Chapter 49. A Stab in the Back (2)
Mitchell and Grant immediately headed to the training ground to learn new martial arts.
They were not particularly special techniques.
There was no time to learn advanced martial arts.
So after thinking about it, they chose a concealment technique for stealth and the Imperial Swordsmanship that had existed for a long time.
[Imperial Swordsmanship was originally created for soldiers. Unlike knight swordsmanship, it is also suitable for martial artists. Nowadays, anyone can easily obtain and learn it. But that is because it is made of simple forms, not because its level is low. In fact, it is impressive precisely because it produces power despite being made of such simple sword principles.]
Calian spoke confidently.
There was a reason he was proud of Imperial Swordsmanship.
[And I was the one who created it. Anyway, now that both of you are 6th Rank, even Imperial Swordsmanship will be powerful enough in your hands.]
Mitchell nodded.
Then he taught Grant the concealment technique and Imperial Swordsmanship Calian gave him.
Their training continued except for meals and sleep.
Because they invested so much time and both were talented, their progress was fast.
In one day, they learned all the forms and the circulation method.
In three days, they could properly perform the martial arts.
Within one week, they could use them freely.
At the same time, they reviewed their original martial arts.
Reaching the 6th Rank made controlling energy much easier.
But becoming accustomed to that increased control was a separate matter.
Around fifteen days passed in a blur.
Then the news they had been waiting for arrived.
“Mitchell, Father told me to give you this.”
The map Grant held out marked Braxton, Winslow, and Ashton’s supply routes and the locations where their martial artists were stationed.
Cayden did not say anything separately.
But Mitchell could imagine how many resources had been used to gather such detailed information.
He could also imagine how many family informants had sacrificed themselves.
Then he had to make sure those sacrifices were not wasted.
Mitchell put the map inside his clothes and looked up.
“It’s night already. That makes it easier to move.”
They had to make it appear as though neither of them had left the family estate.
So they moved carefully.
Nox’s huge body was a problem.
But once he circulated energy, his presence visibly faded.
Grant walked right beside Nox.
Even so, he could only faintly sense the beast.
He stared in amazement.
“Every time I see this, I’m impressed. He still looks like a horse, so I keep forgetting he’s a magical beast.”
Mitchell agreed.
He and Grant were now 6th Rank.
Yet even they barely sensed Nox.
[Your rise to 6th Rank strengthened him too.]
Mitchell smiled and stretched his hand forward as though reaching into empty space.
His hand touched Nox.
Mitchell patted his shoulder and continued walking.
Soon, the guards protecting the outskirts of Ranga appeared.
“Father said he arranged something here too. Wait.”
The Ranga guards did not belong to Runei.
So Cayden could not directly order them.
Fortunately, Cayden had already considered that.
Two men suddenly appeared from the darkness and began loudly arguing.
They staggered while pointing fingers at each other.
Anyone could see they were drunk.
The sudden disturbance drew the guards’ attention.
Because they had to protect their post, the guards initially stayed where they were.
But once the argument turned into a fistfight, they had no choice but to move.
“Those are the people Father mentioned.”
Only then did Mitchell, Grant, and Nox begin moving.
The guards were only around twenty steps from the gate.
But that was enough.
Mitchell and Grant quickly left Ranga.
Then they immediately climbed onto Nox and began running.
“Where are we going first?”
“Braxton.”
As Nox cut through the night air, Mitchell remembered one place on the map.
“More specifically, we’ll start with the places that make them money.”
Their first destination was a gold mine owned by Braxton.
Mitchell and Grant remained hidden and observed the surroundings.
After watching for some time, Grant frowned.
“There are more guards than I expected.”
“It’s the largest mine operated by Braxton.”
“Do you have a plan?”
Mitchell nodded.
“We’re going to collapse the mine. We can’t carry away all the gold ore, so that’s the best option.”
“The entrance?”
Grant turned his head in disbelief.
At the end of his gaze were thick wooden supports.
But Mitchell was talking about something bigger.
“If we only collapse the entrance, they’ll repair it quickly. We need to destroy it from the inside out.”
That meant one person would stay outside and stop the enemy.
The other would enter and destroy the supports from the deepest section outward.
Grant looked impressed.
“Then we can really screw them over.”
“Yeah. Since this is our first raid, we might as well do it properly.”
After experiencing this several times, the enemy would strengthen their defenses.
They needed to cause as much damage as possible before that happened.
Their objective was not to destroy a major family.
So they planned to stop everything before it became too dangerous.
Mitchell looked at the sky.
The moon was half-covered by clouds.
The night was unusually dark.
It was perfect for a raid.
“Nox, wait here. If you’re seen, they’ll identify us too easily.”
Nox’s role was to move them at an unbelievable speed and confuse the enemies.
As they had seen against the Wild King, Nox was strong enough to fight.
But there was no need to involve him here.
Prrr.
Nox quietly snorted and nodded.
Mitchell and Grant stroked his back before moving forward.
They lowered their bodies and approached the mine.
Once close, they put on the masks they had prepared.
Grant looked at Mitchell, whose mask revealed only his eyes.
“This reminds me of when we attacked the Raphel Family.”
“Don’t say unlucky things. That time, we walked straight into a trap.”
Grant shut his mouth after getting scolded for saying something unnecessary.
Things had ended well in the end.
But it really had been a life-or-death crisis.
They remained silent and waited for an opportunity.
Eventually, the patrolling martial artists’ attention spread in different directions.
Mitchell and Grant quickly rushed toward the guards at the mine entrance.
The concealment technique Calian taught them was enough to easily fool lower-ranked martial artists.
