Chương 398: Key strategic weakness
"Understood!"
On his orders, crossbow bolts whizzed through the air and penetrated the speakers on the stage. They looked down at their bloodstained chests in disbelief before collapsing with a thud. Silence reigned for a split-second as the crowds tried to rationalize what happened until an ear-piercing scream could be heard. The speakers on stage died! It was unknown who said it first, but someone shouted that the Alzar Kingdom did it, and then like a tidal wave, that crowd's energy and zeal transformed into hatred and rage. It clouded their judgements, and when empowered by the collective crowd, only one misstep was needed to cross the line. Someone attacked the soldiers with a brick, and soon, everyone followed suit! They finally became violent! Although the soldiers were dumbfounded by the sudden circumstances, they responded in kind. Shield walls were erected to stop any projectiles, while spear walls were lowered to pierce any melee attackers. Together with the other platoons, they systematically boxed in and slaughtered the attackers. A large revolt had begun!
"Is this enough?" Snake mused.
"No, the kingdom will regain control of the situation soon enough. We need to disperse their forces and distract them even more. Goat, do it."
The man nodded and pulled back on a longbow which had a flaming arrow. He raised it high and let loose, letting the arrow soar above the city square. It was the perfect time and visibility to be viewable from anywhere in the stronghold! It was the perfect signal! Rat had subordinates positioned in key locations, waiting and ready with a stockpile of oil and flammable materials. Once they saw the signal, they immediately ignited it and fled. Smokestacks and raging fires soon emerged in all directions. There were more than twenty fires simultaneously! Rat glanced at the Alzar Kingdom's officers, and they clearly seemed to be in a panic. The situation had gone out of their control! Dong! Dong! Dong! A melodic bell echoed throughout the stronghold and alerted everyone. Upon seeing their undisguised panic, Rat finally seemed convinced. He gave his order and the group dispersed to complete their assignment!
The warehouse district and the adjacent harbor were one of the few key strategic locations in the Yunyun Stronghold. Both areas were designated no entry zones and soldiers could kill on sight for a reason. The harbor's availability to the Maelstrom Gulf, and by extension Pelangi Fortress and the Alzar Kingdom, were instrumental to the kingdom's overall war strategy. It could not be taken at any cost. Similarly, the warehouse district housed all the army's supplies ranging from food and water, clothing and medicals, armor and weapons, and more. It stored exhaustive and invaluable list of supplies that supported the kingdom's vast army of one hundred thousand in the Yunyun Stronghold, and many more on the frontier lines against the Xingyuu Empire! In terms of overall importance, these two areas likely had no match!
Rabbit, Goat, and Snake watched the patrols warily from the shadows. As expected, it would not be easy to sneak in, even with the disturbances that they caused. The patrols would not move without orders. However, it was also clear that they were shaken from the bell since they were uninformed about what was happening. It could be an enemy attack for all that they knew! And it was precisely that mentality that Rabbit, Goat, and Snake were going to exploit. The three, dressed in the kingdom's uniforms, walked up to the patrols boldly and wove up some elaborate story for why the patrols should leave their post. Perhaps the soldiers were too worried, but they did not question it and left. Rabbit, Goat, and Snake then split up to each of the warehouses.
Rabbit slipped into one and marvelled at the vast space. It was far larger than any space she had seen before, yet it was stacked to the brim! Just how many supplies were in this building alone? She had no idea! It seemed to stretch endlessly into the darkness. From acquiring, processing, transporting, to storing everything here, how much time and how many people were involved? She trembled to imagine the total value of everything inside here. It must be incalculable! The Alzar Kingdom was certainly worthy of their praise. They were one of the overlords of the human world for a reason! But their arrogance would be their downfall today. Rabbit removed one of the floor tiles, and revealed a hidden compartment filled with jars of oil. They could not burn the warehouses from outside due to the patrols, but what about from inside? Losing all these supplies… The damage would be unprecedented! This was the Imperial Council's true aim!
She spent another ten minutes placing the jars to maximize the fire they would cause. Even if the kingdom realized, the fire would have grown uncontrollable by that point. They would have no way of stopping it! She grew suspicious though because this was far too easy. Setting up the revolt and distracting the patrols… Was the kingdom supposed to be this stupid? Most of the crates were sealed shut, so she had no way of knowing what they contained, but she found an unsealed one nearby. It contained food as she hoped for. Perhaps her suspicions were unwarranted? She shook her head of unnecessary thoughts and went back to work. She and her companions needed to hit every warehouse here before the kingdom caught on!
While they were busy, Monkey, Ox, and Rat emerged from a secret passage inside the military headquarters. They were responsible for their second assignment: finding any relevant information about the Battle of Liguang, specifically if Princess Elizabeth or the Ten Dawns survived. Both Princess Elizabeth and the Ten Dawns could have a profound effect on the war's outcome, so it was imperative that their deaths were confirmed. To that end, Monkey, Ox, and Rat would head to three different locations. Ox would go to the church and search for their bodies. Assuming Princess Elizabeth died, that should be where her corpse was stored until it was transported back to the kingdom's mainland. Rat would go to the archive room where information about the Battle of Liguang was. As for Monkey, he would handle the task of raiding General Petra's quarters. Depending on whether she was there or not, her quarters had the highest risk or the highest reward! The payoff could be unimaginable!
Like Rabbit, Goat, and Snake, they wore the kingdom's uniforms and casually walked past the frantic soldiers. No one had the leisure to give them a second glance, much less inspect them. It seemed like the entire headquarters was thrown into disarray! The more chaotic things became, the easier it was to move around. But they remained cautious because things were not so simple here. Perception Realms, or even Half-Perception Realms, might sense something was amiss and unravel their disguises. Neither Monkey, Ox, nor Rat had the guts or ability to face off against those legendary experts. It would be certain death if they encountered them! Thankfully, Perception Realms were rare and their chances of encountering one were low. The three went their separate ways without trouble.
Monkey was the most nervous since he had the most difficult job of the bunch. Getting into General Petra's quarters would be a tall order! He inwardly cursed Rat, but he had to admit that he was the best choice. He was one of their top combatants, a Fundamental Realm Master, and he touched upon the door to Half-Perception Realm too. Combined with his high awareness for danger, no one else had better odds at succeeding. When Monkey reached the floor where General Petra's quarters was, he noticed a distinct lack of guards which was odd, even with the commotion outside. It should not require everyone's attention, no matter how big the revolt or fires were. He grew suspicious. Was this a trap? Still, he could not act suspicious, and proceeded down the corridors as normal.
The door to General Petra's quarters was in a secluded corridor, so few people were around. Monkey took a quick peek and saw the door was ajar and the guards were absent. Lucky! He could slip in like this and no one would notice… However, he did not immediately do so because if General Petra was present, it would spell disaster. He lingered around instead, as though he had something to do, while feeling out the situation. Depending on the circumstances, he might call it quits. Monkey soon caught sight of someone inside, and he exhaled in relief. He was thankfully not stupid enough to charge in like an idiot. His expression made a complete reversal when he saw who it was. A young maiden with an elaborate dress, crimson red hair, and a golden trinket around her neck, who else could it be besides Princess Elizabeth? He was stunned! To think she survived the Battle of Liguang! But when he saw who else was present, his eyes almost popped out from the shock.
How could they be here? But that's impossible! Monkey screamed in his mind. I need to inform the Imperial Council as soon as possible!
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