A huge thank you to DarkMagicMage, ToriSanderon, Doec, Trever_Gordon, and NengYang for the Golden Tickets! Your support truly ans a lot and keeps motivated to continue writing and improving the story.
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After Isha finally agreed to assist Team 10, both squads imdiately began preparing for the A-Rank mission. Unlike ordinary operations, Bloodfang Stronghold was genuinely dangerous, so even Team 11 remained serious this ti.
Soon afterward, multiple armored Hunter vehicles departed from Caron City together.
However, before departure, Carol made a strange request. "Sis, I want to ride with you."
Isha looked slightly confused. Normally, Carol preferred staying with her own team mbers. Still, without thinking too much, she agreed.
As a result, the convoy arrangent beca sowhat unusual. Most mbers of Team 10 and Team 11 traveled in the vehicles behind them.
Inside the front armored vehicle, only three people remained:
Vikram, Isha, and Carol.
Vikram sat calmly in the driver’s seat, guiding the vehicle across the ruined highways. The atmosphere inside was quiet at first.
Then, Carol suddenly spoke softly, "Sis... Do you rember when we were children?"
Isha glanced at her in mild surprise.
Carol smiled faintly while leaning against the window. "We used to play together every day. We ate together... slept together... And you always protected whenever I caused trouble." Her voice grew softer. "Honestly... those were probably the happiest days of my life."
Isha beca slightly nostalgic. Ever since they beca Hunters, their lives had grown increasingly harsh and dangerous.
Carol laughed softly. "You know... I did so many bad things back then. I tore your dolls. I broke your favorite decorations. I even frad you several tis. Yet sohow... you always forgave ."
Isha smiled helplessly. "That’s because you were still a child."
However, Carol’s eyes slowly deepened. She suddenly asked in a quiet voice, "Sis... If one day... I made another mistake again... Will you still forgive ?"
The atmosphere inside the vehicle subtly shifted. Even Isha looked slightly confused. For so reason, Carol’s tone sounded strangely serious.
Still, after recalling their childhood mories, Isha beca emotional as well. She replied softly, "Carol... I’ve always loved you. And I’ve never truly held any resentnt toward you."
Hearing those words, a bright smile appeared on Carol’s face. "I love you too, sister... Very much."
anwhile, Vikram continued driving silently from the front seat. However, as he listened to Carol’s words, a strange suspicion slowly rose in his mind.
Carol’s behavior today felt too emotional. Too intentional. Almost like soone preparing in advance for sothing troubleso.
Vikram silently narrowed his eyes.
During this mission, he decided he would keep a close eye on Carol and absolutely not allow her to do anything dangerous or foolish.
---
Inside the lead vehicle, the emotional atmosphere from Carol’s earlier conversation gradually faded. However, instead of falling silent, Carol suddenly beca even more energetic.
She began talking nonstop about old mories with Isha. "How many tis did we skip training together? And rember when you secretly cooked at midnight because I was hungry? Dad punished both of us afterward!"
Even Isha started laughing softly as the mories resurfaced. Compared to their current dangerous lives as Hunters, those childhood days felt peaceful and warm.
Vikram continued driving silently, occasionally listening to their conversation. However, the more naturally Carol acted, the more suspicious he beca. Her behavior felt too deliberate.
At that mont, Carol suddenly leaned forward between the seats and looked at Vikram mischievously.
"Vikram. Do you know sothing funny?"
Vikram replied calmly, "What?"
Carol grinned. "When you were little... you used to cry whenever I stole your snacks."
Isha imdiately laughed softly. Vikram, on the other hand, looked sowhat speechless. Although he possessed the original Vikram’s mories, he didn’t rember such details clearly.
Carol continued teasing him happily, "You were especially protective about sweets. And whenever you cried... Sis would imdiately co to comfort you."
Isha shook her head helplessly. "You bullied him too much back then."
Carol dramatically defended herself, "I was helping him build character!"
Vikram glanced at her briefly before replying calmly, "From your personality... I can imagine you were probably even worse than you’re describing."
The mont those words left his mouth, Isha burst into laughter. Carol pouted slightly. "Hmph. I’m being nice to you now, yet you still attack ."
However, despite her complaint, her eyes visibly brightened. For the first ti in a long while, Vikram was actually joking with her naturally instead of arguing or ignoring her.
---
After several more hours of travel, the convoy finally approached the Northern Ruined Sector.
At this point, even ordinary roads had completely vanished. The surroundings were filled with abandoned military bunkers, collapsed industrial zones, and endless ruined structures.
The sky itself had turned a deep crimson-gray, a natural phenonon caused by the dense blood energy radiating from Vampire territories.
Inside the communication system, Rohit’s voice suddenly sounded, "We’re nearing Bloodfang territory."
Instantly, all casual conversation inside the convoy stopped. Even Carol’s playful expression faded. Everyone beca serious once again.
Soon, the lead vehicles slowed down near a destroyed checkpoint.
Everyone’s attention focused forward.
Far ahead, a gigantic fortress-like structure slowly erged between the ruined mountains. Massive black walls surrounded the entire area. Blood-red lights flickered atop defensive towers, and nurous ruined buildings around the stronghold had been converted into outer defensive zones.
The atmosphere around the fortress felt overwhelmingly oppressive — almost suffocating.
---
After seeing Bloodfang Stronghold appear fully before them, both Carol and Isha calmly reopened the mission file. The surrounding Hunters grew serious imdiately.
