The day Zehn had a meeting, Lucen told Lysette of the exact location where he was hiding. Of course, they didn’t plan to finish him off then and there. What they wanted to know was the location of the missing people.

They had planned to stake out the location, watch who came in and out, and learn where they go.

Luckily enough, they didn’t even need to wait a single day as Zehn called all of the local gang leaders under him.

Lysette’s people, who were sent to observe, informed Lysette of what was happening using a communication orb.

Lysette then ordered them not to get close and follow each leader back to wherever they were going.

Lysette sent more people over so that a pair of them will be able to follow each local gang leader.

The meeting inside took longer than expected, but once they started moving, each pair followed a gang leader.

Once they had confirmed each location, the following day, they did a quick hidden inspection of each of the bases.

It didn’t take too long to infiltrate and find the missing people. Now they needed to plan how to attack each base.

They needed to do it quickly enough that they won’t be able to react, and they needed to do it at the exact same time so that they won’t be able to counter them.

That means bringing more people. Of course, there was only one group of people Lucen always had at the ready, his personal battalion, Thornefang.

He needed to move them into the lower district without notice, which would be rather hard since they were quite famous nowadays.

Lucen stood over the map of Caelhart with Lysette at his side, his eyes moving from one marked base to another as he thought in silence.

If he marched Thornefang openly into the lower district, even at night, the enemy would know at once that something was coming.

The same would happen if they entered in large numbers or carried their usual weapons in full view. Men like Zehn had survived this long precisely because they knew how to notice danger early.

While thinking of a way, he was scouring through the knowledge he had from scenes in movies and the like to find a creative solution, Lysette spoke to him.

"I can already guess what you’re thinking. If you want them not to be seen, then you need them to be part of the surroundings. A tree in a forest, no matter what kind it is, isn’t weird to see. So you just need them to act like they’re workers, drunkards, or down-on-their-luck gamblers. As for the weapons, I can bring them here without anyone noticing."

Lucen turned his eyes toward Lysette and, for a brief moment, simply looked at her. Then the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

The idea was such a cliche that he found it a little bit funny that he wasn’t able to think of it in the first place.

"Hmph, you really are something else."

"I’ll take that as a compliment."

The two looked at each other as if trying to figure out what the other person was truly thinking, or so that’s what Lucen thought, but in reality, he was the only one doing that, while Lysette was just glad she could be of help.

"Do you think those two have that kind of relationship?" Ryan, who was sitting at a nearby table, asked the others with him.

"Huh? Yeah, they do seem like good friends." Alexander answered honestly.

Hearing his answer, Ryan looked at him, bewildered, then looked at Alexander’s childhood friend Mina, who was sighing deeply.

"Oh, so you’re that kind of person," Ryan commented.

"What do you mean?" Alexander asked, confused.

"Nothing, it’s just I feel a little sorry for Mina," Ryan answered while shrugging his shoulders.

"Thanks," Mina responded with a smile.

"I really don’t understand what you two are talking about," Alexander said, even more confused than before.

Ryan ignored Alexander and spoke to Nina. "How about you, Lady Nina, what do you think?"

"I do not bother with such crassness... No matter what their relationship is, that is a private matter," Nina responded.

Ryan stared at her for a second, then let out a quiet laugh. "As expected of the young lady of House Drexford. Such a prim and proper response."

Nina did not seem offended in the slightest. She simply focused her attention on the conversation Lucen and Lysette were having about the plan to take out Zehn and his men.

"What about you, Sir Cael. What do you think of your older brother and Lady Lysette? Do you think she might be your future sister-in-law?"

Cael, who had been standing near the wall with his arms crossed, turned his head toward Ryan. His expression did not change in the slightest.

"I do not know," he answered in his usual flat voice. "A relationship like with Lady Lysette, Big Brother has the same relationship with Lady Mireya and Lady Elyra. If he wants, there is no reason not to have them all; it’s not like it is forbidden to have more than one wife. Still, that is Big Brother’s business."

Cael, who usually speaks with a few words, would always speak so much more when the topic is either about swordsmanship or his older brother. Ryan and Nina took a mental note of that observation.

While they were gossiping among themselves, Lucen and Lysette were finishing up the plan.

***

It took a few days to gather Thornefang to the lower districts without anyone noticing their arrival.

