Chapter 8

Eighth Ambush

Listening to Elena’s words, Gregor let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair, saying, “Phew… I hope her carriage team encounters some unexpected delay on the road, or else she might arrive at Igewent and find me missing… that would be bad.”

Gregor rubbed his temples helplessly as he spoke, and after a moment of thought, Elena replied, “It seems Captain you have a good relationship with your sister.”

“About that… since our parents passed away when we were young, she is my only bl**d relative… I’ve made a name for myself in the city now, so I want to bring her here to enjoy a better life and get an education. Staying in the village all her life wouldn’t lead anywhere…”

Leaning back in his chair, Gregor reminisced, and Elena added, “You call this making a name for yourself? Captain, you’re the youngest search hunter team leader in the history of our Igewent branch, and the youngest apprentice level. The Bureau Chief says you have great potential; how can you say you’ve only made a little progress?”

“Oh, Elena, don’t say these things to me. Although I’m doing well in the Bureau, this profession cannot be publicly acknowledged. In the eyes of the public, I’m just an ordinary person…”

Leaning back in his chair, Gregor crossed his legs and took out a rolled cigarette from the drawer of his desk, lighting it with a matchbox. Soon, he began to exhale smoke.

“Hey, smoking in front of a lady is rude…” Elena said somewhat angrily, and Gregor glanced at her before saying, “Yes, yes… I was just feeling down and needed a smoke. Besides, didn’t you say you treat me like a man in the team?”

“Phew…

“I really hope this is just a few police officers going mad. It would be best if we could return tomorrow…” Gregor exhaled a puff of smoke slowly, and just then, there was a sudden rush of footsteps outside the office door. A search hunter member, dressed entirely in black, pushed open the door and entered the chief’s office.

“Captain, we found this on the body!”

The search hunter member hurried to the desk and handed Gregor an envelope. Seeing this, Gregor frowned slightly and immediately extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray, taking the envelope and opening it to examine its contents. Elena came up behind him to look over his shoulder.

As he read the letter, Gregor’s frown deepened, and his expression became increasingly serious. Behind him, Elena’s gaze pierced through her mask, focusing on the last two lines of the letter.

“The bl**d Cup…” Gregor murmured, and Elena smiled faintly, speaking softly, “It looks like we won’t be able to return tomorrow.”

…

Night faded, and day broke. Time passed, and day turned to night. Vukan experienced another busy day and then the quiet night once again.

In the west of Vukan, there was a small, not very dense forest. Originally, it was a vast forest, but due to the growing demand for wood caused by urban expansion, the forest had shrunk significantly, turning into a sparse thicket.

Although this area wasn’t deep or dense, it was rumored to be where the Vukan gang secretly buried bodies, so most townspeople avoided it.

At this moment, in the depths of the small forest, in a relatively open space, three or four figures stood silently, waiting for something.

These people wore different clothes. Some looked like workers, others like gentlemen… There were fewer than five of them, and these individuals, who seemed to have no connection at first glance, formed a circle, standing apart and looking in different directions, as if they were on guard.

In the center of this group, stood a middle-aged man wearing a trench coat, a low hat, and glasses, with two mustaches. He held a briefcase in one hand and raised the other to his eye, closely watching the watch on his wrist. At this moment, the hands of the watch aligned with the 12 o’clock mark.

Seeing that the agreed time had arrived, the man lifted his head to survey his surroundings, as if searching for something, but saw nothing. This made his brow furrow.

“Gentlemen, we haven’t seen any sign of those guys. Could we have been tricked?”

At this moment, a burly worker approached the man and whispered angrily, while the man with glasses responded slowly, “Just a local thug; he probably doesn’t have the guts. Something must have gone wrong. Let’s withdraw immediately, no need to wait any longer…”

“Understood…”

Just as the group was about to retreat, several pairs of eyes hidden in the dense underbrush watched their every move intently.

“They’re leaving; don’t wait for the second wave. Attack directly.”

From the dense underbrush, a low voice commanded, and someone holding a g*n pulled the trigger. Roaring flames shot out from the barrel.

“Bang!”

Bullets flew from the hidden thicket, targeting the man with glasses from behind, aiming for his head. At the critical moment, the man sensed something and quickly dodged, avoiding a direct hit to his head. Instead, a b*llet grazed his skull, shattering a piece of his skull, and his hat flew off.

“Trap!!”

bl**d dripping from his head, the man’s eyes filled with bloodshot veins as he shouted loudly. Before his subordinates could react, several dark figures rose from the underbrush, each wearing masks and holding rifles, aiming at the confused crowd in the forest.

Gunfire erupted in the forest, bullets whizzing through the air. The people standing in the open space were hit and fell to the ground, one after another, leaving only the man with glasses standing in the center.

Apart from the injury on his head, the man was hit again in the abdomen, but he did not fall.

“Bastards from the An Yin Bureau!”

bl**d trickling from his mouth, his eyes wide and his face twisted in anger, the man roared and threw the briefcase in his hand, freeing both hands as he rushed toward a member of the team at incredible speed, despite his injuries.

Seeing the target still standing and rushing towards him, the attacked search hunter did not reload but instead threw away his rifle and drew a revolver from his waist, firing rapidly at the advancing man. The man was hit twice but did not fall, continuing to charge towards the shooter.

“Satisfy my hunger!”

At this moment, the man’s mouth opened unnaturally wide, as if a beast, ready to bite off half the neck of the team member in front of him!

Almost pouncing on the team member, the man bit down fiercely, but there was no flesh in his mouth. Instead, a steel blade met his teeth, causing them to bleed.

“Ah… It always feels disgusting to see it… The Thirster of the bl**d Cup…”

Unnoticed, Gregor, wearing a metal mask and uniform, appeared beside the man. The blade in his hand thrust into the man’s mouth, cutting his teeth and causing bl**d to flow.

The man glared at Gregor with shock, astonished by Gregor’s sudden appearance and his own failure to notice him earlier.

“Shadow…”

bl**d flowing from his mouth, the man stared at Gregor, his words slurred.

…

Just as Gregor confronted the strange man, drawing everyone’s attention, a shadow swiftly emerged from the bushes in the clearing.

It was a large black dog.

A dog that moved agilely but was already lifeless, with clear fatal wounds on its body.

Ignoring the tense situation, the corpse’s companion snatched up the briefcase the man had thrown and darted back into the bushes.