Chapter 39 - Infiltration Plan
Ailan was still amazed at how Nerun and company had been able to dispose of the mercenaries in such a short period of time. Even though Silvester was a Qi Master and Elijah was a Qi Praetorian, it was incomprehensible to him how there could be such a vast difference from their enemies, especially since most of the Violent Tigers were Qi Masters. Jackal himself was a Praetorian, and even if he was weaker than Elijah, he shouldn't have lost so quickly, right?
Elijah approached Jackal, who was on his last breath. Jackal was wide-eyed, incredulous at the whole course of events. He was breathing harder and harder, to the point of becoming agonised. Before he died, he thought that the Boss had made a big mistake. It is as if fate itself wanted to take down the band for their betrayal of the kingdom of Ansem. This is the second time, he thought. EON seems to have forgiven the first, but did not overlook the second'. This was Jackal's last thought.
The two mercenaries who had been attacked by Silvester were still alive but completely incapacitated. They were quickly interrogated by Elijah, but despite Elijah's soft and hard methods, he could get no further information from them. Apparently the specifics of the transaction between Sagat and Rhodnius' men were not known to his men either. Perhaps Jackal would have known something, but Elijah did not have the luxury of holding back while fighting another Qi Praetorian.
In fact Jackal could have put up a better fight against Elijah, but the truth is that fear had taken over his mind due to the encounter they had had previously, so Jackal went into the fight with the mindset that he was inferior to Elijah. Apart from that, the blow Sagat had dealt him had caused great damage to his face and right orbit, from which he had not yet recovered, all of which added to a night of exhaustion with Eliana's abduction, lack of rest and his nerves strained, caused Jackal to take a position of clear weakness against Elijah, and the latter attacked him with great ferocity and mercilessness. All this sealed Jackal's fate before he could do anything.
They finally woke the female mercenary who had been incapacitated by Nerun, tying her up earlier. They woke her up, but as soon as the girl regained consciousness and remembered what had happened, she tried to bite her tongue to take her own life. She did not know the origin of her enemies, but she knew that when a woman fell captive at the hands of others, their fates were often worse than death. However, Elijah quickly reached out and held the woman's jaw before she could take her own life. Elijah said to her:
"You don't have to end your life. If you cooperate with us, we will let you go when we conclude what we have come to do." However the girl replied, "I will never tell you where the lair is, if that is what you want to know. You would do better to kill me so that I do not return to attack you later," the girl threatened, though the fear in the depths of her eyes showed. She knew that in the face of a Qi Praetorian like Elijah, there was nothing she could do to defend herself. At that moment, however, another voice was heard, a raspy one.
"We don't need your help to find the lair of the Violent Tigers. It's not very far, only about 15 km from here towards the north-west direction of Mount Karol. Although I must admit, had I not followed Jackal this morning, it would have been extremely difficult to find it. Sagat has found an excellent hideout, perhaps when this is all over, it can be turned into a great retreat. Maikal appeared through the trees, eyeing the mercenary like a wild beast at a small cornered prey. The female mercenary began to tremble from head to toe. While she had tried to kill herself before, who wouldn't want to live if given the chance. Before she was afraid that Sagat would find out about her treachery, but seeing this old wanderer, she felt a terror deep inside her that was far beyond anything Sagat had ever made her feel. 'A Qi Monarch at the very least' thought the woman. One who managed to follow Jackal, with him not being the wiser.
In the end, she decided not to be stubborn. She knew that if she refused to cooperate, she would die hopelessly or worse. And seeing the childlike faces of Nerun, Silvester, as well as the brave and serious Elijah, something inside told her she could trust them. Besides, they already knew where the cave was located, so there wasn't much more she could reveal. "What do you want to know?".
"That's the attitude. Since you weren't part of Jackal's group yesterday, I assume you've been inside the lair for a long time. We want to know the disposition inside the lair, and what Sagat's plans are. When will the deal with the Rhodnians take place?" Maikal said without wasting any time.
The mercenary sighed and said, "As for the layout of the cave, I personally do not know all of it. No one except Sagat knows the entire lair, he has assigned us to various places, and we are restricted as to where we can go. For this reason I only know a part of the cave, but what I know I can tell you. As far as the Boss's... I mean Sagat's plans, they wanted to make the deal as quickly as possible. It is possible that today or tomorrow at the latest a small delegation of Rhodnius' men will come for the goods. I know this because I was actually assigned to guard the cells. In one of them is Eliana, the sister of the little thief, and next to her is a very beautiful woman, whom the Chief keeps bound hand and foot with strict orders not to go near her. The Chief got all the resources to make the deal with the Rhodnians out of her, I've heard from the other mercenaries."
"Big Sister" muttered Ailan worried, but at the same time relieved to learn that his sister was still alive, although he looked with some resentment at the Mercenary who had impersonated his sister.
Maikal and Elijah looked at each other as they thought quickly about their next steps and the identity of this mysterious woman. If the Rhodnius people arrived too quickly, there could be big trouble and there would be no way to stop Sagat. Besides, they still had to rescue Eliana.
"Here's what we're going to do. We'll let you go, but I'm afraid you'll have to help us. I will create a Qi Brand in your mind. This Qi Brand will make it possible for me to know your thoughts, and if you betray us, you will die instantly, with all the Qi inside you going out of control. Placing a Qi Brand when the other person is willing, is simple, and will not harm you. However, if you resist, I will force it into your mind, and believe me when I tell you that with your powers as a Qi Master, you will not be able to resist for even a small moment, and that you will suffer greatly." Maikal said without batting an eyelid.
