The Author's POV

343 Beginning of the assault [17]

In a remote location of Henolur, four individuals walked through a long, narrow dark tunnel.

It had been about a day since they decided to accomplish their mission, and for that long period of time, they had been stuck going through the unending dark corridors.

For how long they walked, it seemed as though the number of tunnels was endless. Just when the group thought they were close, they would suddenly find themselves in front of a dead end.

It was then that the group of four realized they had taken things too lightly. Even though 876 had entered the city and managed to get away from their sight, there was no way he would just stay in the city without finding a proper hiding spot.

Di. Dang—

A dull metallic ring rang out.

"The signal disappeared again."

One of the four individuals spoke up, his voice echoing through the tunnels.

"Odd…"

Another one muttered. Holding onto a small, dimly lit lamp, the features of the individuals became slightly discernible. Long, silver coloured hair, a feminine-looking face, and a fairly skinny body. If not for the adam's apple protruding from his throat, someone could've easily mistaken the man for a woman.

Squinting, the silver-haired male scanned the surroundings.

"The same thing happened a day ago. He suddenly disappeared for a couple of hours."

Lowering his head and staring at the detector in his hand, the silver-haired male tapped the back of the device.

"…Or could it be that this thing is broken?"

Ever since arriving at Henolur, the group had kept constant watch over the tracking device. Oddly enough, at times, the tracker's signal would suddenly disappear, leaving them wondering whether something had gone wrong with the device.

"The more plausible conclusion is that 876 entered some sort of restricted area that blocks all forms of signals."

Another one of the members said.

"That's true…" The silver-haired male replied.

Moving the small lamp towards his right, the features of the individual who had just spoken were highlighted due to the light.

He had a tall and muscular stature, his biceps the size of a football. With short hair fashioned into a buzz cut, a large scar traced half of his face. Added with his sharp gaze, he looked extremely intimidating.

With his brows knit, the muscular man thought out loud.

"If he's in an area where the signal is constantly disrupted or shut off, we can assume that the place is extremely well-protected."

He turned to face the silver haired individual.

"…I suggest we wait for the signal to come back before deciding to ambush him."

"I agree, but we should first get an idea of where he is. Let's assess the situation after we know of the exact location he is hiding in. If we can handle it, we proceed as planned."

"Yes."

The muscular man nodded.

Di. Ding—

But it was then that the tracker rang again.

"The signal is back!"

The silver haired male shouted. Lowering his face to get a closer look at the device, his eyes jumped up in delight.

"We're close! We're almost at the location where that little rat is hiding."

Clenching onto the sides of the device, the silver haired individual smirked before picking up his pace.

"Quickly, follow me. We should soon be able to see that little bastard that has caused us so many problems."

words, everyone increased their pace and headed deeper

***

not far from the members of

away from them was Douglas, whose face

where he

whilst still hidden from the members of Monolith, Douglas threw a small

Tick—

in the air suddenly twisted wildly. If anyone was present to witness the scene, they'd see several small tornadoes appear in the air, where the tip at the bottom funneled towards the device

formed, all converging towards the device

Ci- Clank—

to form. Because of the barrier, Douglas had formed, the residual mana that lingered in the air from the portal's activation did not leak outside. Therefore, the members of Monolith were completely oblivious to what was

Vooom—!

before a large

wrist, Douglas looked at the

32M

checking the watch, lowering his hand, he took

***

"You're done setting up?"

voice echoed across

headquarters. Just in

the communication device in Waylan's

get everyone ready

—Good luck.

"You too."

Tick- Tock—

with thousands of stares directed solely at him, each belonging to either the dwarven

Waylan who was standing opposite them with a calm smile on

it's time we

Waylan raised his hand to get

like a moment of your attention,

his words faded,

are a lot more obedient than I

looked at everyone

to end the war. Most of you here are probably confused by my words. After all, how can a human they have never seen before suddenly say such an absurd thing, especially when many of you couldn't find a

him. There were some that did try

the scene in amusement, Waylan put the device in his hand down. He then pointed in

you already know, this over here is

activating it, the mana in the air slowly started to converge towards the box. Multiple different colored

portal started materializing in the middle of

all of the individuals in the hall,

know how to stop the war? If you want

looks flash by the faces of some

a calm smile, he decided to

location to trap you, fret not. If you check the contract that I signed, one of the terms there states, 'If I, in any way, try to scheme or work against the dwarves' benefit, I

chest, his

alive and well. There is no need to worry about me doing anything

that

the watch on his wrist and taking a step to the side, Waylan pointed at the

said enough. Who wants to go

55M

***

should have

with the mask on my face and Angelica stuck in-between my teeth, as much as

are ye

course, the moment I took a step out of the room, the same guard came to greet me with

a small break, are

"You can say so."

indifferent response and continued to head towards the artifact

the guard walked up next

I may ask, where are

of

I'm trying to have a

"I apologize."