Chapter 16 Night Raid

Yellow clouds layered on top of each other as the setting sun cast a bloody hue over White Plains City.

The pedestrians on the street gradually thinned out, becoming desolate.

Zhou Jing hid in the corner of a house, watching the Lord's Longhouse across the street, his eyes scanning the various windows of the castle.

He had been scouting all day and had a rough idea of ​​Lute's situation.

Because of the fright he’d gotten half a year ago, Lute had been staying in the castle. If anyone wanted to kidnap him, they would have to sneak in. He had arranged several teams of guards in the castle for the long term, who were on duty in two shifts day and night, stationed at important passages throughout the castle. In addition, he had also equipped a new batch of Other Blood Guards to protect his safety.

On paper, this castle was heavily guarded, making it difficult to enter silently.

However, people get lazy… After six months of guarding, no danger had occurred. The guards had long been lax. It was impossible to expect them to keep their nerves on edge for a long time.

In the past few months, some people had been hoping for chaos in the world, or were quite dissatisfied with Lute, expecting hunters to imitate Jason and assassinate Lute again.

However, White Plains City was now in decline, and a large number of hunters had left. Even ordinary people felt that no assassination incident would break out again. The guards had the same idea and were even less vigilant all the time.

Tight on the outside and loose on the inside—that was his assessment of the castle's defenses.

"I'll make my move in the second half of the night." Zhou Jing made up his mind and disappeared around the corner of the house.

…

Night arrived as scheduled, and White Plains City gradually fell asleep.

As time passed, the guards on duty at the door also began to slack off blatantly, yawning from time to time.

In a low house on the side of the castle, two guards were hiding, eating some kind of nuts, chatting casually, and occasionally turning their heads to lift the curtains, observing the castle through the window.

Their task was to monitor the outer walls of the castle, guarding against people with extraordinary physical qualities climbing the outer walls and sneaking into the castle through the windows. Once they found anything, they would immediately ring the bell to warn.

However, after half a year, this sentry post had long become lax. Not directly sleeping was already giving face.

"Tsk, the last time strange beasts caused trouble, there weren't enough hunters, and we had to use the army, and many people died. If we had enough hunters in the past, we wouldn't have needed to risk our lives," one of the guards grumbled dissatisfiedly.

Another guard shrugged, "Fortunately, we were chosen to guard the castle, so we don't have to fight strange beasts. It's so safe here. I think White Plains City is about to be finished. Let's save some money here and then settle in another town."

Although they were town guards, they were also dissatisfied with Lute. They were only doing it for a living, and complete loyalty didn't exist.

At this moment, a figure seemed to flash outside the curtains, flashing in the peripheral vision of the two.

The two subconsciously turned their heads to look, lifted the curtains to find out, but found that there was no one outside.

Just as the two thought they had been seeing things because they had stayed up too late, the door behind them was suddenly knocked.

"Tap, tap, tap."

The two instinctively turned around.

At this moment, a figure flipped in from the eaves above the window, silently landing behind the two like a civet cat, and stretched out its hands like a ghost.

Pa! Pa!

The mouths and noses of the two guards were covered, and they couldn't shout. Their eyes widened in horror, and they only felt a steel-like arm wrapped around their necks, unable to break free.

An irresistible force directly pulled them into the arms of someone behind them, and then the arm pressing on their necks suddenly tightened.

The two lost consciousness instantly.

Zhou Jing strangled the two guards until they fainted, gently placed the two on the ground, and then went to pull the door bolt, letting Ross, who was mechanically knocking on the door outside, also enter the house.

"Change clothes."

Zhou Jing ordered, and changed into the guards' clothes by himself.

He had been to the castle a few times before, and he was not unfamiliar with the structure inside. It was a four-story castle. Lute's original bedroom was on the third floor, which was the most convenient to climb the outer wall and flip in through the window.

But he felt that Lute was so afraid that it was unlikely that he would leave such a loophole. He would definitely take some measures to prevent enemies with extraordinary bodies from directly climbing the outer wall and sneaking into his room.

So when he was scouting during the day, Zhou Jing changed his perspective and thought about how the lord could make defenses with his resources. In the end, he concluded that he still had to rely on manpower to monitor… With his heart set on finding it, he discovered the sentry post monitoring the outer wall around the castle during the day.

He had quietly solved all the external sentry posts he had found, so climbing the wall would not be easily discovered.

