Dark Moon Era

The night remained morose. The smoke from the oil lamp swirled in the air of the quiet village. Even the hounds dared not make a single peep, adding to the eerieness of the atmosphere.

Swash!

The dagger quietly slit a throat, ripping the main artery apart. The victim’s death cry was shut down at the throat as blood spewed. Another soldier had fallen.

Five seconds later, Tang Ling let go of the soldier that he killed. Then, he wiped the dagger on his body and tossed it about before he sheathed it at his waist.

This would be the last target. Tang Ling picked up the walkie-talkie without any expression. He then feigned an agitated and nervous tone, saying, “Captain, something’s up. We discovered a suspect that seems to be our target, but he fought back strongly. Rief and Olair are gone while the suspect is injured. Damn it! What should I do now!? I must stay here. This is a huge credit, so I decided to call you first, Captain.”

The captain who stood guard outside the village heard the report from the walkie-talkie. His hand was shaking with excitement. His men did not find anything below the barricades, so he barely had any hope for the village. Who would have expected his men to find something?

That damned soldier who was obedient enough to report it was right. This discovery was a huge credit, and the soldier’s decision to inform him at the very first moment was the right move. The captain held back his excitement and said, “Give me your location. Keep it down before I arrive.”

“He’s injured? And badly? Hmm, I got it.” The captain ended the conversation and sped into the village, but right after he stepped through the main gate, a cold dagger welcomed his throat.

Less than 20 seconds later, the captain slumped onto the floor quietly.

In fact, all these soldiers were only as powerful as the elite warriors of Safety Sector No. 17, thus Tang Ling had no problem dealing with them. If he did not have to wait for a window to secure vital information, he could have killed ten soldiers on his tail, but it would be meaningless. If his whereabouts were exposed, it would be impossible for him to escape the Raqir Plains.

Without any expression on his face, he swapped his uniform with the dead captain’s. He confiscated the bullets and stored them at his waist together with a handgun and a machine gun before quietly walking out of the village.

Only Tang Ling was bold enough to resort to fraudulence under the enemy’s eyes.

In the last few minutes, as he was running, he made an important decision. He gave up on his original decision to cross the grasslands, and since the wolf attacks were still going on in the other villages, he ought to sneak in and disguise himself as one of the Stardust Council’s men.

His impromptu plan was nothing short of risk, but he would still have to travel at least 15 minutes over 20 km or more to reach the border of the Raqir Plains. So, when the two options were compared, the latter showed a higher cost-performance ratio.

Being familiar with the terrain became a vital advantage when he decided to go with the latter option, so he selected the closest Bibino Village. Thankfully, everything worked out well.

Under the villagers’ curious gazes, Tang Ling strolled out of the village and jumped onto a bike.

Had he learned how to ride a bike? Never! Nevertheless, when he killed the soldiers, he briefly asked them how to ride the two-wheeled vehicle. It was simple. Praise to the technology of the old civilization!

Tang Ling looked asquint at one of the corners of the village walls, then he rode off like the wind.

Wodino was left behind, trembling non-stop. He had gotten a clear look at Tang Ling’s face and knew that he was the one the soldiers were searching for, but he did not expect the boy to be so bold as to escape right before his pursuers’ eyes.

He also remembered what Tang Ling told him and he made up his mind to bury what he experienced today deep in his heart and carry it to his grave.

What a terrifying boy! He was like the devil from hell, not just strong but also cunning!

…

In Roda’s office, the entire map of the Raqir Plains was on display on the transparent monitor. Tang Long was carefully scanning the map with thoughts running in his mind. The troops had been deployed 16 minutes ago, but no reports had come in yet.

Then, Tang Long stood up and pointed at three points on the map with his slender finger. The three locations included Bibino Village.

“Gather a third of the troops and send them to these three points. Tell them to head there as fast as they can and contact six more Purple Moon Warriors to go there as well,” said Tang Long. He did not explain since he owed no one an explanation. An indescribable rage simmered in his heart as he was still puzzled by his little encounter with Tang Ling.

Why did he let him go earlier? Was Tang Ling’s acting that good? Without a doubt!

