HCB Chapter 119 [Shadow Armor]
Chapter 119 [Shadow Armor]
"Fox Squad! Fox Squad! Answer me!"
In the room filled with portals, the burly man was covered in sweat.
As his voice grew increasingly urgent, he relentlessly tried to contact the Fox Squad, his fingers frantically tapping the microphone. But nothing came of it; the signal was mercilessly cut off.
“Fox Squad! Answer me! Damn it!” he roared into the microphone, his eyes scanning the screen.
zizi...
The screen displayed only intermittent interference signals, as if mocking him. He was confused. What was going on? Was there a jammer blocking their communications?
He stared at the masked figure, his eyes bloodshot. Had he been betrayed? He asked himself.
"Not a member of the Black family."
At that moment, the masked figure's voice rang out, answering his question. "The magical resistance of walls won't block signals, you know that."
"Who the hell is that?! Damn it!"
He roared, his voice echoing in the darkness of the masked figure's room. The intermittent images on the screen continued, but the Fox Squad did not respond.
It was as if a mysterious veil had descended, isolating them from the outside world.
As one of the most crucial members of this operation, he knew that this matter could not be ignored.
"Delta!"
The burly man immediately shouted, his gaze shifting to one of the screens. On the screen, an attacker was fighting with the Black family guards.
[What's wrong, Chief? Clang!]
A calm voice came from the loudspeaker, and the man who was fighting with the guard stood up.
"Evacuate immediately."
Are you sure, Chief? The planned time hasn't arrived yet.
"Hurry, we don't have much time left."
【clear.】
The burly man clenched his fists, and from one of the portals emerged a man in black covered in blood.
Blood dripped from the tip of his spear onto the ground.
"I need you to go and support the Fox Squad."
"The Fox Squad? The ones who went into the vault?"
"Yes, an accident happened there."
"Tsk. I knew those thieves wouldn't do anything worthwhile..."
"Shut up! We don't have time to waste."
"clear."
Without saying much, the man wielding the spear vanished instantly, leaving only a gust of wind. This was the inhuman speed of a high-level awakened being.
hum!
A few seconds later, he passed through the portal and headed towards the vault.
......
Delta, one of the men in black from the mysterious organization, immediately obeyed the leader's orders.
He withdrew from the battle with the Black family guards, changing his original plan. The original strategy was to tie down the enemy guards, but the unexpected turn of events forced them to make a change.
“I’ve said it before, I should be the one sent on these critical missions.”
Delta, one of the organization's strongest members, knew that such an important mission should not be entrusted to thieves.
When Delta passed through the portal and arrived at the vault, a familiar scene unfolded before him.
A scene of death and destruction. The bodies of the Fox Squad were scattered on the ground, and pools of blood stained the smooth floor of the vault.
This was a bloody scene he had witnessed many times in his life. He used his unique skill, [Radar], to spread his magic throughout the vault, sensing no signs of life except for himself. He immediately realized he was too late.
Because the [Mana Core] they were looking for was no longer here. The energy that the Mana Core should contain was something they absolutely could not afford to miss.
"Tsk."
He clicked his tongue, lowered his hand, and began examining the body of one of the Fox Squad members.
Delta examined the corpses closely. His experienced eyes quickly noticed that the special device they had planned to use to conceal the energy of their mana cores had disappeared from their bodies.
"this?"
When he realized this, he immediately understood one thing: whoever planned this scheme was well-prepared and had access to the best of their ability.
They knew the organization had the necessary mechanisms to protect the core of the magic, and clearly they had known this for a long time.
"There's a mole inside."
He muttered to himself, realizing this.
They recognized the value of the core of magic and took the necessary measures to protect it.
This mysterious organization not only failed in its mission, but also lost its valuable equipment.
Delta.
Just then, the leader's voice came through the earpiece.
What's the situation?
Delta took a deep breath and then answered.
"Leader, mission failed. The entire Fox Squad has been wiped out, and the special concealment device protecting the mana core is also missing. Someone knows our plans and objectives."
