Birth Of The Crafts-God-Chapter 419: Chaoter : Ambush

"Something's wrong. There should have been someone waiting for us."

Russell paused right after everyone walked into the study before staring towards the only other exit point which was a door opposite them.

One of the black-clothed men, the one who had directed Laura and Vergil over before, proceeded cautiously towards the door and opened it. He then stepped out of the room to scout the place out, but didn't forget to close the door behind him.

As the man left, Russell explained to Lucas,

"Whenever a secret path is used, the corresponding safehouse is automatically notified so as to make preparations. A guard is supposed to be on standby to receive whoever's showing up, but there's no one here.

"Also, this safe house is a mansion located 7 kilometres away from the hotel in the Amrius Estate. It basically borders the region and is outside the affected area of the explosion."

Lucas frowned. Unless the guard happened to be on a toilet break or unreachable at the moment, it could only mean that something was wrong.

*Bang*

*Thud*

A loud sound came from the other side of the door, drawing everyone's attention.

"Get ready." Russell whispered as he narrowed his eyes.

"We have guests."

All three guards pulled out a gun and immediately aimed for the door. Russell didn't make a move but he immediately entered a battle-ready state. As a ninth level stellar practitioner, vestiges weren't necessary for him unless he was facing a powerful foe or desolate beast. As for Laura and Vergil, they stood behind them.

Lucas, Vienna and Melissa were also behind, but Lucas was ready to summon his vestiges as soon as anything went wrong.

"Are we going to be fine?" Melissa whispered as she felt that things were strange.

"Don't worry. Nothing will happen." Vienna remained calm almost as if the entire situation didn't concern her.

"Nothing will happen to you. I'll protect you." Lucas patted her head with a comforting smile.

"What about me?" Vienna muttered quietly, but Lucas' attention had already returned to the door.

Tensions rose high as footsteps could be heard from the other side of the door, slowly creeping closer.

The door opened, but just as the guards were about to fire, they saw who it was.

"It's you, Six." The black-clothed man who had stayed with Russell said. Just like the other, he used a codename based on numbers and was called Three.

The person who walked in was his colleague charged with protecting the heirs of the Mertens family in the dark. He was sent over earlier to scout the building.

"What was with that sound from earlier?" Three asked Six.

"It was a pet." Six replied.

Three nodded and looked towards Russell, waiting for the next command.

"Let's leave."

The two special guards, Three and Six, took the lead and moved in front. Russell followed right behind them with his two children just step behind him. Beside them were the two personal bodyguards. As for Lucas, Melissa and Vienna, they were at the rare.

The study was located in the depths of the building, but with the building being average in size, it didn't take them long to arrive at an open hall that led to the exit.

It was when they arrived within this hall that Lucas realised that the building was actually a cafe.

There was a hover car parked by the side of the cafe's entrance and the group moved towards it.

From the outside, it looked like a delivery van, but it was actually an eight seater vehicle that had been prepared ahead of time.

"You can come out now." Russell suddenly said right before they approached the hover shuttles.

"Hmm?" The two personal bodyguards were confused.

However, the two black-clothed guards immediately went on alert. They drew out their vestiges and backed each other as they faced opposite directions.

Of the four guards, the two black-clothed bodyguards were much stronger. They belonged to a secret outfit of the Mertens family with every member of the unit having a fourth level Apertures Opening stage strength. The weakest of those with a single digit name were at the fifth level. As for Three, he was a sixth level stellar practitioner.

Also, the personal bodyguards were more of PAs (Personal Assistants) than actual bodyguards. On the other hand, the two black-clothed guards were better trained compared to them.

"Don't play dumb with me." Russell uttered as he maintained a calm composure.

"How did you know?" A voice reverberated out from the open as a figure walked out from behind the building. The voice sounded like a mix between a male and a female, preventing one from identifying the gender of the speaker.

The new arrival was a figure with a white fox mask on their face, a silver grey trench coat, a white shirt with a pair of black trousers and shoes. Although their facial features couldn't be seen, the green locks of hair that dropped down from their head were visible with the little light provided by the moon.

"It was easy, especially when you tried fooling me."

As soon as Russell said this, Three turned around and stabbed Six with the sword in his hand.

"You...why?"

Despite the touching murmurs from Six, Three remained passive as he exerted force into his blade. Stellar energy pumped out from his body and into the vestige before wrecking the internal organs of Six and speeding his death.

Lucas, Vienna, Laura, Vergil and Melissa, as well as the other two bodyguards, watched this in shock and confusion. Only Russell was the only one who remained calm in the group.

"You knew?" The masked figure asked with a hint of surprise in their voice.

"You underestimated me and overestimated your abilities." Russell said, not directly answering the mysterious figure's question.

"Take them to the Villa."

Russell suddenly turned to the two personal bodyguards and spoke.

"The hover shuttle should be safe so no need to worry about it. I'll handle the situation here and meet up with you guys later."

"Yes, sir." The two personal bodyguards replied.

He then turned towards Lucas and said,

"Join them. I didn't expect for us to get ambushed like this, so I apologize. However, your safety remains my priority as with my children, so leave."

Russell's broad shoulders stood before Lucas and the others, forming the dividing line between the group and the mysterious individual.

"How touching." The mysterious individual joked.

"But what makes you think I'll sit around and let you all leave? Everyone here will die today."

Immediately, an overbearing aura burst out from the masked figure.

Eight level Apertures Opening stage.

This was already at the level of an average family head or a high-ranking senior in the top four families, only behind the family head.

"I see why you're boastful and daring. But with this strength, it's still not enough to interfere with my plans." Russell calmly said despite facing such a powerful force.

An eighth level stellar practitioner might be far more than anyone else here could handle, but not him. Though he was already quite old, Russell was still very much healthy and strong. He possessed a ninth level Apertures Opening stage stellar practitioner strength that wasn't lacking in the least. An eighth level stellar practitioner stood no chance against him.

An unyielding and firm aura radiated from Russell, shielding the group from the overbearing sensation from the mysterious individual.

Russell's energy wasn't overbearing or ruthless like the other party, but was more like a ship sailing calmly within stormy waters; like a pillar that stood tall and remained unmoved even when facing a hurricane or tornado. It embodied the true meaning of the word 'firm'.

This was Russell's conviction.

"Indeed. A family head is still a family head. You're definitely a cut above the rest. Looks like I won't be enough."

Right as soon as the masked figure was done speaking, four shadows appeared all around the group. Three of them were men while the last one was a woman. They didn't hide their energy level and made it clear for all. 2 fifth level stellar practitioners and 2 fourth level stellar practitioners.

Of the Mertens family's guards, only Three was stronger than them as he was at the sixth level. The two personal bodyguards of Laura and Vergil were only at the fourth level. Laura was at the fifth level as well, but with Three being much stronger, he could take on the 2 fifth level stellar practitioners giving her freedom to act.

Seeing that they still had the advantage, Russell wasn't worried. The masked figure was only at the eighth level. Although very powerful, he couldn't take him on.

"You're probably thinking it's our loss, right?" The masked figure said with a hint of a smile.

He then pulled out what looked like a syringe and stabbed himself. The other four new arrivals did the same as well.

As soon as the contents of the syringe were emptied into their bodies, their aura began to change. It turned horrific and chaotic, reminiscent of a violent storm in the middle of the ocean. It also grew slightly stronger than it was before, rising by at least 40%.

"Well, think again." The masked figure said.

This time around, the individual's voice sounded cracked like a monster's and was jarring to the ear.

Without hesitation, the five individuals pulled out vestiges and swiftly jumped towards their targets.