Chapter 223
Chapter 223
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 223
Chapter Title: A Small, Elite Team
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A castle is the seat of the highest power, the residence of the one who governs a region or a nation.
Naturally, it must be the safest place.
In times of war, they are typically fortified to withstand a siege to the bitter end.
Grafton and Versa, two of the Seven Duchies locked in a protracted war and sharing a significant border, were exceptional in this regard.
The larger the scale, the more contingencies must be accounted for.
A typical case is creating secret passages for escape in case of an internal rebellion or the castle falling to an external invasion.
These secret passages are sometimes hidden stealthily through mechanical devices or magical barriers, and sometimes they are set up to be passable only under special conditions.
Without Berthelot's cooperation, finding it might be impossible.
Yorgos nodded as if he had no other choice.
“Understood. However, please refrain from combat and prioritize your own safety.”
“I will not be a burden. So, what is the total number of personnel for the infiltration?”
Berthelot's gaze turned to the Union members standing around the table.
Yorgos introduced them.
The Practical Division was the largest with nine members. The Responsibility Division had four, and the Stability Division had two. Only three were Seekers, including Yorgos himself; the rest were Runners. Oz was also part of the Practical Division.
“The two Runners from the Stability Division were scheduled to return to the Union after Sienna and Loan joined us. The actual number of personnel available for infiltration is fourteen, including myself. With Sienna and Loan, that makes sixteen.”
Compared to the size of the castle, it was an absurdly small number of people.
Berthelot seemed very worried about that point.
“Even for an infiltration, that's too few. It might be different if the Duke is in his private chambers, but if a battle breaks out in the Grand Hall, I wonder if you can handle it… So, will the remaining personnel all infiltrate together?”
Yorgos narrowed his brow slightly and asked back.
“Must we all enter through one location?”
Berthelot read the concern in Yorgos's question.
From the perspective of a team leader, gathering all personnel in one place is quite a burden.
If they were to encounter a trap, they could all be wiped out.
The lack of complete trust in him was also a reason, Berthelot thought.
“There is only one passage. Only the direct descendants of the ducal family know about it, so you don't need to worry.”
But Yorgos, still not convinced, glanced at Sienna and Loan.
In Loan's opinion, Berthelot was a trustworthy person.
The moment of a life-and-death battle is not a suitable time for deceit. Back then, he had been an upright and good person.
Of course, that didn't guarantee everyone's safety.
Sienna seemed to think the same. She tried to look at the matter more realistically.
“What was the original plan?”
“We were going to split into two teams, one for diversion and one for infiltration. The Faith Division is specialized for infiltration, so that would be you and Loan. I was planning to add two more, not including myself.”
“Four for infiltration. With Administrator Berthelot, that's five. How about we stick with that? We infiltrate using the secret passage the Administrator mentioned, and the rest of the personnel conduct a diversionary operation from the outside.”
“Are you suggesting we reduce the number even further?”
Berthelot asked worriedly. Yorgos also had a troubled expression.
Sienna said to Berthelot.
“Administrator, have you already forgotten the kind of battle we fought in Le Dong?”
For a moment, Berthelot's gaze unconsciously turned to Loan.
The gazes of the Union members, including Yorgos, who didn't know the full story, also gathered in one place.
Loan guessed what Sienna was about to say, so he said nothing.
However.
“The report only said we won the battle, but there was that time when just seven of us fought and won against over two hundred people. And it was practically an ambush.”
As Sienna explained the situation, her head held slightly high as if boasting, Loan felt his face grow hot for some reason.
Naturally, questions from the Union members followed.
“What? Over two hundred?”
“Weren't there only two Union Runners?”
“How? What did you do to make that possible?”
“Was it magic? Did you use wide-area magic?”
Mages, while having their limitations, were also specialized in turning the tide with large-scale area-of-effect attacks.
Meaning, depending on how it's done, one could be a match for a hundred.
The speculation naturally led in that direction.
A little more force entered Sienna's voice.
“It's natural for you all to think that way. Since you've all been on missions with me, you probably find it hard to believe I fought and won against such numbers. That's right. Loan's strength was a huge factor.”
Loan's face flushed even redder, but Sienna had no intention of stopping there.
Finally.
“Our Loan became a Runner at the youngest age and in the shortest time. You all know his achievements, so there's no need for a lengthy explanation. What I can say is that Loan is skilled in both one-on-one and one-versus-many combat. And he possesses the most outstanding abilities in infiltration and espionage, the specialties of the Faith Division. So, a small, elite team might actually be better right now.”
She even called him ‘our Loan’, making him bow his head low.
It seemed she was repaying him for praising her in front of others last time.
Fortunately, her efforts paid off.
Not only did Yorgos and the other members look at Loan with trust in their eyes.
“That's right. I had forgotten for a moment. After seeing so many incredible things… I understand. If the two of you are going together, I can rest assured.”
Berthelot, too, accepted the plan much more readily than before.
Yorgos felt a bit deflated, but he was glad that he had changed his mind.
“Are there any individuals inside the castle walls who could provide assistance?”
Berthelot shook his head at Yorgos's question.
“Even those closest to me have submitted to the demon's power. It would be better to assume we can't expect any support from the inside.”
