William sat in the carriage, watching the sunny weather outside through the window. There were several people with him inside. One of them was the captain responsible for the soldiers on the mission. They were going to assault the fortress, and the captain was there to command everyone and craft the entire plan to take over the stronghold.

“Brand,” he said, “with the information you got, taking over this fortress will be easy.”

William had discovered where the fort was—it was hidden so the soldiers hadn’t known its location before—but that wasn’t all. He had also uncovered the layout of the place and even an underground passage they could use to enter! That information was a game changer and the reason why William received such great treatment. He was one of the most important people there.

“It will be easier, but not easy,” William replied.

It was never easy to succeed at a hard task like that one. William wanted to be sure that the captain, along with all the other soldiers, wouldn’t mess up. He needed them to be careful. After all, one of his goals was to actually conquer that fortress. William still wanted to know more about the objectives and the whole role play aspect of that dungeon floor.

“You’re right,” the captain apologized. “We cannot afford to lose that many soldiers. Our situation is… dire.”

Seeing the chance to ask more questions, William leaned in. He had talked with one of the soldiers before, but a captain knew much more than a regular soldier, and since the two were on good terms, the timing was perfect.

“And do you think the kingdom will send us help? Or are we on our own in this?” William asked.

The captain sighed. “I don’t think they will send anyone. Our master tried to speak with the higher-ups in the kingdom, but they don’t want to help us. They say it’s just too risky.”

“Too risky?”

“Yes. They don’t want to start a war with the neighboring kingdom. Right now, it’s just us against them,” the captain said.

William couldn’t understand why a single noble was trying to conquer more land through fighting—and even going as far as invading a nearby kingdom.

Why was that noble family risking so much? William also felt bad for the soldiers, the captain, and all the people who worked for that family. They were bound by contracts and needed the payment as well. It wasn’t like they could just leave and not be part of the fight.

“I see.”

They didn’t talk more about it during the journey to the fortress. William didn’t want to make them suspicious of him. It was still strange to be himself, yet to play someone else at the same time. That dungeon floor was really complex.

The first part of the journey followed “normal” roads, but they were now in another kingdom—one that didn’t see them as friends.

Because of that, the soldiers all changed clothes to appear less suspicious. They weren’t wearing their plate armor anymore.

The carriage now looked like one belonging to a merchant. William didn’t need to change much, since he didn’t look like a soldier.

That wasn’t the only change. They weren’t taking the main roads anymore, but secondary ones, avoiding medium or big towns altogether.

In fact, they didn’t want to get close to any town. It wasn’t worth the risk.

Their goal was to follow secondary paths and reach the fortress without drawing attention—or getting into a fight with that kingdom’s army.

They could win a fight. That much was likely, actually. But the problem was that word would spread quickly, and people would start hunting them down.

If a large portion of the kingdom’s army decided to come after them, well, they would be doomed.

William also didn’t know if he should show his combat prowess. To them, he was a jailer named Brand—and surely someone like that wasn’t supposed to be strong in a fight.

*

Three days passed. They tried to avoid stopping too often to rest. The soldiers were really tired because of that, but it was something they had to endure to reach the fort as fast as possible.

They decided to stop in an area that was close enough to the fortress for observation, but still far enough not to be discovered. After that nearly non-stop journey, everyone needed at least a full day to recover.

The captain actually wanted more than just a day. He wanted to scout the area around the fortress himself and formulate a plan based on what he saw.

Although the prisoner had shared a lot of useful information—things William was confident were true—the captain still wanted to confirm everything with his own eyes.

No one opposed that. In fact, William went with him. He wasn’t that tired, having spent most of the trip inside the carriage, where he could sleep or nap whenever he wanted.

The real problem was the soldiers on horseback. They couldn’t rest properly during the journey, so they were far more exhausted than he was.

The fortress was hidden deep in the forest, at the top of a mountain. The noble who ruled the castle—and who now commanded William and the captain—had been searching for that stronghold for months.

William still didn’t understand why. The man was obsessed with that fortress for some reason.

“Look at how many people are there,” the captain whispered to William as they watched the fortress from a distance, “there are at least 300 soldiers in that place, and we only have 100.”

That number didn’t come from a guess. William had gotten it from the prisoner. And now, seeing how many soldiers were patrolling the fortress walls and standing near the gate, the captain was certain the intel was accurate.

“And how do you feel about the fight?” William asked the captain, staring directly at him. “Do you think we can win and take over this fortress? They have three soldiers for every one of ours.”

The difference in numbers was significant. William wouldn’t usually be concerned about that, but he wasn’t sure whether he would take part in the battle—or how much of a role he could even play. And even if he did, his unique powers would likely raise too many questions.

That meant the outcome of the battle would mostly rely on the soldiers who came with them. And that worried him.

The captain, on the other hand, seemed confident in their chances. He smiled back at William.

“Relax, Brand. We have a plan. It involves some bombs and those underground passages you uncovered for us.”

“I hope so…”

*

They returned to the camp after observing the fortress for a while. The captain then explained his plan in detail to William—and it was actually a solid strategy.

The bombs were crafted by alchemists. Not only could they explode with great force, but they would also spread fire through the entire fortress.

It was a powerful weapon, no doubt—but using it wouldn’t be easy. The captain couldn’t simply storm the fortress and throw the bombs around. That approach would never work, especially since the enemy had mages prepared to defend against such attacks.

Instead, they planned to use the underground passages William had discovered. The idea was to sneak into the fortress during the night and plant the bombs in key locations—lots of them.

And who would be getting into the fortress to do that? Well, it was William.

The mission fell to him. Apparently, since he was the weakest in combat, the captain decided he was the perfect person for the job.

“Look, Brand, we really need you to do this. If you succeed, the fortress is ours,” the captain said. “I know you’ll succeed.”

William didn’t like it. He’d be going inside the fortress alone, carrying bombs, hoping the plan would work. It felt wrong.

“Are they trying to put me in a bad spot or something?” he thought.

The captain didn’t even assign any soldiers to go with him. According to him, bringing others along would only increase the risk of being heard, and with their limited numbers, they needed every soldier ready for the main assault.

And the plan itself wasn’t what William had expected. He thought his job would be to enter through the underground passage, place the bombs, and leave. But that wasn’t it.

What the captain wanted was for William to also create a distraction at the front gate.

“First, you’ll enter alone through the passage, place the bombs, and return. Then, we’ll go through the passage. While we’re moving in, you’ll draw their attention at the front gate,” the captain explained. “We’ll retrieve the bombs you placed and use them from the inside. That’s the plan.”

William frowned. “So why do I have to go inside alone? Can’t I just draw their attention at the main gate, and then you go in with the bombs?”

The captain shook his head. “No, that won’t work. We need someone to go in first and make sure the area’s clear. I can’t send all the soldiers in blind.”

William was basically bait.

“Wonderful.”

He wanted to refuse, but he didn’t really have a choice. Still, he wasn’t planning to risk his life blindly for this.

“If things don’t work out, I’ll just leave or kill everyone. Screw this mission—and screw this jailer identity too,” he thought.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep