YEAR: 1724. AUGUST 16TH. LOCATION: MEDIC TENT SOMEWHERE IN THE NORTH SIDE OF THE PLAIN OF JADE.

I woke up to the sound of someone snoring softly. When I looked down, I saw Major Lyra, asleep with her head resting on my leg. It seemed she had been keeping watch over me until she dozed off.

But that wasn’t the most pressing issue. The last thing I remembered was fighting the three spies who had sent the wind birds to the Imperials and then collapsing in Captain Deryk’s arms…

Wait, why was I focusing on collapsing into Deryk’s arms? It was the second time it had happened, and it hadn’t even been a month since the first. Was this some kind of fate or just a bizarre coincidence?

Anyway, I remembered now. I had defeated the spies, leaving one alive for interrogation, only to cough up blood and lose consciousness, leaving the rest to Deryk and his squad.

“You're awake?” a woman in a medic's uniform suddenly called out, sounding surprised. “You’ve been out for six hours.”

“Six hours?!” I exclaimed in shock. That was bad. Brigadier General Lily had given me a deadline—by today, I was supposed to infiltrate the enemy camp and eliminate their commander. I’d just lost precious time lying in bed!

But there was something even more important on my mind.

“What happened to my body?” I asked the medic, who was now carefully tucking a blanket around Lyra, trying not to wake her.

“Well, it’s related to your mana usage,” The medic explained in a more measured tone. “For someone to use and control mana safely, their body needs to be fully adapted, which usually happens by the age of ten. You, however, used mana when you were only eight, before your body was ready. Because your body was still in the process of adapting to mana, it was too fragile to handle the sudden strain. Your vital functions couldn’t keep up with the demand, which is why you collapsed. Honestly, you’re fortunate to be alive.”

I suddenly recalled why children were forbidden from learning magic until they were at least ten years old. It all made sense now. Mana was like a fire within each person, fueling an engine by creating steam. But if that fire burned too intensely, it could damage other parts of the engine or cause the steam to escape uncontrollably, leading to serious harm.

“So, does this mean I can’t use mana anymore?” I asked.

As dangerous as it was, mana was also my most powerful weapon. During the fight with the three spies, using my mana had instantly changed the tides of battle in my favor, creating an overwhelming power gap to boot. I couldn’t afford to lose access to such a critical power for future battles.

“I’m not sure,” The medic replied with a straightforward tone. “There hasn’t been a case where a child survived using mana without serious consequences, so it often leads to fatal outcomes. I’d strongly advise against using your mana unless it's an absolute emergency.”

I didn’t respond immediately. Instead, I focused on feeling my mana. Unlike before, I could sense it now—a warm, flowing sensation that was similar to a hot liquid coursing through my body. It wasn’t uncomfortable; in fact, it felt quite pleasant.

I attempted to channel my mana as I had done previously, aiming to enhance my strength. However, as soon as I tried, an intense pain surged through my entire body. It felt like my whole body was on fire. I struggled to keep from crying out, quickly halting the flow. The pain gradually faded, but I was shaking from the experience.

“See?” the medic said, lightly tapping my head with a slight exasperation on her face. “I told you not to use mana. Wait until your body is fully adapted or until you reach age ten.”

“How will I know when my body is fully adapted?” I asked, hoping for more concrete guidance.

“You’ll know,” she replied simply.

I expected a more detailed explanation, but she left without explaining any further, leaving me with a sense of mild disappointment. I sighed, trying to come to terms with the situation.

At that moment, the door to the infirmary burst open, and Deryk stormed in, holding two pieces of paper. His sudden entrance startled Lyra, who stirred awake and rubbed her eyes groggily.

“Aria, are you okay?” Deryk asked, his voice tinged with worry, though his face was slightly red as if he were angry. “I just heard you’re awake. How do you feel?”

“I’m fine. About the sp—” I began, but Deryk cut me off, anticipating my question.

“We’ve already extracted as much information as we could from the spy,” he said. “Thanks to him, we’ve narrowed it down to two possible commanders and got a layout of the camp.”

“That’s… great,” I replied, surprised that they managed to get the spy to talk.

