"Go check it out. Make sure those hounds don't spot you. Throw those beasts the roasted chicken laced with rat poison. Once they're down, it'll save us a lot of
trouble."
Without those hounds barking, their chances of quietly slipping inside would be much higher.
"Yes, sir."
A few men in black acknowledged in a low voice, took the poisoned roasted chickens, and crept stealthily toward the main gates of the estate.
In Havenmill, Laurence was not the only one with an estate. There were quite a few wealthy tycoons with deep roots spanning generations who also lived in massive estates. Even the Longbottoms owned a manor of their own.
Usually, those estates had security booths at the main gates, staffed with plenty of security guards working twenty-four-hour shifts to ensure the main entrance was constantly watched. That was always the first line of defense for an estate's security.
Laurence's estate, however, did not have a security booth. Instead, there was just an archway over a set of openwork gates. Standing at the entrance, one could see some of the scenery inside through the gaps in the gate and could even faintly make out the main courtyard.
The archway was somewhat high, but for anyone skilled in combat, climbing the gate to reach the top of the archway and flipping over to land on the other side was an easy feat.
In the past, the assassins sent by the Longbottoms had always been deterred from scaling the gate to break in because the hounds were always lurking there.
Two minutes after throwing the roasted chickens into the courtyard, one of the men in black poked his head out to look inside. To his surprise, he saw the hounds lying on the ground, completely motionless.
He cautiously leaned out a little, and even when he was standing entirely in front of the main gate, the hounds did not make a sound.
It worked!
The hounds must have eaten the roasted chicken they threw in, and the poison had finished them off. Now, even if they climbed over the main gate, they wouldn't be detected.
Heaven was truly on their side tonight! They had come here countless times and lost so many men on this ground, but tonight, they finally had the chance to infiltrate the place unscathed.
"Quick, go and inform Mr. Longbottom," one of the men in black whispered to his companion.
His companion, however, had already run off to report to Manny.
Before long, Manny moved along the wall and arrived at the main gate.
The rest of the group followed closely behind.
"Look, sir. Those hounds ate the roasted chicken we threw in, and they're all dead. They're motionless. Aside from this main entrance, every other part of this estate used to be rigged with traps."
Using the dim glow of the streetlamps in the courtyard, Manny peered at the hounds lying on the ground. He could see a few remaining pieces of the roasted chicken on the pavement, and the hounds were indeed entirely still.
If they were not dead, the hounds would have been barking nonstop with so many people standing at the gate.
"Should we climb over the gate and head in right now, sir?"
Manny stared at the silent estate. It was past three in the morning, a time when
normal people were deep in sleep. It was only natural for Laurence's estate to be so quiet.
Yet, Manny could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. How could getting inside be so effortless?
There had to be a catch. For all he knew, the moment they stepped inside, Laurence would drop from the sky with his detail of highly skilled bodyguards.
The situation told Manny that things were never this easy. A man as shrewd as Laurence could not possibly leave himself unprotected. He had made such a huge fuss going to the airport to pick some people up yesterday, and since he knew his identity had been exposed, how could he not take any precautions?
After pondering for a long moment, Manny gave a low, grim command, "Tell everyone to abort. We're going back!"
"Sir?"
"When things are too easy, there's bound to be a trap. Let's go."
With that, Manny turned around and left, not wanting to linger for a second longer. He walked exceptionally fast, as though slowing down for even a moment would cause him to fall right into Laurence's trap.
The hitmen they had hired for a fortune already harbored a deep-seated fear of this estate. Seeing Manny leave, they breathed a sigh of relief and naturally had no intention of staying. Thus, just as they had arrived in a mighty crowd, they all left in exactly the same way.
Up on the roof of the main house, Laurence was holding a pair of binoculars, keeping his eyes glued to the main gates of the estate. Catching sight of Manny and his crew looking clumsy in their protective suits, a faint smirk played at the corners of his lips. He was surprised that those people actually knew to take protective measures this time.
However, did they really think that would save them from the itching powder? Once they got inside, they would eventually have to shed that protective gear during combat, as those suits would only slow them down.
Anyway, it would not be too late to use the itching powder once they had taken off their suits. He had more than enough of it to go around.
He had prepared a massive batch. He was just waiting for Manny to step inside so the man could get a taste of what it felt like.