37 The Night Before the Promised Day Comes

The night before Princess Sravati and Reiss' promised day comes.

A woman cloaked in a robe peered out from the darkness of the city alley, observing a group of military troops entering through the gates of Skaldia City.

She scanned each distinctive figure within the group, searching for one person she longed to meet.

Before long, the woman's gaze fixated on a man riding a large white bear.

He appeared noble, donning a dark blue suit of armor, with a gleaming white greatsword strapped to his back.

The man possessed long fiery blond hair and mesmerizing green eyes that could captivate any woman who sees him.

'There he is, Signa Wayde..'

Having located Signa, the woman stealthily followed the renowned Champion of Huntara from within the dark alley.

She kept pace with the main battalion of the Huntara, who were set to participate in the imminent battle at Blackwinter the following day.

A substantial number of troops entered through the northern gate and exited through the southern gate, ultimately establishing their camp in the meadow there.

They rested and made preparations, readying themselves to risk their lives the next day.

Approximately three hours later, a dozen individuals emerged from the camp. Judging by their attire, the observing woman deduced that they were the leaders of their respective squads.

Among them was the General of the Huntara, one of the kingdom's most formidable figures, and, of course, Signa was part of the entourage.

That group entered the city once again. Some of them separated and went to the nightlife district. Some went to bars, while two individuals, including the General, went to the residence of the Lord of Skaldia City.

As for Signa... he separated himself as well. He walked alone around the dark and silent city. The woman didn't understand the Champion's purpose; she could only follow along.

Before long, Signa walked into an alleyway. The woman frowned, sweat trickling down her forehead. Summoning her courage, she followed Signa into the darkness.

Winding through the labyrinthine alleys, she eventually reached the end where there was only a dead-end path.

The woman glanced from the junction, seeing Signa sitting at the end of the alley with his eyes closed.

"Come out, I know you're there!" Signa said, opening his eyes and glancing towards the woman's direction.

'As expected, he's realized!'

The woman could only swallow hard and slowly step forward, revealing herself.

Signa observed a figure draped in a cloak from head to toe. Only the mouth, which displayed a thin smile illuminated by the moonlight, was visible.

"Since when did you know?" the cloaked person asked.

'A woman?'

Signa thought upon hearing her voice.

"Since we entered Skaldia. It's not unusual to attract attention, especially when we arrived with a large military force. However, among all those gazes, there were a pair that always followed. So, who are you, and what is your purpose?"

"..."

The woman fell silent for a moment before finally opening her cloak, revealing a beautiful but somewhat masculine face underneath, and introducing herself.

"I am Legia, a military lieutenant from Westya. I came here to meet you, Champion of Huntara, Signa Wayde. I brought a message from the Shop Owner in Death Valley."

Legia introduced herself while taking out a folded letter she received from Cien.

Signa never expected that the person following her would be a soldier from the Kingdom of Westya, but what surprised him even more was that the soldier carried a letter from a strange merchant he had recently met.

'The seller of Fire Gloves and Bluminous, is it? What could be the reason for him to give me a letter?'

Signa couldn't guess the intentions of the Shop Owner. Their relationship maybe could be considered merely acquaintances. They just met once, briefly at that.

With a slightly puzzled expression, Signa opened the letter he received from Legia.

As he read its contents, a frown appeared on his face.

"This... is this true?"

Reading the contents of the letter made Signa go silent for a moment. He was reminded of an incident that happened a few weeks ago when Blackwinter was just occupied by the Abyss.

During an emergency meeting, a royal advisor had suggested that the occupation of Blackwinter was merely a diversion, aimed at drawing the government's full strength there.

At the time, that opinion wasn't given much attention and was never mentioned again. However, right now, Signa was reading something similar to the advisor's opinion.

"Emergency in the east. Abyss's main objective is to isolate Huntara from the world and gradually erode the kingdom's power until Huntara is destroyed.

"But that's not all... Princess Sravati and the troops from Farnodt are planning to suppress Blackwinter. However, there is no one who can take care of the situation in the east."

Signa let out a sigh and gazed at the night sky, where the moon smiled back at him.

While gazing at the moon, Signa's mind raced. From the letter, he knew that even without him, the problems in Blackwinter were likely to be resolved. Furthermore, the General would provide assistance tomorrow.

That meant only the east remained. In terms of timing, Signa believed the attack there should have already begun or would be starting right now.

"If I go as fast as I can, it will still take me three days to get there. Three days... Can they hold the eastern gate for that long? It's difficult but not impossible."

