Currently, six people were patrolling the periphery of the warehouse, grouped into three pairs. This arrangement ensured that, at all times, two thugs were together. Thus, they needed to swiftly disable one thug before the other could sound the alarm, on top of avoiding the other group from noticing them missing. This made their infiltration exceedingly challenging, underscoring the need for speed and silence.

“The moment those thugs turn around, we’ll make our move. I’ll go for the one on the left while the two of you handle the one on the right. Your primary goal is to disable your target without him making a sound,” Elysian instructed, his tone serious as he looked at his companions. When he saw them nodding, he continued, “I don’t care how you do it. You could kill him or render him unconscious; I don’t care. Just ensure he remains silent. Though, I prefer you kill him. It would be better for the barony and safer for us. We won’t constantly need to watch our backs, worrying someone might be there to attack us.”

“Yes, master,” Osric quickly responded with a firm resolve in his eyes.

 

‘He seems to quickly understand the point I’m trying to make. Good.’

 

“Amara, you stay here and hide. Don’t go anywhere,” Elysian instructed, glancing at the young woman. “We’ll take care of the patrol first. I’ll give a signal when it’s safe to follow us.”

“Okay.”

Shifting his attention back to the warehouse, Elysian saw the patrols turning their backs on them as they followed their route. “Go!” he exclaimed silently. Unsheathing his dagger, he walked as quickly and quietly as possible, followed by his two companions.

As they approached their target, Bran suddenly grew very anxious, stumbling to the ground. Luckily, the servant had the presence of mind not to shout. Still, the sound of the lumbering giant hitting the earth was enough to immediately alert their target.

 

‘Sh*t! Ugh, this clumsy idiot!’

 

Before the thugs could shout, alerting the others, Elysian sprinted forward. With a slight push from the aura in his feet, he propelled himself, instantly arriving in front of his target. Just as the thug spotted him, the noble’s dagger struck upward, piercing the enemy’s jaw and penetrating his brain. The thug did not even know he had died; his death was instant. 

Witnessing the death of his comrade, the other thug flinched, stumbling to the ground. Fortunately, he was too shocked to call for help. With the thug frozen in place, Elysian moved swiftly to make another kill, determined not to alert the other patrols. 

Before the noble could attack the thug, however, Osric jumped above his target, covering his mouth. With their significant size difference, the former soldier was almost thrown aside. However, the older boy had the presence of mind to hook his legs beneath the thug's underarms, preventing him from being thrown. Gritting his teeth, he stabbed his target in the chest. Instead of dying, the thug struggled even more. He attempted to hit the boy in the face, and when that failed, he resorted to clawing his face instead. With the fierce struggle between them, Osric had no choice but to stab the thug repeatedly. Even though his opponent had died, he did not stop, as if possessed, with crimson blood spilling all over his face and clothes.

Elysian gently touched the older boy’s shoulder and said, “Stop, he’s dead.”

With a furious glare, Osric turned to look at the noble. As soon as he realized who he was glaring at, the older boy snapped out of his savage frenzy and apologized, “I’m sorry, master. I didn’t mean to glare at you.”

Studying the older boy, Elysian instantly noticed the sudden shift in his intense and ferocious eyes, returning to their usual state. Covered in blood, Osric resembled a savage beast, untamed and ready for a killing rampage. Not to mention the primal presence he seemed to exude. It had always been there, but his sudden frenzy appeared to intensify that wild presence. To an average human, being near it would make them extremely terrified.

 

‘I’m certain that behavior isn’t normal. Hmm… 

Is that one of the effects of his bloodline? If it is, I don’t know if it's negative or positive. Hopefully the latter.’

 

While everyone who looked at the boy might have been afraid of him, Elysian was not like everyone else. Instead of fear, he felt quite excited about what the older boy might become. He didn’t want average people as his companions; what he sought were individuals like Osric, the abnormal ones who could stand beside him. Above all else, they should possess unwavering loyalty to him.

Grinning at the former soldier, Elysian replied, “Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind it, actually. You can glare at me all you want. But first, let’s get out of here and hide the body.”

With a depressed look, Bran slowly approached his companions while staring at the ground, avoiding their eyes. He dared not to look at them.

“Hey, you big oaf, why are you just standing there?” Elysian questioned, scowling at the servant. Pointing at the thug he had killed, he continued, “Quickly, drag that body behind the trees. If we’re slow, the other patrol might notice their missing comrades.”

Bran’s eyes widened as he carried out the young noble’s command. Osric followed suit, also hiding the body behind the trees.

As he scanned their surroundings for any signs of danger, Elysian noticed that the servant was still dejected from his earlier blunder. Letting out a heavy sigh, he turned to the older boy and remarked, “Hey, big fella, snap out of it. This isn’t the time for moping. If you mess up, learn from it and do better next time. Later, you’ll have plenty of time to reflect on your mistakes. Right now, you need to stay alert. Remember, one wrong move could get us all killed.”

“Yes, young master,” Bran replied, his eyes focused and more determined than ever to prove himself. Suddenly, he felt a hand patting his shoulder. When he turned around, he saw Osric smiling at him. Grateful for the former soldier’s kind gesture, he smiled back and nodded, reassuring him that he was fine now.

“Okay, enough of the cheesy stuff,” Elysian joked, drawing scowls from his two companions as they both blushed in embarrassment. “I’ll end up getting swarmed by ants with all this sweetness.” Surveying his surroundings again, he stated, “Let’s move.”

