Chapter 114

Chapter 114

Andgrind Castle, Day 3 of the mission.

03:50.

How much time has passed? (Ivan)

Exactly 3 hours. Are you sure you didnt use the alarm spell? How can someone sleep with such precision down to the second? (Lucia)

Training. Repetition. Mastery. (Ivan)

Ivan replied, opening his eyes.

Northern Closed Corridor 12. This place was outside the patrol route due to the absence of intersections with other corridors on the map. Its quite suitable to be used as a hiding place.

Ivan clenched his fist and regulated his condition by surrounding his muscles with magic. Its a sensation not unlike tightening a loosened string instrument.

By finely adjusting neural acceleration, one can induce a forced awakening state. Apart from excluding essential sleeping hours for vital functions, feelings of fatigue are merely disruptions of sensation.

After clearing the sticky fatigue from his mind, he finally got up. Lucia was looking at him with worried eyes.

Shall we rest a bit before we leave? From today onwards youll have to endure a lot. (Ivan)

Lucia trailed off, recalling the mission briefing.

In this operation, the key is for those assigned to each front to attract as much attention from the enemy as possible.

The Dwarven Main Force doesnt need to make much effort. Simply advancing towards the enemy with sufficient armament can serve as a display of military force.

However, its different for Ivan and Enrique. They needed to create as much disturbance as a legion would alone.

Enrique, known for the Hero Party.

Ivan, known for the Lone Tarantula.

Even though Enriques reputation was well established, for Ivan, who was already treated as a dead man, a typical level of combat would be far from enough to announce his reputation to the enemy.

Therefore, Ivans operation starting from the dawn of Day 3 was filled with combat plans until the end of the mission.

Ive rested enough. (Ivan)

Ivan chewed and swallowed the nutrition bar Lucia handed him, then silently extending his arm to her.

For a while, Lucia looked sadly at the dark circles under Ivans eyes, then sighed and murmured.

Well, whatever (Lucia) New novel chapters are published on

Gulp.

Her fangs sank into Ivans forearm. He felt a tingling pain as blood was drawn out.

Lucia could replenish her calories not only by consuming regular meals but also through sucking blood. However, in a mission scenario, combat rations with smaller volume are more practical, making blood a more efficient option.

Ivan adjusted his magic, compressing his heartbeat and raising his blood pressure. The amount of blood being sucked out through his arm increased sharply.

After a brief rest, Ivan pulled out a healing potion from his pouch.

After a moment of hesitation, he glanced at the transparent glass bottle, then turned his head and opened the lid.

A good agent knows how to pour a healing potion onto even their own arm if necessary. With a hiss, the flow of blood from the wound stopped.

Lets move.

Yes if youre tired, just say so.

Quiet.

Yes understood.

*

Before half a day had passed, a total of 8 outposts, 25 guard posts, and 47 corridors fell into silence.

This was happening in the rear areas beyond the northern industrial zone where the rebels of Andgrind had set up their base, extending further north, bordering the Sky Mountains.

The fact that the missing sentries had disappeared was not even communicated to the central command. The absence of information tainted the tactical map like a plague.

The headquarters, heavily preoccupied with the threat of a full-scale confrontation in the southern combat zone, only began to realize this fact in the afternoon when a dwarf arrived with news.

Hes here!! Hes back!! Hes still alive!!

The sentry, running with blood streaming from under his severed shoulder, breathed his last after uttering those words.

So, who was this they? This question from the headquarters was answered by another sentry who arrived 30 minutes later.

He is here!! At the Northern Gate there is no one alive at the end of the Northern Gate!!

This sentry, too, succumbed to bleeding from his severed shoulder.

It took another 10 minutes to realize that the two sentries suffering from the same symptoms were part of the forces dispatched to Outpost 17, also known as Northern Gate 5.

It took an hour to confirm that there were no survivors among the other forces urgently dispatched to Outpost 17.

Now that theyve sent that number, the enemy must have realized. The wireless silence near the northern gate was induced by the enemys infiltration.

A trap I assume?

Mm.

Ivans assigned objective for this mission was to assassinate the remnants of Abiditas.

In a situation where their whereabouts were unknown, Ivans most reliable approach was resentment.

The remnants of Abiditas hated Ivan more than anyone else in this world because he was the one who killed their master.

So, he decided to make a sudden declaration to those gathering forces to desecrate even Ivans dead body.

I am still alive.

I am here.

They could never resist. The lackeys, who had been driven by the lord of desire, could never resist this temptation.

Rather than Ivan going to them, making them come to him was part of the grand strategy.

And, if necessary, instilling enough fear in their rear forces to make them request support from those necromancers.

That fear would make them cower. Just like now.

If there is a clear chance of winning, traps can sometimes become opportunities.

Yes?

Selling traps means rallying all available forces in one place. Lucia. Tactics like traps carry too fatal a risk when they fail. From their perspective, it would be a desperate gambit.

In Ivans eyes, the dwarven cities of the military factories loomed like tortoises, cowering, bristling with thorns. Roaring with fear, they tried to hide it with magnificent courage.

If the enemies were scattered, it would have been a problem instead. Engaging in guerrilla warfare among the lurking native forces would have been terrible from his standpoint.

So, he had to force the enemies into a rotation. The fear his reputation carried would make it possible.

The tactical choices of the dwarves in that city were not truly their own. Emotions orchestrated by others were narrowing their options.

As mentioned in retrospect, sometimes besiegement is a tactic that can be effectively employed with just a small number of forces. If the forces on the ground can control the information received in real-time at an appropriate level.

Ivan checked his pocket watch and waited for the time. By now, Enrique would likely be actively searching for the son of the secretary.

There were a total of five possible locations where the secretarys son was expected to be detained. It would take about three days to search all those sectors assuming exploration of every area.

The remnants of Abiditas must not be annihilated within. Furthermore, Enriques rescue mission should not take place while the remnants of Abiditas are still alive.

This mission requires two agents conducting their operations from opposite sides of the mountain to achieve their objectives simultaneously without any margin for error in timing.

Its as challenging as running a three-legged race while blindfolded. Of course, Ivan and Enrique are capable of standing blindfolded and moving simultaneously even without seeing.

Entry to Enrique. Point C7-A. Commence Ant Hell. Expected duration is 72 hours.

Yes, sir. Contact made. Any other orders?

Dont fall behind me. Keep quiet.

And, if possible, dont die today.

With these final words, Ivan hurled himself off the cliff.

Even though Ivan is the one who will be facing the entire enemy force simultaneously when Abiditass lackeys arrive, its nearly impossible.

Therefore, from now on, he needed to minimize the enemys numbers as much as possible. But at the same time, preserve his strength for the final battle to come.

Its a tough task.

And this, too, is something he has experienced before.

Any well-trained agent shouldnt feel burdened to repeat what theyve done before.

*Authors Note (Authors Commentary) Timeline of Andgrinds Chronicles of Victory

Day 1 Penetrate the outer wall of the Sky Mountains through bare-handed cliff climbing and infiltrate the rear.

Day 2 Arrival at the Northern Gate and commencement of operations.

Day 3 Silence all outposts deployed around the Northern Gate.

Day 4 Disrupt enemy command judgment with intentional leak of information.

Day 5 Direct strike on fortified enemy command (planned).

Day 6 Intercept enemy main force (Abiditas) (planned).

Day 7 Coordinate with Enrique to achieve simultaneous operation objectives and retreat (planned).

This is the summarized version of the operation overview announced by Ivan to achieve two objectives within a week.

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