[Thirty meters ahead, three biological signatures, stationary.]
Three dark red ripples spread through the Hive Matrix in Kale's mind.
Kale stopped, raised his hand, and signaled for a halt.
The team behind him froze, their breathing reduced to the barest whisper. Only the roar of blowers deep in the tunnels echoed around them.
Kale issued an order through the Hive Matrix.
[Move.]
A Ranger carrying a heavy crossbow used the protruding pipes to climb silently to the passage ceiling like a gecko. At the same time, a burly Heavy Armored Warrior lowered his center of gravity. He and the nimble Xiao Lan swept around on either side, moving swiftly through the shadows like two black ghosts to flank their targets.
Around the corner ahead, three guards stood in a triangular formation, watching the passage warily.
Just as the rearmost guard opened his mouth to yawn.
"Twang."
The faintest tremor of a bowstring sounded overhead.
A black crossbow bolt shot down from the darkness and pierced the rearmost guard's throat. Its immense momentum hurled him backward and pinned him to the wall before he could utter a single scream.
The two guards in front heard the strange noise and whipped around.
In that fleeting opening, the Heavy Armored Warrior who had been poised in the shadows erupted into action like a raging bear. His thick arm locked around the left-hand guard's neck from behind, while the short blade in his hand plunged cleanly into the man's heart and twisted hard.
The remaining guard captain reacted swiftly, his hand already pressing against the Magic Signal at his waist.
But it no longer mattered.
The shadow behind the captain seethed without warning. A petite figure seemed to seep out of his own shadow, slipping soundlessly against his back as