Chapter 256: An Old Acquaintance

A nearby patrol had gone dark—no contact, no release of their magical insect scouts. This immediately put Solderin’s squad on high alert as they moved through the shadowed mountain range.

In a concealed cave, the Typhon soldiers took a brief rest, while a few knights huddled together, quietly discussing the lost patrol. The mood was grim.

“That squad’s chances aren’t good,” one knight said. “They must have been exposed and run into Ansu forces nearby. To wipe out an elite team so quickly that they couldn’t even send a single message—that’s the work of a large, regular army.”

“Isn’t this the area where the so-called ‘Revival Pioneers’ have established their new territory?” another knight recalled the intelligence they’d gathered before setting out. “Could the ‘Duke of the Frontier’ have already sealed off the surrounding mountains? I thought he’d only just gotten a foothold here.”

“Maybe our intel’s off,” a third knight speculated. “He’s got strong backing from the Ansu royal family. If he’s rebuilding the southern defenses, he’d have brought a sizable force…”

“The other squads are still in contact…”

The knights spoke in hushed tones, but their attention kept drifting to Solderin, who sat nearby with his eyes closed, seemingly lost in thought.

They all knew that despite the many imperial soldiers operating here, the entire infiltration plan in the Dark Mountains revolved around this one elven commander. This high-ranking ranger was the brain behind the operation. The ordinary soldiers, knights, and mages were merely his eyes and ears—gathering intelligence and scouting ahead.

As an early-stage infiltration, these teams were elite but not heavily armed. For one, they weren’t meant to engage the enemy head-on. For another, even if they sent their strongest warriors, those powerful fighters wouldn’t necessarily be better at reconnaissance than seasoned soldiers. And if their identities were exposed, a lone strong warrior trapped behind enemy lines was just as vulnerable as any foot soldier. The cost would be enormous with no added benefit. So aside from Solderin, the only other high-level magic user was a mid-tier mage stationed with a secondary squad.

Solderin was the linchpin holding them all together.

Yet when news of the lost patrol came in, Solderin said nothing. He simply sat quietly, contemplating.

“Sir,” a mage finally broke the silence, approaching Solderin. “We should act—whether to send back intelligence or continue searching for the missing squad, waiting here accomplishes nothing.”

Solderin opened his eyes slowly. “Do you believe the rumors about that ancient duke who supposedly came back from the dead?”

“To be honest, I don’t,” the mage replied, hesitating before shaking his head. “Resurrection only exists in myths. We mages are practical—we don’t believe in things that can’t be explained by theory unless we see them with our own eyes.”

“Is that so…” Solderin said, neither confirming nor denying. After a pause, he added, “But seven hundred years ago, Gawain Cecil was known for defying convention. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had the means to crawl out of his coffin centuries later.”

The mage blinked in confusion. “Sir?”

“Never mind,” Solderin waved it off. “I sent out two soldiers earlier—I’m waiting on their report.”

As if on cue, the two scouts returned to their hideout moments after Solderin spoke.

“Sir,” one of the returning soldiers hurried over, “we found an open-pit mine halfway up the mountain! And it’s operational!”

“An open-pit mine… in the dead of winter?” the mage beside Solderin frowned.

Solderin’s indifferent expression vanished. He perked up. “Show me the map—where exactly is this mine?”

Someone handed over a rough terrain map. The scout pointed out the location. “Here, between two ridges, there’s a large clearing. The mine’s huge—who knows how long they’ve been digging to get this big. There are plenty of workers, and soldiers guarding the perimeter. We didn’t dare get closer to avoid detection.”

Solderin bent over the map, tracing the routes. “The lost squad went down this path… the mine is here… so that’s it.”

Several knights gathered around, quickly grasping Solderin’s implication. “The lost patrol must have accidentally stumbled into the mine’s guards?”

“Seems so. That’s actually good news,” Solderin said, looking up. “It means the frontier lord hasn’t sealed off the entire mountain range. The missing squad just had bad luck running into an enemy stronghold.”

“But that means the lord’s on high alert now…”

“Yes. The mine and its defenses will be tighter than before. But we have to check it out,” Solderin pointed to the mine’s location on the map. “Operating a mine in winter, deep in the mountains—that’s a huge cost. And with such heavy guard presence, this place must be important.”

The accompanying mage nodded, realizing the significance. “Maybe the Ansu royal family sent the ‘Founding Duke’ here to develop this mine… as a cover?”

Solderin folded the map away. “Extinguish the campfire, erase our tracks. We’re going to find out exactly what the Ansu are up to in these mountains.”

Learning from past mistakes, Solderin’s squad approached the open-pit mine with extreme caution. They avoided any paths that might be patrolled, slipping through jagged rocks and tangled vines. With elven magic aiding their stealth, the team made an incredible crossing and finally settled into a prime vantage point near the mine.

As the scouts had said, it was a massive excavation site—hidden in the mountains, though not well concealed. It must have taken years to reach this scale. Dozens of unfortunate mining slaves labored under the watchful eyes of soldiers, braving the biting cold. And beyond the visible perimeter, who knew how many Ansu troops guarded this secret mine? Only a few patrols were spotted.

It was a place brimming with secrets—perhaps even ancient seals capable of summoning dark gods lay buried beneath.

“We can’t get any closer,” Solderin warned the mage. “See those watchtowers? Can you summon a ‘Mage’s Eye’ and sneak it past the towers to see what exactly they’re digging for?”

“Understood.” The mage nodded and silently cast a brief spell. A faintly glowing orb—the Mage’s Eye—materialized, nearly invisible in daylight.

He guided the magical eye slowly toward the mine. As it passed the watchtowers, curiosity struck: the soldiers atop were holding strange metal tubes to their eyes, scanning the surroundings. What were those?

No magical aura detected—probably nothing to worry about.

The mage carefully maneuvered the eye around the base of the towers. But suddenly, a strange “clicking” noise echoed nearby, startling him and breaking his spell.

Before the sound even rang out, Solderin had sensed the sudden emergence of hostile presences all around. Realizing they’d been discovered, he sprang up, drawing his short bow. Three arrows, wrapped in pale green spirals of magic, were already nocked without a moment’s hesitation. Without aiming, he loosed them in rapid succession toward the strongest sensed enemy.

“Prepare for battle!” he shouted.

From afar came three sharp “clang” sounds—the magical arrows deflected by some kind of barrier. Solderin and the Typhon soldiers looked up to see a tall, fully armored man standing atop a large boulder. He held a black longsword, his gaze sharp and steady. Behind and around him, soldiers formed a tight encirclement.

Gawain looked at the blonde elf standing among the Typhon soldiers with a mix of surprise and amusement. “I guessed right, Solderin—what are you doing here?”

Compared to Gawain’s calm, Solderin’s shock was palpable. He stared at the familiar figure, his carefully maintained cold composure nearly cracking. “You are—”

“Elves have good memories, don’t they?” Gawain spread his hands. “Forgot your old commander already?”

“Are you really Gawain Cecil?” The high-ranking elven ranger’s expression hardened, his eyes sharp and serious. He didn’t lower his bow, instead nocking another arrow. “You really did come back from the dead?”

He spoke the question, but his weapon hand never wavered. Around him, the Typhon soldiers readied their swords and staves. Though stunned to learn their commander and this Ansu lord were old acquaintances—and that this lord might be the legendary hero from seven centuries ago—their training and loyalty to the empire kicked in. They gripped their weapons tightly, prepared to fight.

(End of chapter)