“Now, let us begin the meeting,” General Cedric said, his expression grave as he took the seat at the head of the table.

  Officers filled the room, tension clear on their faces as they stared down at the map spread before them. I stood along the wall with the other low-ranking officers. Even my presence here was strange, a First Lieutenant, and a girl at that, so I did my best to stay unnoticed.

  The map showed Imperial forces advancing toward our position. What stood out, however, was their route. They were crossing the Thanos Mountain Range. The Thanos Mountain Range was a wall of towering peaks packed so tightly together that crossing it was nearly impossible, especially for a large army.

  “If it isn’t rude to ask,” Brigadier General Lily said, raising an eyebrow, “why are the Imperials moving through the Thanos Mountain Range?”

  “I’m glad you asked,” Cedric replied, his frown deepening. “Reports from our spies in Fort Stonebridge indicate that a large Imperial force, specifically the Second and Third Divisions of the Eleventh Legion, numbering 50,000, has departed the fort and moved in that direction.”

  He paused as the number sank in.

  “According to the same reports,” Colonel Devon continued, stepping forward and shifting the pawns on the map, “their objective is to clear the Northern Front. Our scouts believe they intend to use the mines to reach Fort Estonal.”

  A wave of whispers swept through the room. The question on everyone’s mind was obvious.

  ‘Is it even possible for 50,000 troops, not 5,000, not 500. to cross those mines?’

  “It’s impossible,” one officer scoffed. “Even the largest mine in the Thanos Range is a nightmare to navigate.”

  “But that mine was built to house thousands of miners,” another argued. “Even if their advance is slow, they could still emerge on the other side.”

  “Or this could be a trick,” someone else said. “A distraction while they strike Fort Cainhorn or Staedergh Citadel.”

  “But they’re already winning there,” another voice countered. “There’s no reason to take such a risk.”

  The room quickly dissolved into argument. I stayed silent, thinking it through.

  On one hand, crossing the snowy region to reach Fort Estonal, like the Duke Ember’s private army did, would be slow. If the mine really was as large as reported, choosing it as a shortcut made sense. On the other hand…

  50,000 soldiers. Even with a massive mine, squeezing that many troops through narrow tunnels would take weeks. And there were risks they could get lost, or worse, the mine could collapse

  As the debate grew louder, Cedric cleared his throat. The room fell silent at once.

  “Well,” Cedric said calmly, “I was thinking of borrowing someone else’s idea.”

  Then he winked at me, like a grandfather sharing a secret behind a parent’s back. My smile froze. A shiver ran down my back as memories of our earlier conversation surfaced.

  [(0)]

  When I entered General Cedric’s office behind Colonel Devon, I stopped short. There were already others inside.

  Colonel Cameron was there, a broad man with a thick brown beard, built like a bear. I recognized him immediately since Deryk talked about him so often it would have been stranger not to. Beside him stood a woman who looked to be in her late twenties. Her long gray hair was tied into a neat ponytail, and a long scar ran over her closed left eye.

  “It seems everyone is here,” Cedric said from his seat at the front, smiling lightly. “Let us begin.”

  “For the sake of formality,” the gray-haired woman said, stepping forward, “I am Brigadier General Lily.”

  “And I am Colonel Cameron,” Cameron added with a grin. “Pleasure to meet you.”

  “I am First Lieutenant Aria,” I said, introducing myself.

  “We know.” Cameron grinned. “Heard how well you sliced up the Imperials. Nice job, kid!”

  “Um… thanks,” I said, unsure how to respond to the overly energetic bear man.

  Using that as an excuse, I glanced around the room, and felt something was off. For a meeting room, there were surprisingly few people present. Noticing my confusion, Cedric spoke up.

  “This is where we decide the important things. We determine the general direction and the bigger pictures here. The smaller details are handled later with other officers.”

  “And,” he added, his expression darkening slightly, “we keep this room clean of Imperial ears.”

  I found that a bit ineffective, after all. There were only going to be officers in the meeting room, but it didn’t hurt to prevent it just in case.

  Devon stepped forward and gestured at the large map. “Our spies report that the Imperials intend to cross the abandoned mines in the Thanos Mountain Range.”

  “Are you certain?” Lily asked.

  “Without a doubt,” Devon replied, producing a document. “All gathered intelligence points to them choosing the mines over the northern route.”

  I was quietly impressed. The Shiena Kingdom’s intelligence network was better than I had expected despite lacking communication. Maybe desperation had forced them to get better at things other than fighting.

  “Then what?” Cameron asked, stroking his beard. “Do we take Fort Estonal first, or strike them as they emerge from the mines? Ayas’ forces took heavy losses, but combined with reinforcements, they’re still dangerous.”

  The room sank into silence, heavy with thought. That was when Cedric turned to look at me.

  “Well, what do you think we should do?” he asked.

  Every pair of eyes followed. I swallowed. Standing in front of people had never been exactly my talent, neither in my past life nor this one, and I didn’t even have time to brace myself.

  “I suggest w—ouch!” I bit my tongue. Literally.

  Muffled laughter slipped out from Cedric and Cameron. Devon shot me a cold glare, while Lily simply stared. My face burned as I lowered my gaze.

