Mystical Journey

Elvin, England.

Kabb sat upright in the electronic conference room in his own estate with a kind but serious expression on his face. On his right was golden-haired Medis. This handsome man was dressed in a suit and leather shoes with an apologetic look on his face.

There were no subordinates around them, making them the only two people who were seated inside the entire conference room.

Sunlight cascaded inside through the windows on the left and scattered golden spots on the ground.

A large display screen was currently projected on the wall on the opposite side of them. The face of a fierce bald man was displayed there.

"Mr. Kabb, the movement that your group participated in caused my wife Hera to fall into a dangerous situation. Whether or not the actions of the Vipers have your support, their attitude has already decided that there is nothing left to be said between us," The bald man Kaedun's deep voice echoed from the screen. He spoke extremely fluent English but the tone of his voice was filled with great dissatisfaction and slight anger.

"Of course, if your people had not sent the surgical specialists in time, perhaps my people would have suffered even greater injuries. I still keep all of this in my heart."

"Commander Kaedun." An apologetic yet impatient expression appeared on Kabb's face. "We have indeed been participating in the Primary Color's activities, but this does not mean that we wish to be enemies with your group. In reality, when I heard this news, I didn't dare to believe it myself because I knew that we would be drawn into this war. Although we are the underground organization of a managing department, our true nature and duty still lie with being honest businessmen."

"What do you mean?" Bald Kaedun did not want to bother himself with this nonsense and chose to dive into the main topic instead.

"I accidentally deepened the conflict between both parties and caused this secret meeting to occur." The impatience on Kabb's face became more apparent. "The information we received stated White Phoenix had sent special-class mercenaries to hunt Mr. Jay down. Therefore, I hope that you'll be able to make prior preparations."

"Special-class mercenaries?" It was obvious that Baldy had retracted his gaze. This was the nickname of the circle of mercenaries that belonged to the highest level within White Phoenix. Every single special-class mercenary was extremely mysterious and strong. Their task completion rate always remained at ninety percent and above. People even spread rumors that these special-class mercenaries were the true core of White Phoenix and it was very likely that they were the result of Primary Color members who were involved with technological modifications.

Before he met Boss Garen, he was always worried that his abilities were lacking because he could not understand how these special-class mercenaries were able to be so powerful. However, it was different now. When he thought about it now, those special-class mercenaries were probably just experts who belonged to levels that were similar to his own.

They already possessed certain specialized abilities and talents that were coupled with the latest and most technologically advanced equipment.

The special-class mercenaries were the strongest group of people in this world. As humans, they already possessed various terrifying talents that were matched with advanced technology, allowing their single-person combat skills to easily reach frightening levels.

Baldy's heart tensed slightly before he calmed down immediately.

"This piece of information was very timely and I can feel your sincerity, Mr. Kabb."

"Actually, I have a request," said Kabb softly.

"Please go ahead." After receiving this news and intelligence, bald Kaedun did not have any doubts towards Kabb's sincerity anymore.

"I was hoping that I could meet His Excellency the Nighthawk King. I don't know if this request… Of course, I'm not asking for a personal meeting, just a long-distance one," said Kabb with an honest look on his face.

"This would require me to ask for instructions before I can give you a reply," said bald Kaedun while nodding. "If Boss agrees, I will send you an invitation link."

"I sincerely thank you for this," said Kabb quickly.

"The Bailey Group has shown their sincerity. As friends, it is natural for us to show our sincerity as well," nodded bald Kaedun. "Could you tell me more detailed information about the special-class mercenaries?"

"This…" Kabb looked at Medis who stood beside him before the latter smiled and stood up.

"The special-class mercenary that White Phoenix decided to send this time is ‘Lotus Pearl'. I'm only aware of this alias, but I don't know if it's a real name or a nickname. We are uncertain about other things. Please forgive us."

"Lotus Pearl, huh?" A look of realization flashed across Baldy's eyes. As a former member of White Phoenix, it was only natural that he would recognize the name ‘Lotus Pearl'.

That insane woman or a believer of an evil cult, in other words.

She was a believer in an evil cult that was known as Jagerly and followed in their almost fanatical footsteps.

She liked using an ax to murder people and would never leave a single trace behind whenever she completed her tasks. She was arrested by the police in Europe once but the court trial concluded that she was not guilty and released her because there was no proof that she had actually killed anyone despite the fact that almost everyone knew that she was the murderer.

Kabb was so familiar with her because this woman's friend was the previous instructor of his batch of students who had taught them how to avoid leaving any kind of traces.

But none of these were key aspects. Instead, it was important to note that every single special-class mercenary possessed their own ultimate techniques, abilities, or talents. Lotus Pearl's ability was her extremely terrifying intuition.

Her intuition allowed her to notice that something was amiss during the moment when a gun was aimed precisely at her. Furthermore, she also possessed extremely frightening skills during close combat. These skills were tied to her intuition, and as long as a pointed object was precisely aimed at her, goosebumps of various intensities would appear all over her body, allowing her to react instantly.

Some people felt that her special skill was overly sensitive. Although regular people would feel a strange sensation on the tips of their noses when they aimed sharp objects there directly, she would amplify these instincts and spread them throughout her entire body.

Lotus Pearl was also one of the ten most well-known special-class mercenaries in White Phoenix.

"I never thought that it would be her…" When Baldy thought about engaging in close combat with an expert that was stronger than his own previous instructor, fearful feelings flashed in his mind but were overshadowed by excitement.

Fear and excitement soon blended with each other, making it almost impossible for him to differentiate between them.

He had once thought of the special-class mercenaries as opponents that he could never defeat. However, he was about to encounter one of them in the flesh now.

Once the call was disconnected, Kabb immediately dialed Garen's phone number.

