With the authority the Minister of Science had put in his hands, Julian took two-thirds of all the forces present on the Nexus outpost to attack the rebel base.
One hundred full-armed soldiers with thirty saint-realm individuals among them were swiftly drafted to join, led by Lieutenant Vilma, who was low stage Rank 9 Magician.
Unfortunately, the location of the rebel base they were about to attack was underground beneath a settlement inhabited by thousands of native civilians, making this operation much more difficult than it should be.
Therefore, to ensure the operation would not lead to chaos and the death of civilians, Julian decided to wait until nightfall before launching the raid.
However, as the planet only had four hours of nighttime in a day, their plan needed to be executed and done in a very specific timeframe.
***
Several transports silently made their way through the sand desert in the middle of the night and arrived at the outskirts of the settlement, where the targeted rebel base was located. Dozens of figures emerged from them, sweeping the surrounding area of unwanted elements.
The moment they arrived, just like before, Emery took out the two Chizpur Fangs and asked the plant creatures to burrow into the ground to collect information of the surroundings.
With the help of the Chizpur Fangs, it didn’t take long for Emery to be able to map out the underground and surface situation of the place. He then relayed the crucial information to Julian, who was the leader of this operation.
“I have confirmed there is a base right below the settlement. There are about a few hundred armed men down there and one magus-level figure.”
Thanks to his latest breakthrough in the comprehension of earth elements, Emery could sense anything underground better, as if he saw them with his own eyes. Coupled with the Chizpur Fangs, the underground was now his playground.
With Emery’s information, Julian swiftly gathered all the important personnel and did the final briefing before the execution.
“Alright, everyone. The rebel is confirmed, so here is how we will take them on.”
Julian divided the one hundred soldiers into ten squads of 10 and scattered them in ten strategic locations to surround the settlement.
“Lieutenant, your men are here to guard the perimeter and catch anyone who tries to escape. On top of that, when the situation is required, they will be the one calming down the civilians of the upcoming raid.”
It was evident from his words that Julian’s main plan still only involved the three of them plus the ex-marshal.
“Only come in when I give the order, not a second before or later. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Envoy,” said the female lieutenant.
On the other hand, the Minister of Science couldn’t help but be anxious when he learned of the plan. No matter how high he overestimated the capability of Julian, Emery and Thrax, in his mind such a plan was simply suicidal.
“Are you really sure about this?” the middle-aged man asked, as he knew he didn’t have the power to stop Julian.
Noticing the other party’s anxiety, although he didn’t actually need to address it, Julian still smiled and reassured the man of rank.
“Don’t worry, Minister Otto. We can handle this. You should stay at the back and only make a move to confirm the stolen items as soon as we secure the base.
“Ahhh I see…” the minister nodded although still feeling worried. “I understand. Please be careful.”
Before leaving for the underground rebel base, Julian looked at the ex-marshal, “You, follow me close. If you make any wrong moves, our deal’s off”
Julian’s decision to bring just the four of them to enter the base also took into account the possibility of the ex-marshal providing false information and that this place was a trap set up for the Nexus faction.
If that possibility turned out to be true, Julian could only trust his friends to enter the place.
“Alright, let’s go as planned.”
The four moved under the cover of night, avoiding the civilians within the settlement until they finally arrived at a cave guarded by two dozen people. They were all wearing plain civilian clothes, but half of them gave off the aura of saint-level warriors.
Without wasting any more time, Emery and Thrax snuck in and took care of those who were on patrol silently. A few minutes later, the last patrolling guard was dealt with and his body hidden among the bushes.
The ambush done by the two left only a dozen guards stationed at the cave entrance. Emery cast [Jade Mist] to confuse their sight, and before they knew it, roots the size of an arm had already covered their mouths, preventing them from screaming.
It was at this moment that Thrax charged from the midst of the trees, knocking them unconscious with kicks and punches. From start to finish, it didn’t last more than a few minutes.
Seeing the coast was secure, Julian and the ex-marshal came out of their hiding place and approached the cave entrance. Seeing all the unconscious saint warriors, the old man couldn’t help but comment, “You, alliance’s acolytes, are certainly different.”
Hearing the remark, Julian glanced at the man and said, “Don’t overthink it, Marshal. Those two are exceptions. They are monsters even by the alliance’s standards.”
Thanks to Emery’s Spirit Reading teaming up with the Chizpur Fangs, they had no problems navigating through the cave network. They passed several man-made caves, which had various uses: food storage rooms, weapons rooms, barracks, and so on.
However, they ignored all these and kept moving deeper into the cave, as their target was the magus rebel leader himself.
Finally, a few minutes later, they reached the largest cave they had found in this place. The entire place was filled with machines of various sizes. Looking at the pile of weapons in one corner of the room, this place was most likely a weapon manufacturing factory.
Upon seeing this, the old marshal was stupefied. “W-what? This is too many, there are thousands of them! Is he planning a war?!”
It was at this moment Emery realized something was fishy. Usually, important places such as this factory zone would be guarded with the most stringent security. However, not a single shadow was seen at all.
Before Emery had time to share his suspicions with Julian, a loud noise suddenly sounded in the air as thick metal closed the doorway behind them. A second later, two large doors on either side of the room opened, revealing dozens of heavily armed mechanical soldiers.
A voice rang out from the speakers installed in this cave.
“Capture the intruders!”