Chapter 129 - Infiltrating
When night arrived, Leon headed towards a certain building top location with prime view of the Solaris family's estate. This was where the shadow guards were currently gathering, while keep watch over the target. Before night had arrived, he had took the time to stock up on recovery pills and ointments.
He was not weak anymore. He didn't have to act overly cautious, but it was never a bad idea to have some lifesaving measures. Although he might not need it for himself, others would.
The royal family had sent both the shadow guards and the palace guards to ensure the success of tonight's operation. The palace guard will surround and guard the premise, while the shadow guards will infiltrate inside the underground auction.
There was an important reason behind tonight's operation. The shadow guards have records of all the noble's crime, but it was hard to persecute them without evidence and certainly not right after they just helped the Capital tide over a disaster. It was like kicking someone after crossing the bridge.
However, it was a different story if they were caught red-handed. The royal family would occupy the moral high ground and be justified in their actions. They would not appear like overbearing tyrants in the public.
Due to a greater task of finding the entrance to the second floor of the vast underground world, Kasif was not the one placed in charge of tonight's operation, but the vice leader, Mark.
When Leon quietly and silently joined the group of fifty shadow guards on the building top, he was naturally not in his flashy royal attire, but his plain black attire. It made him looked like one of the shadow guards.
"Pshh, over here." A shadow guard noticed that someone had appeared beside him, hushed Leon to come closer with a whispering tone and simple hand gesture.
His action made Leon slightly bewildered as he wondered what this person was playing at. He brought his head closer to listen in on what the person had to say.
"Buddy, you're really late… but don't worry. If you stay quiet and low-key, the vice leader won't notice and punish you for your tardiness." The shadow guard whispered.
Leon looked this person strangely with wry amusement and said, "Don't tell me, you are also new and just came out of the training camp?"
"Hm? Yes, that's right. How do you know?" the shadow guard asked with a dubious expression. He thought it was strange enough that he couldn't recognize this newcomer. He didn't look like any of the seniors that left the training camp before him, but the person was also quite young and couldn't be his senior either.
"How do I know? Because you would know who I am, if you weren't." Leon said.
"Who you are? Aren't you also a shadow guard like me?" The shadow guard was surprised.
Seeing how clueless the shadow guard was, Leon just shook his head with a chuckle and strolled past the group towards the front, where the vice leader stood.
"Your highness." Mark saluted, before the rest followed suit.
The other shadow guards naturally weren't deaf. They simply decided to keep quiet and eavesdrop on their short conversation. They thought that the new guy was funny for not recognizing the prince.
The new shadow guard was obviously flabbergasted at the realization after hearing the vice leader's respectful salute.
'Oh my god, I just treated the prince so casually just now…' He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He hoped his actions didn't offend the prince. The others just gave him a pat on the back in sympathy.
Leon didn't mind about this little episode and gestured for everyone to be at ease. He studied the Solaris family's home in the distance briefly, before asking, "What's the situation?"
"The security of the Solaris family is very lax, and all the guests are concealing their identities with masks and big coats, your highness." Mark answered, before continuing in further details, "Due to the secrecy of the event, the gatekeepers do not check for identification. There is no problem slipping in if we follow the crowd."
The vice leader's words cause Leon to crease his brows in thought. He already reviewed the Solaris family's information. These people were supposed to be very careful in concealing their crimes.
How could it be so easy to infiltrate the auction, unless there was nothing wrong with the auction and that it was just a privately held event?
"Hmm?"
Leon scrutinized the crowd passing the gates and suddenly discovered something.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple. Look at their attire. They all have the same symbol on their left sleeve. That symbol should what they are using as identification."
Startled, Mark took a careful look and it really seemed to be the case.
"This... I am ashamed of my poor judgement, your highness." Mark wore an awkward look. This was why Kasif had yet to hand over his position to Mark and retire, despite his old age. There was no capable leader.
Little did Kasif knew, it was entirely the Old man's fault. His grip on the shadow guards was so strong, they only knew how to follow his orders and not develop their own thinking. Their judgements were simple and lacked many considerations.
At this time, Kasif was unaware of what was transpiring on the surface and just continue exploring the first floor, in search of the entrance to the second floor with the elite group of shadow guards. They were tasked to find and seal the entrance swiftly.
The creatures on the second floor of the underground world was much stronger. It would not be good if they discover the absence of the first-floor dwellers and decide to move up the floor.
...
"We will sneak in, the old-fashion way." Leon said.
What was the old-fashion way? It was to enter silently without being seen. Naturally, they would not use the front gates that was guarded by the gatekeepers. Just hop over the wall instead.
They waited for all the guests to enter the building before making their move. As shadow guards, they were trained to be quick and subtle in their movements.
They easily slipped past the patrolling servants without be discovered and enter the Solaris family's home through the windows. Those that managed to fuck up and get discovered, quickly suppressed the patrolling servants before they could utter a single sound. Their bodies were hid in well-concealed bushes.
The process was never perfectly smooth like one would hope. Sean Solaris had been asleep all day, while his body was naturally recovering from his injuries. When he finally woke up, Leon's ghostly figure suddenly appeared in his room.
He widened his eyes in shock when he saw who it was. Before he could shout, Leon was already one step quicker and sealed both his voice and movements by shooting needles into his acupoints.
He wanted to shout, 'what do you want!?' but he couldn't. Sean was horrified by the inability to speak and move. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't do anything. He was as helpless as a fish on the chopping board.
Leon was surprised to run into this enemy of his, but he soon recovered his expression. Before the Solaris family is finished, he will kill this person first. This person was the cause of their feud. The person shouldn't have tried to touch his girl.
"The father is dead, but the son is still alive. Why don't you go and join him now?" Leon whispered.
'Nooooo! I don't want to die!'
Sean wanted to scream out loud. Since the person dared to break into his home, the person would naturally dare to kill him! He did not doubt Leon's intention in the slightest. His whisper was like the devil asking for his soul! Cold and merciless!
CRACK
His neck was snapped and ended his life just like that. Leon positioned the body properly on the bed and draped the blanket over and left after retrieving his needles.
From the onlooker's perspective, it would look like Sean Solaris was still sleeping quietly in bedroom.
Leon joined up with the rest of the shadow guards whom already found the entrance to the underground auction. They entered after removing the servants guarding the entrance.
The underground auction was unexpectedly spacious and well decorated. It didn't look much different to public auction held on the surface. There were seats filled all the way to the front where the stage was. Furthermore, there were private booths reserved for special guests.
It had the capacity to hold at least 200 people, but there were only 40-odd people present. The auction had already commenced as the person hosting the secret auction on the stage was the Old marquis of the Solaris family, Frederick Solar, Marquis Wyatt's father and Sean's grandfather.
"Ladies and gentlemen, next item on the list, we have a bottle of the Water of Absolute Nothingness. Where it came from, I shall not say. We all know what the Water of Absolute Nothingness can do so I won't elaborate on that. The starting pricing is 1,000,000 Craws. Each bid must be an increment of 100,000 Craws." Frederick Solaris said loud and clearly, as his voice reverberated from the stage.
When Leon heard this, he was startled.
How did they get their hands on the Water of Absolute Nothingness?