Zhou Jing and Ross quickly changed into the guards' clothes, removed some of the armor pieces that easily made noise, and then found a thick rope in the house to tie the two naked unconscious guards together, and blocked their mouths with coarse cloth. He usually had a sense of propriety when dealing with ordinary people, but it was enough for the two guards to sleep for half a day.

After doing this, Zhou Jing took Ross around to the back of the castle, and quietly swam up the wall, taking advantage of the cover of night, his movements extremely agile.

But Zhou Jing didn't directly flip in from the window of the lord's bedroom on the third floor.

He felt that since Lute was guarding against the hunters in the city, he probably wouldn't dare to continue living in the original place. Perhaps he had moved to a room without windows, and the original lord's bedroom might have been changed into an empty room or a bait.

Zhou Jing climbed directly to the roof, poked his head out of the crenel, and found that there were indeed several guards on duty on the roof, but they were basically slacking off and dozing off.

The only one who didn't sleep was taking off his shoes and concentrating on picking his feet, and sniffing his hands from time to time.

"That's enough flavor..."

The corner of Zhou Jing's eyes twitched. He suddenly exerted force and flipped onto the roof. A stride forward crossed several meters and pounced in front of this person.

This guard had just smelled his finger and was still reveling in it. At this time, he didn't have time to react at all.

He had just seen a figure when Zhou Jing struck him on the neck with a hand, causing his eyes to roll back and pass out.

The whole process took less than a second, and there was almost no sound. The other guards were still fast asleep.

Zhou Jing added a knife one by one, clearing the defensive forces on the roof, leaving only one guard, shaking this person awake vigorously.

"Uh...is it time to change shifts?"

The guard opened his sleepy eyes and spoke subconsciously.

He suddenly felt the coldness of metal on his neck. He looked down and found a long knife pressing on his neck. His sleepiness was instantly scared away.

The guard glanced to the side and saw all his companions lying on the ground unconscious, and his whole body trembled.

"Don't shout, tell me about the situation in the castle. I'm only here for Lute."

Zhou Jing said in a low voice.

The guard nodded tremblingly, not daring to disobey in the slightest, and told everything he knew like pouring beans out of a bamboo tube.

That little salary was not enough to support his loyalty.

Because he thought Lute had probably changed rooms, Zhou Jing needed to find out Lute's location, and the guards stationed inside the castle should know.

The rooftop guard was on rotation, and this guard did know which floor Lute was currently living on.

According to him, Lute had indeed changed rooms, but he was still on the third floor. It was originally a servant's room, without windows, and it had been changed into a new bedroom. The original lord's bedroom was now inhabited by several Other Blood Guards.

In addition, each room with a window in the castle had a door bolt added outside the door, which could be locked from the outside. Even if someone flipped in from the window, they would have to break the door. And the windows on the entire third floor were the most strictly guarded.

"It seems it's easier to go down from inside the castle than to flip in from the outside."

Zhou Jing thought to himself, but his movements did not hesitate. He raised his hand and knocked this person unconscious.

After dealing with the aftermath, he took Ross down to the fourth floor from the stairs on the roof and entered the castle.

The fourth floor was not heavily guarded. Only occasionally could guards be seen patrolling or standing guard, and they were all slacking off.

Although he had changed into guards' clothes, it was used as insurance. Zhou Jing relied on his extraordinary senses to listen to breathing, figure out the distribution of guard posts, and try to walk around them.

The two quickly came to the stairs leading to the third floor, where someone was guarding and could not be bypassed.

Zhou Jing pressed his helmet and walked over with Ross, ready to deal with questioning or even an attack.

However, the guard guarding the stairs only glanced at the two of them. Seeing that the two were dressed as guards, he didn't care anymore, chatting to himself and letting the two go downstairs.

Zhou Jing walked past with Ross without looking sideways, understanding in his heart

Sure enough… the inside of the castle was already quite lax.

Arriving on the third floor, there were many more guards here. Zhou Jing circled around for a while without alarming anyone, and quickly found his target.

It was a position that didn't look very eye-catching. The corridor extended a narrow staircase leading directly to the room. There were four guards standing guard at the entrance of the staircase, and there were two other guards standing guard at the door. Lute lived here.

"The Other Blood Guards seem to be living on this floor. There may also be Other Blood Guards in Lute's room. These people can't be lured away. It seems impossible to not cause any noise at all... But since I'm already here, as long as I get close to Lute, grab him and run, I don't have to worry about being discovered."