Signa then glanced at Legia. If Blackwinter became the bait, there must be a unique or strong figure there who made the people of the city dare to resist the full force of Huntara's troops.

The plan of the Princess and the presence of the General from Huntara might be able to confront that figure.

However, Signa still needed something else to ensure that the war in Blackwinter would end in victory for Huntara.

'That Farnodt person will use the Fire Glove... In that case, it might be worth using something similar on Huntara's side.'

Signa turned over the letter, biting his index finger until it bled, and then coated the blood with mana. He manipulated it until it could be used as ink to write a new message.

Legia, who witnessed this, was astonished. What Signa did was not unusual. Sometimes, soldiers wrote letters with blood on the battlefield as their final messages to their loved ones.

However, writing with blood was not as easy as using ink. The flow of blood from a small wound on the finger shouldn't be able to flow smoothly enough for someone to write beautifully.

Yet, what Legia saw was Signa manipulating the mana so that the blood did not stop in the middle of writing.

'How can he do that?'

Legia observed Signa until the man finished writing the message he wanted to convey. Signa then folded the paper and put it back into the envelope.

"Go to the Huntara Army Camp. Find Viscount Amary and deliver my message to him. Tell him that Signa Wayde and Cien Millard have sent you. Meanwhile, I will go to meet the General to explain the situation and head to the east of Huntara as quickly as I can."

Legia received the letter. They both walked out of the alley and parted ways.

Legia covered her face with a hood again, then looked towards the location of the Huntara army camp. She blended into the darkness, heading towards the next place.

***

In another place, not too far from the southern gate of Blackwinter, precisely in the forest.

A dozen people had gathered. These dozen people considered themselves adventurers from Marina. At least that was the alibi they used to leave the locked city gate.

Even though the gatekeepers are still suspicious. With some bribe from Reiss, they successfully left Marina.

Perched on a tree, a thin man with a bow and arrow on his back observed the security situation at the Blackwinter gate.

"How is it, Green?" asked a white-haired woman who was sitting and waiting below.

They gathered in the darkness of the forest without lighting a campfire. To avoid suspicion from the lookout of the Blackwinter soldiers.

Green, who had returned, explained what he had seen.

"It could be said that the security was far from tight. It was rather relaxed, as I could see some people even sleeping up there."

"How many?"

"It doesn't reach fifty people. At least that's what I can see from the outside, there must be more inside the barracks."

"Let's assume a hundred, worst-case scenario a hundred and fifty. Yeah... the number is too small to guard the gate. Is this intentional? Deception? Or is the current leader of Blackwinter just foolish?"

The white-haired woman murmured to herself, searching for something wrong with the security up ahead.

However, due to the darkness of the night and the limited time until the promised time, the woman was truly lacking information.

"What should we do, Commander?" asked the big-bodied man named Logan.

The white-haired woman, Commander Kataleya, pondered for a moment. Then her eyes shifted towards the city gate.

"The situation is too ambiguous, but if we attack tomorrow without clearer information, the risks will be higher. I will go there undercover."

"Huh? No, no, Commander! Are you crazy? That's dangerous!" Green panicked.

"It would be even more dangerous if one of you did it. I am the strongest one here."

Upon hearing those words, everyone could only fall silent. Until Logan offered an additional suggestion.

"At least you can bring one of us along."

Kirana thought for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"Gina, you're coming with me!"

"Ready, Commander!" Gina saluted and immediately prepared herself.

Kirana quickly glanced at her comrades, including Reiss, who was present.

"I will give you a signal to move from the gate up there. If by noon you haven't received any signal, cancel the plan and return to Marina immediately. If we succeed, then proceed with the plan, as instructed by Deputy Captain Reiss!"

The Commander called out to the only soldier from Marina or Farnodt who was there.

"Do not use the Fire Glove without my permission, understood?!"

"Ready, Commander!"

After giving several orders to her comrades, covering their bodies with black cloaks, Kirana and Gina headed towards the Blackwinter gate.

Kirana's plan was to take over the gate as quickly as possible. Judging from the current situation, with a number not exceeding five hundred people, as she estimated.

Kirana firmly believed that she alone could eliminate all the gate guards, especially since their security seemed lax.

If this succeeded, it would mean that they could take over the south gate and then Reiss's Fire Glove power would be crucial for bombarding the enemy's rear lines in the north of Blackwinter, not for the battle at the south gate.

That's why Kirana gave that order to Reiss.

This mission could be considered a crucial factor in the upcoming war at Blackwinter.