Deep into the night, all of Luoyang lay silent.
A group of people crept slowly along the walls through Luoyang, their faces masked and their eyes resolute.
They were silently approaching a distant mansion.
Beneath the moonlight, they moved nimbly, deftly avoiding the patrolling armored guards.
Soon, they reached their destination. They looked around, then easily scaled the mansion's courtyard wall by giving one another footholds. They pulled their companions up, then gripped the wall and jumped into the grounds.
Although the great clans of Cao Wei had no private armies, they all liked to keep retainers in secret.
Of course, raising three thousand death warriors under layer upon layer of surveillance, as Sima Shi had done, was just a tiny bit difficult.
But keeping a few dozen death warriors was hardly difficult for a great clan.
If their household slaves were included, mustering several thousand men was no problem either. Of course, those could hardly be called death warriors.
The death warriors had barely jumped into the courtyard when they alerted the dogs inside. Almost instantly, the household dogs began barking furiously.
The intruders hurriedly picked up their pace and rushed toward the inner chamber where their target was. They seemed extremely familiar with the mansion, swiftly reaching the inner chamber's door.
The instant they pulled the door open, strong crossbows fired.
The death warriors were all but pierced through, falling to the ground one after another.
Even under these circumstances, none chose to retreat. They leaped over their companions' bodies and entered to investigate. Several armored guards crouched inside, their expressions chilling.
At that moment, they understood that their mission had failed.
They began roaring at the tops of their lungs.
Hearing the sound, the commandant lying in ambush shouted, "Get outside! They're signaling their companions!"
For a