Chapter 234: The Disappearing Convoy

Chapter 234 The Vanished Convoy

The newcomer looked at Richard in some surprise.

Seeing this, Richard understood completely in his heart; the newcomer was simply a little overwhelmed by the old-timer's enthusiasm.

As someone who had joined the squad not long ago and had only recently experienced the negligible treatment given to rookies, Richard felt he ought to do something for the newcomer to help him quickly integrate into the collective.

Precisely because he had experienced that awkwardness, he did not want another newcomer to go through it again.

Most importantly, Richard found this newcomer unaccountably pleasing to the eye and instinctively wanted to get close to him and look out for him.

Without further ado, Richard threw his arm directly over the newcomer's shoulder; the newcomer was rather tall, so Richard had to stand on his tiptoes to manage it:

"Don't worry, I'll take care of you from now on, and you'll soon feel the unique charm of our squad."

The newcomer spoke, asking, "Do you... frequent that pastry shop?"

"Ha, of course!"

"Are you... very familiar with the place?"

"Nonsense!"

Richard tossed his head, doing his best to let his bangs meet the night breeze at the perfect angle, allowing his expression to combine with the moonlight into a fitting look of weathered sorrow:

"Alas, they are all poor souls. Either a father gambled and ran up debts, or younger siblings need to go to school. So, if one can lend a hand, one should."

"You..."

Richard raised his hand, cutting him off: "I can't help it, I'm just that kind-hearted."

Just then, Neo and Karen walked over toward them. Everyone silently put on their masks at this moment; every time the Captain appeared, the atmosphere of the entire squad would instantly shift.

"Let me introduce, this is the newcomer..."

At this point, Neo looked at Karen.

Karen immediately caught the cue: "Newcomer Memphis."

The newcomer remained silent;

Richard nudged the newcomer's chest with his elbow, teasing:

"That name sounds just as ugly as my dad's."

"Tonight is a purging mission with a total of three Whips of Order squads operating together. I have now decided to divide our squad into two combat formations;

I, Karen, Fanny, Peg, Wind, Gray, Richard, and Memphis will form the first formation under my personal command. The rest will form the second formation, commanded by Marlo.

The first formation is responsible for advancing, scouting, and making contact; the second formation will maintain a substantial distance behind the first, ready at any moment to reinforce or cut off retreat."

Hearing the Captain make such an arrangement, astonishment appeared in everyone's eyes. They had thought it was a simple purging mission to deal with some crazed aberrant demons, even assuming that, as usual, their own squad would deploy ahead of time to settle what needed settling and plunder what needed plundering, leaving the other two squads without so much as a chance to clean up the battlefield.

Yet the Captain's current deployment was clearly preparing for an immediate retreat should things take a turn. Obviously, the Captain considered the risk factor of this purging mission to be extremely high.

"I do not wish to see any team member die, but if anyone insists on being careless, I can only choose to attend his memorial service.

Now,

Move out!"

The entire squad boarded a freight train bound for the suburbs.

Upon reaching their destination, everyone jumped from the train. The first combat formation, led by Neo, advanced on foot, while the second combat formation, led by Marlo, rested on the spot.

The destination was a seaside estate, once the fief of a thriving family, though after the family's decline, even the fief had been "sold" off.

The transaction involved here was naturally no ordinary trade; it was more like a replica of another "Allen Estate," except the Allen Estate had endured, whereas that family had not.

For a family possessing a belief system, decline often meant the clansmen were reduced to swine in a pigsty; what they lost was not just wealth, but their very souls.

Soon, after scaling a small hill, a castle estate appeared before everyone's eyes diagonally ahead, situated near the sea.

Electric lights illuminated the estate, and fires burned in quite a few rooms within the castle, appearing completely devoid of anything unusual.

Peg set up a simple array to shield their aura, and everyone rested and regrouped behind the hillside.

