Chapter 71: Special Combat Unit

Chapter 71: Special Combat Unit
Twilight Forest.

The pure, cold moonlight shone on the thin mist, emitting a hazy glow. Lester wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and turned to look at the more than thirty warriors behind him, dressed like bandits. They were all confidants of the Zach Family. Although their individual strength wasn’t outstanding, their teamwork was very strong. Moreover, these soldiers were all loyal members of the orthodox faction, with no issues regarding loyalty.

In fact, when he received this order from the steward, Lester, as the captain of the family guard, was quite confident. Originally, he was only the vice-captain of the Zach Family guard, with the original captain being the high-rank swordsman loyal to the old patriarch. But after what happened to the young master, he also disappeared, so the responsibility of captain fell on Lester’s shoulders. As a swordsman, Lester wasn’t young anymore. He was now forty-five years old, an age where it was very difficult to make any progress in strength. Because of this, Lester had long ago given up on the arduous training of swordsmanship and instead focused his attention on cultivating his interpersonal relationships. After this incident broke out, his carefully cultivated network of relationships also came into play. Although his strength couldn’t compare to assassins like Della, because he came from the orthodox faction and had always been loyal to the main family, along with having a good reputation, the steward finally decided to promote him from vice-captain to captain. Of course, to prove his ability to others, this mission was also an important opportunity for Lester.

“Our target is just ahead,” Lester gripped the sword in his hand tightly, instructing his subordinates in a low voice. They were hidden in the forest, carefully observing the castle not far away that cast a huge shadow under the bright moonlight, feeling somewhat nervous. Although he had received clear intelligence from the steward indicating that currently, apart from a few maids, there was no real defensive capability in Twilight Castle. Moreover, on the way here, Lester had already observed the guard forces in this area. As the intelligence said, the current two guard patrols were understaffed and could only barely patrol and guard Twilight Town and its surrounding areas. At night, they didn’t even return to the castle but stayed directly in the town to deal with emergencies.

Of course, Lester had also considered targeting Twilight Town, after all, the town was larger than the castle and was open, making it easier to retreat if something went wrong. But the steward had rejected his suggestion because many nobles weren’t very concerned about the villages and towns under their rule, they cared more about their own homes, their own castles. And they couldn’t yet see clearly what kind of person this Julian was, so wasting energy in such a place was very unnecessary.

“Don’t forget our mission. Act quickly, don’t attract their attention,” Lester briefly instructed about the mission, then took a deep breath, as if to calm himself.

“Do you have any questions?”

Faced with the captain’s inquiry, everyone looked at each other, then one of the men spoke up.

“Captain, the brothers have heard that there are quite a few beautiful women there…”

Hearing this question, a cold smile also appeared on Lester’s lips. During their days of gathering intelligence, they had heard many similar descriptions. After all, in the castle, daily purchases were completed by the maids, so naturally, they had more opportunities to appear. In this situation, the people of Twilight Town naturally had more chances to interact with them. For these residents living in a poor and remote small town, these young girls full of youthful vitality naturally became a topic of their casual conversations. After hearing many descriptions from the townspeople, these guys naturally became a bit restless. If it were a normal day, they naturally wouldn’t dare to have such thoughts, but now they were “playing” the role of bandits. What do bandits do? Isn’t it just robbing food, drink, and women? Since they had to do it, why not do it more professionally?

“I understand what you mean,” Lester waved his hand.

“If the timing is right… the brothers will certainly have a chance to relax, you know.”

“Yes, captain,” hearing this, everyone revealed knowing smiles and responded in low voices.

“Don’t call me captain, call me boss. Don’t forget, we’re bandits now.”

“Yes, boss.”

As everyone was chuckling quietly, they didn’t notice that in the treetops above their heads, a black shadow was quietly standing on a branch, observing every move below. Then, it spread its wings and silently glided across the sky, flying towards the direction of the castle.

Bright red flashes lit up from the gaps in the armor, flickering like flames.

“It seems a group of uninvited guests want to visit the master’s castle,” standing on the platform of the main staircase, the maid with golden long hair spoke with a gentle and elegant smile. Along with her words, the wraith warriors around her again flashed with bright red light. In the interplay of shadows and moonlight, nine petite, slender figures stood in the castle’s great hall, looking at Charlotte before them with varying expressions, waiting for her next words.

“There are a total of thirty-one people in the enemy group,” another maid stood quietly on the second-floor platform. Beside her, a black raven was perched on the window, curiously tilting its head to observe the humans in the room.

“To dare to target the master’s castle, they’re really a group of presumptuous bandit gentlemen,” Charlotte’s eyebrows raised slightly, her lips revealing the professional smile unique to maids.

In the invisible air, the whispers of souls also grew stronger. Cold wind blew through the corridors, mixed with howls incomprehensible to mortals.

“This won’t do, Miss Judy. Although you are the master’s direct combat unit, as maids, we should handle the task of guarding the castle. After all, I think it’s time for the sisters to get familiar with the combat methods of these bodies,” Charlotte said.

“Hmph, just a bunch of stupid bandits. Let’s bury them all underground as fertilizer,” another petite maid snorted coldly with pride and disdain, excitedly clenching her small fists and waving them in the air. Her pair of red, slender ponytails swayed left and right with her movements.

“In any case, guests are guests,” Charlotte reached out her hand to smooth her long hair. When her hand fell back to her side, several crystal-clear bottles had appeared between her fingers that were previously empty. The liquid inside reflected dangerous, rainbow-colored light under the moonlight and candlelight.

