful.
Then, Isaac and the others came out of the bushes. They quickly entered the cave safely as Aman guided for the way.
Inside like a cave in general. It was dark, damp, and the sound of dripping water was heard. One of the Golden Dragon members was about to cast fire magic as a light, but Aditya quickly restrained him.
"Do not do it. Remember, we're infiltrating the monster's den."
They really couldn't see anything but pitch blackness. They touched the shoulders of the man in front of them so they didn't get separated. In a way, they depended entirely on Aman.
Inside their minds, they were wondering what homunculus's sensory abilities were like.
"Hey, did you guys see it?"
"Yes, I see it."
After going deep enough down the passage, they saw a glimmer of green light in the darkness. The hunters quickened their footsteps. They couldn't stand being blind.
After they arrived at the light source, their eyes opened wide. They couldn't believe the sight they saw.
Water tubes with body parts and organs in it lined up neatly. The green light from the tube glowed brightly. The sound of bubbles rang out along with a buzzing sound. It was as if they had entered the zombie lab they used to see in the horror films.
"Hey, stay focused."
Isaac's rebuke snapped them from their fantasy world.
"I need three people to come with me."
"I am coming along."
Aditya was the first to propose himself. Of course, Isaac included Adit. He was the first person that came to his mind.
Then, the two members of Nine Sky also proposed themselves.
"The rest stay here. Don't touch anything. Do not do anything that could trigger any alarms or traps. You understand?"
"We understand."
Only one person responded. The rest seemed still transfixed by the sight they saw.
Isaac and the selected members walked into the passageway of the lab. Aditya walked while looking around. It was difficult for him to ignore the rows of human organs and limbs.
Their footsteps stopped when they arrived at a room with the homunculus asleep in the capsule. Iron hoses stuck in their bodies. Aditya and two other members were shocked to see it. The things that surprised them even more was that they were of the same age as Aman.
Instantly, the feelings of pity overflowed their hearts.
"What kind of creature would do this to children?" Aditya muttered. He really felt hurt after seeing them.
The other members were the same. Their view of Aman began to change.
Isaac glanced at the expressions on all of their faces. He wondered what would happen if they found out that Ling Tian wanted to kill all of these homunculus. Would they still be the same?
It was enough to make Isaac curious. Because in his dictionary, the Demon Lord never felt pity for their opponents.
Pity was a weakness of the heart that would one day lead to regret.
"Now, let's release them," Isaac ordered.
His men were surprised to hear that.
"Is it okay if we release them?" asked Adit with a worried face.
Isaac nodded. "It's fine. They can survive. Besides, it's your job right now."
Adit swallowed his saliva with difficulty, quite surprised at the responsibility he had just received. He was used to dealing with the lives of adults, but not with children. This was enough to pressure him.
Then, they moved and released a homunculus from the tube. Aman gave them instructions on how to remove the hoses attached to the body. Aditya quickly cast healing magic to heal him.
After receiving the treatment, the homunculus opened his eyes. He really was like innocent children.
Isaac was the first to invite him. He stroked his head with a smile.
'Good now. I am your master.'
This was what Isaac aimed for from the start, stealing Earl Xenovia's homunculus.
Every monster had immoderate obedience and loyalty to its master. That applied to dungeon monsters purchased at the shop, but the homunculus was different. They were not sold from the shop. To make them obedient, a bond was needed first.
They were like newly hatched chicks. The first creature they saw would be their mother. Isaac tried to take advantage of this situation to build a relationship with the newly awakened homunculus into the world.
From now onwards, they would consider Isaac as the master.
"Alright. From now on, you are safe. No need to worry anymore. Understand?" Isaac said gently.
The homunculus children nodded obediently. They were really innocent.
After that, they started releasing the other homunculus one by one from the tube. Aditya treated them at high speed, making the extraction process go faster.
In less than thirty minutes, about thirty homunculus had come out.
"Finally, we managed to get them all out."
Aditya smiled widely while wiping the sweat off his forehead. A look of relief was evident on his face. So was with the others.
Isaac smiled too. The mission was a success.
"Now it's time for us to return."
Aditya raised his eyebrows.
He was about to ask Isaac if the homunculus children were able to walk out, considering that they had just woken up from their long slumber. Moreover, they had no footwear to walk in the middle of the forest.
Unfortunately, he didn't have time to say the question, because a scream echoed in the lab.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