"Are you certain that you can do this?" These were the first words that came out of Garen's mouth after he heard the entire situation.

"No," answered Baldy honestly. "Lotus Pearl is extremely powerful. My current self is unworthy to be her opponent. Meanwhile in long-range combat… It will be completely impossible for us to even find her."

"This is your own war," Garen pondered for a moment then spoke slowly. "Martial arts requires you to be bold and powerful as you forge ahead vigorously. You cannot have any forms of hesitation or shadows in your heart. What do you choose?"

This was the first time Baldy had experienced Garen's brand new tone. He had never experienced this tone of voice used for teaching and guidance in the past before.

This was a change in attitude.

"I will work hard!" Baldy calmed his heart and spoke in a low voice. He knew that if he was unable to face this trouble, there was a possibility that Garen would substitute another person to take his position of Vice Commander because Nighthawks could not be fearful.

Clap.

The voice receiver of the telephone was put down.

Garen crossed all ten of his fingers and turned his head to look out of the window. The leaves on the maple trees had begun to turn red. Some of them fell when the wind gusted and drifted downwards slowly. All of the leaves on the maple tree seemed like the feathers of flying birds that floated slowly before flying away.

"Autumn has arrived again…" He stood up and walked to stand in front of the window before opening it slowly.

There were black shadows that were faintly flashing in the surroundings outside the villa. These black shadows rushed towards the villa speedily and quietly from various blind angles as if they were insects in the shadows.

Garen glanced at the maid who was watering the plants downstairs and closed his eye suddenly. His face that was left with only one eye was currently covered by a mask, making it impossible to see his expression.

"The target has appeared."

A faint noise echoed from his earpiece.

Within the black shadows, a petite woman stopped in her tracks suddenly while sticking close to one of the blind angles near the wall of the villa. She slowly released a Black Uniform guard whose neck had been twisted brutally.

"Pay attention and stay alert. The other person is the First Nighthawk King of Africa," said the woman quietly. "Has the equipment in the various areas been installed properly?"

"Everything has been set up properly." "We're just waiting for you."

Different voices could be heard from the earpiece. If she listened closely, she could even hear that some of the voices were nearer while others were softer. This meant that different people were concealed in positions of various distances.

A stern look flashed in the woman's blue eyes.

"Well then, the Hawk Hunting Plan begins now!" She commanded immediately.

Instantly, all of the black shadows that were hidden in the ambush spots raised their various firearms and devices respectively. Some of them bent their bodies and charged towards the villa hurriedly.

The guards they encountered on the way collapsed without a fight. It was uncertain whether they were dead or alive.

Two sniper rifles were precisely aimed at Garen who was standing in front of the window at once.

The dynamiters pressed down on the buttons on the explosives in their hands simultaneously.

"Let me give the Nighthawk King a lesson that he will never forget for the rest of his life… Hehe," laughed the male deputy softly. He used one eye to look at the man in front of the window through his sniper's precise optical sight.

His finger pulled the trigger slightly.

Pfoo… A few maple leaves blew past slowly while a blob of red rolled past the sight.

Once the maple leaf had flown past, the silhouette in the sight had disappeared completely.

The deputy was slightly shocked.

"Gone!!! He's gone!" "Pay attention to your surroundings! Stay hidden, stay hidden!!"

"Get ready to blow up the dynamite at any time!!" "Dahm!"

Different voices echoed from the earpiece.

The deputy was stunned but suddenly felt a threat ambushing him from behind.

Boom!

He rolled towards his left immediately. He had no time to even look for his sniper rifle, and he used his other hand to remove the small dagger in his shoe while stumbling backward.

A gentle laugh could be heard from behind him. It sounded like a male voice.

"Members of White Phoenix?" The voice was unusually calm.

The deputy turned around after rolling about and happened to see a man in a black mask who was standing behind him. This man was holding his rifle in his hand and rotating it about to examine it. Meanwhile, his own little dagger had fallen on the floor after he dropped it. Was the distance that he estimated from the sound of the previous noise completely wrong?

Bang bang bang…!

A string of gunshots pelted the mud and lawn beside the man's feet and caused streaks of black mud and bits of grass to splatter. Strangely enough, none of the gunshots had actually landed in the area where he was standing, and all of the bullets had automatically formed a circle around his feet.

This abnormal phenomenon sent chills down the deputy's spine.

All of his group members were absolutely God-like snipers that had been handpicked. However, none of them were able to hit the target. The only explanation for this was that this man had a strange air about him that influenced their judgment.

It was similar to the incident that had happened earlier. Although he had clearly seen that there was a person there, the man was able to end up behind him instantly instead!

"Don't act rashly," said the deputy quietly. "About five powerful explosives have been placed below our feet. My group members can press the button to activate these explosives at any time depending on how things stand."

Garen furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the man who stood in front of him. This man did not seem concerned about his own safety. Instead, he could vaguely feel that something seemed to be lingering around him. It seemed like a vibration or wave motion. At times, he would be unable to feel anything, making him wonder if this was merely an illusion.

These wave motions made his head feel slightly uneasy.

Bang!!

A powerful sniper bullet flew towards him suddenly. It passed through the maple trees and the air currents, spinning quickly in the air before finally hitting the deputy's chest.

Boom!!

His entire body instantly exploded into two pieces. The upper half of the body fell and collapsed on the floor in a bloody mess while the body half exploded and was sent flying towards a distance of more than a few meters away. There was a look of disbelief on his face.

Garen put the sniper rifle down and walked towards the other places slowly.

"We've gotten rid of him! I injured him!" "The Nighthawk King is not even a big deal!" "We must be careful not to be careless during the final battle!"

Different voices echoed through their earpieces, but the woman who led the group was the only one who could vaguely sense that something was amiss.