Chapter 244: Night Raid |
Yuan Ming pondered bitterly, "But how do we destroy the building? The shipyard should have a considerable area, so it might be impossible to breach in a short time."
Jia Liangcai smiled slightly, "You've fallen into a misconception. We only need to kill the Home Master of the shipyard. When the person dies, the Home is destroyed, and the building will naturally disappear."
"Damn, you're right." Yuan Ming clenched his fist.
Most of those present were Home Masters. Hearing Jia Liangcai's words, a chill ran down many of their backs.
If they clashed with other residential complexes in the future, wouldn't they, as Home Masters, become the primary targets?
Because as long as the Home Master dies, everything in their Home disappears.
Thinking of this, everyone involuntarily looked at Qin Ziwen.
"Why are you looking at me?"
"Guild Leader, maybe you should just retreat directly after opening the node."
"Aside from you, if anyone else in our complex dies, the complex can keep running. But if you... then our complex would directly regress to pre-liberation days."
Du Yu clasped his hands in a fist salute, requesting battle, "Master, please leave the main assault tonight to your subordinate."
"Enough, I value my life more than all of you. Aside from Du Yu, even ten of you combined wouldn't be my match." Qin Ziwen said. After gaining abilities from the Crowned Eagle, he could sense air currents, making sneak attacks essentially impossible. Moreover, he could open a node to return to his Home at any time, having prepared multiple layers of safety measures.
"If there's really an emergency, I'll directly open another node, and we'll return to the Home through it." Qin Ziwen looked at Jia Liangcai. "You lead another team to guard this side of the Home. If we retreat and the enemy dares to follow, you're responsible for blocking the pursuers."
"Yes."
...
On the open ground within the Home, eighty carefully selected able-bodied young men stood shoulder to shoulder in rows.
All eyes were on Qin Ziwen.
This group was the elite of the Home. Each person's physical fitness had reached three stars.
"Put on the equipment."
As the words fell, the first sound was the friction of leather armor. Everyone moved swiftly to don their armor, fasten their belts, and put on their helmets.
The ten men at the front, including Cao Biansheng, silently put on their Lamellar Armor.
Iron plates clinked and rattled. When the iron armor covered their bodies and the face masks came down, the silhouettes of the ten men suddenly became heavy, thick, and chillingly cold.
"Take your spears."
Members from the back rows stepped forward in turn, picking up the prepared spears and hanging short knives at their waists.
After everyone was armored and armed.
A killing aura abruptly intensified over the open ground.
Dense metal spear tips pointed skyward, a forest of spear points.
Most of these men had undergone training at the Martial Training Ground. The few who hadn't were still combat-experienced and followed the example.
Qin Ziwen looked at the eighty men before him, a surge of heat rising in his chest.
He raised his right hand, and the grounds instantly fell silent.
"What we're doing tonight, is everyone clear?"
"Clear!" The voices from below were loud and full of vigor.
Qin Ziwen had originally prepared a few words, but on the verge of speaking, he felt them superfluous.
He scanned the eyes below. Some he had known since the first map, some had joined from the last map, and others were the foundation personnel just transferred from the Student Council.
"Eighty men go, eighty men return."
"Win this, and I'll celebrate your victory!"
"Wait for me here. When the node opens, we depart immediately!"
Qin Ziwen swung himself onto the Crowned Eagle's back.
The night was thick. The Crowned Eagle's wings beat once, transforming into a streak of black shadow shooting into the high sky, disappearing behind the cloud layer in an instant.
After Qin Ziwen left, Jia Liangcai gave Qin Ziwu a look.
Qin Ziwu stepped forward two paces, a trace of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes. "There's only one winner in this war. If we don't act, the other side will. Strike first to gain the advantage. During the operation later, I don't want anyone's 'holy mother' heart to act up. Anyone who can't bring themselves to do it will drag down the lives of everyone around them."
Cao Biansheng stepped forward, cursing, "What the hell are you talking about? Just you showing off. Let's see who takes down more people later. Only one complex can continue crossing this time. If we don't take them out, it means they're prepared to take us out."
