Areum observed the battle through the monitors placed inside of a tent stationed far away from the docks. Chaos broke loose and there was no way to reign it in.

The plan was simple. Three Martial Golds, thirteen Martial Silvers and Several bronzes would approach the convoy on top of the container, masking their Ki. They would use shadows where they could find to hide themselves within it. Once Kira was inside the car with the rest of her crew. They would kill the convoy members, who were silvers and bronze, then take the rest of her Kira who would most likely take time coming out of the car which would give the others enough time to either hijack the cars or kill her crew inside the car.

Two Martial Golds could subdue Kira and the rest would subdue the package, Josh. It was a simple plan.

So where did they go wrong? It was the Minister of Right. His buffoons had reached this place, after Kira did, unbeknownst to them, fired a Ki missile from atop one of the containers. Once that Ki missile hit the convoy, everything was thrown into disarray.

In anger she ordered her fighters to attack the convoy. Not wanting to lose the little element of surprise they had left. However, that proved to be a fatal mistake, as she didn’t anticipate how quickly Kira and her team would react to the situation.

Viktor, the russian, moved to protect Josh. He was the closest to Kira and he exposed himself the most to the explosion. Areum couldn’t see him through the thick smoke, but knew he sustained serious injuries, even if his body is hardened.

Kira threw herself out of the way at the last minute, narrowly missing the missile. Which was a relief to Areum, as she wanted her in one piece to present her to the Supreme. Yeonju, Hector and Ashley reacted with a delay but were out of the radius of the explosions. She concluded they sustained minor injuries from the shrapnel and figured they would be harder to kill now that they were alert.

Her hypothesis proved to be true. One of the Martial Gold was killed by Yeonju, Hector and Ashley, along with a couple of Bronze and some Silvers. Which was an anomaly. Though through scanners their Ki level suggested they were silvers, they fought like Gold’s both in skill and experience. She hypothesized that they were used to fighting opponents more stronger than them.

Another one of her Gold was also in danger, along with a few dead Silvers and Bronze. Kira was aggressive and from what little Areum could see through the smoke, she also fought past her stage, as if she was a Martial Master. She used techniques from her old; now dead school. According to the archives. It was the school of Hidden Lake.

Her body moved like water as she dodged, sidestepped and parried her attacks. Then thrust forward with Katana, add Ki pressure so the power output is the same as a tsunami, as the opponents are thrown back. Then she throws sword Ki slices which cut through metal like butter and watches as her soldiers are being pushed back.

Areum was now debating whether to call off her Gold’s to contain the damage. It would be a smart move considering that this mission has failed already. With her soldiers facing the brunt of the casualties.

She heard movement a few meters away from camp, followed by shouting.

“Where is she,” the Minister of Right demanded.

One of her Soldiers, a Silver wearing a Maroon suit, with a silver oni mask etched into the breast pocket to identify his stage spoke.

“The Lady is in meditation, please wait till she is out of Meditation,” he explained.

“Lies,” the minister called out, “Call her out here at once, by the order of the Supreme.”

“But-” paused Silver, as he pressed his ear device harder to get the instructions.

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“Very well, the Lady will see you now .”

The Minister ignored the man as he walked past and walked straight into the highly sophisticated camp set up to Monitor the ongoing scene. Cheomyeon clan personnel stationed at each desk had four monitors through which they saw the mission, a telephone that kept ringing incessantly with ongoing updates of the situation from the main battleground. Those who weren’t stationed at the desk were running from desk to desk providing the latest information.

That information was delivered to the largest stationed desk at the far end of the camp in a large open tent. Two rows of monitors filled the space, with multiple personnel watching and interacting with the screens, they were constantly speaking into their headphones, providing real time updates to the soldiers fighting on the ground about the weaknesses of Kira and her team.

A beautiful tall lady donned a maroon trench coat, with black battle gear stuck to her skin and a skirt that rather accentuated her curves. The minister could’ve mistaken Areum for a model and he would be forgiven for it, because the Cheomyeon clan Demonic Angel was the last beautiful thing any enemy of her’s saw.

