Ariel was rather keen on witnessing what was about to happen. 'I'm sure Serpent’s Haven getting blown sky high will be a beautiful sight to behold.’At that moment, the man who spoke to Ariel a moment ago walked out of the base, ordering the others to pack up and get ready to leave on the plane. Everyone at the base was busy packing up. Some of them even boarded the plane.Right at that moment, a figure showed up in the distance unnoticed.It was Gloria. She had arrived at the enemy base first and could see the plane from afar. With a strange posture, Gloria hid inside the bushes on the plains and trained her binoculars on the base. After observing her surroundings for a while, she said through the communicator, "I'm here. The enemy base is on the plains and guarded by approximately a hundred men. I can also see the plane. They're packing up. It looks like they're going to leave soon."Gloria's report soon reached everyone's ears. Adrian was also near the enemy base at a diff
‘I can’t blow up the island if the base doesn’t have electricity.'At that thought, Ariel rushed out of the base.The moment he spotted Ariel, Adrian instructed, "That man in the dragon mask is probably one of the Eight Hollows. Everyone, the most critical part of our mission has come. Let's rush their base and destroy it. Ivy, I want you to take that plane down if we fail.""Yes, sir!" everyone replied. "Wyvern Peak, charge!" Adrian yelled. He emerged from hiding upon saying this and dashed toward the base like a gust of wind. Behind him, Steel, Blaze, and the others quickly followed behind, followed by a series of gunshots. Their enemies were killed before they even saw it coming. "Charge!""Charge!""Charge!"Mya, Ivy, and the other women were providing long-range support while the others rushed the enemy base."It's the enemy!""We're under attack!" The enemies yelled when they saw hostile forces had arrived.Dragon Peak members emerged from various directions when
Ariel was dumbfounded. He finally realized he was not prepared to fight Adrian.He thought his plan to use Thiago to distract Adrian while he and his men retreated from Serpent's Haven was flawless. All of this was so that he could blow up the entire island. Yet, before he could even prepare to retreat, Adrian managed to swoop in and storm his base before he even saw it coming.At that moment, Ariel was starting to break down.Meanwhile, Adrian had no intention of stopping after removing one of Ariel's arms. He moved in to take Ariel's head.Ariel suddenly screamed, "Stop and listen to me, Draco! You won't live if you kill me!"Adrian's dagger rested against Ariel's neck before he pulled the latter toward him. "Ask your men to stand down or I'll kill you.""Fine, fine! I'll do it!" Ariel said through the communicator, "Everyone, stop! Stop this instant!"His men, who were in the midst of an intense battle, did not dare move another inch upon hearing his orders. Adrian comman
Immediately, a series of gunshots were fired, and all of Ariel's men fell over dead.Ariel gaped when he saw this, but the others could not see the despair in his expression thanks to his mask."I'll ask you again… Where's the manual detonator?"Ariel trembled and panicked. "Wait! Listen to me, War Legate Draco, I'll willingly become your subordinate if you let me live. Heck! I'll even be your slave if you want me to! With my help, I could even make you the monarch so that you can rule the world!" Slash!!!Ariel's left arm fell to the ground."Ahh!!!" he squealed in agony. "I've got ten thousand ways to make you tell me everything I want to hear. I don't wish to repeat myself a third time.""I'll tell you, but please spare my life…" Ariel pleaded. "Fine, I guarantee you'll die a little more comfortably if you tell me what I want to know. Otherwise, I'll make you understand what true despair feels like."One…"Two…"Adrian began a countdown, to which Ariel screamed, "Ther
"Will you let me go now?" Ariel asked. Of course, releasing him was out of the question. The thought did not even cross Adrian's mind.Gloria walked over and asked, "How many more men do you have on the island? Which organizations are they from?"Ariel answered honestly, "There aren't many of them left. Only two hundred from Bloody Rose and two hundred more from Black Nergal remain. I've lost contact with them, so I don't know where they are. You've already killed off the rest of them."He did not sound like he was lying.Gloria turned toward Adrian. "We need to make sure nothing goes wrong. There's a huge chance they’re on their way here. I'll have the others secure the parameter.”Adrian handed Ariel to Steel and clapped his hands. "Mya, have the others come over here right now. Tell them that the mission was a success. You're in charge of security when they all arrive.""Yes, sir." Mya nodded.Adrian then got off the plane, while Steel rendered Ariel unconscious before tyin
“The arm isn’t important.”Adrian picked up the communicator and said, “Steel, Flynn, Blaze, Klause. I’m assigning the four of you to another mission. Each of you will lead twenty men to the four coordinates and eliminate the people there. They’re the troops in charge of the manual detonators, so they must be eliminated. I’ve already sent you the coordinates, so go ahead and make arrangements after receiving it and get ready to set out.”The four of them acknowledged their instructions. Adrian sat on the grass and fell silent, taking in a few deep breaths. Following his order, the four of them assembled troops and set out to begin their operation right after reading the coordinates. About three hours later, Lucas led the rest to join the unit on the plains. By then, it was already late and darkness would soon be upon them. After converging, Mya coordinated the watch duty schedule. They started a few fires and cooked dinner around them. Lena came with a first aid kit to dress
The crisis in Serpent’s Haven finally came to an end. The thousands gathered on the plains three days later consisted of surviving troop members, but a large number of corpses on the island could not be taken with them. Adrian had exhausted his efforts, yet he still had to leave behind those heroic souls to guard the island. In the morning three days later, the surviving members assembled on the plains. They stood straight and tall, forming a neatly-arranged troop. In the final hour of waiting, Steel and the others returned after completing their assigned mission.The Serpent’s Haven rescue operation was about to end. Adrian did not manage to save everyone, but the survivors would be leaving with him today. He looked up to the bright sun in the sky and looked toward the unfathomable rainforest. He used his injured arm to grab a handful of soil at his feet, imagining bringing along the souls of his fallen comrades through this action. Everyone stood in silence. Their eyes redde
Everyone boarded the plane. Lucas and Steel flew the plane. They had learned piloting during their training and had experience flying.Novemton headquarters received news of their impending departure. Inside, Crystal said, “Steel, Lucas, four Tempest-1s are already hovering above Serpent’s Haven to escort your flight. You can land at Novemton Airport, and we’ll maintain radio contact at all times.”“Understood.”“Preparing for takeoff…”Hum hum hum!Loud humming noises were heard. The plane accelerated and sped down the runway before lifting off, leaving the island with everyone’s hopes. Everyone sat in the cabin quietly and waited.The plane gained altitude and flew into the cloud layer to find four Tempest-1s waiting. The aircrafts adjusted their positions—front, back, left, and right—and escorted the plane. They sped off back to Navia. Everyone felt relief wash over them as the plane entered Navia territory. Adrian was leaning back in his seat with his eyes shut.Gloria