Fanny spoke up: "This was originally Sandro Castle, but now it is Flies Castle. The Flies family is a supplier of Iron-hero Sand and does business with the Holy Church, but there was a problem with the composition of the latest batch of Iron-hero Sand delivered; defective products were extremely numerous. Therefore, three days ago, the relevant department of the Holy Church dispatched personnel to demand accountability."

"And then?"

"And then the people sent to demand accountability did not return."

That the people sent out did not return spoke volumes about the problem.

If one simply swapped the Flies family for the Allen family to ponder it, would the Allen family dare to mix defective products into goods directly supplied to the Holy Church of Order? Clearly, they wouldn't dare.

And when facing the accountability personnel sent by the Holy Church of Order, would the Allen family dare to detain them... or use an even more extreme method of handling? The Allen family would dare even less.

How could a family dare to disrespect the Holy Church of Order?

Yet Karen was still somewhat perplexed, and he asked, "Which means, we actually don't know what the specific situation inside the estate is right now?"

"Yes."

"But the Captain said this is a purging mission?"

"Having committed such a massive error and triggered such a great trouble, regardless of whether the Flies family did it voluntarily or under duress, there is no longer any necessity for its continued existence."

Karen nodded, indicating he understood.

So, whether it was the work of aberrant demons or not was entirely unimportant; the Holy Church of Order deemed itself insulted, so action must inevitably be taken.

Although various signs indicated that unless the entire Flies family had water in their brains it was impossible for them to do such a thing, the Holy Church of Order had no desire to delve deeply into the reasons behind it.

This was indeed a form of arrogance born of an orthodox church.

However, for those executing tonight's mission, this method of categorization provided them with a great deal of convenience. There was no longer any need for reservations when striking; after all, an assault mission was bound to be far simpler than a rescue mission.

Richard plucked a blade of grass from beside him and shoved it into his mouth to chew bit by bit. Though the bitter, earthy taste in his mouth made him nearly gag, he maintained an indifferent expression and a veteran's gaze.

Glancing at the newcomer beside him and seeing that his body was a bit stiff, Richard shook his head and said, "I don't know whether it's your good luck or bad luck, but the Captain actually assigned you to the first combat formation as well."

His tone carried the implication that only old-timers could shoulder such an important task.

The newcomer said nothing.

"Are you very nervous?" Richard smiled. "Don't be afraid, I'll protect you."

As he spoke, Richard even patted his own backpack.

The newcomer still said nothing, but instead lay down, his gaze turning to the stars in the sky.

Richard felt this newcomer understood none of the rules for rookies; when he looked out for him like this, the fellow didn't even know how to respond.

Looking up, he glanced at Karen on the other side; he still wanted to skirt over and lie down next to Karen, as that would make it convenient to chat and pass the time less tediously.

Finally,

Neo caught sight of the people he was waiting for.

Two convoys came speeding along the road beneath the hill. The reason it was clearly discernable as two separate factions was that signs of cutting each other off and provocation were clearly visible during their advance.

Seeing this scene, a mocking smile appeared at the corner of Richard's mouth, and he teased:

"Ah, truly a bunch of mischievous children."

After offering his lament, Richard looked once more at the newcomer lying beside him; the newcomer was still watching the stars.

Two motorcades ground to a halt before the grand gates of Fort Ales, and two groups of people disembarked.

Together, the parties entered the ancient fortress, but the moment they crossed the threshold, every single light within the citadel abruptly died, plunging the world into a pitch-black abyss so unnatural that neither moon nor star could pierce its depths, as though the place had been severed from the living world in an instant.

"Something... feels wrong," Richard muttered.

"What feels wrong?"

The captain’s voice materialized directly behind Richard, making him jump.

Turning to face the captain who had appeared at his flank, Richard swallowed hard and said, "Captain, how could I possibly know the specifics—"

"It is neither a barrier nor an array, but pure concealment."

"Concealment? Could its physical form truly be that immense?"

"A physical form is not limited to flesh and blood; anything capable of extending from oneself is considered a part of the body."

"What do you think it might be?"

"Unclear."

