I Build a Modern Shelter in Fantasy World

Gideon and Luke left the inn and walked deep into the forest with no escort. The farther they went, the quieter the woods became.

Luckily, the moon wasn't bright. With their dark uniforms, Gideon and Luke blended into the grass.

"NODs."

"Copy, Capt."

They lowered their NOD scopes and looked through the night-vision with one eye. With those devices, Gideon and Luke could see the area even though it was dark and silent.

Their steps stopped when they reached the edge of the trees and focused on the cliff road above. That was the only route up to the mountain base.

"Hold position. Stay sharp," Gideon whispered. Luke nodded.

"Prepare the drone," Gideon ordered.

Luke cleared his throat. They went prone while Luke opened Lyra's laptop and booted the drone. Gideon swapped his NODs for a thermal scope, useful for detecting body heat.

Slowly, the drone rose into the sky without a sound, its black body blending with the night. An untrained eye would not notice it.

"Eagle in the sky, Capt."

"Move forward," Gideon said.

Luke obeyed and piloted it with Lyra's laptop. The drone flew straight and climbed, and thermal images showed up on the screen.

The recon went smoothly and Gideon could read a lot from the movements.

The focus was the watchtowers. Gideon told Luke to direct the drone to several suspected lookout points.

There were four watchtowers guarding the area: one at the road entrance, one near the cliff, and two to the north.

"Because of the distance, we'll focus on those two towers," Gideon said, pointing to the entrance and cliff locations.

"Can we hit a target from this far?" Luke asked. Gideon shook his head.

"We'll move forward cautiously. First target is the tower at the entrance. We'll hit the second one after we secure the first," Gideon said softly.

"That way, their eyes in the east and south will be gone. When it's quiet, we start the main mission," he added.

Luke nodded. As he remembered, an M4A1's precise range was not more than 600 meters. If they moved closer, it would be an ideal shooting distance, especially with Gideon's marksmanship.

Seeing Gideon's calm confidence put Luke at ease. He had been worried about the enemy's numbers and their limited ammo, but he trusted Gideon to handle it.

"Retract the drone."

"Recon complete!"

"I got it, Capt," Luke said. He moved the pad and guided the drone back to its starting point. The enemy did not notice and the drone returned safely. Luke recorded the footage onto Lyra's laptop.

"Pack up and return to base," Gideon whispered.

Just as he said that, he faintly heard something from the side. Gideon reflexively closed Lyra's open laptop, putting Luke on alert.

"We got movement."

"Lock and load. Wait for my signal."

Luke nodded and carefully released the rifle's safety, slapping his NODs back on. Gideon did the same, eyes fixed to the left. They saw two soldiers on a routine night patrol in the woods.

They were not enemies but Moko soldiers. Gideon and Luke relaxed slightly.

"Finish packing."

The patrolmen nodded and turned to continue, but their behavior seemed odd for a routine patrol. They kept glancing around nervously like they wanted to make sure they were alone.

"Everything is ready. Let's go," Luke said.

"Hold," Gideon whispered, surprising Luke.

Luke glanced the same way and saw the two soldiers stop. Not long after, three wagons came from the village, covered in black cloth.

"What is that?" Luke asked quietly.

"I don't know."

In the forest silence, Gideon and Luke clearly heard horses' hooves coming from the enemy base into the woods. They braced, thinking two enemy cavalrymen were about to attack the wagon guards.

What happened next shocked them. The two Moko soldiers opened the way and handed the wagons over to the enemy cavalry.

Luthe's soldiers seized the wagons and took them toward the mountain base.

"They're trading?"

"What's really going on?" Luke asked.

Gideon was stunned. He had just seen Moko soldiers doing business with Luthe soldiers. He could not be sure what the wagons carried.

"What do we do?" Luke whispered.

"Move out. Arrest them."

Luke grinned. They rose from prone after lying still for a long time, moving fast and silent through the woods toward the two Moko soldiers.

BANG!

A shot hit one soldier in the leg. He cried out in pain. Gideon and Luke moved quickly, dragging them into the bushes.

"Quiet or you die!" Gideon warned, covering the soldier's mouth.

Soon another patrol passed by and checked the area. Foolishly, they did not notice the dark blood on the grass. Convinced it was nothing, they left, thinking everything was fine.

When the coast was clear, Gideon and Luke dragged the two Moko soldiers deeper into the forest and began to interrogate them.

"What are you doing?" one soldier asked.

"That wagon. What did you hand over to them?" Gideon demanded.

"Just trash!" they complained.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Gideon said.

"Strip their armor," Gideon ordered. Luke nodded. They gagged the men with cloth, handcuffed their hands, and stripped off their armor. Now the two were only in pants and shirts in the cold forest, shivering.

Gideon put a knife to one soldier's thigh. He tried to scream but Gideon kept his hand over the man's mouth. The soldier's voice was nearly silent.

"I can torture you all night if you don't talk," Gideon said softly.

Slowly, Gideon eased his grip when the soldier nodded, agreeing to speak if the pain stopped.

"F-Food."

"Food? You sent your logistics to Luthe?" Luke asked.

"It's... village food."

Luke and Gideon looked stunned. They asked the other soldier, who nodded. The two were ordinary troops ordered by someone to send village food to Luthe.

"The people in the village are starving and you hand their food to Luthe? Are you crazy?" Luke barked.

"That was the deal Luthe gave in exchange for the village's safety. They won't be attacked if Moko keeps sending them food," the soldier explained.

"A bunch of cowards!" Luke shouted. Gideon calmed him down.

"Lower your voice," Gideon said.

Gideon cocked his pistol, released the safety, and fired a bullet into the first soldier's forehead. He died with a hole in his brow, which made the other man panic.

"I hate traitors. I may not be a Moko soldier, but I hate traitors," Gideon said.

"You," Gideon said, turning his attention.

"I have a plan for you. Want to hear it?"