Erin stood silent for a moment, his gaze fixed on the floor as the weight of Rocky’s words pressed down on him.

His hands trembled slightly, and his heart pounded in his chest. He was nervous, unsure, but he could feel the eyes of the team on him, as they patiently awaited his decision.

“I…” he began, his voice shaky, but then he steadied himself.

“I’m scared. I’m terrified, to be honest.” He said, his eyes shifting to meet Rocky’s, as his gaze hardened.

“But I trust you, Sir Rocky. I know you wouldn’t ask this of me if you didn’t believe it had a chance to succeed, so I’ll do it, I’ll do it for the team.” Erin said, as everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

It was only at this moment that Rocky realized that he had been unconsciously holding his breath, as he did not have complete faith in Erin’s courage.

Rocky genuinely thought Erin might back off from this dangerous plan, however, his friend seemed to have more spine than he thought he did.

“Thank you, Erin,” Rocky said earnestly, stepping forward and placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I swear, I won’t let you down. We’re in this together, and I’ll make sure we all come out alive.” Rocky said, as he resolved to save his team’s life even if it cost him his own.

“Alright!” Kronos said, nodding as although his expression remained unchanged, his respect for Erin was evident in his gaze.

Buhara, on the other hand, let out a loud, approving grunt. “Buhara is happy. Erin is puny but brave. We will surely win this fight together!”

Listening to the response of his teammates, Erin managed a small smile despite the fear still gnawing at him.

The fear for his own mortality wasn’t gone, but knowing that the team had his back helped a lot.

“I won’t let you down either.” he said, as the team immediately began the preparations to take Nunu down.

******** Experience tales at empire

The next two days were a blur of preparation.

Rocky, Kronos, and Buhara focused on gathering the materials they needed to bring the plan to life, while Erin took up his new job as the cemetery sweeper.

The first step to the plan was securing the bombs, traps, and explosives Erin would need to plant around the cemetery, as for the team to successfully create the illusion that their ambush was a massive, well-planned attack, they needed the help of external products, as only then could they even hope to fool Nunu’s highly skilled security team.

While Rocky and Buhara had no connections to the black markets, Kronos, with his experience from living on the streets, knew exactly where to go.

His street smarts and experience proved invaluable to find suspicious looking joints, as by the end of the first day, he had returned with everything they needed – black market bombs, runes, and even enchanted explosives powerful enough to catch the attention of Nunu’s entourage.

“This stuff’s illegal,” Kronos warned as he handed over the goods, his tone serious. “And dangerous. But it’ll do the job.”

Rocky nodded, inspecting the items. “We just need it to look real. So this stuff is perfect.”

At the same time as Kronos gathered the blackmarket supplies, Erin took up a job as a simple cemetery sweeper, blending into the background as an unnoticed figure.

The first day, he simply learned about his job which was easy and bonded with the other old sweeper, who seemed glad to finally fill up the other vacancy, halving his workload.

But although Erin was only a simple well natured worker on the first day of work, on the second day, he discreetly planted the traps and explosives, hiding them in strategic locations where they wouldn’t be noticed but could still cause maximum confusion when triggered.

Meanwhile, Rocky focused on the team’s escape plan. He wasn’t going to take any chances – not with this mission, so he procured short-distance teleportation talismans for everyone, ensuring they had a quick exit strategy if things went south.

For Erin, who would be at the heart of the plan, Rocky went the extra mile. He gathered a series of different teleportation talismans, including a bracelet, an anklet, and several runes that could be activated in case of an emergency.

Rocky made it clear to Erin that if anything went wrong, he was to use the teleportation talisman immediately, no questions asked.

“We’re not heroes, Erin,” Rocky said seriously as he handed over the talismans. “Our goal is survival. If this plan starts to fall apart, you get out of there. Don’t worry about us.”

Erin swallowed hard, clutching the bracelet in his hand. “Understood, Sir Rocky.”

The rest of the team spent the two days rehearsing their roles, ensuring they knew the exact timing of their attacks and escape routes. Buhara and Kronos practiced setting off the traps from a distance, ensuring the chaos would be well-timed and disorienting for Nunu’s team.

By the end of the second day, everything was in place. The traps were set, the team had their retreat plan, and Erin was prepared to play his part.

As they gathered one last time before the ambush, Rocky looked at his team with a mixture of helplessness and pride in his eyes.

“Tomorrow’s the day,” he said, his voice low but full of resolve. “We’ve done everything we can. Now, we just need to trust the plan and each other.”

Kronos nodded, his face as unreadable as ever, while Buhara thumped his chest with his fist. “Buhara is ready!”

Erin, despite the fear still swirling in his gut, stood tall. “I’m ready too.”

Rocky smiled, feeling a surge of confidence, as he said,”Alright then. Let’s go make the impossible happen.”

On one hand, he knew that the chances of success were slim, however, having faith in the Gemini Gods and the system items he had procured, Rocky believed that maybe, just maybe, they could pull this mission off.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep