The evening was about to end.
It was almost night.
In the fading glow of the setting sun, Michael and his group were patrolling the general area around the Overlord’s mansion.
They stayed just far enough from the estate to not seem suspicious, yet close enough to take note of every external detail.
The Overlord’s mansion was in the heart of the town square — a part of the city where only the rich and influential could afford to live.
Lord Everan’s estate was a modern mansion constructed from sleek glass and reflective white stone that shimmered beautifully in the sunset’s light.
The entry gates were tall and wrought iron, their sharp tips tapering into vicious spikes.
These imposing black gates were guarded by two sentinels with weapons in hand.
But that wasn’t the most daunting part.
After all, tall walls could be scaled, locked gates could be picked, and guards could be subdued.
So, what was the real issue?
According to Kang, the mansion’s walls were inscribed with a continuous string of runes that encircled the entire estate.
That ring of runes was called a ward.
It was a form of artificery — a kind of magic. Not the fairytale kind of magic, but the scientific kind.
Michael knew little to nothing about artificery, so he had no idea how those runes were inscribed or how they functioned.
But he did know one thing.
Crossing that ward without authorization was impossible unless you were an [S-Rank] Awakened or higher.
Anyone else would be paralyzed the moment they tried to step over the circle of runes.
So, sneaking into the mansion was out of the question.
But that wasn’t the only problem.
The Overlord’s mansion was equipped with a state-of-the-art security system.
Heavy-duty automated turrets were stationed on the mansion’s terrace, positioned to rain down fire from above on any intruder.
These turrets were wirelessly linked to countless security cameras that monitored every inch of the mansion’s surroundings.
The moment someone dangerous came too close, the turrets would open fire.
All in all, breaking in was going to be no small feat.
“This is going to be very difficult,” Michael sighed. He was biting his nails, looking overly worried.
“Relax,” Alexia rolled her eyes. “Just stick to the plan and it’ll be fine. Probably. Or we’ll all die horribly. No big deal. Exciting, isn’t it?”
Michael shot her a deadpan look. “You’re not very good at pep talks, are you?”
Alexia giggled.
The two of them were sitting across the street on a roadside bench under the shade of the overhanging branches of a tree.
Kang was inside a restaurant a few blocks down, blending in with the evening crowd.
Lily was standing farther away, leaning against another tree on the sidewalk, casually scrolling through her phone.
The road outside the mansion was sparsely crowded, with pedestrians going about their day.
All of them were wearing earpieces to stay in contact through a private radio channel.
Michael exhaled, brushing a hand through his hair. “Alright, let’s go over our plan one more time. We can’t afford any mistakes.”
Kang’s voice echoed in his ear. “The plan is simple. We break in, get the evidence we need to put the Overlord behind bars, and get out.”
“Yeah?” Michael replied sarcastically. “What do we do about the fucking turrets?”
This time, Kang sounded slightly irritated. “Those turrets are automated. They’re linked to the security cameras.”
“And what do we do about that?” Michael pressed, though he already knew the answer by now.
After all, they’d gone over this plan a dozen times already.
Still, Kang replied. “Look to your left. There’s an electricity pole there. We’re going to cut the powerlines connected to it. That’ll cause a blackout in the area. Sure, the Overlord has a backup generator in his mansion, but the sudden outage will trip the cameras. We should have about five minutes to make our move before they reset and the turrets activate.”
“And after that?” Michael pushed him to continue.
“Like I told you, the walls are covered in runes. We can’t just climb over them. The ward will paralyze us,” Kang explained. “So, we’ll have to bulldoze through. Break the walls. Shatter them. That should disrupt the runic circle and disable the ward.”
“You’re absolutely sure it’ll work?” Michael couldn’t help but voice his concern. “Because I really don’t wanna get paralyzed the second we step in.”
“Don’t worry, it will. But we’ll need to blow a huge chunk out of the walls,” Kang clarified. “It’s going to take a lot of firepower.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Alexia chipped in. “I’ve got just the Card for this job. Or should I say, Cards.”
“You’re as brilliant as ever, Mistress,” Kang praised, his tone genuinely admiring. “Anyway, after that, it’s just a matter of dealing with the guards and whatever else the Overlord has waiting inside.”
It was a solid plan.
And it was all Kang’s idea. Michael had to admit, he was impressed by how quickly Kang had pieced together a solution to every obstacle.
He really was good at his job — no doubt about it.
•••
As soon as night fell, the group got to work.
Their plan was solid, but execution was everything. They couldn’t afford a single misstep.
First, Michael positioned himself under the electricity pole, ready to summon his weapon at a moment’s notice.
Next, Alexia took her place, manifesting a few Cards in her hands.
These were throwable Cards that exploded upon impact like military-grade grenades.
Meanwhile, Lily and Kang were walking from opposite ends of the street.
The moment they met in the middle, directly in front of the mansion’s gates, the plan would be set in motion.
The street was still somewhat busy, with pedestrians on the sidewalks and the occasional vehicle passing by.
But Michael had decided they couldn’t wait any longer. It was time to act.
And act they did.
The instant Lily and Kang met in front of the mansion’s gates, everything unfolded in a blur.
Michael raised his hand, and a longsword materialized in his grip from a swirling river of light particles.
In one swift motion, he turned and swung the blade in a clean arc, slicing through the giant metallic pole behind him.
Sparks erupted as the pole began to topple sideways. The power lines snapped, crackling violently before the entire block was plunged into darkness.
By the time the pole fell to the ground with a thunderous clang, the streetlights had flickered out.
Pedestrians screamed and scattered in panic.
Simultaneously, Alexia flicked a handful of explosive Cards through the air.
Some struck the mansion’s outer wall, while others landed just in front of it, detonating on impact with a series of deafening explosions.
Stone and dust erupted into the air, leaving behind a gaping hole in the mansion’s wall that was large enough for a truck to drive through.
It was done.
Their plan had worked — the security cameras were tripped, and the mansion’s wall was now a crumbling breach.
Everything happened so quickly that the guards stationed at the gates barely had a chance to react.
By the time they understood what was happening, Kang and Lily had already drawn their weapons and charged forward to engage them.
Michael took a sharp breath. His composure was steady despite the chaos.
It was time for him to move.
Instead of helping their squadmates, he and Alexia slipped through the breach in the wall and entered the mansion.
Inside, they saw more security guards rushing toward the commotion outside.
But all of them stopped as soon as they noticed him and Alexia.
“Intruders!” one of the guards yelled, and all the others darted in their direction.
However, they were far too slow. Before any of them could execute a proper attack, Alexia was already on them.
With no intentions of holding back, she had already summoned her Origin Card.
Her first victim could only blink in confusion as she ran forward and slammed her foot into his chest, sending him flying back until he collided with a few others and knocked them down as well like bowling pins.
The rest of the guards used this chance to draw their pistols and rifles. Without warning, they opened fire.
But Alexia didn’t flinch.
She had already anticipated this. So, she summoned a long pavise shield that was big enough to completely cover her.
The bullets ricocheted harmlessly off the shield’s surface, sparking against the reinforced metal.
Although none of the bullets reached Alexia, the force behind the shots was so imposing that she was being pushed back.
But she had expected that, as well.
A few more throwable Cards manifested in her hand. And she threw them all over the shield.
But these ones didn’t detonate. Instead, they exploded into flashes of bright light, utterly blinding and disorienting everyone present.
The firing stopped momentarily, and Alexia used this chance to rush forward and slam her shield into a guy with the force of a speeding car.
Michael didn’t waste the opening, either.
He dashed forward and whipped his longsword around. The first guard barely had time to react before Michael’s blade sliced through his rifle, cleaving it clean in half.
A brutal kick to the chest sent the man crumpling to the floor.
The next guard lunged at him, swinging a combat knife.
Michael sidestepped effortlessly and twisted his wrist to bring his sword up in a sharp arc. The blade cut shallowly across the attacker’s torso.
The man collapsed with a strangled gasp. He wouldn’t die from that wound but his next couple of days were going to be miserable.
Alexia, meanwhile, was handling the remaining guards.
She threw her shield at an incoming enemy and closed the distance between him and her.
She then slammed an elbow into his throat before grabbing his collar and hurling him into another guard.
Both hit the floor in a tangled heap.
But the real challenge was only starting.