Chapter 20 Failed Night Attack
One hour ago——
The two-wheeled carriage of the "Nightwatcher" was driving on the quiet streets of the eastern district of Tingen City.
Because they were fighting against extraordinary people, Dunn Smith did not let César, who usually drove the carriage, go with the team. Instead, he let Fry sit in the driver's seat. He, Luo Yao Laiting, and Xiga Teon sat quietly in the carriage, taking turns holding the seal to disperse its negative effects.
2-105, "Vascular Thief," is the name of this Sealed Artifact. The "2" in the codename signifies that it is a Level 2 Sealed Artifact, dangerous and requiring careful and restrained use. Its secrecy level is limited to Bishops and Nighthawk Captains and above. The Nighthawks of Tingen City possess only three Sealed Artifacts of this level, and against Madam Sharon, this "Vascular Thief" is the most suitable.
Resembling a thick, rigid blood vessel, it allows the wearer to steal one of their target's abilities, even from high-Sequence powerhouses. Used by Sequence 8 "Midnight Poet" Siga Teon, it has a high probability of successfully stealing the invisibility of a Sequence 7 or 6 Madam Sharon. Once successfully stolen, Madam Sharon loses this ability within ten minutes. The wearer of the "Vascular Thief" can wield it with the same mastery of skill. With powerful melee capabilities and the ability to cloak, the "Midnight Poet" will become a formidable opponent for Madam Sharon.
Of course, the Sealed Artifact's powerful abilities inevitably carry equally dangerous side effects. Regardless of whether or not gloves or other protective gear are worn, anyone who touches it will gradually lose their lifespan. Initially, these effects aren't noticeable, but if contact persists, the corresponding external effects will manifest after half an hour. Even a Sequence 5, nearing demigod status, wouldn't be able to withstand continuous contact for more than two hours.
However, after repeated use and testing by the church, the negative effects can be greatly reduced as long as there are three or more holders.
In the carriage, several people took turns holding this thick blood vessel, each holding it for three minutes before passing it to another person.
With this kind of rotation, even a Sequence 9 wouldn't experience fatigue enough to affect combat within two hours, let alone the physical signs of aging.
Dunn took the "Blood Vessel Thief" handed to him by Luo Yao. Even though he was wearing gloves, his skin felt numb when his hands touched the seal. There seemed to be a weak electric current flowing throughout his body, but it was not obvious and almost imperceptible without careful feeling.
He glanced out the window. On the dark street, gas lamps kept moving backwards. Compared with the noisy and chaotic docks and the bustling but orderly North District, the East District of Tingen City seemed peaceful and tranquil. Tingen's wealthy businessmen and politicians lived here. Most of them lived in villas with gardens. The population density was low, but the status was not low at all.
Go around the intersection ahead and you'll reach Orsna Street...
Dunn knocked on the partition behind him, and Frye, who was driving, said in a deep voice, "Captain, what's up?"
"Stop at the intersection and don't get too close to the target."
"clear."
At Frye's "whoosh", the horse pulling the carriage stopped meekly, and the two-wheeled carriage stopped at a corner of the intersection.
Dunn was the first to get out of the carriage, observing Orsna Street in the dim gaslight. Luo Yao and Xijia also got out of the carriage. Seeing that no one was around, Frye tied the horse rope to a nearby lamppost.
Not far from them was Mrs. Sharon's residence, a two-story building hidden in the garden.
According to the plan, Dunn Smith was to first use his Nightmare ability to lull Mrs. Sharon into a dream. Even if she wasn't asleep, Nightmare would make her doze off without warning, lulling her into a dream quickly, much like lulling a baby to sleep. If there were other servants in the house, Dunn could also quickly lull them into a deep sleep, preventing them from being drawn into the battle.
Once Dunn succeeds, the rest of the Night Watchmen will quickly enter the residence and head to Mrs. Sharon's location to capture or kill her, depending on the situation on the scene.
It would be best to kill him... Dunn Smith thought to himself.
When one's strength is similar, or even weaker, it's unrealistic to dream of capturing an experienced Beyonder alive. For Beyonders, tying their hands and feet isn't a difficult problem, and they might even be able to fight back while unconscious. If one tries to capture Madam Sharon alive, she's likely to use abilities unknown to them to escape, or even kill their teammates in a counterattack.
This was also the reason why he was unwilling to let Dali come with him. Even though Dali had expressed her willingness to join the battle many times, he decisively rejected her. As a result, during the combat meeting, Dali was in a low mood.
Dunn looked around at the team members. Frye, Luo Yao, and Xiga were all looking at him, waiting for his instructions.
My teammates trust me so much, I must protect them...
Shaking off his somewhat chaotic thoughts, he handed the "Vascular Thief" he had been holding for three minutes to Frye and whispered, "Get ready to act."
The Night Watchmen nodded in unison to show that they understood.
Dunn bent over and sat on the step beside the carriage door, clasping his hands and closing his eyes. The night around him seemed to darken a little.
This was his extraordinary ability when he cast "Nightmare". The effective range was within a hundred meters. It only took a short time and an undisturbed preparation to make the target fall into a deep sleep and enter the dream set for him by "Nightmare".
The other three Nighthawks stood aside and waited patiently. According to their experience, the captain would be able to quietly pull a Beyonder into the dream in about five minutes, and then he would bring one of his teammates into the dream, indicating that they could start the attack.
