Chapter 40: Leier's mission
A few minutes earlier...
Leier followed the guards with stealth, her movements precise and fluid as she strove to follow in their footsteps without being detected. She blended in with her surroundings, her skin mimicking the pale hues of the wooden walls and the white snow beneath her feet.
Leier had been training relentlessly for three months, learning how to maximize her new abilities. Unfortunately, she couldn't maintain her ability for a long time, being restricted to four hours at most, and was unable to hide every trace of her existence, such as smell or breathing. Time limited the extent of her abilities, but it was enough to accomplish this mission, or so Henry hoped.
With every step following behind the soldiers, Leier approached the gates of Mirante, her heart beating faster and faster. In the distance, she saw a chaotic scene unfolding in front of her eyes. The defenders were shooting arrows while yelling at each other in anger as their enemies dodged their attacks. Occasionally, arrows flew over the wall and hit the defenders, who were either carried away on improvised stretchers or thrown down the walls to die, extinguishing any sense of camaraderie that existed.
Duchess Codicia didn't seem to care about the chaos on the ramparts or the death of her soldiers. She only cared about the utter destruction of those who sought to take her city from her, urging her fighters to take their weapons and hold their positions to increase the chances of killing the invaders. In the end, the process didn't matter, only the results.
Under that scenery, Leier had arrived at the most critical part of her mission, just a few meters away from the gates and the Duchess herself, the gates. Only one guard stood in her way, keeping watch over the gates, which had a heavy wooden log placed horizontally across it for extra protection, preventing the enemies to easily breach the city.
There was no time for hesitation. Leier had to act quickly and kill the guard in front of her. It was a difficult mission since the Inverno Owl's Tribal Tattoo seemed to prohibit her from carrying weapons, as if its very blood and soul found this kind of external help repulsive.
*Huff*
Leier breathed deeply as her heart raced with anticipation. She swiftly moved towards her target, reaching her hand to the small dagger hanging on the soldier's waist. But just as she was about to grasp the weapon, with her fingers almost touching the hilt of the dagger, a sudden and painful shout caused the soldier to turn his head.
At that moment, Leier froze, not daring to move or breathe, afraid that she would be noticed and cause even more losses to her king and her people.
The soldier's frightened gaze swept over the area, seeing the corpse of a soldier who had fallen helplessly from the top of the walls with an arrow lodged in his chest. He immediately averted his eyes, afraid that the Duchess would call him up.
"I am safe here!" The soldier closed his eyes, praying not to be called. "My wife and son are waiting for me at home. I can't die here."
Unfortunately, he shouldn't have closed his eyes. He provided Leier with the best opportunity to advance in her mission.
"Now!" Leier shouted in her head and finally took the dagger from the man.
Her movements were too quick for the soldier to react, and he barely had time to turn around before he felt the cold metal of the dagger slicing through his flesh. Leier caught him before he fell to the ground, holding him gently as she dragged him and rested him against the wall like a tired person taking a nap.
She surveyed the area, ensuring that no one had witnessed the bizarre sight of a dagger suspended in the air and the guard crumpling to the ground as it slit through his throat. Thankfully, the chaotic surroundings didn't allow her to be spotted.
"The only thing left is to open the gates!"- Leier thought as she looked at the heavy wooden log blocking her way. - "I will have to switch off my abilities."
Even before killing the guard, Leier had already thought about her options and realized that she would have to deactivate her ability to open the gates. She was only a Third Stage Warrior, meaning that she would have to place all her strength into lifting the wooden log. She wouldn't be able to deviate her attention elsewhere.
Leier was prepared to die. She deactivated the ability and pushed all her Mana to the circuits, exploding it in her muscles. It was just enough to force the gates open, but also to place her in a difficult situation.
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