Infiltration

Black Horse House and his band of brothers were drinking and making merry. There was still over an hour until midnight, the time they had agreed upon with Lin Qi for him to bring enough gold coins to negotiate in the alley behind the tavern.

Lin Qi brought ten elite members of the Iron Fist Brotherhood to the outside of the Sword and Beauty Tavern.

Aside from Lin Qi, the Brotherhood's leader, the other nine were Yu Lian, Enzo, and the seven swordsmen led by Enzo. These seven swordsmen had all made something of a name for themselves at the Army Academy. They were Enzo's most loyal comrades, genuine battle maniacs to the bone.

Unlike the Round Table Knights, whose members were mainly students of the Army Academy, the Iron Fist Brotherhood was a mixed bag that encompassed all sorts of people. Its most elite fighting force was Enzo and the seven companions at his side, known at the Army Academy as the Blood-Clad Seven Swordsmen.

All ten wore the same fitted combat attire, wrapped in thick fur coats for warmth. They kept close to the walls along the roadside, carefully avoiding the patrolling Dragon Cavalry and the Security Office's Copper Hat secret police. The icy wind howled and heavy snow swirled through the air. Neither the Dragon Cavalry nor the Copper Hats had any desire to remain outside for long, and their vigilance had fallen to its lowest point. They failed to notice Lin Qi's group at all.

In the narrow alley beside the Sword and Beauty Tavern, Lin Qi, the tallest and burliest among them, crouched beneath the wall. Enzo, the most agile, stepped onto Lin Qi's shoulders and sprang up onto the wall. The Blood-Clad Seven Swordsmen followed, vaulting over one after another, and Enzo lay across the top of the wall to pull Lin Qi up.

Only after Lin Qi and the others had entered the tavern did Yu Lian swagger over to the tavern's front entrance and hammer hard on the door knocker. With a cigar that had been extinguished by the wind and snow clenched between his teeth, Yu Lian rubbed the thin layer of ice from his temples and cursed loudly as he shouted.

Several servants in the tavern courtyard were feeding hay to the horses in the stable, while struggling to pull shut the heavy curtains outside the stable that blocked the wind and snow, lest the horses freeze. Startled by Yu Lian's pounding, the servants froze for a moment before heading toward the tavern's front door together.

They all knew that the tavern had been requisitioned by the Round Table Knights today, who were here to settle some private trouble. Could it be that the Round Table Knights' enemies had come calling? The servants cautiously went to open the door, while only one lingered at the rear, ready to rush into the tavern and raise the alarm at the first sign of trouble.

Just as the servants' attention was completely drawn by the knocking, Lin Qi and Enzo pounced like maddened wild bears. Lin Qi held a thick oak club banded with iron, and he viciously drove it into the back of the servant's head—the one lagging behind—knocking him unconscious with a single blow.

The gale roared and snow filled the sky, perfectly concealing the sound of Lin Qi's strike. Enzo led the Blood-Clad Seven Swordsmen swiftly behind the remaining servants, knocking them to the ground with punches. Enzo casually yanked open the main door, and Yu Lian, his cigar still between his teeth, slipped inside nimbly before slamming the door shut behind him.

Lin Qi and Enzo led the others toward the tavern on silent feet, while Yu Lian quickly approached the stable. He pulled a clay bottle from beneath his coat and poured its pungent, alcohol-scented liquid over the hay piled inside.

Before Yu Lian had even finished, Lin Qi had already closed in on the tavern. He exchanged a glance with Enzo, and together with the Blood-Clad Seven Swordsmen, they put on pale-white ghost masks. Lin Qi kicked open the tavern door and hurled three bottles of stun potion heavily inside. The bottles, each the size of an infant's fist, shattered to pieces. Stimulated by the warmth inside, the pale black liquid swiftly transformed into a colorless, odorless gas that spread throughout the room.

The dozen or so Round Table Knights members closest to the three bottles swayed. They instinctively cursed, then their bodies convulsed before they crashed to the floor. After that, people inside began falling one after another. It was like a nightmare, with dozens of people collapsing in a heap.

The dozen or so Round Table Knights members closest to the entrance cried out and drew their swords at once, charging toward the door.

Greatsword Joe, the owner of the Sword and Beauty Tavern, stood stunned for a moment. He looked at the Round Table Knights members sprawled all over the floor, then pulled a massive sword over four feet long from beneath the bar and charged out from behind it with a roar. The Round Table Knights were his guests, and he had a duty to ensure their safety. Black Horse House in particular came from a noble family. Greatsword Joe had to consider what kind of retaliation his tavern would suffer if Black Horse House came to harm here.

Lin Qi thrust out his chest and slipped past the dozen or so charging Round Table Knights members. Drawing a single-bladed battle axe, he delivered a textbook leaping chop at Greatsword Joe. Lin Qi's attack was ruthless and decisive. The axe flashed once, and its blade was already descending upon Greatsword Joe's head. His strike was comparable to that of the most seasoned veteran.

Greatsword Joe, who had left the battlefield thirty years ago, stared blankly for a moment. He raised his greatsword almost on instinct.

Lin Qi's axe struck his greatsword. Having gone thirty years without fighting anyone in a bloody battle, Greatsword Joe felt an irresistible, overwhelming force surge into his hands. His greatsword fell to the ground with a clang, and he was forced backward again and again by that tremendous power. Then darkness engulfed his vision, and like the others, he toppled over.

Enzo and the Blood-Clad Seven Swordsmen drew their swords and collided head-on with the dozen or so Round Table Knights members. The tavern entrance was narrow to begin with; with eight people blocking it, those men simply could not break through. Piercing sword winds rang out without pause. In the span of a single breath, Enzo had forced three opponents back by fighting as though he meant to perish together with them.

The Blood-Clad Seven Swordsmen were the same as Enzo. They paid no heed to the sword points thrusting at them, choosing instead to fight as though they would die together with their enemies. Every thrust went straight for the opponent's heart.

After all, these Round Table Knights members were students of the Army Academy. They lacked the resolve to fight others to the death. Facing the glittering cold sword blades, they instinctively chose to retreat. That retreat carried them all the way back to Greatsword Joe, who had fallen to the floor. Then their bodies swayed, and they too collapsed helplessly.

Lin Qi, Enzo, and the others hurriedly retreated. Their vision had begun to darken as well. They breathed fresh air in the snow for quite a while before barely recovering their senses. Lin Qi coughed violently several times, grabbed a stone, and smashed the tavern's windows to pieces. The gale swept blizzard snow into the tavern, carrying every trace of the dispersed stun potion out with it.

Only after another full quarter-hour did Lin Qi and the others cautiously enter the tavern. In a small compartment, they rescued Vik, who lay unconscious and tightly bound. Lin Qi did not stand on ceremony. He stripped Black Horse House, Greatsword Joe, and the others of every possession they had, then opened dozens of bottles of strong liquor and splashed it over Black Horse House and the rest. After picking up the shattered potion bottles from the ground, he hoisted Vik over his shoulder and rushed out of the tavern.

Before long, flames soared skyward from the tavern stable. The can of flammable liquid Yu Lian had poured over the hay had taken effect.

Shrill police whistles sounded from every direction. Large numbers of Dragon Cavalry and Copper Hats rushed toward the tavern like flies that had caught the scent of blood.