  “I suggest we fight them on the Plain of Imoras,” I muttered, my voice definitely growing smaller “then retreat to the Forest of Jade…”

  “Well, that’s the simplest plan,” Lily said. “But why retreat to the Forest of Jade?”

  “Um…” My voice shrank a little. “Major General Ayas has already lost a large portion of his troops. He won’t risk an attack. We can take advantage of that. Damage the reinforcements, then force a siege at Fort Estonal.”

  “That would be risky,” Cameron murmured. Then he grinned. “But if things go wrong, we can always fall back using the forest’s cover.”

  Cedric nodded, decision settling in his expression. “Looks like we’re in agreement.”

  “Then please proceed to the War Room,” Devon said, opening the door. “The officers are waiting.”

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  [(0)]

  “That is impossible!” an officer, red in the face, later introduced to me as Lieutenant Colonel Zaiden, shouted. “How are we supposed to face 50,000 coming from the Eastern Front when we only have 35,000, most of them completely inexperienced?”

  “More reinforcements will arrive,” another officer, one I didn’t recognize, shot back. “And they’ll be exhausted after crossing the mines.”

  “That’s not the point!” Zaiden snapped. “I knew I shouldn’t have listened to officers who only know how to sit on their backsides!”

  “Oh, excuse me?” the other officer barked. “While you’re busy charging on the front lines, we’re the ones handling every single order!”

  Before I knew it, the argument had shifted, from whether the plan was possible to a full-blown clash between frontline officers and logistical ones. Cedric let out a quiet sigh.

  Then Devon raised his voice.

  “QUIET!” he shouted. “You stand before Lord Cedric, yet you bicker like children. You should be ashamed of yourselves!”

  Zaiden, and the others, fell silent, though they still glared at one another. At that moment, I understood why only a handful of officers were trusted with making the big decisions. With this many people involved, things were bound to turn ugly.

  “We are gathered here to oversee how the plan will be carried out,” Cedric murmured, “not to argue over whether we should act at all.”

  “I-I apologize, sir,” Zaiden said, lowering his head.

  “Good.” Cedric stood up, his bald head catching the light. “In that case, let us begin discussing the plan.”

  From there, everything moved quickly. Orders were issued, adjustments made, voices rising and falling in a rhythm that nearly made me zone out. Luckily, Devon’s murderous glare kept me very much awake.

  [(0)]

  A full week had passed since the meeting to deal with the Imperials. On a dark, rain-soaked night at Fort Kespare, a lone figure stood motionless beneath a large, leafless tree, a black robe draped over him from head to toe.

  “You’re late.”

  The rain rippled, and another man appeared out of the shadow air beneath him. He was enormous, nearly two meters tall, and his entire body wrapped in black robes. A mask hid his face completely.

  “Security was tight,” the cloaked man replied, lowering his hood. Lieutenant Colonel Zaiden’s face emerged, the same man who had openly opposed the plan. “Even with this new host, moving around freely is becoming difficult.”

  “Quiet,” the giant hissed. “We can’t be seen.”

  Zaiden snorted softly. “Relax. No one will come here to check.”

  They were spies hired by the Emavia Empire, originally working in the eastern region. After the empire paid their leader a generous amount, the finest intelligence agents were dispatched in order to help the intelligence reports.

  They were shapeshifters to be exact, infamous for their mastery of shadow magic. They could kill a target and perfectly imitate their body, memories, and mannerisms. Infiltration, intelligence gathering, and quiet manipulation were their specialties.

  However, even they had limits.

  Maintaining another form consumed enormous amounts of mana, and replacing high-ranking officers, especially someone like General Cedric, would be noticed almost immediately as they were surrounded by guards, aides, and mages trained to sense even the slightest irregularity.

  Outright assassination was no option either. A single suspicious death would immediately trigger counterintelligence measures, making future infiltration impossible. In the long run, intelligence was the key.

  “Do you have the news?” the tall man asked.

  “Yes.” Zaiden reached into his cloak and produced a small wooden pill. “This contains the movements of the 9th Corps. They plan to wait until the reinforcements emerge from the mine before bombarding them.”

  “Typical.” The tall man nodded, taking the pill. “Anything unusual?”

  Zaiden hesitated for a moment before answering carefully. “There was… a girl.”

  “A girl?”

  “Yes. A girl who reportedly slaughtered hundreds of Imperials on her own.” Zaiden handed over another pill. “I couldn’t gather much, but I did find out she was trained by Demo.”

  “Demo?” The tall man stiffened slightly, hearing the familiar name. “The Deathgod of the Eastern Front?”

  “The very same,” Zaiden nodded. “That would explain her strength. He was once considered a candidate for becoming the Fifth Hero.”

  Both men knew the name well even though they never met him. Demo, who was also known as Deathgod of the Eastern Front, had killed thousands of Imperial soldiers the moment he stepped onto the battlefield. He even had single-handedly wiped out half of an Imperial Division, along with its Major General and his aide.

  The Imperials had celebrated for an entire week when news spread that he had been gravely injured and removed from the front.

