"Quick, we have to escape those soldiers!" Ethan started moving.
"Wait." Oliver grabbed his arm, stopping him.
"Why?" Ethan asked, confused.
Livio, gripping his katana with activated PBV, spoke calmly. "Hey guys, the soldiers are here."
Oliver looked up. "I can sense them—seven of them, standing just outside the gate."
"..." Livio said with a calm voice.
"Livio, how can you..." Oliver trailed off, his words catching in his throat as he met Livio's eyes.
"What now?" Ethan looked between Livio and Oliver.
"I have a plan." Oliver's voice was steady as he started explaining.
The blacksmith, watching them from the side, frowned. "What are they saying? I can't hear a thing."
"So you're saying we'll use three soldiers as bait and escape disguised in their armor?" Livio's voice carried a note of surprise.
"Exactly. But first...." Ethan turned to face the blacksmith.
The old man narrowed his eyes. "What now?" He hastily hid his tools behind the wall.
"Hey, old man! Do you have anything that can make us sky-high?" Oliver asked with a grin.
The blacksmith raised a brow. "Ahhhh, never thought you'd be into that kind of stuff. But I do have something.... You'll fly straight out of the universe." He walked over to a shelf filled with countless tiny glass bottles containing various herbs and started searching.
Outside the blacksmith's shop, a soldier whispered urgently, "I sense a strong PBV beneath the ground."
"Let's go capture them quickly! We'll be rewarded for this." Another soldier grinned.
"Idiot! If they killed those elite assassins, what makes you think we stand a chance?" A third soldier scowled, pointing his lance at the eager one.
One of them stepped back. "Wait here. I'll inform Yemen." He turned and sprinted away.
Another soldier nudged Timba. "Use your ability to sneak up on them."
Timba hesitated. "No.... Don't you get it? We're no match for them."
"What are you afraid of? If you fail, they'll kill you. But if you succeed, think about the rewards.....the king will shower you with gold, women, wine... Anything you want." The soldier's voice was enticing, almost persuasive.
Timba swallowed hard. "I..... I can't..."
"Then why do you have that ability? If you refuse to use it, what's the point of having it at all?" Another soldier sneered.
"Yeah, an ability like yours shouldn't belong to a coward." Another chimed in.
"Last time we fought together, you weren't a coward, Timba." Someone else added.
Timba clenched his jaw. "I am not a coward."
"Then prove it. Either you use your ability, or you let them escape." The first soldier pressed.
The sixth soldier stepped forward, pleading, "Out of the six of us here, you're the only one with an ability. Please, at least try."
Timba looked down, his grip tightening around his lance.
"Yemen! Yemen! We found them!" The soldier who had run off was panting in front of Yemen.
"Where?" Yemen asked sharply.
"Inside the blacksmith's shop."
Yemen's eyes narrowed. "Move out."
The soldiers took off, leaping through the trees like a pack of trained hunters.
Inside the shop, Livio wiped sweat from his brow. "So.... we're ready?"
"To pull this off, I'll have to use a contract on myself." Oliver exhaled, sweat beading on his forehead.
Suddenly, the shop's walls began to ripple like jelly. Oliver, Ethan, and Nitin were too preoccupied to notice.
A lance shot out from nowhere, piercing Ethan from behind.
"What the hell....?" Ethan's voice trembled as he slowly looked down at the weapon impaling him.
"Ethan!" Livio and Oliver shouted in unison.
"You bastard!" Livio whirled around, scanning for the attacker.
"Where is he?!" Oliver looked frantically around but saw nothing.
"Good. They can't see me." Two eerie human eyes floated through the moving walls, darting around them like a fish in water, silent and unseen.
"I'll take them out, one by one." Timba's pupils constricted with resolve.
The blacksmith smirked. "Oh my, what a disappointment. I was expecting more from you, young man." He stared down at Ethan, who was now kneeling on the floor, clutching his wound. But the blacksmith noticed something and raised an eyebrow.
Timba's Ability: No Wall Can Stop Me—he can pass through non-living objects for one minute, but requires a cooldown period before using it again.
Oliver had his back turned when Timba charged at him at full speed.
"This is it. Now die!" Timba plunged his knife toward Oliver's back.
Outside, Yemen stood in front of the blacksmith's shop, his gaze scanning the area.
"Where are the guards?" The messenger soldier looked around in confusion. All six guards were missing.
Yemen's brows furrowed. "What's going on here? Did those bastards make a move?" He activated his PBV-enhanced vision, scanning the surroundings.
Then, something caught his eye. "What's that...?"
A figure in a black cloak was moving deep into the forest.
"Captain! Someone's running away!" A soldier shouted.
"Another one!" Another soldier pointed.
Yemen's eyes narrowed. "I see... Capture them all!" He and his men sprinted toward the fleeing figures.
Hearing the commotion, the three cloaked individuals picked up their pace.
"Don't let them escape!" The soldiers pushed themselves to their limits.
But then, Yemen suddenly stopped in his tracks. He sniffed the air, his expression shifting.
Meanwhile, the soldiers caught up, tackling the fleeing figures to the ground. "Bastards! This time, you won't escape!"
They yanked off their cloaks. "What.....?!"
The soldiers recoiled in shock. Beneath the cloaks weren't Ethan and his friends...but their own missing comrades.
The real Ethan, Oliver, and Livio had vanished.
The three soldiers, now exposed, turned and attempted to flee—but Yemen was already on them.
"Did you really think I was an idiot?" Yemen smirked.
The disguised soldiers drew their lances in desperation and attacked, but their movements were sloppy.
Yemen effortlessly dodged. "What? Their attacks are weak.....for trained soldiers, this is pathetic."
Holding back, he struck one down with an enhanced punch. Then another. Then the third. One by one, they crumpled.
The surrounding soldiers erupted into cheers. "Yes, Yemen! You're the best!"
As Yemen knelt down, he ripped off their masks.
The real game had only just begun.