Chris listened and observed as he moved forward through the trees. The people on the ground didn’t seem to care about the ruffling of leaves on the trees; there was nothing odd about it as they were used to the wind caressing the leaves. In their carelessness, they missed the fact that there was no wind tonight.Chris made a mental note of areas where the guards were more concentrated and the loopholes in the security system around him. From the conversation of the guards, he learned that the security was heavier and more alert due to some of the prisoners escaping.He also learned that there was a shift changeover in the morning. This was the window they needed to break through their defences. He hid for a while and observed the guards for a while after noting their abnormal gait as they marched. He left with a smile on his face after he had watched enough.Chris moved stealthily towards his destination, the banyan tree where he had planned to meet up with his men once he passed the a

The next day, Chris and his team of 30 men set off as they planned before daybreak. Chris had studied the route to the liar in the center yesterday and hence the team didn’t chance upon any unexpected encounters. Along the way, Chris noted the natural sounds of the forest; he noted that the most common sound was the cry of the little cuckoo dove.He raised his hand with his hands fisted, a gesture that his men knew meant that they should be as still as water; They paused holding their breaths as they watched Chris taking out his little black device from his belt and tunning it for recording. He pressed the record button as soon as the little cuckoo dove started cooing. He nodded towards his men once he finished so that they could continue their onward journey.Their mission was clear and defined; the mages had two jobs while the martial artist had only one. The mages were responsible for identifying the magical boogy traps and shielding the rest of the team and maintaining communicatio

“We surrender.” They echoed in unison with the exception of Song-Yun; he had a resentful and unwilling expression. Few of the timider ones ran off to get the prisoners before the god of destruction made another gesture.They gasped in horror as they passed the corridor that was littered with the bodies of their men. They thanked their lucky stars for giving them the good sense to yield before it was too late; their feet sped on their own towards the area where the prisoners were held.They hurried inside and rushed to untie the chained prisoners who were in no hurry.“Now you know fear...” Night Blade smirked without showing any fear although he was lying on the ground with all his limbs dislocated and hanging in a frighteningly scary manner.“You knew….” The guy who has untying him asked as he looked into Night Blade’s confident fearless eyes, he didn’t have to ask the rest. He could see the answer in the man’s eyes.“My lord doesn’t hide behind us; he leads from the front… He never l

The return journey was peaceful other than the heavy atmosphere that loomed due to the injuries of their injured team members who were receiving first aid. The first stop was Níngjìng valley which was the destination for almost everyone other than Chris, Night Wing and a few of the men that came with Chris.“Why don’t you stay the night and leave tomorrow?” Old master asked as he noted that Chris was busy checking on his men without even stopping to take a sip of water; he understood that Chris had no intention of staying back. He felt sorry for the young man who was also made of flesh and blood and yet had to work like he was made of iron.“My wife and kids are alone.” Chris spoke without any change in expression; he didn’t think it was shameful.“Wife …and…kids…and alone??” Old master repeated what Chris said giving it a meaningful emphasis on the contradiction of the sentence.Neil’s expression was the most comical and painful to watch; moving the muscles of his face that was beaten

Amanda stood outside the door with a hesitant smile. Elizabeth’s face bloomed into a happy smile as she saw Amanda, forgetting her previous rant.“Come… come… come…. It has been such a long time since you came to see this old woman.” Elizabeth invited happily.Adam’s face fell inwardly as he saw who the visitor was. He quietly send a message calling for back-up as he sat with an expressionless face.“Auntie, did I come at a wrong time?” Amanda stood in the lounge, hesitating if she should go forward and accept Elizabeth’s invitation to sit down and back off; Adam’s face didn’t have the same enthusiasm as Elizabeth. But if she went back today, she wouldn’t be able to achieve her goal. Just as she was hesitating, the doorbell rang again.“Emile must be here.” Elizabeth got up hastily as she looked guiltily towards Adam. It was not her intention to have Amanda and Emile together. Her calling Emile was purely on impulse… she didn’t even know that Amanda would be dropping by. She had never