Zhou Jing pondered for a while, and resolutely led Ross towards the entrance of the stairs.

The four guards standing guard at the entrance of the stairs noticed the two approaching, and their scrutinizing eyes fell on the two, identifying their identities.

Zhou Jing walked quickly to the four, and before the four could ask, he took the initiative to speak:

"Karl told us to come over, it's time to change shifts."

"...Who is Karl?"

The four were stunned by what he said. The questioning that they were about to say got stuck. They subconsciously thought about whether there was anyone they knew named Karl.

At this moment, Zhou Jing suddenly launched an attack, moving like a rabbit!

Taking advantage of the short moment when the four were stunned, he quickly punched out like sharp arrows, hitting the chests and abdomens of the four in succession.

Bang bang bang!

The deep force penetrated into the body, and the four fell to the ground screaming, their bones broken and tendons fractured. The leather armor on their bodies had almost no protective effect against the amazing punching force.

The expressions of the guards standing guard at the door not far away changed drastically. Their originally listless state instantly became tense, and they shouted without thinking:

"Enemy attack! There's an..."

Before the two could finish shouting, Ross behind Zhou Jing had already rushed forward quickly, like a wild bull.

Boom!

The two guards were caught off guard and were knocked back by Ross, their backs slamming against the door with a muffled sound.

Ross kept walking, pushing the two of them and slamming heavily on the door.

Crash!!

The sound of wood cracking exploded. The door was smashed into pieces by the three.

Ross, pressing down on the two guards whose bones were broken, rushed into the room.

The sudden loud noise woke up the people in the room.

Lute was frowning and having a nightmare. In his dream, he was once again playing chase and chop with the chinless Jason.

Suddenly, the dream was shattered by the loud noise. He opened his eyes abruptly. Before he could wake up, his dazed eyes looked at the broken door.

On the soft couch on the other side of the room, an Other Blood Guard was resting here, protecting him closely, and was also awakened at this time.

"Who is it!"

The Other Blood Guard shouted in anger, and suddenly drew out his long knife, killing Ross who was getting up from the ground.

However, before the blade could hit Ross, a figure suddenly rushed out from the side, a side kick as fast as lightning, almost making him unable to react.

Boom!!

In the next moment, the Other Blood Guard only felt a sharp pain in his side ribs. The terrifying force seemed to break half of his ribs, and the whole person was kicked out.

With a bang, he flew out and cracked the wall, and the long knife flew out of his hand.

He collapsed to the ground, spitting out blood, struggling to get up.

Zhou Jing succeeded in one blow, without stopping, he chased up and gave a front kick straight to the head.

The guard was too weak to resist, only had time to raise his hand to protect his face, and his arm was immediately kicked, and the bone broke instantly.

Boom!

A foot of explosive force, like a cannonball, directly broke his skull through his arm.

The back of his head hit the wall heavily, and another dent was smashed out, shaking out a circle of floating dust.

The Other Blood Guard was bleeding from all seven orifices, fell to the ground, and lost his ability to fight.

Zhou Jing was expressionless, and added another kick, breaking his neck, and then stopped.

When dealing with Other Blood Warriors, he was not as "gentle" as when dealing with ordinary people. He would kill if he could.

This guard was only at the level of one enhancement, and his own foundation was outstanding. The effect of the second enhancement was much higher than ordinary people. His physical fitness was almost at a crushing level. The other party was not his opponent at all.

A successful surprise attack can kill the enemy in seconds.

At the same time, the movement here also alarmed the guards and Other Blood Guards on the entire floor.

"Tap tap tap..."

Disordered footsteps sounded outside the door, approaching quickly, and soon the two would be blocked in this room,

Zhou Jing's expression remained unchanged. The majestic strength from the second enhancement [Tiger Courage] characteristic was transmitted through his arms, and he slammed hard against the wall.

Rumble!

The wall burst, bricks flew, and it suddenly opened.

A cold gap appeared, and outside was the scene inside White Plains City.

Although this room had no windows for retreat, breaking through the wall could still lead to the outside world. In front of his extraordinary physical fitness, demolishing houses and breaking walls was as easy as drinking water.

Lute was so frightened that he dared not move on the bed.

In a flash of lightning, an Other Blood Warrior from a tribe was killed by the enemy in seconds. Lute did not dare to act rashly, fearing that he would also be punched to death.

He was horrified. He didn't expect that after half a year, someone would imitate Jason and attack him.

