Second Arc (His Art of War) – 1. Gale’s Infiltration I

Dim starlight adorned the night sky above Luminus City. The city situation was quiet. In just one day, the happy laughter at the New Year's Party turned into sorrow. The castle had announced the news about Pearl Gate City and the declaration of war against Asteria. Although the fears of war and the anger at Asteria's attacks were clearly visible on the civilians' faces, with the trust that had been built so far, they could be pacified easily.

Angel sat on the balcony railings made of stone. His back leaned against a large pillar between the rail, one of his hands resting on his folded knee. He closed his eyes and tried to rest his mind, lettin the night wind sweep his face and comb his dark blue hair.

He had just finished discussing war preparation with Chancellor Allan and managed the war budget with the finance minister. Now, he was waiting for the report for the troops' preparation from Frost and Flare. It shouldn't take long to prepare it. In addition, for war supplies and equipment, as the most prosperous kingdom on the Andromeda Continent, Euphorion had more than enough of it. Angel had also found a way to force the Asteria's royal family to submit to him without making Euphorion an enemy of other kingdoms on the Andromeda Continent. Yes, though his grudge and anger, he couldn't kill his family because of the ancient agreement. Moreover, he was a dark magic user with the same power as the Dark King and the Reinheart family was the Holy Knight family who killed that evil king. He didn't want other kingdoms to use this as an excuse to attack Euphorion.

Shortly, Frost approached him and bowed.
"Your Majesty, our preparations are complete."

A smirk appeared on his lips.
"Very Well. As soon as Gale sends the news, we will leave immediately."

"Yes, Your Majesty, " replied Frost.

Angel opened his eyes slowly and raised his head, staring at the cloudy night sky.
'He should be at Asteria's outpost by now.'

Meanwhile, Gale sat on a big tree's branch in the forest near Asteria's outpost. His legs swung casually like a child waiting for his parents. His eyes kept paying attention to the troops' movements.

Some guards walked back and forth into the outpost with confused expressions. The night was getting late, but General Helias and his troops had not returned yet. Even not a single soldier who had been sent to find out how they were doing, returned. General Helias also didn't reply to the Magic Messenger they had sent hours ago. Whereas if General Helias was dead the Magic Messenger should be back to them. This situation made them confused as if General Helias and his army disappeared without a trace.

A yellow dove flew from the outpost. Gale pulled out his bow and aimed at the bird, his hand emitting a green light that formed an arrow that looked more like a short lance. He shot it and the bird turned into a yellow light that shattered into pieces. Gale chuckled quietly while imagining the Asterian army's face inside the outpost. Then he listened to the night wind that blew hard past his ears as if they were whispering to him. A smile grew on his lips, then he jumped down from the tree like a monkey.
"Alright, it's showtime, " he muttered as he walked past the Asterian troops' bodies that were scattered under the tree.

Gale bent his back while splitting the leaves in front of him and looked at Asteria's outpost wall nearby. He had been around this place for several hours and found this was the only place with the least guard.

Soon, some of the guards who previously stood there moved down the outpost stairs.
'His Majesty is right, they will change the guards every midnight.'

He pulled his bow, his hand emitted a green light which formed some arrows and shot it towards the wall. The arrows stuck between the stone walls neatly like a ladder.

Gale quickly approached the wall and jumped from one arrow to another with relaxed and agile steps. His arrows were stronger than Magic Arrows or regular arrows and it could hold five adults. Once he reached the top, he bent down while running towards the nearest post tower. But before he arrived, several guards suddenly appeared. They almost screamed, but Gale immediately pulled his bow and shot them right in their throats.

They fell without a chance to scream. Without wasting time, Gale ran into the tower and hid himself. He looked at the bodies of the guards nearby and smiled proudly at himself.
'I'm so cool! If His Majesty sees me, he definitely will give me more cakes.'

He peeked between the walls and looked inside the outpost. The guard inside was tight, some guards were seen lining up neatly while walking around the yard. Some were seen gathering around a campfire in the middle of the yard and chatted. Gale swept his gaze, searching for his target and saw a circular building behind the outpost.

Gale moved as soon as he found it. He walked down the stone stairs slowly as quietly as possible, his hand holding his bow tightly.

The sound of footsteps accompanied by the sound of people chatting came. Gale stopped his steps and pressed his back against the wall to hide. Several guards appeared from the bottom of the stairs, he quickly shot them with his arrows. The guards collapsed, Gale had just given a proud smile to himself, but apparently, there was one guard who was still alive.
"Intruder-"

Before the guard screamed, Gale jumped at him and stabbed his arrow to his throat. His other hand covering the guard's mouth, making sure no sound came out. The guard fell and Gale breathed a sigh of relief.
'I almost messed it up.'

Slowly, he walked down the stairs until he reached the exit. He hid beside the door and peeked to check the surroundings. The building was in the opposite direction to him and not connected to walls or other buildings. He had no choice but to cross a yard full of guards. He paused as he looked for ways to cross it without getting caught. Seeing the Asterian troops' bodies near him, an idea crossed his mind. He examined their bodies, hoping there was someone who had the same body size as him. But no, all their bodies were bigger than him. Finally, he took one of the smallest blazers and tried on it.
'I feel like a kid wearing his father's clothes …' he thought, looking at the sleeve that fully covered his hands with an annoyed face.

He took it off as he nagged in his thoughts.
'Tsk! As the most favoured General in Euphorion I shouldn't wear an oversize blazer like this! It will decrease my popularity!'

He looked back at the yard, there was nothing that could be used as a hiding place. So he thought hard.
'His Majesty's order is to destroy the poison, but he didn't say I shouldn't mess up, right?'

A smile reappeared on his lips as his hand emitted another green light which formed several arrows.
'Alright, then I'll go in with my style!'