NOVEL NEXT Chapter 21: Assault on the Factory.
The group split into three teams of two, while Lance's team had the addition of Camilla, bumping their group's number to three.
They all moved on the city in different directions, planning to reunite when they reached the city center and by extension the factory.
Lance and his group entered the city via a gap on its defensive line.
Sneaking past carriages and guards alike, his mind was focused as his eyes narrowed.
Moving from building to building, the route he and his team decided to take was direct.
The closer Lance got to the factory, the denser the city became and the more frequent patrols were.
First, it started with squads of infantrymen, then platoons, and eventually; mages.
Unlike normal soldiers, who wore long coats and caps, mages could be identified by cloaked individuals with hoods that covered their faces.
They often walked in pairs, and unlike the chatty soldiers of the empire, they were silent and vigilant.
Spotting a duo of mages quietly walking down an abandoned road, Lance moved his team to take quick shelter in an alleyway.
"Get down." He signaled, hiding behind an overturned waste container.
Camilla and the other pathfinder Lance was with quickly found cover in the cluttered alley.
While they hid and waited, the mages eventually walked by, their cold and calculating gaze briefly scanning over the alleyway.
There was an intense moment of silence as the mage looked down the alleyway, his face barely visible from beneath the hood. "Such a shame." He said softly, before continuing his journey.
Lance listened as the mages slowly walked by, their boots clicking against the stone roads beneath them.
As their footsteps faded into the distance Lance waited for a moment, before finally poking his head out from behind the waste container.
Seeing no one there, he turned back to Camilla and the other pathfinder. "Cost is clear." He signaled, before stepping out from behind his cover.
Camilla and the other pathfinder nodded, following Lance as he led them out of the alleyway.
The trio continued their trek through the city and towards the factory, each step they took getting them closer to both their goal and possible death.
When Lance's group eventually reached their destination, he was taken aback by what he saw.
The factory in all its glory, wasn't just one structure like he expected but a complex of buildings built from brick and mortar.
Stacked upon the roofs of these buildings were where dozens of smokestacks that ooze black smoke into the sky.
Surrounding the Compound were hundreds of guards armed with single-shot lever rifles. Not only were their infantrymen, but artillery too, rows and rows of two-wheeled cannons that had long barrels that reached into the sky.
Ammo boxes littered the ground like fish in a pond, everywhere Lance and the others looked, they found another crate stack of ammunition.
It was then that the true terror and might of the empire dawned upon Lance. They were just a nation, but a man-made form of nature.
"O-oh, my god." Camilla said in awe and horror as she knelt beside Lance, "They said were assaulting a factory, not… not whatever this is."
Lance felt the mission intensity amplify ten-fold, the presence of so much military strength on display was truly remarkable.
It also underscored the difference in power between the two nations, the empire was built for war, while the fallen kingdom was not.
"Do we have enough explosive charges?" Camilla asked quietly, looking out at the sprawling complex her gave still lost in the mass of equipment.
Lance frowned. "No, we'd need the explosive power of a zeppelin to do enough damage." He replied softly, "but it wouldn't last a second with so many Imperial mages sprawled about."
"What if we use their ammunition against them?" The other pathfinder, who had been quiet up until that point, finally spoke up. "With a few well-placed charges, we could set off a chain reaction."
Lance looked back at the Pathfinder with a raised eyebrow. "That's a good idea, but these satchels work on a five-minute timer, we'd be hard-pressed to cover the entire complex in that time."
"What about the other two groups?" Camilla chimed in. "When they catch up, we can coordinate in three different vectors."
Lance nodded. "Yeah, but we'd be cutting it close, and if we make any mistakes we'll be caught up in the fireworks as well."
A grin danced on Camilla's lips. "Well if it was easy they wouldn't be sending the Danames, right?" She asked challengingly.
Lance couldn't help but return the grin. "You sure as hell got that right." He replied with a confident nod.
After a moment of waiting for the rendezvous with the other two Pathfinder teams, the team reunited in an abandoned building just south of the factory complex.
They all stood around an old wooden table with Lance explaining the mission. "Alright listen up," he said with a determined and stern tone. "We lack both explosives and numbers, but I have a plan to turn that around."
Lance then pointed a finger down on the wooden table, drawing out the complex in the dust. "We'll split into three teams just like before, one will lead an attack here, other here, and finally here."
Lance pointed to three spots around the complex, creating a triangle. "While moving towards the center of the complex, each team will place their charges in strategic positions along the way."
Lance then drew a circle in the center of the complex. "Everyone save at least one charge per team so that when we meet in the center we can detonate factory equipment too, ensuring maximum destruction."
Everyone around the table nodded. "Sounds good my lord," Sophia said with an approving grin.
"Remember," Lance said with a point to Sophia, though the message was for everyone. "Five minutes after the first charge is placed, once it's placed there is no going back."
A tense atmosphere briefly befell the group as everyone exchanged glances. Everyone then nodded in understanding, realizing the stakes of this mission.
The pathfinders began to check their equipment after that, preparing themselves as they each mapped out an escape route in their heads.
They then moved out of their makeshift command center and began approaching the base.
The city's shadows provided cover as they slipped past guards and mages alike.
Lance felt a mixture of anticipation and dread as he stepped onto the complex grounds, walking through his designated entry point with his comrade, Camila
The duo moved quickly once they placed down the first charge beside a massive stack of ammunition crates and wagons.
Placement after placement each charge was set, twisting the knob that sat atop the satchel handle, and placing it down. The soft clicks of the satchel reminded them that time was of the essence.
After finishing with the outside, each team quickly and quietly made their way inside the complex buildings.
Inside each building was what you'd expect to see in a weapon and ammo factory. Large and complex machinery was everywhere, with lines and lines of belts that were filled with various weapon parts.
The lines were worked by imperial civilians or slaves.
They were hard at work feeding the imperial war machine, sweat dripping down their foreheads and they worked away like ants, too busy to notice the swift pathfinders quietly blitzing through their workspace.
Lance felt a pang of guilt as he glanced at them, but he didn't have the time to care about it, as the charges had already been set.
And there was no going back.
Each team continued to work through their path until eventually they reached the center factory.
Stepping inside Lance was greeted with something a little different the the typical factory's he had previously passed.
Quietly slipping into the large building, he was greeted with something truly unique. In the center of the factory were eight massive artillery pieces with barrels that reached high towards the ceiling and on either side of the barrel were two ginormous steel wheels.
Lance and Camilla stared at the massive weapons in awe, until they were quickly alerted by the sound of talking. "But Major, you're risking my entire division." A voice said in slight concern, "Please, just a few more days to top off on supplies, then you can head out, fully armed and prepared."
"To hell with that!" A deep and aggressive voice replied in frustration. "The emperor gave me this unit, and by his grace, I'm gonna use it." He said passionately. "We'll wipe the continent of those pathetic long-eared fucks, and then we'll head for those demons down south."
Squinting his eyes to get a glimpse at the two approaching bodies, Lance saw a tall man with a muscular frame dressed in an imperial officer uniform and a woman who was dressed in fashion fit for imperial nobility.
The woman seemed to grow annoyed with the officer, a frown crossing her lips. "I paid for this unit you command, the least you can do is listen to my command!" The woman said angrily.
The man simply chuckled as he crossed his arms. "Look baroness Em–"
"It's Countess to you!" The woman snapped.
Lance grew increasingly panicked as he looked at Camilla. "Where are the other two teams?" He asked her in an urgent whisper.
Camilla looked around the facility with a slightly panicked expression, her eyes darting around wildly as her expression grew pale. "I… I don't know." She answered.
Suddenly the sound of shouting could be heard from a distance. "Intruders!" A voice shouted, "We ha–"Suddenly the man was silenced, but unfortunately his message was already heard.
The Countess and officers looked towards the massive opening doors of the factory with wide eyes.
Suddenly bells began ringing as gunfire could be heard outside. "It's those assassins!" A man shouted, "sound the alarm, someone get me a Ma–"
Suddenly the shouting man was cut off by the sound of a gunshot.
Lance's eyes narrowed as he hurried rose from his cover, revealing himself to the officer and noblewoman.
Upon seeing him, the noblewoman had an expression of fear and panic.
"Goddamnit!" The officer yelled in frustration as he scooped the noblewoman in his arms and made a break for the opposite direction of both Lance and the commotion.
Lance watched them go, before rushing outside to check on the commotion.
Outside what Lance saw was Sophia standing over the body of a wounded pathfinder, defending himself with her twin revolvers.
Camilla quickly ran to Lance's side. "We have to help her!" She shouted, pulling her rifle from her back.
Lance gritted his teeth as he ran out to help his team, joining the other two pathfinders who were sprinting around the complex and engaging the imperial soldiers in melee, cutting them down swiftly.
Screams and gunshots echoed loudly, and it was about to get a lot worse as several mages began rushing to the scene, their hands charged with world energy.