Chapter 67 - PandaTL

Members of the Blue Dragons who arrived late at the resting lounge were astounded by the ruckus.

“What’s happening here?”

“Wardanaz has announced that we’re going to ambush the White Tigers and steal their flag!”

“…He did!? LET’S GOOOO!!”

All the late arrivals cheered when they heard the news.

“I still think it’s better to trade,” Gainando muttered under his breath, unconvinced.

Yi-han was curious as to why Gainando was insisting on a trade. After all, he rarely showed such a strong opinion about a matter.

“Why do you think so?”

“It’s the safest way to complete the assignment, is it not?”

“You’d be right, but only if they’re trustworthy. Didn’t we agree that they’re not?”

“I think we can trust them this time.”

“On what basis?”

“Well, they approached me with bread and milk…”

“…..”

Yi-han’s jaw dropped.

Given the scarcity of food at the moment, the act of giving bread and milk to someone went beyond the realm of showing kindness.

He could understand if it was just half a piece of bread, but anything more than that meant the other party had hidden intentions.

‘Were they trying to bribe Gainando?’

But why him…?

‘Hmm, now that I think about it, he really is a good target.’

Given his identity, the White Tigers probably assumed he held a lot of power within the Blue Dragons.

This was definitely not the case, but they had no way of knowing that.

Coupled with his laidback attitude, it was no wonder the White Tigers went for him…

After figuring out the situation, Yi-han contemplated for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Very well. Before we resort to an ambush, let’s have you give it a try.”

“For real?”

“Yeah, go inform the White Tigers that I’ve changed my mind.”

“Are we not going to tell the others about your decision?”

Gainando was puzzled.

All their friends were feeling pumped about the ambush. Weren’t they supposed to tell them about the change of plans?

“Even if we do, they won’t understand how brilliant your plan is.”

“Hm, you’re right. Then I’ll go ahead and tell the White Tigers about this!”

Gainando strode off with confidence.

Yonaire, who had been listening to their interaction, appeared worried, but Yi-han was there to ease her mind.

“Don’t worry. The White Tigers aren’t the most pleasant people to interact with, but they won’t bully Gainando in a situation like this.”

“No, I’m worried that Gainando would betray us.”

“…He’s not the type to stab us in the back, is he?”

“We can’t take that for granted. If only there’s a potion out there that forbids people from lying…”

“…..”

Yi-han felt slightly terrified.

‘Gainando’s your cousin!’

***

“All good?”

“All good.”

The White Tigers were staring at a stylish-looking flag in a satisfied manner.

Surprisingly, they were rather serious about exchanging flags…

…However, it was a fake flag!

Getting the real flag in exchange for a fake one. It was quite a solid plan.

Having said that, it was easier said than done. After all, they’d have to trick the eyes of the Blue Dragons.

Hence, they had visited the Black Tortoise’s black market during the weekend and exchanged their hard-earned rabbit for clothes and dyes.

It was a difficult sacrifice to swallow, but it had to be done.

“Moradi, we did it! The prince agreed! He asked us for the time and location, so I told him to meet tomorrow morning at the main building, just as we’ve discussed beforehand!”

Angrago, the goat demi-human in charge of contacting Gainando, came back with excitement apparent in his voice.

“Great job, Angrago!”

“We gave him bread and milk, of course he agreed!”

Those around them cheered and clapped, but Jijel had an uneasy look on her face.

Dukema, a dwarf standing next to her, asked what was wrong.

“Is something wrong, Moradi?”

“I’m still not so sure about using that prince…”

Her doubt wasn’t unfounded.

Regardless of what kind of group it was, leaders usually exuded a unique aura.

Though she didn’t wish to acknowledge it, Yi-han Wardanaz exuded such an aura.

Even if someone wasn’t the leader, if they held a high enough position in the group, they’d stick out in one way or another…

…However, Jijel couldn’t sense any of that from Gainando.

“Moradi, you should have some faith in Angrago. That prince is sure to come in handy.”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

With Dukema siding with Angrago, the others were soon won over.

‘All bark and no bite. Where does his confidence even stem from?’

Jijel wasn’t one to be swayed by things like friendship.

Objectively speaking, Angrago wasn’t impressive in any way.

If he was, he wouldn’t have come back crying and screaming after being beaten by Wardanaz three-to-one.

But in the end, Jijel didn’t bother saying anything.

Although she was a leader figure among the White Tigers, her authority wasn’t absolute.

Her friends followed her orders out of consideration for her ability and family background, but if she was too oppressive, she’d still earn their ire.

From time to time, she had to prove to them that she respected their opinions. As they were all knights, they were rather sensitive about this.

“Fine. Since Angrago seems confident, let’s go with his plan.”

“Hehe.”

Angrago scratched the back of his head, acting embarrassed.

‘Even if we fail, we’d only be losing a fake flag.’

Even if their exchange failed or the Blue Dragons set up a trap, they wouldn’t incur many losses.

They had no other use for the fake flag anyway.

Arriving at this thought, Jijel nodded.

“Now that we’re done discussing this matter, let’s disperse. We’ll exchange flags tomorrow.”

“Understood!”

