"So…. What's our plan?" Leo asked Ben once the two exited the lieutenant's office after getting all the information that they wanted regarding the Demon Whisperer.
As per Leo's observation, although the lieutenant did not like Ben, he was immensely respectful of the old man.
Not once in his briefing did he try to tell Ben what the best course of action would be, as although he highlighted the challenges of the mission, he seemed to have complete faith in Ben, that the legendary assassin would find a way around all the challenges.
"Honestly, boy….. my plan is quite simple–" Ben said, as he looked towards the skies with a calm smile on his face.
"We kill whoever needs to be killed and try to nab our target, like you proposed we do.
If we can't kidnap him, we kill him.
If anyone tries to stop us, we kill them.
If we can't kill them, we run.
And If they chase us while we run, we kill them" Ben said, as Leo felt his left eye flicker when he heard the words coming out of his master's mouth.
Ben's entire plan was 'Kill them till you win', and he seemed completely unbothered with stuff like detailed planning.
Usually, Assassin's planned their missions in great detail before making a move, however, such rules did not apply to the legendary assassin Ben Faulkner.
While most Assassin's could not just simply kill all targets that they came across, Ben did not have such 'Skill Issues'.
Confident in his own ability to take down any target that dared stop them, Ben's whole plan was 'Follow me and leave the rest up to fate', which was both reassuring and worrisome for Leo at the same time.
"Will we really be okay?" Leo murmured under his breath, however, did not dare say it out-loud, as he silently followed Ben past the Line Of Control and into the enemy territory.
***********
Once Ben and Leo crossed the line of control, they stopped goofing around and turned serious.
Running at an incredible speed, they moved like the wind, silent and swift, as they approached the demon base where the Demon Whisperer was last confirmed to have been spotted.
"You've grown much stronger since we last sparred, boy. We've been sprinting at a much higher speed than usual, yet you seem to be keeping up without losing your breath," Ben remarked, a hint of surprise in his voice as he observed Leo's significant improvement.
"I've not been slacking around, that's for sure," Leo replied stoically, trying to keep a straight face despite lying through his teeth.
In reality, the reason behind his rapid improvement was the significant gain in levels he had undergone thanks to the rankers' special event, which had boosted his base stats considerably.
This enhancement allowed him to keep up with Ben with much more ease compared to before. However, since he couldn't really explain the game mechanics to an NPC, Leo chose to conceal the true reason behind his power increase with a harmless lie.
With their fast running pace, the duo reached the periphery of the Demon Camp within twenty minutes of crossing the LOC. However, before approaching the demon camp, they scouted the location from a vantage point nearby.
From their elevated position, they had a clear view of the demon encampment.
The camp was a sprawling mass of tents and fortifications, arranged in a chaotic yet functional manner. Torches and bonfires dotted the landscape, casting an eerie glow that illuminated the otherwise dark, nightmarish surroundings.
Unlike humans, whose army tents were made of fabric, the demon tents seemed to be made of dark, thick beast hides, which just went to show how far behind they were on the technology front compared to humans, since they did not even have the technology to produce fabrics.
From a simple glance, Leo could make out that the central area of the demon camp was more heavily fortified compared to the outskirts, with the central area having larger tents and more guards patrolling the perimeter.
It was clear that this was where the higher-ranking demons and their leader, the Demon Whisperer, resided.
The Whisperer's tent was easily identifiable—it was larger and more ornate than the others, with a lot of human slaves making their way in and out of it.
Since in the entire demon camp, the only 'human' activity seemed to be centered around that one tent, Leo felt fairly certain that it had to be the tent belonging to the Demon Whisperer.
"I think that big brown tent is the one belonging to the Demon Whisperer" Leo said, as he pointed out the tent to Ben.
"Yeah, that seems to be the one…" Ben agreed, as he seemed to have reached the same conclusion as Leo.
"He's clearly a man drunk on power….. if you look closely you will notice that all the humans going in and out of his tent are females…. Which means he is spoiled for his choice of slaves.
Some of those slaves even have disheveled appearances once they exit his tent which means that he is also forcing himself on them….." Ben said, as he seemed to be wanting to teach Leo something important.
"You know what conclusion I draw from this?" Ben asked, giving Leo a moment to ponder, before giving him the right answer.
"The conclusion I draw from this behavior is that the Demon Whisperer is a weak man.
No warrior who has pride in his strength will ever have their way with slaves, as they have the strength to earn the love of any women they want.
It's only the weak men…. Men who cannot achieve anything with the strength of their fists, that indulge in such activities.
So…..trust me and don't take the Demon Whisperer too seriously, our real challenge is only slipping in and out of the demon camp, while kidnapping the man itself will be a peace of cake" Ben said, as he imparted an important life lesson to Leo.