Chapter 36: The Breakthrough Night in the West Wing

The darkness of night enveloped Alistair Academy thickly, leaving a row of tall stone towers standing proudly under the crescent moonlight covered by thin clouds. Outside, the atmosphere looked quiet and peaceful, as if the black magic explosion incident on the training field a few days ago had never happened. Yet, behind the sturdy walls of the academy's west wing—an exclusive territory fully controlled by the Sterling faction—tension reached its peak.

The three of us moved silently behind the shadows of white marble stone pillars. The dark disguise cloaks we wore blended perfectly with the night, while Raven's sound-dampening magic wrapped every footstep so we made not the slightest squeak on the polished marble floor. Inside my cloak pocket, my palm prepared with a thin ice magic glow, watching just in case a Sterling faction guard patrol spotted our movement at any moment.

"Lord Sterling's main study room is at the end of the second-floor corridor," Raven whispered very softly, stopping his steps behind the boundary wall corner. His eyes stared sharply at two elite mercenary knights standing strict guard in front of the magnificent gold-carved wooden door. "Physical guard is only two men, but the protective magic sensors around that door frame are set with high sensitivity. Touch it even slightly, and every magic alarm in this west wing will sound in three seconds."

Prince Leonhardt narrowed his blue eyes, analyzing the situation with a cool head. "I can cut the mana flow on that magic sensor using my light-infused sword, but the process takes at least ten seconds. Too long if those two knights spot our movement."

I smiled thinly beneath my cloak hood, stepping forward ahead of them both. "Let me handle those guards without damaging the magic sensor," I whispered with full confidence.

Before the two youths beside me could forbid it, I focused pure ice mana onto the tip of my index finger, then released high-speed invisible ice crystal needles that shot straight forward without a sound.

Frup!

The microscopic ice needle pierced the acupuncture points of both mercenary knights' necks instantly, freezing their blood flow and consciousness in the blink of an eye. Before their bodies could touch the marble floor, Raven with lightning reflex lunged forward, catching both knights' bodies and laying them gently onto the thick carpet without making the slightest sound.

"Good work," Raven praised briefly, glancing at me with an admiring gaze hidden behind the cloak shadows.

"Save your praise after we get that decree document, Raven," I replied coldly, immediately stepping closer to the study door.

Using full concentration and slight ice magic manipulation to break the mechanical lock inside the door handle, a soft click sound was heard from behind the wood carvings. The Sterling faction's main study door opened silently, welcoming us with the distinct scent of old paper, expensive ink, and luxury cigars.

The atmosphere inside the room looked very neat. Rows of towering mahogany bookshelves covered the walls, filled with political archives and secret transaction notes between the Sterling faction and the shadow faction network. In the middle of the room, a large black oak desk stood solidly, the place where the iron safe storing the northern border emergency decree document was hidden behind it.

"Quickly search for that decree copy before the outside patrol shift change arrives," Prince Leonhardt commanded, immediately moving to comb the right side of the room while Raven checked the desk drawers.

I walked straight toward the large wall painting covering the main iron safe. As someone reading this novel's plot from the outside, I knew full well the arrogant habit of corrupt nobles: they always kept their biggest secrets in the place closest to the symbol of their own power. My fingers felt the bottom of the painting frame, finding a Sterling family emblem carving that could be pressed downward.

Click.

The twenty-centimeter-thick iron safe door shifted open slowly, emitting a bluish light from the stack of secret documents stored inside. My eyes immediately locked onto a thick parchment scroll bearing the official ministerial council stamp with golden red sealing wax—the Emergency Decree for Northern Border Military Command Transfer in the Valerian family's name.

"Got it," you said softly, pulling that parchment scroll out from inside the safe.

Yet, before I could hand it over to Prince Leonhardt, the sound of the main door hinges creaking suddenly echoed from outside the room. Followed by the sound of heavy footsteps and a bariton voice very familiar to all of us.

"Sudden inspection. Make sure no important documents are touched in my study," Lord Sterling's voice spoke from behind the outer door as it began pushing open.

Instantly, the atmosphere inside the room turned into a lethal battlefield in a matter of seconds. Prince Leonhardt and Raven immediately went on full alert, drawing their respective weapons and stepping in front of me.

This breakthrough night had just turned into an open trap, and we had to get out of the enemy nest with our lives still intact within our bodies.