Chapter 175: Personal Mission (2)

In a valley around the corner from Hibiscus City and Lining Red Village, Filmos, equipped with confidence, together with Trillo, had stopped at a clearing just before a huge swamp crossing.

"Outpost Sector 9-B had been a stronghold for tamers before. There, a former elite squad of Hibiscus had stayed during the catastrophe a millennium ago, as well as the home of geniuses since the founding of Hibiscus," Trillo said, sounding almost as if he were in a trance while sharing the background story of Sector 9-B.

"It could also be said to be the former capital of Hibiscus, but when the Anti-Nustra took control of it, it also diminished any hope for Hibiscus City to rise again, since the geniuses that had lived here had gone to the Legion’s side."

"I see... There’s no way for the Legion to just take control of the sector when the geniuses had lived there, right? So, the only way was to get the geniuses first before the place," Filmos said, offering his own understanding.

Trillo nodded as he looked forward, toward the sharp turn beyond a giant ancient tree that was mutated, musky, and greasy. Its trunk looked more like rotting flesh than that of a tree, to be exact.

"So, how are we going to infiltrate?"

Trillo looked at Filmos in a daze, blinked a few times, and then shook his head. "You didn’t come here with a plan?"

"Well... I thought you had a plan? You are my senior, you know more than me, and you’re the most experienced here."

"But you were the one driven by emotion! You remember that? I told you we had to brief Deputy Commander Nair about this. But you just couldn’t wait!"

Filmos surrendered in the argument and let out a heavy sigh. "Can I still apologize? I just didn’t know if my parents would still be alive by now."

"Understood. But weren’t you angry at your parents? You shared with me before that they disregarded you like you weren’t their biological son. Yet you are going after them despite the danger."

Filmos thought to himself as well. Why would he even do this for them? But then, there was a certain place for them in his heart that he couldn’t fully understand. Despite how they were, he still wanted their praise, their presence...

Filmos shook his head, pushing those thoughts aside, and simply looked straight ahead.

"So... we know this is a stronghold for the Anti-Nustra. What should we do to get to my parents?"

"Just so you know, we look stupid right now. We don’t have a solid plan."

"So, should we just ransack their place?"

"Hmm..." For a second, Trillo actually entertained the idea. It wasn’t that bad, honestly, even though it sounded so stupid on paper. "This former sector is a weakened one. The Legion has left almost nothing of major importance to this place. So... I believe that is actually not a bad idea."

Filmos swallowed hard, his throat dry. He was just joking about that idea, but Trillo was supporting it wholeheartedly.

"We can just crush them! We have strong beasts! This stronghold, I heard that there are mostly just around B-Rank tamers guarding it. So... with the two of us, with your legendary beast and my A-Rank, in total, we have four beasts. We can just sweep through them!" Trillo said with rising enthusiasm.

"Uhm... Kill? That’s really harsh. Can’t we just at least... subdue them?"

Trillo shook his head with a look of genuine disappointment, staring back at his junior. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Really? You think that is possible? These are a terrorist group we are talking about, you know. Evil... vicious people. They won’t think twice about slitting your throat the second you show a shred of mercy."

Filmos shifted uncomfortably, his grip tightening on his shortsword. "I know that! But if we make too much noise by killing everyone right at the front gate, they might execute the prisoners before we even reach the holding cells."

Trillo paused, his enthusiastic expression faltering as he digested Filmos’s point. He rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a frustrated groan.

"Fine... you actually have a point there," Trillo conceded, his shoulders slumping slightly. "If we blow the door open, they’ll know we’re here. So... what’s the alternative? We still don’t have keycards or disguises."

Filmos glanced past the greasy, rotting tree toward the edge of the swamp crossing. Through the thick mist hanging over the murky water, he spotted a small watchpost built into the hollowed-out roots of a massive mangrove. Two guards wearing ragged Anti-Nustra uniforms were leaning against the entrance, smoking rolled leaf cigarettes and chatting lazily.

A subtle, clever glint flashed in Filmos’s eyes.

"Look over there," Filmos whispered, gesturing toward the guard post. "They’re bored, relaxed, and clearly not expecting anyone to approach from the open swamp."

Trillo squinted through the fog, eyeing the two guards. "Okay... what are you thinking?"

"We play lost," Filmos said simply. "Or better yet... rogue tamers looking to trade. We approach them openly, draw them out of their fortified position, and knock them cold before they can trigger the perimeter alarm."

Trillo stared at him for a second, then a grin slowly spread across his face. "Now that... is actually not stupid. Simple, effective, and keeps things quiet."

Without wasting another second, the two stepped out from behind the ancient tree and began wading through the shallow swamp waters, deliberately making enough noise to draw attention.

"Hey! Who goes there? Stop right where you are!" one of the guards shouted immediately, snapping his rifle-equipped spear up to aim directly at them.

The second guard unholstered a small signal flare, his hand hovering over the trigger. "State your business before we feed you to the swamp beasts!"

Filmos raised both hands high in the air, putting on his best frantic, terrified expression as he stumbled forward through the mud.

"Please! Don’t shoot!" Filmos cried out, his voice trembling with believable panic. "We were chased out of Hibiscus City by the military patrol! We heard this sector accepts independent tamers!"

Trillo quickly joined in, putting a hand over his chest as if gasping for air. "We brought goods! High-rank beast cores! Just don’t open fire!"

The two guards looked at each other, their tense postures relaxing slightly at the mention of high-rank beast cores. Greed flickered plainly across their faces.

"Beast cores, huh?" the head guard muttered, lowering his spear just an inch as he stepped out from the watchpost roots to inspect them. "Show them to us first. Slowly."

"Of course, of course! They’re right here in my pouch," Filmos said submissively, stepping close enough that he could see the guard’s yellowed teeth.

The moment the guard leaned in to look down at Filmos’s waist, Filmos’s meek expression vanished, replaced instantly by razor-sharp focus.

Before the guard could even react to the sudden shift in atmosphere, Filmos moved with blinding speed. He drove his elbow directly into the guard’s solar plexus, knocking the wind completely out of him, then delivered a swift, heavy chop to the side of his neck.

The guard went instantly limp, collapsing silently into the mud.

At the exact same time, before the second guard could pull the cord on his signal flare, Trillo materialized right beside him. Trillo grabbed the guard’s wrist with a crushing grip, twisting it back while driving his knee hard into the man’s stomach.

THUMP!

Trillo caught the second guard by the collar as he passed out, gently lowering his unconscious body onto the soft moss so his armor wouldn’t clatter against the stone pathway.

"Not bad for a kid with no plan," Trillo whispered with an approving nod, taking the perimeter keycard from the head guard’s belt.

Filmos wiped a splash of mud off his cheek, his gaze turning grimly toward the dark entrance of the subterranean stronghold leading straight inside.

"Let’s go," Filmos said quietly. "My parents are inside."