His words were followed by silence. The leader knew the importance of the magical core and the effort they had put into obtaining it. The failure of this operation was a major setback for this mysterious organization, with consequences not to be underestimated.
Damn it!
This was immediately followed by the leader's angry shout. This was an expected reaction; Delta knew how important this mission was.
[Leave there, Delta. Mission complete.]
The order came, and Delta stood up. He wanted to find more clues about who had done it, but he knew he didn't have much time left.
“Understood,” Delta replied, her voice filled with disappointment and frustration.
boom!
To vent his anger, he kicked the Fox Squad's corpse.
"Useless trash."
He muttered under his breath, watching the rolling corpse.
click!
Just then, he noticed something smooth on the ground. It was a small piece of metal that shone brightly in the dim room.
'bullet?'
He picked up the small piece of metal. Instinctively, he felt he should take it with him as a clue.
So, without hesitation, he put the small metal piece into his pocket.
Whoosh!
He then left quickly, his movements as swift as the wind, disappearing without a trace.
rustle!
After he left, a figure emerged from the shadows. The person's body shimmered with golden patterns, and even though the shadows obscured his face, they could not conceal his gleaming purple eyes.
......
"It was a close call."
I muttered to myself as I stepped out of the shadows.
"If it weren't for this equipment, I would have died long ago."
I came here, spending a lot of time and resources, for two reasons.
The first is to disrupt the plans of the demon organization.
The second is to make yourself stronger.
How can I become stronger quickly? There are many answers to this question.
One method is to improve one's attributes through training that pushes one's limits.
Another option is to rely on family resources.
And now, in the Black family's vault, I have fulfilled my second objective in my own way.
The first thing I did after killing the intruders was to secure the mana core. Now that they knew its power, they must have prepared a device to store it.
If they don't know how to store the released energy, they will expose their location in real time, as if openly announcing their actions.
If this energy cannot be stabilized, it is impossible to put this unstable material into the space bracelet.
This is why they need a special device.
I grabbed the high-tech little box, immediately secured the magic core, and put it into my spatial bracelet.
But this isn't over yet. They'll definitely send other members here, possibly one of the highest-ranking ones, and that in itself is enough to threaten my life.
I also understand that my [Shadow] attribute is not enough to hide myself from the eyes of high-level Awakened.
The reason Kaya couldn't find me at the Nissolia City Museum was because she didn't have a direct opportunity to look for me. If she had had the chance, she could have easily found and located me.
But that doesn’t mean I have no chance.
I lack an important piece of armor, an item to protect myself.
A special piece of armor that needs to be both flexible, allow me to move stealthily, and provide strong defense.
Shadow Armor
In the game, Victor later gave the armor to one of his men.
This special armor was discovered as trophy in a dungeon and was subsequently stored in the Black family's armory.
Although the Black family had briefly used it and enchanted it in the past, most family members were unaware of its existence, and it was now forgotten on the shelf of this vault.
Given the sheer number of items the Black family owned and created, it's not surprising that this suit of armor was forgotten in a corner of the vault.
Furthermore, most of the items here are actually projects that the Black family either didn't care about or abandoned.
But that doesn’t mean it’s worthless; it just missed an opportunity to showcase itself.
Although the armor's inherent ability is simple, it is extremely practical.
It can block magical detection, making the wearer undetectable and unlocatable by magic. Moreover, it can enhance the wearer's stealth abilities.
I don't know the specifics of how stealth enhancement works, but players in the game always recommend that assassins use this armor as their primary equipment in the later stages of the game, as it makes their actions more stealthy.
But this is not all.
Because the Black family enchanted this armor, it can also enhance the wearer's attributes based on their limits. Furthermore, as a defensive artifact, its size and appearance can be adjusted.
This makes it a piece of equipment that suits me perfectly, and it's a great find.
Right now, I'm hiding in the shadows wearing this armor. Thanks to the armor's unique abilities, I successfully evaded the enemy's magical detection and saved my life.
"Now, I have at most two minutes left."
I muttered to myself, looking at the display cases and shelves around me.
"Now's the time to make some money..."