With the young noble leading the way, followed by his two companions, the trio swiftly dove behind a crate as they approached the edge of the warehouse. They barely avoided being spotted as the next patrol turned toward their previous location. Feeling the intensity of the situation, even Bran let out a sigh of relief, realizing that they had narrowly escaped being caught.

“Steady and don’t move,” Elysian instructed quietly, ensuring only his two companions could hear. With the aid of the darkness, the patrol walked right past them, oblivious to the three boys hiding nearby. As the thugs continued on their way, their backs were exposed. Seizing the opportunity, the young noble ordered, “Go.” 

Repeating their strategy from last time, Elysian went for the left thug, while his two companions focused on the other. Unlike their previous attempt, there were no screw-ups. Bran was fully focused this time, moving hastily and silently. When he reached the back of his target, the servant swiftly covered the thug’s mouth with his hand, muffling any potential sound, and used his weight to bring him to the ground. Meanwhile, Osric positioned himself in front of their target and masterfully slit his throat, killing him instantly.

While his two companions were engaging with their target, Elysian had already finished dealing with his. This gave him enough time to observe the other two boys. A smile spread across his face when he noticed the servant’s lack of hesitation. Even as Osric killed the thug, Bran remained unfazed. This just showed the older boy was starting to grow accustomed to death.

Elysian was also satisfied with Osric. This marked the second time the former soldier had taken someone’s life, and he had shown great improvement. Unlike last time, he killed his target in a swift and efficient manner.

 

‘I’m proud of these boys. They’ve grown so much in such a short time. It just shows what a great teacher I am.

Damn, it seems I’ve really been a bad influence. I’ve corrupted these poor boys to damnation.’

 

“Young master, is something wrong?” Bran inquired, noticing the young noble’s eyes and staring at them.

“Huh?” Elysian smiled at them, shaking his head. “No, there’s nothing wrong. I’m just proud of how well you’re doing,” he stated. Pointing to the dead thug he just killed, he continued, “Can you drag this body and hide it, big fella?”

“Okay, young master,” Bran responded, grinning back, proud of his own contributions.

After hiding the body, the trio proceeded to deal with the last patrol. Like the previous encounter, this one went exceedingly well without any problems. Both of his two companions performed even better than before.

Ensuring that the surroundings were clear, Elysian signaled to Amara and said, “It’s okay. You can come out. It’s safe now.” 

Nodding to the young woman as she approached them, the noble addressed everyone, “We’ll now go inside. This will be a different challenge than what we faced here. There will be a lot more enemies, so you must be prepared. Also, we could easily be surrounded. That’s why you all need to be extra focused and move as quickly and silently as possible. Most importantly, follow my lead without any hesitation. Do you understand?” They all nodded as he met each of their gazes, making sure that they understood the gravity of the situation. Even Bran met with his eyes, displaying firm resolve. “Good.”

Moving as quietly as possible, Elysian entered the warehouse, followed by his three companions. The first thing that struck him was the unusual silence inside the warehouse, which felt unsettling. Though it was night, it shouldn’t be this quiet. The absence of any sound seemed out of place, especially given the size of the Crimson Talon. It didn’t help that his instinct was screaming at him, warning him of danger.

 

‘I don’t like this!’

 

Even with the danger, Elysian decided to push through. Despite the darkness inside, the young noble could clearly see as if it were day. It also helped that there were a lot of candles, though it added a more eerie feeling around them. As they ventured further into the warehouse, his companions also noticed the absence of any thugs.

“Master, there seemed to be a problem,” Oscric quietly stated, scanning their surroundings.

“Have you noticed anything?” Elysian asked, turning to the older boy.

“I can’t explain it,” Osric replied, showing his arm, where the hair was standing on end. “But I sense something dangerous out there. My instincts are screaming at me.”

“I know. I feel it too,” Elysian responded, exhaling deeply as he tried to regain his composure. 

“Young master, is there a problem?” Amara questioned, fear and confusion clear in his voice.

 

‘F*ck! I hate to admit it, but I really don’t know what’s happening.’

 

“I don’t know,” the young noble told her honestly. However, he remained calm, reassuring his companions that everything was fine.

Without any second thought, Elysian used his aura, enhancing all his senses from his nose to his eyes, to gather as much information on the situation as possible. Instantly, his awareness of his surroundings multiplied manyfold. The first thing he focused on was searching for any signs of life within their vicinity, but he found none. As he continued to move forward again with his senses on overdrive, he noticed dead bodies scattered evenly throughout this side of the warehouse in front of them. What he found bizarre was that at the center of the warehouse, the dead bodies were arranged into a strange shape.

Elysian immediately stopped walking, too shocked to move.

“Are you alright, master?” Bran asked, his expression showing a lot of concern when he saw the younger boy’s face.

“I believe I know where the missing thugs are,” Elysian stated, his voice quiet yet carrying a dangerous edge to it. “Let’s move. But remember, don’t shout no matter what you see.” With that, he moved again without waiting for a response.

Following the noble, they walked quickly, focusing their attention solely on the back of the younger boy, feeling anxious about the tense atmosphere around them. When Elysian suddenly stopped moving while staring in front, they followed suit; what they saw made their jaw drop. The dead bodies were arranged bizarrely in the shape of a smiley face.

 

‘F*ck!’