"Then do you think we should move closer to investigate?"

"Unclear."

"Should I report this directly now, and maintain observation from our current position?"

"Unclear."

Neo nodded, showing no trace of anger but rather letting slip a chuckle; though masked, Richard could distinctly hear his captain's laughter.

Seeing the captain and the newcomer conversing in such a manner, Richard, however dull, realized this novice was no ordinary man, and for a moment, he felt his face flush with embarrassment.

As the captain moved to another position, Richard seized the chance to nudge the newcomer, asking:

"What did you use to do before this?"

The newcomer turned his head, cast a brief glance at Richard, then turned back to resume staring at the stars.

Richard’s lips contorted in a silent, furious tirade directed at the novice.

"What are you feeling right now?" the captain’s voice materialized beside Karen.

"Feeling?"

"Yes."

Karen felt as though the captain was treating him like the "Chasay Prophetess."

"I believe it must be highly dangerous down there, but we should ultimately wait to see when those two squads emerge, or, even if they fail to return, they ought to stir up some commotion within the manor."

From the moment the two squads entered the manor until now, an absolute silence had reigned; of course, even from their elevated vantage point, Karen and the others could no longer see a single shred of the fortress.

"My intuition is incredibly strong," Neo spoke up. "That mass of darkness makes me deeply uncomfortable."

Karen knew the captain possessed power rooted in the system of Light; after that shroud of darkness enveloped the entire manor, the captain must have sensed something.

In fact, Karen suspected the captain had experienced a premonition even earlier than he had, and that mentioning he was catching up on sleep inside the Le Mar pottery workshop that afternoon had been a subtle hint—perhaps simply because the captain disdained playing the "prophetess" and had shifted the burden to him.

In any case, this was the first time he had ever seen the captain, who always prided himself on being a hunting hound, behave with such... caution.

Time ticked away, minute by minute.

Nearly an hour had passed since the two squads entered the fortress grounds.

Throughout this duration, Neo, as captain, issued no orders whatsoever; every member of the First Combat Platoon crouched or lay in silence against the reverse slope.

"Time is about up. Fanny, notify the Second Platoon to report to the Holy Church in my name: tell them my three squads have encountered a bizarre assault inside the manor and suffered severe casualties, and request immediate reinforcements."

"Understood, Captain."

With the command given, the captain’s figure vanished once more, only for Karen to spot him again on the opposite slope.

"Where is that sword of yours? Why didn't you bring it this time?" Pego asked, shifting closer to Karen.

"It was too heavy, it felt rather cumbersome."

"Oh, I see." Pego reached out to pat the back of Karen’s hand, her gaze drifting toward the captain’s current position. "Don't you think the captain is acting a bit strange today?"

"The captain surely has his reasons."

"Of course I know that," Pego said, rolling her eyes at Karen before falling silent, propping herself flat on the ground to toy with her nose ring with a fingertip.

Suddenly, the darkness that had cloaked the Fort Ales manor began to dissipate, and the lights flared back to life.

A crowd of people emerged from the manor gates, seemingly the members of those two Order's Whip squads; they climbed into the vehicles they had arrived in, the engines quickly roaring to life and headlights piercing the gloom as they U-turned to retrace their path, still aggressively cutting each other off and exchanging provocations along the way.

The entire sequence bore an unspeakable aura of the uncanny.

Since all three squads had received the exact same mission, the nature of the task could not possibly be peaceful; the two squads went in and came out, yet nothing unusual transpired within the fortress?

What, then, had they gone inside to do?

The only logical explanation was likely that Fort Ales had offered a sufficient display of apology, surrendering the culprit while offering those two squads enough compensation to let them use that individual to account for their mission. After all, the thoroughness of a cleansing operation was judged solely by the cleansers—the respective squad captains.

Now, they were heading back, effectively treating the mission as accomplished.

Yet, if the matter were truly that simple, how could the preceding darkness be explained?

Neo materialized in the midst of the unit again, commanding: "All hands fall back. Fanny, message the Second Platoon and have them find a way to intercept that motorcade."

