Chapter 19 – Clever Misleading

A few last rays of the sunset could be seen through the leaves in the forest, and the group of seven walked toward the hill where their target was. In the sky, both the moon and the sun could be seen.

"Everyone got their guns ready?" Glottis asked for the fifth time.

"Yes, they all do, chill. Remember, we only shoot him for five minutes and we run away if it doesn't look like he's going down."

The seven, wearing black to assimilate into the darkness of the night, soon made it to the hill. One hundred meters away from their target, everyone felt nervous. The mission was dangerous; their opponent was capable of killing each one of them in a few blows.

"Young Master," one thug whispered, "I suggest we crawl up the hill to avoid detection. If he surprises us, he might kill one of us, and we don't know who he'd aim for first."

The man was quite clever. If Glottis believed the risk was the thugs' to bear, he would disagree to crawl. However, by pointing out Mike's conscious choice, he made Glottis think that chances are he would be marked as the first target. After all, he was the one Mike hated the most.

"Ok, good idea. You guys lead while Donny and I will be behind you to cover our backs."

'Damn coward,' the thugs cursed but nodded in agreement. It was their job and they knew it.

They went down to the floor and started crawling stealthily, sure that they would surprise the target when they suddenly appeared in front of him.

---

"Father, my life has been a mess since you left. I was entangled in a battle against a rich kid, and now he keeps causing me trouble. He even turned Miss Rosemary against me. She has known me for so long, I don't understand how she could take his side…"

Mike vented in front of his father's grave. He told him about everything that happened since they last met, about his personal feelings, deliberations, and troubles.

He was about to share the story of his first clash with Glottis when his ears picked up a noise, and he immediately concentrated and stopped talking.

"Argh…"

"Mmm…"

"Phew…"

"Haaa…"

His face was the embodiment of confusion when he realized it was the sound of a group of men moaning and groaning, probably from exertion, because the other explanation would be too weird in the cemetery. He got up from his knees and walked silently toward the source of the noise, his legs only tapping the ground lightly with every step he took.

To his surprise, he saw exactly what he heard. Seven men were entirely concentrated on dragging their bodies uphill, their sight fixed on the next meter they had to crawl. They didn't even see the young man they wanted to kill watching them, amused.

"Fuck, this is harder than I thought it would be," Glottis exhaled and cursed as his forearms got scratched all over.

"It's worth it if he doesn't notice us," Donny said.

Once Mike felt he had observed enough, he opted to capture their focus. Dismissing the notion of sneak attacks as beneath him, he regarded such tactics as unethical.

"I see a group of ants and insects crawling up the mountain. Perhaps I should just stomp them?"

The seven men raised their heads in panic, seeing the enemy towering above them. They quickly jumped on their feet, their clothes dirty with twigs and sand, and their breath was heavy from the intense workout.

"Idiots, next time you try to sneak around, don't talk, and don't moan as if someone pushed a stick up your ass. If your stamina sucks, don't do it," Mike mocked them with a chuckle.

"Shut up Mike, you are alone, aren't you worried?" Glottis spat out his words. He didn't realize that his words would cause a misunderstanding.

Mike's face turned dark and worried instantly, "What did you do with Titania?" He asked, his fury palpable. He recalled that she told him she was going to see her parents, and now he understood she was in the hands of these villains.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Glottis said, however, he smiled at the sight of Mike's worried face.

"Don't feign ignorance! You are evil! How dare you kidnap an innocent girl who has nothing to do with our conflict? Do you have no limits?" He shouted, furious.

"Haha, are you sure she is with us?" Donny, who made his research on Mike and knew who Titania was, laughed, "I think you just lost her somewhere, after all, I know you are quite forgetful. Didn't you already lose your parents, like, twice?" He smirked.

"You…" Mike's expression turned hideous, yet he was paralyzed in his place, knowing that he couldn't do anything as long as they held Titania captive. He would never forgive himself if she got hurt because of his own disputes.

The thugs all shared confused glances with each other, unsure of what was going on or whether they should use the special boots. However, Donny knew how to take an opportunity to oppress another person when he saw it.

"You don't have to worry about her, Mike. If you do as we say, you have my word that we will let her off the hook. However, I can't promise you won't be sent to the hospital. Do you love her that much?" The black man walked forward confidently, not letting any sign to his bluff.

"I… I do, just don't hurt her. Your fight is with me, leave her alone," Mike said in desperation.

Glottis walked to Donny quickly, confused, "Hey, Donny, what are you talking about?"

"Go along with it," Donny whispered back, "We can get anything we want."

"Oh."

Mike could only watch them whispering to each other. It increased his sense of lack of control and helplessness, but he could only wait.

"If you want to see her again, kneel and beg for forgiveness," Glottis started to understand how that game worked. He didn't even check Mike's background, he had no idea who they were talking about.

"I only kneel to my parents. I would never kneel to any human, I would never kneel to the heavens themselves!"

Glottis took his phone out of his pocket theatrically and pretended to call someone. "Slap her." He said before returning the phone to his pants.

"YOU DARE?" Mike roared, his knees slightly bending as though he was about to lunge himself at Glottis.

"Why should I not dare? It's all on you, don't blame me. You can't even let your useless pride go to save her," Glottis shrugged. His grin only turned wider when he imagined Mike's reaction when he found out the truth - they didn't have Titania. He took out his phone again, about to call the "captor" of Titania again.

"Wait, wait, stop, I will kneel, just don't hurt her," Mike panicked. He lowered his knees slowly, gritting his teeth. When his knees touched the ground he closed his eyes in sadness.

*Ding!*

Glottis's smile widened, but he blinked immediately. He did not want to miss a single moment of the current situation. 'What did he call her? I should get her name to put up a better show,' the young master thought. Unfortunately, he didn't pay attention earlier.

"How about that, I will let you tell her one thing before I beat you up. Think carefully about what you want to say, it might be your last words to her for the next few days," he placed his phone above Mike's face so the latter couldn't see the empty screen. "Keep your head down while you kneel and talk."

"Big Brother will save you, don't be afraid!"

'Damn it, he didn't say it.'

"You can say one more sentence," Glottis said.

"I will be fine, don't worry about me!"

"One more."

"No matter what happens to me, I want you to keep smiling!"

"Oh, screw you."

The group of six watched the exchange speechlessly, having no idea what Glottis was trying to achieve. Mike was shouting nonsense on the phone, and Glottis seemed dissatisfied.

"Ok boys," Donny intervened, "Beat him up."

Mike clenched his fists and took the beating without moving, refusing to even let a single groan out. Another kick and he just gritted his teeth harder, one more and he still refused to budge.

"Hahahaha, how do you like being beaten like a dog? Did you think you would end up like that when you dared stick your nose in others' business?" Glottis laughed in joy as he sent Mike sprawling on the ground with a kick to the ribs.

Just as he dashed for another kick, a high-pitched scream pulled everyone's attention.

"BIG BROTHER! LEAVE HIM ALONE YOU MONSTERS!" A feminine voice came from downhill.

'Oh, this must be 'her' we were talking about,' Glottis saw a blonde girl. She was shivering with rage, yet her fragile body could not seem intimidating. She seemed beautiful under the full moon, the light bouncing on her skin and making her shine.

"Titania, you were fine," Mike said in a weak voice as he smiled at her.