  Yet now—

  “That nightmare may return,” the tall man muttered. “This time, wearing a different face.”

  “What should we do?” Zaiden asked quietly.

  “We wait and observe,” the tall man replied. “It isn’t our place to decide whether the Empire bleeds or survives. Our task is only to gather information. Now, go—”

  A sudden flash of silver flickered at the edge of his vision. In an instant, the tall man swept the wooden pills into his robes and drew two daggers, scanning his surroundings.

  "You were followed?" he hissed.

  Zaiden drew his longsword the moment he saw the tall man's weapons. "You're the one who rushed me here," he snapped back, eyes scanning through the darkness.

  Another silver blur sliced through the rain. The tall man's instincts screamed as he felt something behind him. He ducked just in time, and a figure flew overhead, landing softly in front of them.

  A girl stepped out from the darkness.

  Silver hair clung to her face, soaked from the rain. Her faintly glowing orange eyes locked onto them both. In her hands, she held a pair of strange wooden shields, small and uniquely shaped, barely large enough to cover her torso.

  She said nothing. But the tension between them seemed to rise as both men realized who she was.

  "So you're the girl who slaughtered hundreds of Imperial soldiers," the tall man said, adjusting his mask as he studied her.

  Then, without warning, his body melted into the shadows. He knew he couldn't beat someone who had killed hundreds on her own. It was better to flee.

  "I wouldn't recommend that," the girl said calmly as she lunged, at the fleeing shadow.

  Zaiden's sword intercepted her strike with a sharp clang. Aria clicked her tongue and leapt back several steps, tossing both shields aside. Cracks had already formed across them. The tall man was already gone, nowhere to be seen.

  "I wanted to be Captain Amer—"

  "Now!" Zaiden shouted, lunging at Aria.

  The tall man, who seemed to have fled, burst from the darkness directly behind her, daggers already slashing toward her neck. If she reported this to the high officers, they would be hunted down. It was better to eliminate her now. His grin widened as the blades closed in—

  "Too late." A new voice cut through the rain.

  A spear pierced clean through the tall man's chest. He blinked, then coughed as blood spilled from his mouth. Before he could react, the spear twisted, and his body went limp.

  "W-what?!" Zaiden stared at the newcomer.

  Aria didn't give him time to think however. She snatched the fallen daggers mid-air and charged. Realizing they had been completely exposed, Zaiden grit his teeth and hurled a bottle at the corpse. It detonated a second later, flames erupting even through the pouring rain.

  The old man with the spear, General Cedric, withdrew his weapon and stepped back just in time, avoiding the blast.

  "Tch. Destroying the evidence," Cedric muttered.

  But that moment was enough. Aria slipped in and slashed at Zaiden's leg, intending him to take him into custody. He twisted away, leaping back with almost inhuman speed.

  "You'll never catch me!" Zaiden snarled, summoning his shadow magic to teleport. He needed to report this—

  Thunk.

  "AHHHHHHH!" Zaiden screamed as agony exploded through his arm.

  An arrow had suddenly sprouted from his left shoulder where he gripped his sword. He dropped the blade, but another arrow followed immediately, this time piercing his left thigh. Unable to break his fall, Zaiden crashed to the ground.

  Aria was already there. Steel flashed in the rain, and both of his legs were severed cleanly at the knee.

  "H-how…" the fake Zaiden muttered, pain forcing his eyes shut. He couldn't even manage to take his own life now.

  "Well, let's say we expected a spy would soon make a report," Cedric explained calmly. The fake Zaiden had already lost consciousness, but Cedric continued anyway. "And the real Zaiden, he was always hot-blooded. The only reason he had been quiet lately was because he lost his aide in recent battles. With our victory, the real Zaiden would've been fired up, pushing to charge immediately."

  The fake Zaiden had killed and replaced the real one after Zaiden's spectacular failure fighting the Imperials. The spy had assumed Zaiden was someone logical, someone serious. It turned out, he was just a grieving, guilt-ridden officer.

  The spy didn't have time to feel foolish about it. Soldiers appeared under Colonel Devon's command, dragging the fake Zaiden away as mages cast a simple barrier to block the rain.

  "Are you sure this was the best plan, my lord?" Devon asked as the medics rushed over to General Cedric, who waved them off.

  "Well, we needed only trusted men here," Cedric replied, nodding his thanks to Brigadier General Lily, who had fired the arrows all the way from the wall. She nodded back and withdrew her bow. "After all, who would have thought a high-ranking officer could be a spy?"

  "Word has already been sent to the others." Devon then proceeded to lead them back toward Fort Kespare. "The Research Division will figure out a countermeasure."

  "Hmph." Cedric turned to Aria, who walked quietly beside them. His expression softened as he smiled warmly. "Well, thank you for your help, First Lieutenant Aria. I couldn’t have done this without your help."

  "Thank you, sir." Aria saluted and made her way into the fort, her face betraying nothing in the cold rain. Inside, however, she was a completely different story.

  I'm so sleepy… I want to sleep…

  After all, it was 4 in the morning and Aria, who had to stay awake for this, wanted nothing but to go to bed and sleep.