Chapter 145

Chapter 145

James pulled out his phone and called Lonnie.

The other end picked up almost instantly. "Commander, I'm here."

"We're in Novaria and need your help. Same as when we took down Cloudview Sanctuary—help Manuel set up the Formation."

"Got it. I'll grab my gear and head out right now."

"The target this time is an island. We might not have floor plans or even security footage. Can you still pinpoint the location?"

"No problem!" Lonnie answered without hesitation.

His fingers flew across the keyboard, and a 3D model of the island popped up on the screen. He zoomed in on the layout until the whole place was clear.

After returning to Novaria, Lonnie had been guessing James's next move. Knowing Mr. Smith, he figured they were probably going after Hidden World. So he'd already been monitoring the island where Hidden World was based. Their firewall was tight, but he still broke through.

He'd been waiting for a chance to reach out when James called first.

"Commander, I can keep an eye on the whole island through satellite. There might be some small errors, but Mr. Barnett will get the general area right. I've already combined the old Formation map with the island layout and marked the exact spots."

That was exactly what James wanted. "Good. Once you're ready, get over here as fast as you can. We'll go over the rest when you arrive."

Excitement flashed in Lonnie's eyes. After hanging up, he clenched his fist and couldn't help grinning. He was finally a key part of the Commander team.

Ever since he was a kid, he'd wanted to do something big and become a legend. By some twist of fate, Commander had taken him in, and everything he'd done lately gave him a real sense of achievement.

"Got to pack up quick. Can't waste Commander's time!"

Meanwhile, Hidden World's island was locked down tight. White Owl sat in the command center, looking calm. Skywing sat to his lower right, hands on the table trembling slightly.

White Owl noticed. "Even if they break in, they won't necessarily wipe everyone out. Why are you so scared?"

Skywing clenched his fists. "Having your life in someone else's hands never feels safe. And even if Nightmare leaves us alone, they won't."

Just then, someone pushed the door open. "You talking about me?"

White Owl looked up. It was Ronnie. He told Skywing, "You can go."

Skywing hesitated for a second, then stood and left.

Only the two of them remained.

Ronnie smirked at White Owl. "Your old buddy's coming to back you up. Happy about that?"

"Back me up?" White Owl laughed and tapped the table. "Get this straight—if you hadn't pushed them so hard, they wouldn't have fought back. You can hunt Nightmare all you want, but you can't blame them for hitting back."

The conversation went nowhere. Ronnie slammed the door on his way out. White Owl turned to stare out the window.

Lonnie took a day and a half to reach Novaria. Jagger picked him up.

"Jagger!" Lonnie lit up.

"Everything ready?"

"Yeah."

Jagger nodded and drove him back to the hotel.

Terrence sent word that Novaria's top fighters were already gathered.

Everyone who was going after Hidden World was now in place.

They all met up. Lonnie opened his laptop and showed the island map. "Mr. Barnett, this is the final version with the Formation layout. Everyone put on an earpiece and I'll feed you real-time coordinates."

Manuel glanced at the map and gave Lonnie's shoulder a quick pat. "Nice work, Lonnie."

Lonnie scratched his head, a little embarrassed.

James looked around the group. "Manuel can't go in alone this time. Who's going with him?"

Kirk glanced at James. "Commander, how about you team up with him? You two will cover more ground and run into tougher opponents. You'll save time that way."

James nodded. "Works for me."

Jagger spoke up right away. "Then I'll stay outside with Lonnie."

Manuel smiled. "Of course. It's too dangerous inside."

Then his expression turned cold. "That bastard who first teamed up with Isaiah was from Hidden World. This time I'm settling the score with them."

James checked the time. "Lonnie just got here and needs rest. We'll take tonight to recover, leave by boat tomorrow morning, and reach the island by afternoon."

Lonnie nodded, touched. No one else objected.

They went over the plan one more time, locked in the timing, and headed to their rooms to rest up.

James sat alone on the couch, looking serious. Hidden World had been building strength for years—who knew what they had now. He just hoped everything went smoothly. Either way, Ronnie had to pay. He was the one behind the death of the last leader.

Early the next morning, a ship big enough to hold over a hundred people left Novaria waters. Its name, "Kill God," looked intimidating. Nearby countries were on edge, worried they'd get dragged in. The ship carried over a hundred cultivators—more than enough to match Hidden World, maybe even take over a small country.

On deck, James and Terrence sat side by side, staring out at the sea, lost in thought. Facing Hidden World always brought back a strange feeling.

They chatted for a while. The ship moved fast. Terrence looked up and could already see the small island in the distance.

Before long they were close, but the ship didn't dock. It just circled nearby.

James told the captain to stay outside cannon range and muttered, "Their gear is solid. Get any closer and one shot could sink us. Lonnie, Jagger, and the crew have to stay on board. We can't risk the ship."

Terrence ordered the smaller boats lowered. Some cultivators got ready and started boarding them.

Nightmare's people didn't move.

Lonnie handed out earpieces. "Signal's connected. Put these on and you'll hear me."

Terrence tried his. "We're going in underwater, not by the surface. These things waterproof?"

Lonnie hesitated. "Just to be safe, try not to get them wet."

Everyone paused, wondering how to keep the earpieces dry.

Manuel sighed, took an earpiece, and dropped it into his storage bag. "Storage bags are waterproof. We can take them out once we're on land."

Terrence nodded and looked at the cultivators about to go in the water. "There are definitely traps underwater—maybe even more dangerous than on the surface. You all sure about this?"

Most of these cultivators had been pushed around or targeted by Hidden World before. Right now they just wanted revenge and didn't care about the risk. "Don't worry! We won't back down!"

Their replies made Terrence feel better. He gave a hand signal and everyone went quiet.

Terrence jumped into the sea first, and the rest followed. It was quite a sight.

Kirk leaned against the railing and smirked. "Looks like they're jumping off a building!"

Chris raised an eyebrow and gave him a shove.

Caught off guard, Kirk tumbled into the water. Chris jumped in right after.