They positioned themselves near each base. Alexander insisted that he be a part of the group that rescues the children. Of course, Mina, Nina, Cael, and Ryan came with him.

The base they had been assigned to was hidden beneath what looked like a run-down boarding house.

By day, it appeared harmless enough. The walls were old, the wooden sign above the door was faded, and the people who passed by it never gave it more than a glance.

Lysette’s men had already scouted the area and learned that they were using the kidnapped people to do some sort of experiment to create a better version of the pill they were selling.

When night fully fell, the lower district was dimly lit by mana lamps and half-hidden by long shadows. The Thornefang members assigned to this operation had already blended into the area hours earlier. Among them were Alexander and his group.

Alexander was getting impatient waiting, as he wanted to quickly save those children, but he knew that he could not allow his emotions to control his actions. One mistake here will only harm the children further.

Those children had suffered enough from these monsters clad in human skin.

Alexander drew in a slow breath and let it out just as slowly. The impatience was still there. It burned in his chest every time he remembered what Lysette’s men had reported, but he forced it down.

For a few more moments, Alexander remained still, forcing his breathing to stay even. Then, at last, the signal came.

A faint pulse of light flickered from the communication orb carried by the Thornefang member nearest to him. It was subtle, brief, and easy to miss if one was not looking for it.

That single pulse was enough. Every strike across the lower district had begun.

Harlik was the one assigned to lead this part of the operation. He was assigned here because Lucen trusts his judgment, and he was the best one among the men to babysit the newbie heroes. He lowered the orb and immediately started issuing orders in a low voice.

"Move."

At once, the shadows around the boarding house came alive. The men of Thornefang, who only moments ago had looked like drunks, laborers, and loafers, straightened with terrifying speed. Coats shifted. Hidden rifles were drawn.

Revolvers came free from under patched cloaks. Spears, swords, and axes flashed in the dim light of the mana lamps.

One pair moved first and silently cut down the two lookouts outside before either could cry out. The next instant, a bolt-action rifle barked from the roof across the street, and the man near the back entrance dropped before he could turn.

Harlik kicked the front door open. "Inside."

Alexander surged forward with Mina, Nina, Ryan, and Cael behind him.

The inside of the boarding house was filthier than the outside. Cheap tables, stale ale, and the smell of sickness filled the first room. Three men sprang up in alarm, but before they could grab their weapons, Thornefang fired.

One bullet shattered a thug’s shoulder. Another tore through a knife hand. The last man froze as a revolver was aimed between his eyes.

Alexander didn’t slow. He pushed deeper inside, following the route Lysette’s scouts had described. He could already hear it now.

Many whimpering, the rattling of chains, and children crying. Hearing those sounds, his heart tightened.

A thug burst out from the stairwell below with a cleaver in hand. Alexander stepped in before the swing could fall, smashed the man’s wrist with the flat of his sword, then drove his shoulder into his chest hard enough to send him crashing into the wall. The cleaver clattered away.

That did not stop him, even for a second, as he continued running towards the sound of the children.

The underground room was worse than he had imagined. Iron cages lined the walls. Children huddled together inside them, thin and terrified. There was a single guard placed here.

The guard, seeing Alexander, quickly seized a little girl, dragged her, and showed Alexander that he had a knife to her throat.

"Back off!"

Alexander, who was ahead of the others, stopped. He looked at the little girl who was trembling in fear.

"Close your eyes, and once you open them, everything will be over." He spoke to the little girl, and the little girl did as she was told.

"What-"

The man who was holding the girl did not finish what he was saying as a coin hit his forehead, and he was knocked back a little.

The second he was able to stabilize himself, he saw that he had dropped the knife in his hand, and the hand holding it was bent in a weird way.

The man was about to scream, but Alexander knocked him out. Alexander knelt and spoke softly to the little girl.

"You can open your eyes now."

The little girl opened her eyes and saw a smiling Alexander. "Everything is going to be alright now." Alexander once again reassured her.

The little girl could no longer hold it in and started crying. Alexander hugged her and spoke to not only her but all the children.

"It is alright now," he said gently, his voice steady enough that even the older children who had gone silent from fear slowly lifted their heads. "As long as I’m here, I’ll make sure no one will ever hurt you again."