Chapter 83.2
“Something’s wrong! The cloaks—!”
“Is it because of that smoke?”
The Sigma agents realized their invisibility cloaks had been neutralized.
“Those magical lights on the ceiling—they’re countering the cloaks!”
“That Arad… he’s no ordinary craftsman.”
The dark sorcerers glanced nervously at their surroundings, their confidence beginning to waver.
The factory interior was even brighter than the streets outside, lit by a grid of magical light stones.
The warmth emanating from them was disorienting, given the frigid night outside.
And, like the streets, the factory walls were lined with countless portraits of the Northern Grand Duchess and Arad, their proliferation bordering on the obsessive.
But the intruders had no time to dwell on these unsettling details.
“Charge!”
The infiltration unit had been fully exposed. Knowing this, they abandoned subtlety and boldly charged deeper into the factory.
The first thing to greet them was the assembly line—a grotesque scene littered with severed monster limbs, more reminiscent of the Devil’s Den than any human operation.
Fwoosh! Whoosh!
From between the machinery, arrows and spears shot out with incredible speed.
“We’re under attack!”
Sigma agents drew their swords to intercept the incoming projectiles.
Though the attacks were swift and lethal, the agents, bolstered by doping, believed their heightened strength and reflexes would be enough to deflect them.
Clang! Crack!
“Crack?!”
The moment their swords struck the projectiles, their blades shattered or snapped.
“What the…?!”
Thud! Thunk!
A Sigma agent, stunned by the sight of his broken blade, was immediately impaled through the head by a flying javelin, dying on the spot.
Thunk! Thud! Crack!
In the brief chaos, four Sigma agents and one dark sorcerer fell in rapid succession.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Dodging the relentless barrage was nearly impossible.
The sheer number of arrows and spears made it unavoidable, especially in the narrow confines of the factory.
Adding to the challenge, the agents also had to protect the dark sorcerers behind them.
“Channel mana into your weapons to deflect them!” Astra shouted, quickly imbuing his second sword with mana.
Using mana this early in the operation was a costly move, particularly when their enhanced physical and magical stamina were already draining from the doping effects. But dying in a trap was an even worse outcome.
“These aren’t ordinary arrows! They’re made from monster bones!” Astra exclaimed after examining the embedded projectiles.
“Monster bones? How can bones be so hard?!” a Sigma agent muttered in disbelief.
It was incomprehensible that even with their enhanced strength and mana, deflecting these projectiles required such effort.
Fear crept into their voices.
“It’s not just the bones. They’ve been heavily enchanted,” a dark sorcerer explained.
Meanwhile, the dark sorcerers layered shield spells to provide cover.
Clang! Clang!
The relentless barrage of bone arrows and javelins finally subsided.
This wasn’t due to the shields, but rather because the factory’s automated defenses had exhausted their ammunition.
“These bone weapons… they’re coated with a thin layer of magic stone dust. Is this the infamous Arad-style enchantment?” one sorcerer remarked, examining the remains.
“I’ve heard the Magic Tower uses similar methods.”
The ground was littered with over a thousand bone arrows and javelins, each meticulously enchanted.
“No matter how insane a craftsman is, who enchants disposable weapons like this?”
“Even as a dark sorcerer, I’ve never seen anything this twisted.”
Despite the grotesque ingenuity of the weapons, the infiltration team pressed on.
Reduced from 20 to 15, they were undeterred, having steeled themselves for death long before this mission.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Deflecting the sporadic projectiles, the unit advanced.
Behind them, the dark sorcerers continued chanting spells to bolster their defenses.
Every member of the infiltration team had a reason for their resolve.
The Sigma agents sought to restore their fallen families, reclaim lost honor, or prove loyalty in hopes of sparing their loved ones.
Similarly, the dark sorcerers were bound by oaths or driven by a centuries-old vendetta against House Renslet.
“Keep moving! Go, go!”
Their retreat was cut off, and capture would only lead to torture and death.
An honorable demise was their sole alternative.
“For the Emperor! Long live the Thousand-Year Empire!”
They were so close. Beyond the next barrier lay their target.
As they neared the alchemical processing line, Frost Knights and northern knights appeared, stepping into view.
“There! That’s Arad and the Grand Duchess!” someone shouted, spotting a male silhouette between the alchemical apparatus.
While the Grand Duchess wasn’t visible, the assumption was that she was nearby.
For the Devil’s Den, killing the Grand Duchess was paramount.
For Sigma, capturing or eliminating Arad was their mission.
“Charge!” Astra roared, leading the Sigma agents into a headlong attack.
The dark sorcerers pooled all their mana to prepare devastating spells.
“…”
Yet something felt off. The Frost Knights and senior northern knights simply drew their weapons and stood still.
Vwooom.
The reason became apparent moments later.
“Magic circles?”
From the walls, floors, and even the ceiling, dozens of magic circles suddenly materialized.
Shhhk. Shhk.
Simultaneously, the knights donned peculiar glasses—crafted from dark-attribute magic stones.
Flaaash!
The already-bright interior grew blindingly luminous as the magical light stones intensified.
“Close your eyes!”
“It’s a flash spell!”
Losing their sight in such a precarious situation was tantamount to death.
“Hurry! Cast darkness magic!” Astra shouted to the dark sorcerers.
“Urgh…!”
But all that came in response were groans of pain.
Ssss.
‘Rain?’ Astra, eyes tightly shut, felt droplets on his face and hands.
“Holy water! It’s holy water!”
The dark sorcerers’ groans revealed the cause.
The liquid raining down wasn’t water but consecrated holy water.
TL Note: Rate us on NOVEL UPDATES