The Qi Brands were often used in warfare, when capturing enemies, and when dealing with slaves. It was considered a rather cruel way to treat others, since branded people would lose all hope of freedom in the future, and the owners of their brands could do with them as they wished, with no ability to resist.
"That.... That's worse than dying, I'll become your slave," shouted the girl. But Maikal interrupted her saying, "Here and now, I swear an oath in the name of EON, that if I do not free you once you have helped us, my meridians will dry up and collapse, and my Martial Arts will be lost in the cruelty of time."
The mercenary was surprised when she heard Maikal. What Maikal had done, was known as a Grand Oath. EON, the Lord of Law, the Sustainer, the One who maintains Balance, is considered Just and Impartial. Swearing by his Name in Vain is considered Apostasy throughout the Continent, and all those who have done so throughout the history of the world have been wiped off the map. Strange events befall them, as if all their luck vanished, and the vast majority die in the most bizarre and cruel ways within days. Therefore, an Oath to the name of EON is considered the ultimate of promises, an Unbreakable Vow. Many people in the continent when doing business like pledging in the Holy Name of EON, so the deal is deemed trustworthy.
Once Maikal announced the Oath, there was no turning back, so the mercenary calmed down, cleared her mind, and allowed Maikal to brand her with his Qi. At that moment she realised that Maikal's Qi was vast and powerful, far greater than Sagat's. She also realised that even though Maikal's Qi was vast and powerful, it had serious instabilities, as if at times it was brittle and could lose control at any moment.
When Maikal finished, the girl opened her eyes and said, "My name is Roxanne. We're on the same side now, so I trust you know what you're doing. I can tell you up front, we were all supposed to return to the lair to guard it against the imminent arrival of the Rhodnians. Now that it's just me, what's your plan, then?".
Maikal then said, "Our plan is simple. For now you will return to the lair alone. If anyone asks, you will say that Jackal tortured Ailan, and he confessed that he had a couple of other companions in the city, who also had in their hands "stones" similar to the one Ailan had stolen. So Jackal took the opportunity to go with his men to get rid of them before they found out about Ailan's disappearance.
Next you will be on the lookout for Sagat's movements. When Sagat goes out to meet the Rhodnians to conclude the deal, you will give us a signal. I will give you a stone with my Qi attached to it. This Qi has my Will in it, and it has a maximum duration of 24 hours and then it will disappear spontaneously. If in 24 hours Sagat has not come out, you must excuse yourself to come out and meet us as best you can so that I can give you another stone. When Sagat comes out, you only have to destroy the stone and I will feel it. At that point we will infiltrate the lair in a blitzkrieg, rescue Eliana, and destroy the lair in order to delay the deal. Then we'll escape and go warn the Ansem Army. Does anyone think we have missed anything? I know it's a hasty plan, but under the circumstances I can't think of anything better."
"Father, you're more powerful than Sagat, why don't we attack them head-on before the Rhodnians arrive, and you take care of the big bad boss while we rescue Eliana?" asked Nerun innocently. To him, the most powerful person he had ever known was Father Maikal.
"Nerun, we will follow Father's plan. Don't stress about the other details, it's always best to be more careful and cautious. If we make it look like a mutiny by some of Sagat's forces it will be even better because it might make him fight with the Rhodnians," Elijah said. What he did not say, however, was that Maikal's old wounds were so bad, that even with the drop of Millennial Stone Milk he had consumed, while they would not worsen in the near future, he could not overexert himself for a long period of time or they would relapse even worse, and he might not even be able to get out of bed. Not to mention, the power he could show was severely limited compared to his peak many years ago. It was on a lot of medicine that he managed to maintain himself, and even when Armand was at his peak, Maikal's wounds only got a little better, but never fully healed. Therefore, if they could prevent Maikal from fighting, and only use him as a method of intimidation, it would be best. If not for this detail, Nerun's simple plan would have been the best solution.
Without further discussion, they set to work, and Eliana headed towards the entrance of the lair, while Nerun and company followed at a distance. They stopped when they began to notice sentries of the Violent Tigers, who were on the lookout for anyone unauthorised approaching the lair. While it was possible to overtake them without being noticed, it was better to wait in the vicinity. After all, any mistake in the plan could put them in great danger, especially Eliana, who was still captured by the mercenaries. Besides, they were already quite close to the entrance, so when Roxanne gave the warning, they would quickly incapacitate the sentries and guards and infiltrate the lair.
Roxanne entered the lair without stopping or greeting anyone. Her temperament was already taciturn and she had few friends, so no one was surprised by her behaviour. As soon as she entered, Sagat was alerted, and called her to meet him. In one of the central rooms of the lair, Sagat was accompanied by several of his men and his second-in-command, a man of six feet six, mouse-like eyes and whiskers, but cruel and ruthless in appearance. This was precisely Ocelot, another Qi Praetorian, level 39. However, at this moment Ocelot's Qi appeared to be somewhat unstable. This instability was typical of the sort that sometimes appeared in those who were about to level up.
Roxanne was surprised to see Ocelot, who had been stagnant for many years, about to advance to the intermediate levels of the Warrior Path. Sagat quickly asked her, taking her out of her train of thought: "Why did you come back alone, where are Jackal and the rest of the men?" Sagat's sinister and violent look almost made Roxanne tell the whole truth, but she bit her tongue and calming down, lied, saying what Maikal had ordered her to say. Sagat stared at her for a few seconds and then nodded, saying, "Maybe Jackal isn't a total piece of rubbish after all. I hope he doesn't let me down again. Go back to your post Roxanne, near the cells. I want no mishaps of any kind before the Rhodnians come."
Roxanne ducked her head and without a word, turned away as she made her way back to her post, cold sweat all over her back. The first phase of the plan had been completed.