Chapter 393: THE INFILTRATION PLAN

The freezing mountain wind howled across the high overhang, driving swirls of powdery white snow against the jagged black basalt rock.

Squad 25 gathered inside a shallow cave two hundred paces above the canyon floor, using the natural stone roof to shelter their reconnaissance map.

Kiuga knelt over a flat granite slab, pinning the corners of his parchment down with four heavy iron throwing daggers to keep it from flapping.

He dipped a charred wooden stick into a tin of lamp soot, sketching the layered geometry of the Bleeding Gorge in sharp, decisive strokes.

"Sagiri’s sensory pulse gave us the depth," Kiuga began, tapping the parchment where he had outlined three concentric subterranean circles.

"The complex has at least four subterranean tiers, hollowed out beneath the bedrock and anchored directly into the deep geothermal vents."

Kaka sat on an upturned boulder with a whetstone in hand, drawing the coarse stone across the steel bevel of his heavy war axe.

The rhythmic rasp of steel on stone echoed through the small cave, setting a grim, measured cadence for the squad.

"A facility built inside living stone has only two weaknesses," Kaka rumbled, not lifting his eyes from the glittering edge of his blade.

"It needs air to keep its workers breathing, and it needs a way to dump its waste heat before the rock boils."

"Look at the big brute showing off his tactical education," Kiuga laughed, tapping the charcoal stick against the upper tier of his diagram.

"Kaka is right for once in his life, and that brings us to the three intake chimneys Zolinka scouted along the northern crag."

Maita leaned against the cavern wall, adjusting the leather scabbards of his twin short-swords while shaking frozen gravel from his boots.

"Those intake chimneys are two feet wide at best," Maita pointed out, squinting at the rough dimensions sketched on the parchment.

"Kaka’s shoulders are broader than a mountain ox, and if he gets wedged in the flue, we will be stuck in a chimney with a giant cork."

"If I get stuck," Kaka said in a low, deadpan growl, "I will pull the chimney down with my bare hands and drop the mountain on you."

"Nobody is getting stuck in the flue," Sagiri intervened with a faint smirk, crouching beside Kiuga to inspect the mapped conduit lines.

"We cannot storm the main blast gate directly," Sagiri continued, tracing the heavy iron line representing the four-inch reinforced barrier.

"The hydraulic seals are locked from within, and triggering a frontal breach will cause them to purge the facility before we reach the lower levels."

Kiuga nodded in agreement, drawing three distinct arrows in dark soot that converged on the lower subterranean core.

"Which is why we are dividing our squad into three synchronized strike units," Kiuga announced, looking up to meet the eyes of every warrior.

"Team One will be our perimeter anchor, commanded by Bukata with Zazarie and Ulekai holding the high rim of the gorge."

Bukata adjusted the string of his heavy recurve bow, nodding slowly as he checked the tension on his quiver straps.

"We will secure the upper chimney rim," Bukata confirmed, "and lay iron tripwires and deadfall traps across the scree."

"If any northern garrison scout or border patrol approaches this ridge, we will silence them before they can fire a warning flare."

"Your secondary job is extraction," Kiuga added, pointing his charcoal stick toward the dry riverbed at the base of the canyon.

"Once we breach the core, you keep the canyon floor clear so we have an open corridor when we drag whatever is down there into the daylight."

Zazarie and Ulekai checked the locking pins of their heavy halberds, acknowledging the order with sharp, disciplined nods.

"What about the secondary power turbines?" Zolinka asked, leaning over Kiuga’s shoulder with his bronze-tipped probing tools.

"The green bio-energy hum Sagiri felt comes from the geothermal converters on sub-level two," Zolinka explained, tapping the middle tier.

"If those converters keep running, every security grate, alarm bell, and internal blast gate in the facility will remain fully powered."

"That brings us to Team Two," Kiuga said, a sharp, predatory grin spreading across his face as he tapped his own chest.

"Myself, Maita, and Zolinka will drop through the secondary ventilation shaft directly into the sub-level two maintenance galleries."

"Zolinka will pick the conduit junction locks," Kiuga continued, "while Maita and I eliminate the guards before they can sound an alert."

"Once we sever the primary geothermal conduits, the entire complex will lose its hydraulic locks and plunge into total darkness."

Maita cracked his knuckles with a satisfied grin, his earlier complaints vanishing as his fingers tightened around his sword hilts.

"Cutting power lines in the dark is my specialty," Maita said, "and I promise to leave their generator room in a hundred pieces."

"Which leaves Team Three," Kiuga concluded, his dark eyes shifting toward Sagiri and the silent northern titan sitting beside him.

"Sagiri and Kaka," Kiuga said, tapping the deepest subterranean circle marked at the very bottom of the mountain foundation.

"While Team Two disables the power, you two drop through the primary heavy cargo shaft and hit the central containment floor."

"That is where the chemical vats are located," Sagiri noted, his jaw tightening as he remembered the cold, unnatural heartbeats.

"And that is where Sir Black will be holding Rika if she is still alive inside that mountain," Sagiri added in a hardened tone.

Kaka slid his whetstone back into his belt pouch, testing the razor-sharp edge of his axe against the rough leather of his thumb.

"Two men in the deep core is enough," Kaka rumbled, rising to his full towering height as his iron armor clanked softly in the cave.

"Sagiri breaks the locks with Nokai, and I will crush anything wearing a grey coat that steps between us and the cages."

"The timing must be exact," Kiuga warned, raising three fingers to emphasize the sequence of their synchronized assault.

"Team One secures the rim at dusk; Team Two drops through the flue and severs the turbine power ten minutes later."

"The moment the lights die and the hydraulic pressure drops, Team Three breaches the containment level and begins the sweep."

Sagiri stood up from the stone slab, feeling the blood pulsing steadily through his veins as the Archive hummed beneath his ribs.

He looked around the small cavern, taking in the calm, resolute expressions of the seven young men who had followed him into the wild.

They were no longer mere fourth-year cadets bickering in the Galka training arenas or running penalty sprints beneath the hot sun.

They were seasoned warriors of Squad 25, forged through blood, poison, and siege, ready to plunge into the darkest pit in the realm together.

"Check your weapon straps, tighten your boots, and double-check your grappling lines," Sagiri ordered, his voice echoing with quiet authority.

"We have two hours until the sun drops behind the western ridge," Sagiri said, looking out toward the darkening sky above the gorge.

"Eat your dried rations, stay warm, and prepare yourselves for the breach."

Kiuga rolled up the soot-stained parchment, securing it inside his waterproof leather cylinder with a sharp click of the brass cap.

"Squad 25 moves as one," Kiuga said with a wink, tossing a piece of dried meat to Kaka, who caught it cleanly in his gauntlet.

"Don’t choke on your food, Kaka," Kiuga teased, "we need your heavy arms in one piece when the doors blow open."

"Keep talking, Kiuga," Kaka replied, biting into the meat with a crunch, "and I will use your head to wedge the lift shaft open."

Sagiri turned away from the bickering pair, stepping to the mouth of the cavern as the first shadows of twilight fell across the Bleeding Gorge.