Zelensky crouched low, his eyes as vigilant as those of a hunting leopard scanning for prey, leading the members of the Assassination Battalion as they slowly advanced toward the Special Operations Team. They took every step with extreme care, as if walking on a field of jagged, spiked traps. With each footfall, they tested the ground cautiously beforehand, terrified of accidentally triggering any traps the Special Operations Team might have laid and bringing unnecessary trouble upon themselves. In their eyes, the surrounding tranquil woods hid fatal dangers at every turn, the dappled shadows of the trees resembling the prying eyes of the enemy.
On the other side, Xu Lin and his men were treading on equally thin ice as they groped their way forward through the forest. Each of them moved with the utmost lightness, as if afraid of disturbing a sleeping ghost. Their footsteps were as soft as falling feathers, and every minute movement was executed with extreme caution to avoid making the slightest sound that could expose their whereabouts. They knew all too well that in this confined and easily concealable forest, any sudden rustling could provoke an enemy attack.
Yet, despite both sides being as cautious as two hedgeprigs slowly closing in on each other in the dark, the trajectory of fate inevitably brought them together. Relying on his sharp intuition, Xu Lin spotted the enemy's figures first. His gaze instantly sharpened, flashing with the cold brilliance of a winter star. …
Chapter 74