Chapter 418: Chapter 415 – Diversion Explosion
The next day, the city of Eldridge awoke under the gentle rays of sunlight filtering through the thin, damp morning mist. The air was still bone-chillingly cold, mingling with the fragrant aroma of freshly baked bread from the rchants’ ovens, the smoky scent of wood from household stoves, and the tallic tang of heated iron from the blacksmith workshops that had been operating since dawn. The stone-paved streets grew lively with the hurried footsteps of rushing rchants, dust-covered miners carrying shovels and baskets, and farrs pulling carts laden with fresh vegetables. The faint ringing of iron hamrs echoed in the distance, while the shouts of bread and smoked at vendors filled the air. City guards patrolled with heavy steps along the walls, their armor glinting faintly under the red glow of the early morning light.
Sylvia, Stacia, and Alicia had already left their inn rooms before dawn. The three of them agreed to split up across the city to gather more information about the dinsional rift and the patterns of the city ruler’s guards. Their disguises as three humble rchant girls remained perfectly simple, worn gray robes, hoods partially covering their faces, and small baskets filled with dried spices and woolen cloth as a plausible cover.
Sylvia moved alone toward the main marketplace. She walked slowly among the wooden stalls that were just opening, occasionally stopping to haggle over coarse salt or plain woolen fabric while listening sharply to the conversations of the rchants and miners. Her cold red eyes stayed hidden beneath her hood, but every valuable piece of information was imdiately committed to mory.
Stacia chose the quieter taverns on the outskirts of the city. She sat in a dark corner, ordered a cheap glass of watered-down beer, and pretended to read a thin novel while eavesdropping on the morning shift guards who were on break. Her silvery ash-gray hair made her look like an ordinary village girl who enjoyed reading completely unremarkable.
Alicia, whose human body had grown increasingly accustod to its form, headed toward the northern city gate. She pretended to look for trading partners while observing the movent of guards along the route leading to the mountains. Her faintly shimring silver hair drew a few quick glances from rchants, but she only smiled politely and continued on her way calmly, as if simply enjoying the morning in a foreign city.
It was already midday when the three finally regrouped at a small, quiet eatery on the side of a deserted street, far from the bustling main market. They sat at a hidden corner table, ordering simple at soup and warm bread to appear like ordinary rchants taking a break. The savory aroma of the food filled the air, but the trio focused more on the information they had gathered throughout the morning.
Sylvia spoke first, her voice low and cold so that only her two sisters could hear clearly. "The security around the rift has gotten tighter. They’ve added two more-night shifts. The city ruler seems to be growing more paranoid. He’s afraid outsiders are trying to seize the rift."
Stacia nodded while deftly tearing her warm bread with her fingers. "I heard it from the guards resting at the tavern. They said the rift produces minerals equivalent to pure mythril every month. The city ruler takes eighty percent of the yield for himself. Many forced miners have gone missing inside the purple mist they say the mist can drive people insane within hours. So survivors spoke of black shadows that move on their own inside it."
Alicia added quietly, her hand steadily holding the soup spoon. "I observed the patrol patterns near the northern gate. There’s a small gap on the western side, but there are still no openings directly in front of the rift entrance. They’ve installed even more detection crystals, at least twenty just in the front area. They’ve also added detection mages to every shift."
Sylvia fell silent for a mont, staring at the bowl of soup in front of her without really seeing it. Her red eyes glowed faintly beneath her hood. "The best way to divert their guards... is chaos. A massive distraction that doesn’t point directly at us. Sothing that will make the entire city panic and send all their forces in the wrong direction."
Her two sisters nodded without hesitation. Stacia smiled faintly, her eyes gleaming with calculation. "A big chaos. I can prepare illusion spells at several points to amplify the effect."
Alicia simply nodded calmly, her expression composed. "I agree. We’ll make them panic in the wrong direction. I’ve already morized the patrol patterns so we can exploit the gap on the western side while they all rush toward the explosion."
They finished their lunch calmly, looking like nothing more than three ordinary rchant girls chatting casually. Afterward, they returned to the inn to prepare carefully for the night. There was no rush. All their movents remained those of small-ti rchants seeking fortune in a border city.
As the red sun began to dip westward and the sky darkened, Sylvia stood alone outside the city walls, far from the main gate. She had chosen a small hill hidden behind dense trees positioned far enough from Eldridge yet still offering a clear view of the purple mist from the dinsional rift in the distance. The night wind blew strongly, carrying the piercing cold of the mountains and the sharp scent of damp earth.
In her right hand, a pitch-black Death Fla began to form. The fire was compressed into an incredibly small size no larger than a soybean yet the energy it contained was terrifying: pure darkness capable of devouring everything in silence. In her left hand, the War Sun Fla burned with a holy white light, also compressed into a small, glittering orb like a miniature sun. Two opposing powers, pure death and holy destruction now rested in Sylvia’s palms.
She rged them with slow, perfectly controlled movents. The black fla and white fla t in the center, spinning fiercely in silence. Their energies clashed and fused in a fragile balance, creating a small orb that pulsed with dazzling black-and-white light. The air around Sylvia trembled violently; the grass beneath her feet withered and scorched instantly, and leaves from the surrounding trees showered down.
Sylvia drew a cold breath that ford white vapor in the night air, then lightly and precisely hurled the energy orb onto the ground before her.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!
A massive explosion erupted.
A devastating shockwave swept through everything within a radius of hundreds of ters. The ground burst upward, forming a gigantic black-and-white mushroom cloud that blazed brightly in the night sky. Black and white flas spread like twin storms, incinerating trees, rocks, and wild grass in an instant. The sound of the explosion shook all of Eldridge, making the city walls tremble violently, shattering house windows, and sending panicked residents fleeing from their hos. The mushroom cloud continued to expand, its light blinding even the mountain peaks, as if the night sky itself were burning.
Inside the city palace, the ruler of Eldridge, a plump man in luxurious robes wearing a cheap, falsely glittering golden crown, panicked on his private balcony. His face turned deathly pale, his hands shaking as they gripped the railing while staring at the blazing giant mushroom cloud in the distance.
"What is that?! An attack?! Are enemies from Nocture invading?!" he shouted in a hoarse, terrified voice. "Send all the troops! All troops there right now! Don’t let the dinsional rift fall into enemy hands! Protect my treasure!"
The city alarm bells rang loudly DENG... DENG... DENG... echoing throughout Eldridge like war drums. Guards rushed from their posts, elite soldiers hurried toward the northern gate, and mages in robes ran while carrying magic crystals and staff. Thousands of city troops moved like a human flood, leaving the dinsional rift almost completely unguarded for the first ti in a very long while.
On the small hill outside the walls, Sylvia stood motionless. The explosion’s wind whipped her long black hair backward fiercely. The black and white flas still flickered faintly in her now-empty palms. A thin, cold smile appeared on her lips, her red eyes glowing with satisfaction.
"Good," she whispered softly into the night wind. "Now... it’s our turn."
In the distance, the giant mushroom cloud still towered high, its light illuminating the Eldridge night with a terrifying yet beautiful glow. The border city was now in total chaos, and its tyrannical ruler had sent all his forces in the wrong direction.
Sylvia turned and walked back toward the city with calm, steady steps. Behind her, the remnants of the explosion still burned, as if marking the beginning of sothing far greater.
Stacia and Alicia were already waiting at the agreed eting point, in the shadows beneath the dark city walls. The three t quickly, their eyes burning with the sa determination.
"The diversion was successful," Sylvia said coldly, her voice barely audibles amid the city’s chaos. "Now we move in."
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