The Enigmatic Return (Neera and Jean) novel Chapter 1208

Thud!

The sound of splashing water echoed as they fell into the pond one after another.

Followed by the screams of those individuals.

Clearly, this was an unexpected and unprepared situation for them.

The people on the shore didn't give them a chance to catch their breath. They relentlessly beat them and prevented them from reaching the shore.

Meanwhile, not far away on the hillside, three pairs of eyes were intently watching the situation across the pond.

It was indeed Darcel and Shane who were faithfully guarding Neera.

“How did we end up here?” Neera asked, carefully navigating her way with night vision goggles, paying close attention to the stones under her feet.

What concerned her more was the cliff not far behind her.

“This place seems quite dangerous...”

Darcel reached out his hand towards her. “Don't be afraid. Grab my hand and jump over.”

Following behind Neera, Shane slightly furrowed his brows upon hearing those words.

However, the current situation didn't allow him to say much. He gently patted Neera's shoulder, soothing her in a soft voice, “Go ahead. I'm right behind you to protect you. Nothing will happen.”

Neera preferred to gaze at the jumble of rocks in front of her. She took a deep breath, reached out, but did not grasp Darcel's hand. Instead, she just held onto his wrist, showing restraint.

The glint in Darcel's eyes flickered subtly as he caught her slender wrist. With a gentle tug, he pulled her to his side.

Due to her rather large leap, Neera almost bumped into his embrace with her nose lightly brushing against his chest.

“Thank you,” she said softly, her expression subtly changing.

Just now, she caught a whiff of his scent. For some reason, the familiarity it once held for her had vanished.

Although it still smelled fresh and pleasant, it was not what she remembered.

She had no time to dwell on these messy thoughts as the clamor from the valley below quickly drew her attention back.

“Why are we here? Aren't we supposed to use stealth weapons?”

Pointing downwards, Darcel asked, “Can you see clearly?”

Neera adjusted her night vision goggles. “Hmm, it's very clear.”

This was her first time experiencing this, and in such a perilous environment no less. She could feel her blood coursing faster through her veins, and her heart pounding rapidly in her chest.

It felt as if there was a tiny flame inside, crackling and burning away.

“Alright, this spot is not far from the pond and it's elevated, making it convenient for you to aim at them. Don't worry. Just throw the darts freely, and consider it as practice.”

Neera swallowed, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

These are living, breathing individuals we're talking about. It seems a bit too cruel to refer to them as mere practice. Don't you think?

However, she wouldn't be blinded by kindness.

She knew very well that these individuals were after their lives.

In this battle, one shall stand and one shall fall.

With this in mind, she took a deep breath and pulled out the carefully wrapped darts...

Somehow, her aim was unusually good tonight, almost every dart hit the mark.

Of course, she didn't aim for vital spots. Her targets were areas like the arms and shoulders, places that wouldn't be fatal, but would hinder their movements.

Inside the pond, those individuals were already struggling to move. Now, they were further tormented by these darts that appeared out of nowhere, gradually leaving them with no room to defend themselves.

From a high vantage point not far away, Neera was delighted to see that the situation below was almost entirely under the control of her people.

As this was the first time she participated in real combat and achieved significant results, she excitedly shook Darcel's arm.

“I did it! I really did it!”

A hint of amusement was hidden in the depths of Darcel's eyes as he spoke warmly, “Hmm, you've done it, and done it very well. You've contributed greatly to this surprise attack.”

Beside her, Shane was also quite surprised.

“Neera, you have made rapid progress!”

Neera chuckled, feeling a bit embarrassed by the praises. “It's all thanks to Finnley's good teaching. He's put in a lot of effort during this period. When I see him later, I really need to express my gratitude to him.”

Darcel observed the situation below, and when he saw that the time was right, he said, “Let's go. We're heading down.”

Neera nodded slightly, then stood up to walk back.

Shane jumped over the pile of rocks before her, taking the lead.

But just then, an unexpected turn of events occurred!

A thunderous boom, akin to a startling clap of thunder, exploded right beside their ears. Accompanying it was the earth and mountains trembling!

“What... what happened!”

Neera was shaking so much that she could barely stand, almost falling down.

Still, it was Darcel with his sharp eyes and quick hands, who caught her in time.

Meanwhile, many stones of various sizes tumbled down from above their heads, conveniently forming a barrier between Neera and Shane.

“Neera! Ahem, ahem... Neera!” Shane's anxious voice came from the other end.

It was too late before Neera could respond. The number of stones rolling down increased, and two of them hit her and Darcel.

At the same time, the tremors on their side were becoming increasingly intense, as if the mountainous terrain beneath their feet was also shifting!