Even if someone who possessed Precise Instinct did not feel a specific emotion, they were capable of showing any kind of emotion on their face. All they had to do was calculate every emotion accurately and control every muscle fiber on their face.

As for the gaze? Tang Ling could mimic the gaze of a Drifter even without his Precise Instinct.

Precise Instinct, hmph, Precise Instinct…My little brother, do you have it as well?

Tang Long smiled in a profound way although there was no emotion in his smile. Calling Tang Ling his little brother felt strange either, but to him, it was just a name.

…

Tang Ling rode the bike madly towards the south. His mind was repeating the simulation and calculating all the possible paths for the search, the intersecting point, plus the speed of the Purple Moon warriors.

Where will they be now?

Truth be told, no matter how many simulations he ran in his mind, there was a single place that he could not avoid—the border!

If Young Master Long was smart enough…No, no, no! Why am I thinking about that?

Tang Long shook his head. He always took pride in planning. Although he did not disregard others and their capabilities, there were only a handful who could rival him. Would Young Master Long whom he had met once be one of such people that could rival his planning?

Riding the wind, the bike was on full throttle as Tang Ling traveled on the computed route. Based on the information he got, the troops sent to the south to look for him would search the vast grasslands in a fanned-out manner.

The route that he was traveling on was one of the roads that the troops would go through. All he was waiting for was the unfortunate bastard on his tail.

With that in mind, the said unfortunate bastard appeared in Tang Ling’s sight. Perhaps because of the loneliness combing the vast grasslands alone or the tension in the air, the unfortunate bastard was not riding fast. He looked left and right as he traveled and his hand was grasping the walkie-talkie tightly.

Did it increase his sense of safety?

He heard the engine of the bike from behind him, so he turned around and saw one of his own. Just as he heaved a breath of relief, in the next moment, a bullet perforated his chest.

The sudden and intense pain made him spew a mouthful of blood out. Desperately, he pressed the button on his walkie-talkie, but before the light could turn on, another bullet pierced his throat, silencing him altogether.

Tssk! The bike that caught up with him stopped beside him. The rider picked up the walkie-talkie, cleared his throat, and spoke in a muddled voice, “Damned stone! I fell off the bike. It’s fine. I thought I was hurt, but it’s just a scratch.”

Right after that, Tang Ling crushed the walkie-talkie that he carried with him and took the new one with him. He then tossed the dead body and the bike that he rode over into a shallow hole and simply covered it up with the tall grass in the area.

“Good stuff!” Tang Ling fished out a pack of cigarettes from the dead soldier and lit a stick. He had run out of cigarettes after he finished the half-pack that Su Siao had left for him before going into his icy slumber.

He missed the taste of tobacco. It was soothing. He lit the cigarette with his head down, and when he looked up, two purple streaks of light came closer and sprinted off towards a certain direction.

With the cigarette in his mouth, Tang Ling rode the unfortunate bastard’s bike and continued towards the south.

“Seems like I have met my match.” He squinted. His peaceful time was running out. His only goal was to reach the border before he completely exposed himself.

The southern border of the Herrocky Mountain Ridge was connected to the next Santos Branching Ridge, so it was unrealistic for the Stardust Council to seal the entire border off.

Where would the Stardust Council set up a checkpoint then?

If he really did meet his match, the second half of the game remained.

…

When the two Purple Moon Warriors arrived at Bibino Village, they saw nine empty bikes and a group of trembling villagers petrified on the spot.

Swash!

A Purple Moon Warrior landed. Without any expression, he spoke into the walkie-talkie, “Bibino Village: anomaly.”

On the other end of the walkie-talkie, Tang Long heard it. His chin was propped on his hand as he was in deep thought with a tilted head. Meanwhile, the two generals beside him were quaking in fear.

The reports came in one after another through the walkie-talkie. A body was discovered under the walls of Bibino Village while three more bodies were found inside the village, and so on. A large number of soldiers had been deployed to intercept the target, yet the target had escaped under their eyes! What an immense insult!

However, Tang Long did not respond to the reports at all. His hand seemed to move around the map unconsciously. Upon a closer look, the several routes that he pointed at included the route that Tang Ling had chosen to escape via.