Hadn't those dissatisfied hunters left? Where did this reckless man come from?

"Knock him unconscious and take him with you." Zhou Jing said without looking back.

Hearing this, Ross immediately approached Lute.

Lute was frightened. Seeing this, he could only save himself, wanting to delay the time. He braced himself and said:

"You...don't mess around, attacking the lord is a serious crime, don't go down the path of crime..."

Hearing this, Zhou Jing turned his head, didn't speak, and smiled playfully.

Earlier, he had fought with the Other Blood Guard, and his movements were extremely fast. Lute couldn't see his appearance clearly. At this time, he could see Zhou Jing's appearance clearly with the moonlight.

At this moment,

It was as if a big hand had suddenly grabbed Lute's heart.

Boundless fear spread from the bottom of his heart.

"J-Jason?!"

Lute's eyes widened suddenly, unable to believe what he was seeing.

How could it be, he had watched this man die with his own eyes!

Even if he didn't die, his chin couldn't grow back!

A ghost! An evil ghost! Come to claim my life!

The nightmare that had been haunting him for half a year suddenly appeared in reality

Lute opened his mouth blankly, his mind blank, and coldness ran through his bones. All that was left was unspeakable deep fear, almost suffocating him.

Pa!

Ross didn't care what his reaction was. He faithfully carried out Zhou Jing's order, directly knocking Lute unconscious with his butt, then wrapped him in a sheet and pinned him under his arm, like a flower picker with a blank expression.

"Go!"

Zhou Jing didn't say anything, beckoned Ross to jump out of the hole and quickly disappeared into the continuous houses in the town.

From kicking the door, breaking the wall to kidnapping and running away, the whole process took less than ten seconds. The efficiency was extremely high, directly attacking the core and completing the steal.

When the other Other Blood Guards and guards on the same floor arrived, they faced only an empty, messy room, and a hole through which cold wind kept blowing.

"Oops, the lord has been kidnapped!"

"Chase after them immediately!"

Many Other Blood Guards were shocked and angry.

But when they turned to look at the corpses of their companions on the ground, a group of people were extremely afraid and dared not easily chase after them.

In such a short period of time, he could kill an Other Blood Guard… This was probably at the level of three enhancements?!

When did such a powerful person come to White Plains City?

Without the lord, the group was leaderless, and many guards were at a loss, not knowing who should give orders.

At this time, a tribal guard captain gritted his teeth and said loudly:

"Immediately inform the city's guards, search the whole city, and strictly guard the city gates, so we must not let them escape!"

This person was considered a small leader among the tribal guards. The guards that Lute had transferred from the tribe basically obeyed this captain.

Seeing someone stand up to preside over the overall situation, many guards quickly obeyed the order.

The tribal guard captain looked at the other Other Blood Guards again and shouted:

"We will immediately follow the traces and chase after them to intercept this person!"

Hearing this, although many Other Blood Guards were afraid of the thief's skills, they were emboldened by moving together, and immediately jumped down from the hole, chasing after Zhou Jing's traces.

Several other tribal guards were about to take action, but this person reached out and stopped everyone, and whispered:

"Don't take it too seriously, focus on protecting yourselves... It doesn't matter if Lute can't be saved."

The eyes of several tribal guards flashed, vaguely understanding something.

In the past six months, Lute had been in trouble and was declining, but he still occupied the position of lord. There were probably many people in the tribe who wanted to replace him...

Whether it was for promotion or to save the "business" in White Plains City... Lute had become a member who was hindering the interests of the tribe.

Several tribal guards nodded silently before joining the pursuit force.

At the same time, the messenger sent by Lute's backer also rushed over.

He was also staying in the castle tonight and was awakened when the change occurred, but he didn't have time to provide support.

Seeing the current situation, the messenger's expression changed drastically, and he was completely messed up.

Someone really attacked the lord and succeeded?!

The identity of the perpetrator was a mystery. What was his background? What was his purpose?

Lute knew the whole plan. If he was interrogated and revealed it, wouldn't that implicate the adults, and the planning behind the scenes would be at risk of being exposed?!

The messenger's heart was filled with stormy waves, and he turned and left.

He looked determined. He prepared to rush back to the royal capital overnight.

He had to immediately report the changes here to the adults!

Regardless of whether the thief did it intentionally or unintentionally, the adults' overall plan had to be adjusted!

The messenger gritted his teeth and cursed in his heart.

Lute...why didn't this burden end himself sooner?!