Capture

The Winged Hussars' sentries wore no heavy cavalry armor, just simple chain mail and thick, warm clothing.

They mechanically moved their frozen bodies, trying to dispel the bone-deep chill.

Under the torment of bitter cold and monotonous repetition, their meager vigilance was fading away as quietly as their body heat.

"Targets confirmed. Two visible sentries, fixed patrol routes beneath the trees." Bobo's voice came through the radio to every team member. "Tire, release Black Fang. The target is the hidden sentry in the tree hollow."

"Understood." The burly Beast Tamer codenamed Tire answered softly.

He swiftly and gently untied his companion's leash. The military dog, Black Fang, was powerfully built, with sleek muscles and a pitch-black coat along his back. He silently flattened himself to the ground and crept forward.

His thick fur had been carefully dusted with snow in advance, allowing him to blend perfectly into the snowy landscape.

Black Fang's amber eyes gleamed with an inhuman calm in the dark. Without needing further instructions, he became a silent shadow merging with the snow. Taking full advantage of the wind's direction, he moved lightly between the trees, alternating his steps as he silently glided toward a huge hollow at the base of another oak, large enough to hide a person.

He had only one task: find the deadly sentry lurking deep inside the hollow and approach him without a sound.

"Brakes, Steering Wheel," Bobo continued without pause. "Your trees. Deal with the birds up there."

"Understood!" Two agile figures replied softly over their earpieces as they left their hiding places.

Like nimble apes in the snow, they used ropes and crampons to find the steadiest footholds on the trunks, cleverly avoiding the sentries' possible lines of sight below. They climbed silently but swiftly into two tall cedars not far