***

In the dead of the night, Yi-han and his friends had snuck out of their tower under the cover of darkness and were on the move.

However, they weren’t alone. Someone from the Black Tortoise was with them.

It was Ratford, the professional thief.

“Follow me.”

Since he wasn’t moving alone, Yi-han had asked for the thief’s assistance, which Ratford gladly accepted.

“Crap.”

Yonaire suddenly gasped in surprise.

Yi-han tensed up when he heard this.

Did something happen?

“What’s wrong?”

“…We forgot about Nilia…!”

“!!!”

Yi-han also realized their mistake.

They planned on robbing the White Tigers, so Nilia’s help wasn’t necessary, but if she knew they hadn’t given her a call…

“Ratford. If Nilia ever asks, you weren’t here this evening.”

“?”

“…Never mind. That’d be pointless.”

With this many people participating in the raid, words were bound to reach Nilia’s ears.

‘I bet she’ll demand an explanation for this.’

“The White Tigers’ tower is just ahead.”

The moonlight illuminated the tower which stood tall in the darkness.

Yi-han gave a silent nod before slowly approaching the tower.

It didn’t feel too unfamiliar as he had been here a couple of times before.

“Remember our plan?”

The Blue Dragons gave a collective nod, their expressions tense.

In reality, there wasn’t much to their plan.

Yi-han and Ratford would enter the tower first while the others hid outside.

If Yi-han signaled them to come in, they’d enter. Until then, they’d stay put.

Although there wasn’t much to the plan, their hearts were beating fast.

As distinguished members of the Empire’s upper nobility, they had no prior experience conducting a raid in the middle of the night.

“M-Mr. Ratford. Should I hold a twig in my mouth to avoid making any noise? I read about it in a novel.”

“There’s no need to go that far since there aren’t any patrols. We’re small in number as well.”

“Mr. Ratford, I wrapped my shoes with clothes to silence my footsteps!”

“It could be slippery at night, so it’s better to take them off.”

As a result, Ratford ended up teaching a master class about being a skilled thief.

After some time, Yi-han signaled Ratford with his hand.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

They stood before the gates of the White Tigers, almost as if it was their dorm.

Asan, who was watching them from behind with drenched hands, grew confused.

‘Ratford I can understand, but why is Wardanaz so familiar with this…?’

Holding his breath, Yi-han touched the tower with his hand, trying to analyze the magic within it.

“…!”

He almost collapsed as a result.

An overwhelming amount of information had rushed into his brain, making him feel faint.

There were too many spells cast on the tower, and the fact that he was sensitive to magic made things worse.

Others would’ve only noticed a spell or two, but Yi-han had delved much beyond that.

“Is everything alright, sir?!” Ratford asked in a hushed voice.

He panicked seeing how much Yi-han was sweating.

“Everything’s under control. The number of spells just caught me off guard. I should’ve seen this coming though.”

“It’s not an easy task to infiltrate a mage’s tower. If it’s too difficult—”

“No, it’s fine. Let’s give it a try.”

Yi-han stopped trying to read all the spells in the tower.

After all, he only had to break the spells that were blocking the entrance!

Wooooooong—

“…!”

A massive amount of mana was being gathered. Even Ratford who wasn’t sensitive to magic could feel something in the air.

‘…Is it going to be alright?’

He was worried. On the off chance that an accident occurred, Yi-han would be gravely injured.

‘Surely not. We’re talking about Sir Wardanaz here—’

BOOOOOOOOOM!!!

“!!”

“!!!”

The Blue Dragons watching from afar were dumbfounded by the massive waves of mana that rippled out as a result.

“The gate’s been blasted open! Charge!!” Yi-han roared.

“C-charge!!”

***

—Master, the spells on the Tower of the White Tigers have stopped functioning.

Is it the anti-magic extremists again?! How did they get over the walls?

Principal Skelly, who was conducting his experiments in his workshop deep underground, was surprised to hear the report.

—It appears the freshmen are behind this.

Ah, makes sense. They must be trying to finish my assignment. Look at these brats procrastinating.

Principal Skelly quickly regained his calm.

But wait. Taking into consideration their skill level, they shouldn’t be able to get past the tower’s magic…did they obtain an artifact? Which slippery bastard lent them an artifact? Oh, right. There’s that method as well.

Principal Skelly, who had been muttering, quickly arrived at an answer.

There was one student among the freshmen that was capable of temporarily deactivating the spells on the tower.

Did he force his way in? How foolish… but where did he learn this method?

The principal was at a loss.

The brute force method was rarely used or taught by professors as it was extremely dangerous, and the method wasn’t recorded in books either.

Dispelling spells usually involved analyzing their structures. Only a fool would forcefully break them down.

—Should we investigate?

No, you idiot. I wasn’t talking to you. Even if they got through the entrance, there should be other spells that stop intruders. What happened to them?

It wasn’t only the entrance that was being protected by magic.

The towers were equipped with countless spells that prevented intruders.

—Pretty much all the defensive spells are down at the moment.

…..

Principal Skelly paused when he heard this.

Even the other spells were shut down?

‘What in tarnation—’

Just how much mana did he blast into the tower!?