"Understood, Captain."

Thus, the men who had lingered on that slope for nearly two hours retreated without having accomplished a single thing, yet not a soul murmured a complaint.

After marching back for about fifteen minutes, the silhouette of the motorcade appeared on the small highway ahead; the cars were all parked by the roadside, headlights blazing and engines left idling.

Marlow and his men stood along the flanks, and upon seeing the captain return with the vanguard, he stepped forward:

"Captain, something is wrong. We were preparing to intercept the motorcade as ordered, but as we advanced up the highway, we found these vehicles abandoned by the roadside with not a single soul inside."

Neo walked to the roadside, flung open a car door, reached in to feel the seat, then leaned into the cabin to sniff around, failing to detect any anomaly.

Those two squads had clearly driven out; there was absolutely no reason for them to abandon their vehicles here and proceed on foot.

So, where on earth had the members of those two squads gone now?

Or rather, who exactly had driven the cars out in the first place?

"Withdraw the unit and fall back, await the reinforcement team!"

Captain Neo handed down the order, which signified that the mission here was virtually declared a failure, and he had no intention of pressing on.

The unit began marching toward the railway where they had initially jumped from the train; midway through, there was an intersection between the railway and the highway, where the tracks ran above and the road passed through the hollow of an arched stone bridge below.

Just as the men retreated to this spot, a light flared within the hollow, and car after car drove out from inside, the drivers honking at one another, cutting each other off, with many leaning out of the windows to thrust their middle fingers at their companions.

The quantity, models, and license plates of the cars were identical to the ones the men had just discovered abandoned on the highway behind them.

"Stop the cars!"

Neo thundered the command.

The squad members swarmed onto the highway, and Fanny fired a red signal flare from her rifle.

The two motorcades screeched to a halt, the doors flew open, and a massive crowd of people poured out.

Immediately following, two men wearing silver masks stepped forward from the midst of the two respective crowds, and one of them demanded:

"Is that Squad Neo?"

The other man spoke up, "It has to be them. I heard from our peers in Samp long ago that they're just like hunting hounds, always fond of stealing the meat early, leaving not even a crumb for anyone else.

Damn it, looks like we're late again. Whatever was going on in the manor must have been settled by them already."

Neo walked over, eyeing the two captains standing opposite him.

"I am Neo."

"Hello, Neo. I'm Anthony."

"Kansei."

Neo removed his mask, revealing his face, and said to them,

"Please remove your masks now."

"Neo, what is the meaning of this? We are currently in the middle of a mission." Though he spoke thus, Anthony still removed his mask, exposing a gaunt face.

"What the hell?" Kansei removed his mask as well, revealing a face covered in a thick, bushy beard.

Neo's gaze swept over their faces, remaining silent.

"Has the situation at the manor already been resolved by your squad?" Anthony inquired.

"Neo, you can't just let us make this trip for nothing!" Kansei bellowed. "Leave me something at least, so I can treat my subordinates to a late-night snack."

"I am sorry..."

"Heh, looks like it's already dealt with."

"Damn it! Is there no room for negotiation at all? This was a mission taken on by three squads together, after all."

Neo looked at the two of them,

and said,

"I am sorry, but I suspect that you two are already dead."

Anthony and Kansei immediately adopted a guarded stance. Anthony drew his leather whip, while a pair of scimitars appeared in Kansei's hands, crossed before his chest. Seeing their captains assume defensive postures, the squad members behind them likewise braced themselves for combat.

Neo rolled up his sleeve, revealing a silver wristwatch, and spoke,

"Check your watch."

"What on earth do you mean by that? Are you babbling nonsense because you've only just been weaned?!" Kansei swore directly.

Neo spoke,

"Four-oh-five."

Anthony cast a glance down at his own watch, his gaze freezing, and responded,

"One-oh-five."

---

There will only be one update today. The upcoming plot is quite difficult to write, and I need to carefully deliberate over it.