Captain – Chapter 40 – Firearms and Swords

At the cost of nearly eighty navy men’s lives, Caine finally led Federo through the main entrance and out of the ambush-filled courtyard. By now, only a dozen or so soldiers remained at their side.

Everyone bore wounds to varying degrees, as well as fresh blood that even the downpour couldn’t wash clean. This team was approaching its limit, yet the Black Raven Society assassins who had reacted to their escape still pursued them, fierce and swift as a wolf pack.

From the ballroom hall to the manor entrance was a twenty-minute journey, along which stretched wheat fields half a man’s height, ankle-deep puddles, and darkness so thick and profound that one couldn’t see five fingers in front of their face.

No one knew whether deadly traps were still laid in that darkness.

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As for the spacious road that allowed carriages to pass, it hadn’t even entered Caine’s consideration. With their group of wounded and exhausted fighters, plus an elderly man with difficulty walking, it would be impossible to shake off their pursuers.

It seemed they had reached a desperate situation.

Caine looked back at the terrifyingly dark hall in the downpour, watching the flickering shadows within, thinking silently.

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Being able to fight their way out of the hall with fewer than a hundred navy men in the face of the Black Raven Society executor’s plot could already be considered a miracle. If not for the pirate captain’s death-like harvest of lives, they couldn’t have even reached this point.

Captain… where are you now?

Caine found himself thinking, then paused slightly, sighing inexplicably. He didn’t know when he had started to become somewhat dependent on the young woman.

Whether it was her thorough knowledge of the Black Raven Society, her overwhelmingly powerful combat abilities when facing Scorpion Lion, or her calm confidence when giving him orders earlier—it seemed that as long as she was by his side, any storm would have to quiet down.

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This wasn’t a good sign.

Caine put his scattered thoughts aside and turned to look at the slightly panting old man: “Governor, you and Rear Admiral Merri should hide in the wheat field and find an opportunity to contact the garrison outside the manor. I’ll take the remaining men… and use the main road.”

Rear Admiral Merri was the strongest close-combat fighter among the navy forces, as he had once been Governor Naren’s chief guard, which was why Federo had chosen him as an escort during the ball.

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Caine’s decision had a clear purpose: to use himself as bait to attract the assassins’ attention, thereby ensuring the old man’s safety.

The rice fields in the night resembled a lightless sea. Before becoming the Governor of Darkness, Federo had been the empire’s top spy and assassin. Entering such terrain was like a fish returning to water.

Rear Admiral Merri could maximally compensate for the old man’s severely diminished combat ability due to age. So even if the Black Raven Society had anticipated this scenario and prepared assassins to lie in wait in the rice fields, they wouldn’t necessarily be able to take down this complementary pair. However…