This is also the biggest limitation of "Nightmare"'s ability. In order to pull extraordinary people of similar strength into a dream, it is necessary for it to enter a dream itself. If "Nightmare" interrupts the dream and wakes up, the target will also wake up and receive a spiritual warning.
But this time, in less than a minute, Dunn Smith opened his eyes and stood up in the surprised gazes of several people.
Facing his teammates' puzzled gazes, Dunn also had a strange expression on his face. He frowned and explained, "There are only two maids in the house, both ordinary people. I have put them to sleep, but Madam Sharon is not at home. I asked the servant in my dream, and she hurried out half an hour ago."
"Could it be that Ms. Granger is lying and that Mrs. Sharon didn't invite her here tonight?"
Luo Yao Laiting, who had black hair, blue eyes and thin eyebrows, first reacted that they had been deceived by the so-called whistleblower Angel Granger.
"That shouldn't be the case. In my dream, Daly also used the 'glass that speaks truth'. If she lied, it's unlikely that she would have escaped our test." Dunn rejected this possibility.
"So, Madam Sharon went out for something urgent? Maybe it was a banquet hosted by some important politician, or an invitation from her lover. After all, this is the busiest weekend night in the social world." Xiga Teong, a white-haired lady who is good at conceiving novel plots, proposed another possibility.
This does make some sense... Dunn heard this and felt that with Mrs. Sharon's status in Tingen City, it was very likely that she would be temporarily invited to participate in the "activities" of certain political leaders.
So what should we do now?
Everyone's eyes were focused on the captain, Dunn Smith.
Dunn rubbed his temple with his gloved right hand, lost in thought.
…
"I'm saying, now that we're here, are we going to go back empty-handed?"
Several people helped each other, climbed over the wall, climbed up to the balcony from the back of the small building, and entered Mrs. Sharon's house from the second floor. Xiga pulled Fry, the only one of the four who did not belong to the "Sleepless" path, onto the balcony and spoke softly.
"You speak like a thief breaking into a house." Luo Yao followed Frye up to the second floor and replied in a low voice.
Knowing that Mrs. Sharon was not home and the servants were all asleep, the four night watchmen did not hide, but strode forward as if they were at home. Based on the information he had obtained from the servants in his dream, Dunn took the lead and walked straight to Mrs. Sharon's bedroom door.
After glancing around and seeing that his teammates were ready, he turned the doorknob and opened the bedroom door.
The bedroom curtains were drawn, but the gas lamps were still on. The light illuminated the bedroom's lavish decor, a stark contrast to the building's simple exterior. A large bed sat in the center of the spacious space, velvet bedding scattered cluttered to one side. A dressing table against the wall held a variety of cosmetics. Jewelry boxes lay open, revealing shimmering jewels of varying brilliance. Sultry, light clothing and stockings were casually tossed on a rocking chair. The half-closed closet was filled with a wardrobe of dresses of varying styles.
The air is filled with a fragrance that makes your blood boil.
The most eye-catching thing in the entire room was a full-length mirror placed in the middle of the carpet. The mirror was smeared with some unknown crimson liquid. In front of the mirror stood an extinguished candle, and around it were scattered some petals that Dunn did not recognize.
"It looks like a magic mirror divination."
The hoarse voice of "Corpse Collector" Frye came. He had the same path as "Psychic" Daly and knew a lot about psychic and divination.
Several people immediately became nervous, standing back to back and looking around cautiously.
Divination, a method that Beyonders both love and hate.
Teammates' divination can help them understand the dangers ahead in advance, find missed items, and even communicate with the dead like a psychic. However, attacks on enemies who can divine are often not sudden. Diviners can see through their ambushes or raids in advance, or even set ambushes in return, making the official extraordinary people's actions fail.
Could it be that Madam Sharon predicted the actions of the Night Watchmen tonight and ran away early?
It would be fine if she ran away, but I was afraid that she would use divination to gain intelligence advantage, set an ambush and make everyone her prey.
Frye pressed his forehead, entered into his spiritual vision, and carefully examined his surroundings.
"No spiritual light was found. She must have run away."
Everyone finally relaxed. Luo Yao frowned and muttered to himself, "Mrs. Xuelun wouldn't use the magic mirror for divination without a reason. Who reminded her?"
"It should be when the captain brought Ms. Angel Granger back this morning. Many people around witnessed this incident. If Mrs. Sharon has some information channels, it wouldn't be difficult for her to find out about this." Xiga analyzed.
Dunn opened his mouth, trying to explain that he had told the people around him that they were only investigating Cole Granger's disappearance, but then he thought again that he shouldn't have worn a police uniform and used a police carriage to go to Granger's house. According to his usual practice, he should have taken Angel Granger back to Blackthorn Security Company for protection in the second half of the night, and he would have kept a low profile as much as possible on the way.
But the Nighthawk's own carriage was out at the time, and he also wanted to use his identity as a police officer to intimidate Angel Granger... No, these reasons are untenable. How could he feel that his behavior was reasonable at the time?
No matter what, this operation can be considered a failure. Now we can only try our best to collect evidence of Mrs. Sharon's crimes, notify the church and Tingen police after returning, and issue a wanted order.
"...Then she would definitely ask the magic mirror questions like 'Did Angel Granger betray me?' and 'Where is she now?' We would naturally be exposed to her." Xiga imitated the tone of divination, gestured with his hands in front of the mirror, and continued.
Dunn's expression froze.
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