“Huff! Huff!”

The members, running frantically, headed toward the sturdy fortress. In front of it stood guards preventing anyone from entering.

Because so many retreating members from all directions were crowding in, the fortress was already in chaos.

Members pushed and shoved, each trying to get ahead as they shouted at the top of their lungs.

“I’m telling you, our outpost has already fallen!”

“Either let us regroup or let us in!”

“There was a monster out there!”

The guards wore troubled expressions at their outcries. This was because they had received clear orders to ‘let no one in’.

In such a situation, it was impossible to check everyone’s identity and affiliation one by one. There were far too many.

“We know, but Fortress Commander Daren said absolutely no one is to be let in.”

“Damn it, then where are we supposed to go?!”

The faces of the members hardened in frustration. They’d committed rebellion because they were ordered to, but now the higher-ups had no plan?

But at that moment, someone appeared. The 4th Fortress Commander, Daren.

“Guard Captain, are all these people the ones who retreated?”

“Yes, chief.”

“… Unexpected.”

Daren narrowed his eyes, surveying the long line of people.

What they’d expected was that the new commander, Erich, would lead the main force and shatter each outpost one by one.

It was natural that such a course would drag out, which was their calculation—figuring that they’d buy enough time through this.

However, contrary to their expectations, Erich had split his forces into smaller units and attacked each outpost individually.

It was a strategy that destroyed Daren’s intent head-on.

Of course, although anyone could have thought of it, not many chose to enact it because splitting the troops for an all-out attack would require an extremely complex process.

Even now, they were struggling just to redeploy the forces that had retreated; dispatching troops in all directions was a very difficult task.

Yet the young new commander had managed this difficulty with ease. Daren didn’t know what trick he had used.

Daren spoke.

“… How long would it take to check and redeploy each of them one by one?”

“… That…”

The guard captain couldn’t answer easily.

Not only was this not entirely his responsibility, but even as the senior member, the sheer volume of people made it difficult to reply.

There was no promise of when it would be finished. This made Daren feel he had fallen for Erich’s stratagem.

This confusion must have been what that fellow intended.

The fact that, despite destroying the outposts, so many had survived and returned made it clear.

The question was: what was the purpose behind creating this chaos? Daren could not figure it out.

‘He’s more troublesome than I thought.’

That was Daren’s impression of Erich. He hadn’t met him, but even this much told him the man was a handful.

And Daren didn’t have much time. Their strategy was to constantly erect small outposts and halt the advance. That was the only way to buy time.

If he was going to do that, checking everyone individually would be impossible. Having come to that conclusion, Daren declared,

“Guard Captain, work with the supply captain to group them loosely and send them out to new outposts.”

“I-Is that really okay? At least checking their affiliations…”

“It doesn’t matter. Even if they learn something, what could they do with it? If anything’s odd at the outpost, the members will realize.”

“Understood.”

The guard captain nodded in agreement. Anyway, after spending a few hours at the same outpost, any oddities would become apparent.

If the main force had dispatched infiltrators, the members would notice first.

Moreover, the general members’ access to information was limited, so there was no way they could figure out the plan Daren and Burton were scheming.

But Daren didn’t know.

― Swish.

That, among them, several had already vanished in an instant.

Nor did he realize that, without their whereabouts being noticed, the number of people standing behind the guard captain had increased.

*

The Shadows’ specialty was infiltration.

Unless they were caught and interrogated directly, blending into the environment came so naturally to them that it aroused no suspicion.

It wasn’t just disguise, but also subtle gestures and actions, responding appropriately to any given situation—these were skills a Shadow honed throughout life.

Of course, if you sat them down and questioned them directly, their disguise could be seen through, but the truly frightening thing was how they never even made you think of doing that.

That was their way of blending in. And their leader, King, possessed skill beyond even the average Shadow.

― Swish.

One member, with wet hair covering his face, walked into the fortress. No one spoke to him.

His practiced steps were catlike and silent. He drew no notice. He quickly glanced inward, eyeing the members rearming.