It was impressive, considering the spy had been prepared to die and showed no signs of willingness to cooperate. The look in his eyes told me that he wouldn’t have answered my questions, no matter how much I threatened or tortured him. The only reason he hadn’t taken his own life was because I had slammed my iron boot into his mouth to prevent him from biting his tongue. Deryk’s success in extracting the information, given those circumstances, was nothing short of impressive.

“Their main camp is about an hour away, to the northwest,” Deryk said, handing me the papers he was carrying. “They’ve got around 1,000 soldiers there. The rest—about 4,500—are spread out, securing the outer defenses.”

“So, it’s the perfect opportunity to hit the center without alerting the outer defenses,” Lyra added, sitting up and speaking in a serious tone. “The only catch is that their defenses are designed to repel any kind of attack. If we’re spotted, we’ll have no choice but to make a lot of noise.”

I studied the layout of the camp on the paper, my mind racing with possibilities. Lyra was right—any slip-up could lead to a full-blown confrontation, something we couldn’t afford with our limited numbers. We’d have to be precise, quick, and utterly silent if we were to pull this off without drawing attention.

“That doesn’t necessarily have to be on the ground.” I spoke, a bright idea coming to my mind. “We could dig to them.”

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“What?” Both Deryk and Lyra looked at me if I was crazy.

However, I didn’t care. The only thing that came to my mind was drawing a plan on how to attack the center quickly and silently. Yes, this could work. I just needed shovels enchanted with mana, which we already had, and started to dig toward them.

“What are you-”

Before Lyra could finish her sentence, I quickly raised my finger in my lips, smiling all while.

“I will explain it to you later. Now, I just need the 6th Company to start digging in the direction of the Imperials.”

Deryk and Lyra both looked at me for a good long minute until they finally gave up. Then, they both left to deliver the orders. Yes! I could already see my victory in sight!

[(0)]

YEAR: 1724. AUGUST 16TH. LOCATION: IN THE OUTSKIRT OF THE CAMP OF 1ST BRIGADES

“Has she lost it?”

“Keep it down, or she’ll hear you.”

“And? This whole plan’s nuts. She’s either getting demoted or worse—getting us all killed.”

And etc.

The plan I devised was simple: dig a tunnel straight to the heart of the Imperial main camp. But from the way every soldier in the 6th Company, officers included, was murmuring and shooting me skeptical looks, it was clear they doubted it would work. Frankly, I couldn’t blame them. Even I had my doubts, but we were out of options.

The biggest issue was that we had no way to pinpoint our exact location once we were underground. We could end up surfacing in the middle of their camp, in a latrine, or worse, nowhere near the camp at all. And then there was the noise. Digging a tunnel wasn’t exactly a silent operation. The Imperials were bound to investigate any unusual sounds, and if they discovered us before we reached our destination, the whole mission would be blown.

I knew this was a gamble, but it was our best shot. The Imperial forces were too strong to take head-on, and their defenses were too tight to slip through unnoticed. We needed an element of surprise, something they wouldn’t expect. And as risky as it was, tunneling beneath them seemed like our best option.

Despite the soldiers' doubts, I laid out the plan to the officers, hoping that by showing confidence, I could at least get them to go along with it.

“We’ll dig in shifts to keep everyone fresh and avoid too much noise at once,” I explained. “We’ll use the earth to muffle the sounds and reinforce the tunnel as we go. Our goal is to reach their camp without being detected and strike at the heart of their command.”

The officers exchanged glances, their faces lined with skepticism. One of them, Second Lieutenant Ecla, stepped forward. “And what happens if we get caught in the tunnel? Or if we surface in the wrong spot?”

“We fight our way out,” I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. “But if we do this right, they won’t know what hit them until it’s too late.”

There was a long, heavy silence. Then, finally, Ecla nodded. “Alright, Captain. We’ll follow your lead.”

We started digging, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that everything hinged on this one reckless plan. If we succeeded, it could turn the tide of the battle. But if we failed, we’d be buried—literally.

Hours passed, the soldiers working in silence, the only sound the dull thud of shovels hitting earth. The further we dug, the more heavy the air became, the weight of the earth above us pressing down like a physical force. Every so often, we’d stop to listen, straining to hear any signs of the Imperials above.