But he wasn’t about to let his lust get the better of him. “What is the meaning of this, why have your men caused such chaos.”

Areum inwardly twitched at the comment. “What do you mean my men, whose men was it that fired the Ki missile in the first place?”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about it, “

“Do you think me a fool Minister, I know it was you who caused this chaos.”

Areum waved her hand and the monitors changed. They now displayed a building, atop were a few figures, but they couldn’t be seen. Areum signaled one of the personnel to zoom and the camera zoomed in as they opened a crate with a disassembled RPG. They quickly assembled the RPG and Areum signaled again to zoom into one of the missiles, on was clearly written ‘Property of Murim Police’. Then it zoomed out and zoomed in again into one of the name tags of the personnel. It read ‘SGT Lee’.

The minister's face ran slightly cold, color drained from his face. Yet he still persisted. “Bah! They could be rogue elements within the Murim Police who did this,”

Areum raised her eyebrow. “That’s even worse. The fact that you are unable to keep your men in line. What will the Supreme think when I tell him of the rogue elements in your jurisdiction.”

The minister bit his lip and Areum could see from the desperation on his face, she got him where she wanted him. In the palm of her hands. She walked over to him, leaned into his ear.

“I suggest you leave this place immediately, before I tell the Supreme how you have messed this opportunity up.”

The Minister turned immediately, with a short grump he walked away from the camp. His Men scurried behind him.

A man walked behind Areum, he wore an Oni mask but it was different from the normal one. His was purple and white, indicating his superior rank within the clan, despite the fact that he wore the maroon suit, same as the others. He leaned into Areum.

“Master, was it wise to let them shoot the missile? We could’ve prevented this,” he whispered.

Areum smiled. “Of course it was, if it wasn’t, how would I be one step closer to obtaining the seat of the Minister of Right.”

The man wasn’t convinced. “We may have lost the package, letting this whole scene play out.”

Areum turned her head. “There are other means of tracking the package. That you are not privy to. But for now, the Minister of Right is an important seat for our clan.”

“Apologies for my insolence in asking, but why my Lord.”

She smiled. “Because, it brings us one step closer to m- our revenge.”

The man pulled back, seemingly satisfied with the answer. Areum looked around and clicked her fingers. All heads turned towards her, even those standing up or those in the middle of something. “We’re done with this, we’re moving out.”

With a palpable sense of urgency, people hustled to shut down their intricate machinery. The hum of computers and the soft glow of laptop screens dimmed in quick succession. Frantic fingers clicked shut applications and yanked out power cords. Delicate and confidential files were meticulously shredded, their remnants fluttering like confetti before being consigned to flames, ensuring that no trace of information could be salvaged.

Weapons, some still warm from recent use, were swiftly and expertly disassembled. Each piece was carefully cleaned and stowed, finding its place in padded, designated compartments within sleek cases.

Outside, the once sturdy tents, which had been standing tall against the elements, were now being collapsed with practiced hands. Their canvas flaps flailed momentarily in the air before being tightly rolled up. The cold, gleaming steel cases, laden with state-of-the-art equipment and weapons, were hefted with grunt-laden effort and tossed into the backs of heavily armored vehicles. Their metallic clangs echoed briefly before being muffled by the roar of engines. One by one, individuals clad in maroon suits boarded these fortress-like transports, the doors sealing shut behind them, and then with a churn of dirt and gravel, the convoy sped off back to HQ

Areum's gaze shifted rapidly between the monitors, taking in every detail before they were powered down. On the last screen she saw Kira crouching protectively over Vikor while Josh stood guard above them.

She clicked her fingers and a man wearing a purple and white suit leaned forward eagerly. "Destroy the ship," she whispered.

He nodded, then stepped away from her with determined strides. Minutes later, as the last monitor turned off, Areum heard an ear-splitting explosion that revealed the ship had been obliterated.

And a smile formed as the monitor shut off.