The Trap Unveiled

A shadowy figure appeared silently, like a ghost, at a doorway in the corridor. The instant its hand touched the doorknob, a flash of white light streaked towards it.

Though the shadow hadn’t seen the white light, it keenly sensed a bone-chilling cold. Its body instinctively shifted, moving a short distance to the side. While it didn’t completely evade the piercing white light, it managed to avoid a vital spot, the blade merely grazing its shoulder.

It swiftly darted sideways, turning its head to look at the person who had appeared silently behind it. Its gaze fell upon a girl, clad in black just like itself, her expressionless face radiating a chilling aura that made one’s heart clench.

‘A Dark Guard!’

The moment the figure registered, that word exploded in the shadow’s mind. A chilling dread seeped into its very core.

Suddenly, four more shadowy figures materialized beside the first. Their eyes, fixed on the woman before them, were filled with grave solemnity.

‘Dark Guards!’

To those who walked in the kingdom’s shadows, the term was synonymous with death itself!

“My lord, what should we do?”

One of the shadowy figures, standing before their leader, whispered the question.

The leading shadow, now identified as a man, gazed at the woman with profound apprehension. He had never anticipated the presence of a Dark Guard beside Her Majesty the Queen’s personal attendant at such a moment.

Despite his wariness of Dark Guards, he wasn’t so paralyzed by fear that he lacked the courage to strike.

“It’s nothing,” the man declared. “Just one Dark Guard. Don’t be afraid. Attack!”

With a low roar, the man charged at the woman, his short blade glinting with a chilling edge. The short distance vanished in an instant, and he appeared beside the woman, slashing out without hesitation. The blade moved with incredible speed, yet the woman’s expression remained utterly frigid, without the slightest ripple of emotion.

“Too weak.”

Her clear, cold voice drifted out, and then she casually raised a hand, deflecting the man’s strike.

Just then, a pained scream echoed from behind him.

Startled, the man exerted force on his blade, using the recoil to retreat. He quickly glanced back, only to see one of the shadowy figures already fallen to the ground. Further back, a tall, shadowy figure stood, flicking a blade to cast blood onto the floor.

‘Two?!’

A shock ran through the man. Disbelief flashed in his eyes. ‘How could this be?! Her Majesty the Queen arranged for *two* Dark Guards to protect her personal attendant at a time like this?’

Suddenly, something occurred to the man, and a look of horror dawned in his eyes.

‘Could it be… a trap?!’

“So that’s it,” he murmured. “The attendant was merely bait. This is a trap designed to draw us out!”

As the realization hit him, a wave of despondency flickered in the man’s eyes.

‘We failed. We failed from the very beginning. Everything was orchestrated by the Queen. Perhaps even that so-called personal attendant was just someone picked at random, her death utterly meaningless.’

‘Remarkable. To drag us out of the shadows without losing a single soldier, then capture us all in one fell swoop.’

‘Truly worthy of Her Majesty the Queen.’

‘However, I won’t surrender so easily!’

His eyes blazed with fierce resolve. The man tightened his grip on the short blade, then pushed off the ground with a powerful surge, instantly reappearing beside the woman. His gaze was fixed intently on her impassive, icy face, and fury erupted in his eyes.

“That expression!” he roared. “That very expression! It’s identical to the faces of those who slaughtered my clan!”

The man’s eyes turned bloodshot, brimming with pure hatred.

Hearing his words, a flicker of emotion finally crossed the woman’s face.

‘A survivor of a clan we annihilated?’

As she considered this, a serious glint appeared in her eyes.

“Since you’ve come bearing a heart of vengeance,” the woman stated, “then I shall acknowledge your hatred. Come. With your heart full of loathing, swing your blade!”

The man’s eyes were blood-red, and a series of images flashed through his mind: the scene of his clan’s annihilation by the Human Race. Blood, smoke, severed limbs, and the blood-red hair and emotionless face of the Human leader.

“Die!”

The man bellowed, his short blade descending towards the woman with fierce momentum.

The woman watched the man before her, her eyes reflecting a serious resolve. Although she perceived him as weak, she always faced those consumed by genocidal hatred with earnestness. It was a form of respect, and perhaps, a touch of pity.

In a flash, the blade’s tip was almost upon the woman. But at that very instant, she moved. Her speed was so phenomenal that the man only saw a flash of white light, then a chill pass through him. His body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground. Looking up, he saw the woman had already sheathed her blade.

“Is this the disparity?” the man murmured softly. “Even if the Human Race received no divine blessings, they possess an advantage sufficient to become a dominant race.”

As he spoke, the light in his eyes slowly faded.

The woman watched the man, uttering no words. Her face reverted to its former impassivity. Once the man had completely died, she stepped over his corpse.

After the man’s death, most of the other shadowy figures had also perished, leaving only one remaining. Just as another tall woman’s blade was about to slice across the last shadow’s neck, the first woman spoke.

“Wait,” she commanded. “Leave one alive.”

The tall woman’s blade halted just as it broke the shadow’s skin. She looked at the first woman with a puzzled expression.

“Didn’t Five say Her Majesty the Queen wanted no one left alive?”

The woman replied calmly, “That man was a survivor from a clan we annihilated long ago.”

Hearing this, the tall woman’s eyes narrowed. With a swift chop, she knocked the shadowy figure unconscious, then effortlessly hoisted them up.

“Understood,” she said. “Let’s go. We’ll take them to Her Majesty the Queen.”

The first woman said nothing, following behind the tall woman. However, her eyes were colder now than before.

‘Colluding with foreign races to harm one’s own—a capital offense!’

‘Clan annihilation!’

‘Tonight, the Royal City will surely be awash in blood.’

****

Not long after the two women departed, the room door suddenly opened. Jiu Hui stepped out, her eyes filled with a complex mix of entanglement and a hint of sorrow as she surveyed the corpses strewn across the floor. Behind her, Xiao Lan also emerged, a trace of anxiety coloring her expression.

“Lady Jiu Hui, you mustn’t go out!”

Jiu Hui turned to look at Xiao Lan but said nothing. She simply stepped out of the room and proceeded deeper into the corridor.

Xiao Lan hastily followed behind her.