On the opposite island, by the beach, behind the woods, four people huddled in the shadows.
Rubbing their hands, blowing on them for warmth.
The island was somewhat cold at night.
"Not even allowed to light a fire. I'm freezing to death in the middle of the night. Should've worn one more layer."
"Ah, Brother Long is overthinking it. Actually worried the other side might come to raid at night. That big thing in the sea isn't just for show. How could the other side possibly come over?"
"Exactly. In this pitch black, daring to row a boat is just coming to feed the fish."
"Alright, enough nonsense from you two. It's just keeping watch. If you don't want to do it, plenty of others will. Three pounds of meat for one night's pay, and that still can't shut your mouth? If you don't want to do it, I'll go swap someone else in."
"Heh, I was just saying~"
"Just saying? If this reaches Brother Long's ears, you'll get what's coming to you."
The one who complained fell silent for a long moment, then suddenly asked, "Seriously, after we subdue those grandsons across the way, what do you want to grab?"
The person next to him said, "Food, drink, supplies, whatever there is to take."
"Such low ambition."
"By the way, can't our two sides negotiate?"
"Negotiate my ass. Give up the fantasy. There's a saying, what is it... what you can't get on the battlefield, you won't get at the negotiation table either. If you can't subdue them by fighting, do you think you can persuade them with words?"
Under the woods, as the few conversed, a patch of dark cloud silently passed overhead.
In the urban village and the office building at night, several large braziers were lit on the periphery, dispersing the darkness within a certain range.
A strange light flashed in Qin Ziwen's eyes. It seemed there were capable people here after all.
To be this cautious.
After the Crowned Eagle circled once overhead, under Qin Ziwen's direction, it descended towards a nearby hilltop.
Suddenly, the Crowned Eagle's speed sharply increased, diving downward.
Qin Ziwen almost didn't react in time.
Until a scream came from below. It turned out a scout hiding in the woods had been discovered.
The Crowned Eagle directly grabbed his head with its claws, lifting him up.
Then threw him to the ground. His head, hit by four claws, was smashed like a watermelon, lifeless instantly.
Qin Ziwen jumped down, finding it was a man. During the day, this place had no one, but at night someone was on the small hilltop.
After brief thought, he guessed his actions during the day might have aroused some people's vigilance.
This man held a lighter in his hand. On the ground beside him was a brazier filled with flammable material.
He likely intended to light it at a critical moment, generating smoke to alert the people below.
He just didn't anticipate the Crowned Eagle's reaction would be faster, not giving him time to light it.
Qin Ziwen climbed a nearby tree, took out binoculars, and looked down from high to low at the urban village below.
The giant shipyard that was still working during the day had now stopped.
Looking from above, only an open courtyard was visible.
The shipyard's location was in a small courtyard near the center of the urban village. The holder of this building likely held a not-low status within the urban village.
In a residential complex, those who could have Advanced Buildings were basically among the top-ranked few in the complex.
So the shipyard owner was probably a high-ranking member of the urban village's Jianghu Society, or simply its leader.
Putting himself in their shoes, if he were the Home Master, he would definitely consider the interior of his own Home the safest place.
Perhaps this was also why the shipyard stopped work at night—to expel other outsiders at night.
But they seemed prepared tonight. Would the people inside change their residence?
Qin Ziwen pondered, his gaze falling on a three-story building diagonally opposite the courtyard.
During the day, the Heavy Crossbow he saw was mounted in one of the rooms of this three-story building. From its position, it directly faced the shipyard's main gate.
After thinking for a moment, Qin Ziwen felt it best not to overcomplicate things. He wasn't some tactical master. Better not to overcomplicate a simple operation. More steps meant more chances for error.
This was just a decapitation strike, not an assault operation.
Later, he would first go to the opposite courtyard to open the node. Simultaneously, he'd send a small force to seize the Heavy Crossbow in the opposite building first. The rest would go with him directly to charge in, execute the decapitation, then return to the Home through the node.
...
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