‘… There aren’t many troops with the main force. What would they have done if we just broke through head-on?’

King quietly assessed them. For Shadows, being able to judge whether information was important was crucial.

Inside the fortress, perhaps because so many had been sent to outposts, things looked relatively quiet.

Yet, for some reason, it seemed they were preparing for something else.

― Clang! Clang!

The Watch’s members sometimes forged their own arms. Most were from the supply division.

The supply teams of the Black Citadel and the fortress would craft weapons directly for the members.

Yet, in this scene, King sensed something off.

‘They’re making far too many weapons for the size of the force. Even factoring in losses at the outposts.’

To King, it looked as if they were producing more arms than needed. That was significant information. And it got even more suspicious…

― Clang!

They were forging plate armor—fully encased metal armor. Normally, watchmen wear leather armor for mobility. It was strange.

And to wear metal armor in this severe cold? That wasn’t a sane choice. Who were they planning to clad in such plate armor?

King’s steps pressed farther inside. Soon after, he noticed more guards posted deeper within.

At first, he thought they might be guarding the fortress commander…

‘No, the security coverage is spread too wide for that.’

King thought otherwise. They were just a barrier preventing anyone from accessing the inner area. But why deny access in a place where only allies were present?

Readying himself, King slipped quickly behind a crate.

A moment later—

A group of members headed inward, and the guards checked their faces.

“… Pass.”

The guards confirmed each of their faces before letting them through.

The strictest security check—only those whose faces were already known were allowed in.

Trying to break in under these conditions was risky even for an infiltrator—it would lead to immediate exposure.

That’s why King methodically examined the fortress perimeter. From where he stood to where he wanted to go, high stone walls and timber palisades were built up.

― Thud.

King climbed the wall without hesitation. Like a spider, the muscles of his forearms bulged like corded tendons as his fingers gripped the surface.

Under normal circumstances, moving along a wall would be suspicious in itself.

But humans only worry about what’s in their line of sight.

Shadows had undergone bone-breaking training to avoid human attention according to distance and circumstance. For that reason, nobody noticed as King scaled the wall.

― Tap.

King soon landed atop the roof of a large warehouse. From there, the rooftops led straight toward what appeared to be the fortress commander’s barracks—no need to scale any more walls.

Flattening himself, King crawled along the roof toward the interior.

But just then—

“….”

King’s brow furrowed. A sharp headache struck his mind. He couldn’t tell where this sudden pain had come from.

It was like a little needle swimming in his brain, a deeply unpleasant sensation. Soon, his vision blurred.

‘… Danger.’

― Tap!

King swiftly pulled a small vial from his belt pouch. Visual distortion meant some suspicious power was being used.

There was only one thing for such situations.

― Gulp, gulp.

He drained the liquid, then shattered the bottle in his hand, making no sound. Picking up a shard, King placed it in his mouth.

With the taste of iron in his blood, King forced his fading consciousness back.

The harsh pain was always the best stimulant. Grinding the glass in his mouth, he shook off the hallucination, his eyes narrowing.

Beyond lay a scene completely unlike what the blurred vision had shown.

Where he had thought there was no one, a massive host stirred—the dead clad in iron armor.

King paused, contemplating. Should he try to glean more information in this state,

Or should he return immediately to report to Erich? Even what he’d noticed so far felt worth reporting.

Soon, King reached his decision.

‘I must not repeat my mistakes.’

King had always believed in his own skill, as did all Shadows. Yet he had once suffered grievously at the hands of an unapproachable entity named ‘Albrecht’.

Losing all his subordinates and being the sole survivor was shame enough.

Now, facing an entity capable of such extensive illusions, what if he were exposed?

Would he even be able to escape? Regardless of confidence, the success rate of this mission was now too low.

This was not the Empire—this was beyond the Great Wall, where anything suspicious could happen. King resolved never to forget that fact.

Extensive hallucinations. And a hidden legion of the dead inside the fortress.

Reporting this to his lord was more than enough to bear his own heavy responsibility.

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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