After watching the sentries and watchtowers guards movement he moved towards the central building.
Although the colonel and some guards left, the protection didn't compromise a little bit. Instead the remaining guards and experts became more alert and vigilant in absence of the colonel.
There are also Four 2nd stage practitioners and the strongest 3rd stage has gone with the colonel for his protection.
Vector moved like a shadow between the hedgerows, slipping past patrols and entering the central building through a narrow servant's passage. His Blood Energy-enhanced senses fed him every whisper, every footstep, every heartbeat behind walls and above ceilings.
Avoiding every expert and patrol with clockwork precision, he reached the private wing in the central building.
First he enters the Colonel's chambers after avoiding all the prying eyes
Luxurious and yet strangely cold. Velvet drapes, polished marble, weapons displayed as trophies. Vector searched methodically, drawers, floorboards, behind the bed panels, but found nothing useful.
Vector searched fast but methodically. Under the mattress, behind picture frames, inside locked drawers. Nothing substantial was found. The man was meticulous. If there were secrets, they weren't kept here.
"Nothing…"
Vector is disappointed that he didn't find anything of importance but there are other rooms where he can find some clues.
So he moved to the next room to begin his search.
As he searched and moved rooms he found nothing… next he is going to the study room.
Not discouraged, Vector slipped out and entered the study.
A massive wooden door barred entry, etched with the roaring lion crest of the Lionheart Empire and the eight-point star of the Kaelthorn family. Inside, the scent of old parchment and polished wood filled the air.
Inside, shelves stretched from floor to ceiling, packed with scrolls, and rows of neatly stacked books.
As he began searching each book one by one.
Vector frowned… he found it time consuming and no productivity in doing this.
Deep in thought… What can he do?... Suddenly an idea struck his mind: can he not use the System's scanning function?
Then, Vector moved swiftly but methodically, his fingers brushing each book, triggering the system scan.
---
>[System Notification]
[Scanning: Complete… Literature.]
---
.....
---
>[System Notification]
[Scanning:Complete… Report]
---
---
>[System Notification]
[Scanning:Complete… Military reports.]
---
---
>[System Notification]
[Scanning:Complete… Deployment reports.]
---
---
>[System Notification]
[Scanning:Complete… Military reports.]
---
---
>[System Notification]
[Scanning:Complete… Book on...]
---
[...]
He frowned. The documents were old, campaign reports from decades past, logistical logs, troop allocations. Nothing current, nothing useful.
He also found out about the Varent Kael Thorns family and why, being only in 1st stage practitioner the colonel has such influence and is such a higher officer.
The Kaelthorn Dominion, one of the core aristocratic forces within the Lionheart Empire, commanded several elite battalions and operated multiple prestigious military academies. Varent wasn't just another officer; he was one of the key contenders groomed to inherit leadership of the family's legacy.
Except for these he found nothing.
"No martial arts manuals. No body refinement scrolls. No technological blueprints," he muttered, exhaling through his nose.
"Exactly as expected… He wouldn't have access to these manuals. Those would be sealed in ancestral vaults, protected like divine artifacts."
Still, he kept searching.
Then, just as he was about to give up, his eyes caught the edge of a thick leather-bound folder, wedged deep into the back of a bottom drawer, half-buried beneath layers of military reports and irrelevant papers.
His heartbeat quickened.
He reached for it.
Classified Intel…? It must be… otherwise my infiltration will be in vain.
Opening the folder, Vector's gaze sharpened. Inside were tactical maps marked with red lines, coded symbols, and deployment patterns.
---
> OPERATION: BREAK THE FANG
Deploy 1,500 elite troops to Vantara Village. Vantara will serve as the staging ground and hidden stronghold for the Empire.
Establish covert fortifications along the eastern curve of the Naga Forest. Launch a surprise assault on IronFang Hill City from the rear via forested routes.
Objective: Capture IronFang Hill City and secure the mountain corridor.
---
Vector's pulse spiked as he read the words.
Now, he finally understood why the traitor had committed suicide.
If the resistance had discovered the truth, all of the Lionheart Empire's efforts—everything they had carefully orchestrated—would have been in vain.
The traitor had died to protect that secret.
But now?
Now, those efforts truly will be in vain.
And this time… the Lionheart Empire was going to receive a hard slap in the face.
Vector focused on the map, "Vantara Village… That's where the Vanyar Tribe lives," he muttered, eyes narrowing.
"The Lionheart Empire isn't just invading, they're planning to erase the entire tribe and turn their home into a military outpost."
He clenched his fists.
He checked the date mentioned in documents alongside the map.The operation was scheduled exactly six weeks from now.
The plan was brutal, efficient, and cold-blooded, and unless he did something fast, the Vanyar would be slaughtered before they ever knew what hit them.
The Vanyar weren't ordinary villagers. They were a deeply rooted tribal community known for their poison mastery, their communion with the wild, and their near-mystical connection to the Naga Forest's deeper regions.
Though technically within RedField State territory, their village lay in a precarious position, nestled at the curve where the Naga Forest bent eastward and brushed the back of the IronFang Mountain Range.
That forest… it wasn't just some overgrown stretch of trees.
The Naga Forest was a sprawling expanse of ancient wilderness that sprawled across the Elaris–RedField border like a coiled serpent. Dense, mysterious, and nearly impassable to outsiders, it had long been considered a natural buffer zone. But its reach extended further than most maps suggested, forming a crescent that hugged the rear flank of the IronFang Mountains.
And nestled within those mountains?
IronFang Hill City—a bastion held by the Novastra Resistance. A fortress carved into stone, its strength lay in its forward-facing walls and elevated battlements. A head-on siege would be suicidal.
But an attack from the rear?
An ambush through the forested back door would be catastrophic.
"They're planning a backdoor assault," Vector whispered. "Using Vanyar land as a covert supply route. Once they get through that, IronFang Hill won't even see the blade until it's already in their back."
He exhaled, low and slow. Carefully, he folded the map and returned it to its original place with meticulous precision, leaving no sign it had ever been disturbed. Every motion was deliberate, practiced.
Like a shadow never cast.
Retracing his path silently through the colonel's estate, Vector slipped back into the gardens. His hands resumed trimming the hedges with the calm, unhurried rhythm of a dedicated servant.
But in his mind, war had already begun.
What no one in the estate realized was that he had just uncovered a critical piece of intelligence—an elite Lionheart battalion was scheduled to mobilize in exactly forty-two days.
A covert campaign cloaked beneath the illusion of peace.
---
Back in the garden, Vector adjusted his grip on the shears, clipping away a few stray branches. The sun warmed his back. The Lionheart banner fluttered overhead, a symbol of oppression masked as order.
"They want to break the fang…" he muttered, a faint, cold smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "But this time, the prey will bite back."
[To be continued….]