The Lord Of Blood Hill

Chapter 535: Returning to Old Ground

The next morning, more than one thousand knights roar out of Bloodhorn Arena.They do not choose to hide. They head straight toward their destination.

After a day's travel, Henwell leads his people northeast of Yinxin City and enters the hilly region.

In the nearest small city, everyone rests briefly. Then, carrying supplies, they leave the trade road and enter the wilderness.

This team completely vanishes from the sight of every side. No one knows what Henwell intends to do, and no one dares follow and investigate.

An elite force armed to the teeth like this would probably notice anyone who tried to follow them very quickly.

Everyone guesses that Henwell is carrying out a top-secret mission for the church.

The church is also very surprised that Henwell actually possesses such an elite combat force.

However, in the eyes of outsiders, this team should include quite a few Western Federation professionals helping out.

In the church's eyes, this team should be Henwell's entire foundation, and perhaps he even borrowed quite a few people from his allies.

Because of gaps in both intelligence and understanding, everyone misjudges Henwell's strength.

In addition, another matter has been confirmed.

Both the church and the Veil believe that Abyss Sin Shepherd Morris did not die, but escaped.

They do not suspect that Henwell killed him at all. They have not even thought in that direction.

Ulysses's death has also been placed on the Veil, the result of repeated tug-of-war between both sides.

Although Ulysses did not obtain the reputation of a wise ruler, at least he will not be buried in history as a sinner.

And because the Abyss Sin Shepherd has not 'died,' the church, the empire, and even Billie's Royal Council are now sending people to hunt that dead man.

Now, the church also wants to use Henwell as bait to see whether they can fish out powerful members of the Veil.

Therefore, no side dares approach this team for fear of drawing suspicion.

Soon, Henwell and the others arrive near a mountain range.

After temporarily making camp and resting, the operation begins at midnight.

This place is less than a hundred li from Forge Furnace Training Camp. Henwell spares no expense and directly tears open several extraordinary scrolls.

He casts a Silencing Spell over the entire team, throwing away nearly one hundred thousand gold coins at once.

The effect is not especially impressive. It does not reach the standard of silent stealth at all, since it is being cast on more than a thousand people and horses.

It merely reduces the noise made by the team's movement, making their presence hard to detect from several hundred meters away.

That is already enough. After all, when a thousand cavalry charge forward, the noise is considerable.

An hour later, Henwell and the others arrive outside a valley.

From this point onward, the Veil already has hidden sentries.

Chick immediately leads his subordinates away from the team and begins removing the Veil's hidden sentries.

The closer they get to the training camp, the more hidden sentries there are.

All of the former young gladiators move out. They dismount and lead their people forward in silence.

At last, everyone sees a narrow valley entrance and feels the familiar wind blowing out from within.

Everyone's feelings become extremely complicated, and Henwell is no exception. He stares at the valley under the moonlight, lost in thought.

The former young gladiators gather around Henwell.

Henwell says softly, "I will repeat the battle plan once more. Chick, you are responsible for Area Three. That place contains all kinds of files on the young trainees."

"If we want to fully absorb these trainees, we must obtain those files so we can know their backgrounds."

"Kivel, you lead a team to clear the left cliff. Gevana, you take the right side."

"Arnold, lead your people through the entrance of Secret Passage Three. Advance quickly and block the exit."

"Victor, enter through the entrance of Secret Passage Two. The guard camp there is yours to handle."

"Jax, Horace, Dominic, and Elia, the four of you will lead teams to rappel down from above the training camp."

"Your task is to clear all resistance from top to bottom, especially those ballistas on the camp's mountain walls."

"Leighton and Sera, the two of you will lead teams to seal off Areas Five through Ten and prevent the guards from rushing over."

"Duncan and Agnico, the two of you will seal off Areas Twelve through Eighteen. The trainees inside are the youngest. You must not let the Veil activate the mechanisms."

"Valentin, you lead a team in through the entrance of Secret Passage One, clear the guards there, and occupy the armory immediately..."

After arranging everyone's tasks, Henwell continues, "You should all sneak in as much as possible. Once you are exposed, every team will immediately advance at full speed."

"At that point, I will lead a team and directly assault the castle at the mouth of the valley, locking down their largest retreat route."

"Also, if anyone encounters that Veil Iron Knight, do not get entangled in battle. Retreat immediately and send me a signal. I will support you at once."

Everyone indicates that they understand. Henwell takes out a pocket watch. "Synchronize your watches. The operation begins in thirty minutes."

Afterward, the former young gladiators lead their teams toward their respective targets.

Each of them carries two Heart-Piercing Lotuses. These are for buying time to retreat if they encounter an Iron Knight.

Henwell unlocks the Will Lock, and the Chains of Civilization extend over everyone. He then leads more than one hundred Lord Iron Guards toward the end of the valley.

Three squadron captains, each with two Battle Knight deputy captains, continuously remove hidden sentries ahead.

Henwell and the others actually manage to approach all the way to the castle disguised as a mountain wall.

Then Henwell steps forward, digs his fingers into the stone wall, and slowly climbs up the castle like a lizard.

After climbing more than thirty meters, Henwell begins moving sideways. Only a few meters later, he suddenly lightens his movements.

Two meters away, a plant growing on the mountain wall moves slightly.

Henwell taps the stone wall lightly. The plant sways again, and then a figure peers out from within it.

Below, Samul, a squadron captain of the Lord Iron Guards, raises his Recurve Crossbow and fires a bolt, accurately piercing the target's head.

The corpse falls directly from the castle's hidden observation port, and DeWitt, who is waiting below, reaches out and catches it without making any sound.

Perhaps because their companion carelessly fell, the guards inside cannot help leaning out to check.

Henwell exerts force with his fingers, leaps sideways, and raises his hand to seize the man's throat.

Amid the crisp sound of breaking bones, Henwell throws the corpse down. His subordinates catch it again.

At the same time, Henwell uses the momentum to jump into the hidden observation port.

After landing, Henwell draws a short blade and drives it through another guard's head.

Then he grabs the sword blade of the guard who, even in shock, still does not forget to draw his sword. Henwell pulls the short blade out of the first guard's head and cuts open most of the second guard's neck.

All four guards in this observation room are now dead.

After confirming that he has not drawn attention, Henwell unties the rope on his back, fixes it in place, and throws the other end down.

A moment later, two squadron captains bring four Battle Knights up into the observation room.

As the others come up one after another, Henwell gently turns the doorknob and makes a hand signal.

The two squadron captains immediately lead their subordinates away from both sides, searching for the nearest doors.

Crossbows are drawn. Short blades come free. They are ready for a stealth assault.