“I see. In which direction do we need to go for the secret passage?”
Berthelot pointed to a spot on the map. It was one of the fortress city districts, some distance from the castle.
“District 7.”
“Understood. Then let's depart as soon as the sun sets today. By the time we descend the cliff, it will be the middle of the night, perfect for infiltration.”
After the meeting, the members spent their personal time checking their weapons and so on.
Berthelot changed into black clothes to blend in with the Union members he would be accompanying.
Loan went to find the Stability Division members who were returning to the Union.
Although they had exchanged greetings earlier, he already knew them.
Runners Ivan and Sandra. They had raided the child modification facility together in Varcino before.
Once they had time to talk with Loan, they unleashed their pent-up questions about the purification of the ghouls, the full story of the Bishop Mathias incident, and their worries about Archbishop Fabian.
After telling them the stories for a while, Loan was only able to bring up his business after they wore satisfied expressions.
“I heard you're returning to the Union. I have a captured dark priest who was scheduled to be sent back to the Union.”
“If that's the case, you should have said so sooner. Don't worry. We'll transport him safely.”
Ivan readily accepted Loan's request.
Otherwise, he had been wondering if he should just leave him hanging on the cliff where he'd been left on the way here.
When Loan brought the dark priest over, the attention of those preparing to depart was focused on him.
The sight of him floating in mid-air without any restraints was a marvel in itself.
Loan explained the situation to Yorgos, then released his Convection so the Stability Division seniors could take custody of the dark priest.
The dark priest, who was touching the ground for the first time in days, had a bright expression despite hearing he was being taken to the Union.
It was because he was happier than anything to be away from Loan.
The man gagged himself and very obediently accepted the Stability Division's restraints.
Soon, once the Stability Division Runners had also finished their preparations to leave.
“Everyone, let's move out.”
Yorgos announced the start of the operation.
A short while later.
Long shadows of Union members, clinging to ropes, were cast upon the steep cliff.
It was a sheer cliff with almost no handholds or footholds, but for the Union members who drove anchors into the rock face with mana and rappelled down, it wasn't much of a challenge.
Loan didn't even need ropes or anchors.
Using the updrafts made it very easy to maintain a thick layer of Convection.
Loan extended his Narrow Path, moving up and down the cliff as if floating, checking on the safety of the others.
Berthelot, too, showed considerable fear at first, but thanks to Loan, he was able to descend the cliff safely.
After everyone had safely touched ground, they spent a moment praising Loan and checking their gear before heading straight for Versa Palace.
They passed through the forest and reached a crossroads near the castle without any interference.
Because it faced such a steep cliff, this direction was inevitably less guarded.
Finally, after spotting Ferber's gang blocking the path, Sienna and Loan took the lead.
From now on, they had to subdue the enemies as stealthily as possible and get over the castle wall as quickly as possible.
The process was much faster than Yorgos and Berthelot had expected.
Sienna and Loan surged forward as if competing, and Loan didn't fall behind Sienna in speed, who was said to be among the top in the Union.
The others were busy just trying to keep up.
As time passed, the corpses of Ferber's men lying on the ground practically served as guideposts.
By the time Oz from the Practical Division arrived at the wall, having been the last to arrive after cleaning up the bodies to prevent discovery, Sienna and Loan had already finished their preparations to climb.
Loan said.
“Before we go up, I'll check above one more time.”
The castle wall was quite high, but easier to climb than the cliff.
For a Union member, simply driving supports into the gaps between the bricks would be enough to get over in just a few leaps.
The problem was what came after getting up.
If they ran into guards and happened to sound an alarm, the stealthy infiltration would become difficult.
It would be troublesome to be discovered already, as the distance from the outer wall to the castle was far.
So, Loan called out Aul.
“Aul!”
The sudden appearance of Aul drew the interest of most of them.
No one thought Aul was a demon.
They considered it a spell or the summoning of a special magical creature.
At Loan's request, Aul flew into the sky in an instant, scouted the area around the wall, and returned.
“Aul!”
“Quite a lot of them. Then we'll have to move to another spot.”
“Aul!”
“Alright. Let's go that way. Lead on.”
Loan followed Aul and adjusted their climbing position.
Everyone was once again amazed that so much meaning was contained in such short cries.
Having found a blind spot out of the guards' line of sight, scaling the wall with the abilities of Union members was a very easy task.
Once they were up, they found themselves in a location where the watchtower and other guards' lines of sight were cleverly obscured by a section of reinforced stone on the outer wall.
There was enough distance from the other guards that they didn't even need to kill anyone.
Yorgos gathered everyone's attention with a hand signal, then pointed inside the castle walls.
The fortress city, viewed from the wall, was shrouded in darkness.
“Team 1, to District 4 to the northwest from here. Team 2, to District 12 to the southeast. The infiltration team will head to District 7.”
Here, the party split into three teams.
The plan was for the other teams to wage unconventional guerrilla warfare from the outside, utilizing the buildings and complex terrain within the fortress city, while the infiltration team entered the castle.
The Union members placed their fists over their chests, etching into their memories the faces of those they might be seeing for the last time.
Soon, the figures clad in black vanished into the darkness.