"What happened?" Prince Nolan asked immediately as he stepped outside, turning to the person beside him.
"Reporting to Your Highness, two unidentified individuals have broken into the villa and have already crossed the river to the opposite bank." In other words, the intruders had fought their way past every obstacle and were now right at their doorstep.
"Do you know who they are? Did they say anything?" In just moments, the enemy had reached him—clearly no ordinary opponents. On the other hand, it showed the intruders were very familiar with the villa's layout.
"No, sir. As soon as they appeared, they started fighting our people."
Prince Nolan's eyes flashed sharply. He asked in a low voice, "What about casualties?"
"Sixteen injured, no deaths." At this point, the speaker paused, sensing something was off. He'd felt uneasy before but couldn't pinpoint why—now he realized, this was it.
The intruders had fought their way here but hadn't killed a single person. That didn't seem malicious at all.
"Hmph..." Prince Nolan sneered, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. "Archers, get ready. Drive those two into the center of the river." If they dared to provoke him at his doorstep, they would pay the price. So what if they were god-doctors? Nolan Dongling wasn't someone to trifle with.
"Yes, sir." The subordinate answered promptly and rushed off to arrange the defense.
Prince Nolan pulled Serena along as he headed out. "Come, I'll take you to watch the show."
"Is it those two?" Serena hadn't understood at first, but Prince Nolan's tone made it clear.
"Mm."
"What are they trying to do? Provoke us?" Serena asked in confusion.
"It's both a provocation and a test. Those two hate being controlled—they're afraid that if they come here, they'll become caged birds." Prince Nolan could more or less guess their intentions, and he understood them.
Still, understanding was one thing—he wasn't about to let them off easy. Otherwise, people might think his villa was some brothel anyone could come and go from as they pleased.
Serena saw the cold, unyielding look on Prince Nolan's face and silently mourned for the two intruders. Of all the people to offend, Prince Nolan was the worst. They were in for it now...
Prince Nolan led Serena up to the watchtower. From here, they could see the river in front of the villa, and faintly, the woods on the far bank. Behind them, there was nothing but mountains.
The villa Prince Nolan had chosen was not only easy to defend and hard to attack—it was extremely hidden. No wonder he immediately guessed the intruders' identities; without a guide, this place was almost impossible to find.
The dark guards, whose time alone with Prince Nolan and Serena had been interrupted, were certain that Dr. Redwater and Dr. Marcus Guile were in for a rough day.
Thinking of those two's fate, the dark guards felt relieved—now that the prince had new targets for his temper, they wouldn't have to endure another round of inhuman training.
Dr. Redwater had tweaked his style today, ditching his usual flamboyant clothes for pale garments matching Dr. Marcus Guile's.
The two launched themselves from the far bank, skimming across the water with a few leaps—almost reaching the shore when, suddenly, a dense volley of arrows shot out from the riverbank.
Both Dr. Redwater and Dr. Marcus Guile were skilled martial artists, but they were still human. Faced with the arrow rain, they could only dodge, forced to retreat. As they fell back, dozens of catapults appeared in the woods, launching boulder-sized stones at their backs.
Arrows in front, giant stones behind—even the two masters couldn't handle it. At first, they managed to cope, but soon their strength began to fail.
"Senior brother, let's go!" Dr. Marcus Guile grabbed Dr. Redwater and flew toward the left, but as soon as they moved, several short arrows shot out from the left—more like darts than arrows, just the heads, cold and deadly.
"Junior brother, looks like we're not getting out today." Even facing danger, Dr. Redwater wore a smile. Was it Serena's imagination, or did he just glance toward her and Prince Nolan's direction?
"The only way out is to the right. There's definitely a trap waiting for us there." After years in the jianghu, Dr. Marcus Guile wasn't stupid—he could read the situation at a glance.
Their enemies didn't want to kill them—they wanted to drive them into a trap and catch them like turtles in a jar.
"Even if it's a trap, we have to jump. Besides, they've shown us mercy—not a single killing blow." Dr. Redwater was sharp; judging by the size of the stones and the speed and density of the arrows, he knew the villa's defenders weren't trying to kill them.
"Mercy or not, this is still a show of force." Dr. Marcus Guile sighed. With their escape routes blocked, he had no choice but to take Dr. Redwater and jump right into the trap.
No choice—his senior brother insisted they test their opponents first and show their claws, just to prove they weren't ordinary doctors. If anyone thought they could be bullied, think again.
In the end, they'd shown their claws all right, but not only did they fail to threaten their enemies—they got hit with a show of force instead.
"As long as we survive, they'll be the ones in trouble." Dr. Redwater didn't care about the looming danger. As god-doctor and poison doctor, as long as they drew breath, they had a thousand ways to take revenge.
For a master physician, killing was far easier than saving a life.
Dr. Redwater and Dr. Marcus Guile darted to the right—just as they reached the center of the river, two teams rushed out from the shore. The water churned, and with a loud splash, a giant fishing net burst up from below, trapping both of them.
"They actually netted us like fish? They're tired of living!" Dr. Redwater's eyes blazed red; Marcus Guile's flashed with anger too.
The two brothers prided themselves on restraint—not only had they used no poison, they hadn't killed a single guard. But their enemies responded with ruthless force. It was outrageous.
They had underestimated Prince Nolan—and the worst was yet to come.
Prince Nolan gave a single order from the shore: "Sink." The men on the bank shouted, "Caught a big fish!" and, working in perfect sync, hauled the net down hard into the water.
"Bastard!" Dr. Redwater shouted as he realized what was happening—but as soon as he opened his mouth, river water flooded in.
"Mmph... mmph!" Dr. Redwater choked on the water, completely overwhelmed. This might not kill them, but it was utter humiliation.
To be netted and dunked in the river—what a disgrace for a legendary god-doctor. It was simply too much.
"If I don't poison these men blind, I'm not Marcus Guile." As he sank into the water, Marcus Guile swore vengeance.
Splash—
Prince Nolan didn't actually mean to kill Dr. Redwater or Dr. Marcus Guile—he just wanted to teach them a lesson. After a short time in the water, the guards hauled them up, only to dunk them again, over and over...
At first, Dr. Redwater and Marcus Guile could still curse, but soon their strength gave out. No matter how skilled they were, even they couldn't withstand this kind of abuse for long—they were quickly left weak and breathless.