Nevertheless, Tang Long was not concerned about the escape route. His mind was calculating something else. His eyes flickered as he sized up the line at the border back and forth.

“One, two…” He calculated in his heart, then picked up the communication device. “Base 11, set up a checkpoint at coordinates 33.76. Station your Purple Moon Warriors there. Ozko Base, set up a checkpoint at coordinates 45.90…”

Right after he started giving his orders, he did not stop. Explicit orders were issued without a second thought. After he sent out all the orders via the communication device, he took out another special communication device and dialed a series of numbers, 21 numbers to be exact.

When the call got through, his tone contained an extra tinge of respect as he greeted, “Godfather.”

“Yes, I’m sure it’s Tang Ling.”

“I need the authority to mobilize the Dark Shadow Troops.”

“Is the fastest the Death Adder Squad? Fine, them it is. I need them to contact me as soon as possible.”

“Fine, I’ll head to the temple in the morning.”

Tang Long then ended the call. He had to wait for the Death Adder Squad to contact him next. He wanted his next game to be connected to the current one. By then, it would be a checkmate.

He stood up and poured himself a glass of water. At the window, he looked out at the grasslands. “My dear little brother, are you ready? I hope you won’t expect there to only be a second half of the game. I really want to know how you’ll break free of my checkmate.”

…

The south border of the Raqir Plains was 17 km long. An interception point was set up by the Stardust Council every 5 km and each point had its own Purple Moon Warrior.

Between every interception point was iron wire with bells tied to it. The arrangements were somewhat strange, but when any one of the bells was triggered, it would cause a chain reaction in the others, hence clanging all the bells at once.

“Maybe a fly can get past.” Krovsky stood in front of the iron wire, waiting patiently. He was not pleased with the strong searchlight.

Is it even necessary? All this just to capture a guy who isn’t even a Purple Moon Warrior? Really, a searchlight every 500 meters?

A bike was quietly abandoned at a secluded spot 3 km away from the southern border. In front of the abandoned bike was a figure in ambush, quietly waiting and calculating.

It was Tang Ling.

He abandoned the bike in a timely manner and decided to walk the final distance. He quietly crawled up to a kilometer away from the border. With the searchlights, Tang Ling was able to have a better look at the situation.

Based on his calculation, with just three interception points set up at the southern border, the Stardust Council could basically control everything. These three locations were somewhat the sharpest points of the southern border because they were sticking inwards to the Raqir Plains.

No matter how he crossed the border, passing either one of the interception points was inevitable.

The setup was dull and there were many ways around it. The safest way that could save time would be by going to the east side of the southern border and slip around it.

The terrain there was complicated, thus it was impossible for the interception point to cover the whole place, and there were many hiding spots. It was safe to say that the east side was the perfect breakthrough point.

However, Tang Ling gave up on that route because he would be easily trapped there. As long as the Stardust Council stationed enough troops over there and set up another interception point at the Santos Branching Ridge, going through there unprepared would put him at a dead end.

Since there was no exit further ahead and the pursuing troops could easily gather on his location due to the complicated terrain, he could not escape easily if he was surrounded.

Of course, in order to set the ambush up as mentioned, it would also be a gamble for the limited number of troops. One would have to possess extremely powerful war tactics to go through such a route. Out of respect, Tang Ling gave Young Master Long the benefit of the doubt. He believed that Young Master Long would surely have such a set up in the east.

Therefore, after much consideration, Tang Ling decided to go with the middle interception point which others would not choose if they were in his shoes. If all three points were three sharp edges, the middle point would be the longest and sharpest. Since it was in the middle, the troops from the left and the right could simply come over as support.

However, Tang Ling tended to think of the bigger picture since he had his own plan. It had been 27 minutes since he left Bibino Village, and 27 minutes was long enough to set up a lot of things.

If he was Tang Long, how would he set up the interception points?

Only the second half? No way. It will be too boring if so!

Tang Ling narrowed his eyes that were gleaming in excitement. He finally came up with a way to break through the highly guarded southern border.