The tension was palpable. Every time a shovel struck a rock, or the tunnel walls creaked, my heart skipped a beat, expecting to hear the shouts of discovery from above. But so far, nothing.

We were deep into the night when we finally broke through into an open space. It wasn’t the middle of the camp as we’d hoped, but rather a storage area, piled with supplies. There were only low wooden walls around, making it clear it was makeshift. Still, it was inside the camp’s perimeter, and that was enough.

I signaled for the soldiers to stop and stay quiet. We were in. Now, the real challenge began.

“Alright,” I whispered, “We move quickly and quietly. Take out any guards you see, and make for the command tent. We take out their leaders, and the rest will fall apart.”

The soldiers nodded, their earlier doubts replaced with the focused determination that came with the heat of battle. We moved out, slipping through the shadows of the camp, every sense on high alert.

If we were going to die tonight, we’d make sure to take as many of them with us as possible.

With our 300 soldiers, we carefully emerged from the storage area, sticking close to the walls of the Imperial camp. The cover provided by the surrounding structures kept us out of sight, allowing our troops to move stealthily through the shadows. Though there were guards stationed throughout the camp, many of them were lax, clearly not expecting an attack from within their own lines. We dispatched them quickly and quietly, avoiding any alarms.

As we ventured deeper into the camp, the number of enemy soldiers increased, making it impossible to stay together as one large group. I made the decision to split our force into smaller platoons of about 20 soldiers each, regardless of rank, with an officer leading each platoon. This way, we could navigate the camp more effectively, avoiding detection as long as possible. However, I knew that our luck wouldn’t hold forever—eventually, one of our platoons was bound to be discovered. The key was to move swiftly and strike before the Imperials could mount a coordinated defense.

My platoon, which now numbered 40 soldiers after merging with another, finally reached what was unmistakably the command tent. It was the largest and most elaborately decorated tent in the camp, its lavish standing out even in the dim light. This had to be where the enemy commander was located.

“First Platoon, with me,” I ordered, signaling for them to prepare for the assault. “Our objective is to eliminate the commander. Second Platoon, you’ll cover us and ensure no reinforcements reach the tent.”

Elca, the officer in charge of Second Platoon, gave a sharp nod, leading his soldiers to secure the perimeter. However, just as we began to move into position, the camp erupted into chaos.

“Enemies! The enemies are here!” a voice shouted, cutting through the night.

“Soldiers! Grab your weapons and take up defensive positions! This is not a drill!” came the panicked cries of the Imperial troops.

“What is happening?!” another voice demanded, as confusion spread among the enemy ranks.

It was clear that one of our other platoons had been spotted. We weren’t a specialized stealth unit, so it was impressive that we had made it this far undetected. But now, the element of surprise was slipping away. We had no time to waste.

“Change of plans!” I barked, pulling out a dagger and hurling it at an unsuspecting Imperial soldier who had stumbled upon our position. The dagger struck true, burying itself in his back as he fell to the ground. “We charge, now!”

“Yes, Lady Aria!” my soldiers shouted in unison, their voices filled with determination as they surged forward.

The Imperials scrambled to defend themselves, but they were caught off guard, unprepared for an assault from within their own camp. We clashed with the enemy forces that stood between us and the command tent, cutting them down before they could organize a proper defense or call for reinforcements.

With the outer guards dispatched, I pushed into the command tent itself. Inside, I found two individuals—a commander and what appeared to be their aide—deep in conversation with a messenger. Recognizing them from the descriptions on the paper Deryk had given me, I didn’t hesitate. I drove my sword through the messenger’s chest, silencing him before he could react.

“Well,” I said, turning my attention to the two startled officers as the messenger’s body crumpled to the floor, “Looks like the plan was successful! A commander and their aide, I guess? Doesn’t matter. I just have to kill you both!”

On my cue, the 20 soldiers from my platoon stormed into the tent behind me. The two enemy officers drew their swords, bracing themselves for a fight, but they were heavily outnumbered. With a roar, we charged, weapons flashing as we engaged them in a furious battle within the confines of the tent.