“As the master’s maids, we naturally need to make the guests feel satisfied. Of course, please try to avoid damaging things inside the castle as much as possible within controllable limits. After all, these are very valuable.”

With Charlotte’s words, the maids who were originally scattered standing in the great hall nodded slightly, looking at each other with confident smiles.

They weren’t ordinary maids, and even among the wraith warriors, these ten maids led by Charlotte were absolutely unique. Unlike warrior-type wraiths like Judy who needed to rely on the power of the soul itself to produce great destructive power, Charlotte and the others were more skilled in combat and killing purely based on technique, without relying on any power. For them, physical weakness wasn’t a limitation in combat. Although they couldn’t become warriors, knights, or assassins, these girls could still use their unique skills to bring undeniable death sentences to enemies.

“Rudy, how are the castle’s external defense devices?” Charlotte asked.

“All prepared,” faced with Charlotte’s question, another girl with shoulder-length black hair and glasses closed the heavy book in her hand and responded in a slightly lazy voice. “Although they haven’t been activated for decades, given the current situation, they should still have the expected effect.”

“To deal with these guys, why use such ancient things?” Another girl with long blue hair, holding a longbow, pursed her lips. Her delicate, cute face showed a somewhat dismissive expression.

“It’s just a group of amateur bandits. Rudy, you don’t think we’re dealing with Holy Grace Knights, do you?”

“Even a lion uses all its strength when facing a lamb, Miss Helena,” but another girl frowned and retorted. She casually adjusted her collar, stuffing those full “weapons” that were almost bursting out of her clothes back to where they should be, then stood with her hands at her sides again, resuming the original maid standing posture – if one didn’t notice the black gloves on her left hand, inlaid with gold and silver threads and full of evil aura.

“This is our first time engaging in combat since we obtained these bodies. I hope everyone can be fully alert to familiarize themselves with their new bodies, especially Miss Chris. Your chest is very different from before, so I hope you can maintain your balance, okay?”

Charlotte’s joke elicited a light laugh from the maids, but soon this hint of laughter was hidden back in the darkness, disappearing.

“Well then, is everyone ready?” Charlotte swept her gaze over her companions before her, nodding with satisfaction. The next moment, her expression immediately became serious.

“Then, from now on, the special combat unit under the Flag of Demise – ‘Black Cat’, begin operation.”

Very quiet.

When Lester led his subordinates to approach this castle, the first thing they felt was an overwhelming silence.

It wasn’t silence in the general sense. As they silently approached the castle and walked up to its platform, it seemed as if all the sounds in the world had stopped here. There was no sound of wind, no sound of trees. Here, everything seemed to have died, with no beginning and no end. Lester even had an illusion that even if they didn’t deliberately lighten their footsteps, probably no sound would be produced. This place was like a silent world of death, where even sound wasn’t allowed to exist.

Of course, they weren’t unaware of the rumors about Twilight Castle. And now, observing this ancient, tall building up close in the night, even those who had never believed in rumors couldn’t help but feel a chill. But now, they had no way to turn back, the only option was to grit their teeth and move forward.

Lester gritted his teeth and finally stood up, walked to the front door, picked up the door knocker, and began to knock forcefully.

“Knock knock knock”

The heavy knocking sound rang out, and soon a clear and pleasant voice came from inside.

“Who is it?”

“We are special envoys of Lord Hans, here on business, hoping to meet with the lord,” as a guard captain, Lester was quite experienced in this aspect. After hearing this, the person inside hesitated for a moment, then with the sound of movement, the door slowly opened.

“I’m very sorry, the master…”

The girl’s words weren’t finished because as soon as the door opened, Lester, who was already prepared, stepped into the doorway. He reached out his right hand to cover the girl’s mouth, then forcefully struck down on the girl’s neck with his left hand. Encountering this sudden attack, the maid didn’t even make half a sound before losing consciousness and falling to the ground. At the same time, Lester drew the sword from his waist, vigilantly observing the hall to prevent any unexpected situations. Although he hadn’t touched a sword for many years, his movements now were smooth and without any hesitation.

What surprised Lester was that in the spacious hall, there were no signs of other people. This was somewhat unexpected. Originally, he thought that coming at such a late hour, there should be some sense of alertness. But now it didn’t seem to be the case. Could it be that in this castle, there was only this one maid on guard?

Doubts aside, since no outsiders appeared, Lester naturally wouldn’t miss this opportunity. He quickly made a gesture, ordering his subordinates to rush into the castle, then casually closed the door, locking it again. This way, even if they were exposed, it wouldn’t be easy for those guard patrols to rush in and eliminate them.

“Looks like there aren’t many people here, cap… boss,” looking around the entire castle hall, others had thoughts similar to Lester’s. The castle was still peaceful, showing no signs of any change, as if no one had entered just now. Pure white moonlight poured through the huge stained glass windows onto the floor, bringing a touch of dreamlike color to the ancient red carpet.

“Don’t say anymore, be careful. This is after all an ancient castle. Move quickly, immediately go and capture those servants. After looting some valuables, we’ll retreat immediately,” saying this, Lester glanced at the ancient clock in the center of the hall. The time on it pointed to 3 AM.

“We only have four hours, we need to complete the mission quickly. If you want to enjoy yourselves, you need to be even quicker. If we’re late, we’ll be in big trouble.”

“Sir, what about this woman?”

“She…”

Faced with his subordinate’s inquiry, Lester reflexively turned around, wanting to answer his question. But when he looked in the direction the other was pointing, he suddenly froze in place.

The maid who should have been unconscious by the door was now nowhere to be seen.