Isha spoke calmly, "Our main objective inside Bloodfang Stronghold is simple: infiltrate, retrieve the intelligence archives, and leave alive."
Carol added seriously, "This is not a frontal assault mission. Not required unnecessary battles. We prioritize stealth and information recovery."
Several team mbers nodded.
Carol pointed toward the distant fortress. "The intelligence vault should be underground. According to Federation reports, Bloodfang stores important records beneath the central fortress."
Deepak frowned slightly. "aning we’ll need infiltration specialists."
Almost instantly, everyone’s eyes turned toward Vikram. At this point, no one questioned his battlefield judgnt anymore.
Isha looked at him directly. "Vikram. How should we handle this?"
Everyone listened seriously. Whether Team 10 admitted it or not, Vikram had beco the core strategist of Team 11, and his plans almost always worked.
Vikram observed the fortress in the distance for a mont before speaking calmly, "We split the operation."
He pointed forward. "Large groups entering together will be noticed imdiately. So: an infiltration group will enter inside, a support group will remain outside, and an extraction team will prepare the escape route."
The others listened carefully, waiting for him to continue.
At this mont, Carol asked, "What about the Vampires inside?"
Hearing that, Vikram silently activated his summoning ability. Two summoning circles instantly appeared beside him.
The next mont, Shade erged first. The Phantom Treekin followed imdiately afterward.
The surrounding Hunters were already familiar with Shade. However, the mont they saw Phantom Treekin, many expressions changed drastically.
Unlike ordinary plant summons, Phanty looked almost completely human. Its body carried dark shadow energy, and its humanoid form felt unnaturally realistic.
Even the mbers of Team 10 looked visibly shocked.
"What kind of summon is that?"
"That thing feels dangerous..."
anwhile, Phanty stood silently beside Vikram like an elite assassin bodyguard.
Vikram replied calmly, "Your safety will be handled by them. So don’t focus on the Vampires. Focus only on retrieving the information."
The surrounding Hunters imdiately relaxed. Everyone had already witnessed how terrifying Vikram’s summons truly were.
Soon afterward, the operation groups were carefully divided. Support-type Awakeners remained outside with the vehicles and communication systems. Combat-type Hunters paired with defensive Hunters, while scouting and information retrieval specialists were assigned separately.
In the end, Vikram unexpectedly paired himself with Carol.
Seeing this, even Isha looked slightly confused. "Why are you going with her?"
Vikram quietly leaned closer and whispered directly into Isha’s ear so no one else could hear, "I feel suspicious about Carol. I think she’s planning sothing. So I’m keeping an eye on her."
Isha was briefly stunned. After the emotional conversation in the vehicle earlier, she had subconsciously lowered her guard toward Carol again. But thinking about it now, Carol’s strange behavior truly felt unusual, especially her overly emotional talk earlier.
After a few seconds, Isha slowly nodded. At least if Vikram stayed near her, she would feel more reassured.
anwhile, Carol smiled brightly when she saw Vikram joining her group. She looked extrely satisfied with this arrangent.
---
As soon as the infiltration teams entered Bloodfang Stronghold, everyone imdiately realized sothing was wrong.
The interior was nothing like an ordinary fortress. They had stepped into a gigantic underground maze. Dark stone corridors stretched endlessly in multiple directions, with blood-red markings pulsing faintly across the walls like living veins. The atmosphere inside felt unnaturally cold and oppressively silent.
At first, the teams advanced carefully according to the original formation. However, as they moved deeper, the maze quickly separated them through different pathways and branching corridors. Since this was an infiltration mission, no one panicked or called out. Each group continued moving quietly while searching for clues leading to the underground intelligence vault.
anwhile, Vikram and Carol advanced together through one of the darker stone corridors. The deeper they went, the stranger the maze beca. Many pathways ended in dead walls, so looped back to previous locations, and others were covered in mysterious symbols carved into the floor and walls.
Suddenly, both of them stopped before a gigantic stone gate blocking the path ahead. The gate had no handle. Instead, three circular stone chanisms were embedded in the wall beside it.
Above them, ancient Vampire language was deeply carved into the stone, "Truth opens the way. Falsehood seals the grave."
Below the sentence were three symbols: a blood moon, a chained eye, and a burning crown. Beneath the symbols rested three stone levers. Only one could be pulled.
Carol narrowed her eyes as she read the inscription carefully. "It says: ’Truth opens the way. Falsehood seals the grave.’"
Vikram observed the carvings silently. Carol crouched down beside the symbols, studying them for several seconds before smiling slightly.
"The answer is the chained eye," she said confidently.
Vikram looked at her. "Reason?"
Carol explained calmly, "Bloodfang Stronghold stores secrets and hidden knowledge. In a place like this, truth isn’t represented by rulers or blood rituals, it’s represented by observation. The chained eye symbolizes hidden knowledge."
Vikram thought for a mont, then nodded. "...Makes sense."
Without hesitation, Carol stepped forward and pulled the chained eye lever.
For a brief second, nothing happened.
"RUMBLE..."
The giant stone gate slowly began to open. At the sa ti, sharp spikes suddenly erupted beneath the other two unused levers. Choosing incorrectly would have triggered a deadly trap.
Carol lightly brushed the dust off her hands and looked at Vikram with a hint of pride. "Well?"
Vikram replied calmly, "You solved it faster than expected."
Carol smiled brightly. "Of course. I’m not just a pretty face."
Vikram continued observing her silently afterward. The more ti he spent near Carol, the more he realized she was far more intelligent than she usually let others see.
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