In evading one trap, a prudent commander must proceed with caution, for in the quest for escape, one may inadvertently stumble upon the snares of a new adversary – Field Marshal Erwin Rommel

Operation Menu: Phase Dinner (D+6.9 hours)

From the meandering Ordos River, an ethereal mist rose, thick and enchanting, weaving its way through the forest like a ghostly apparition. Trees shivered as the fog engulfed their branches, leaving behind an otherworldly hush. Across barren fields, the fog advanced, tendrils of secrecy reaching out like fingers to cloak the truth. Its silent presence whispered of hidden agendas and obscured intentions, a shroud that could veil deceit as easily as it concealed the landscape.

In this mystical embrace, the fog served as a harbinger, a curtain drawn over the stage of the battlefield, where lies could dance in shadows, and the true motives of the unseen lay concealed, waiting to be unraveled. Behind the safety of the fortress walls, Citadel led his gang to the entrance. The burly man with fists the size of boulders leaned against the heavy door, tightening his grip on steel chains wrapped around his fists and wrists.

"Listen up, we just got word from the Big Boss here that the Tower Bitch has been sighted in the forest along with her trog friends," Citadel said.

A woman with fuchsia-dyed hair pulled back her red hoodie.

“Do not under any circumstances, I repeat don't take on the White Witch alone. Report that bitch’s location to me or Citadel,” Jezebel said in her loud and shrill voice.

A slender, wire-like teenager adorned with a red bandana and sporting pouty lips stepped in front of the door.

He adjusted his bandana and asked in a nasally voice, “There’s what 25 of us and only one of her, what can one person do?”

“This,” Citadel said putting his fist through the guy’s skull and into wall with a loud crack. “But worse.”

He retracted his hand, and the teen with the bandana turned a pale shade of blue, vanishing from sight. Chains wrapped around Citadel’s hands glowed a bright white, prompting two members of his gang to step back from the heat radiating from the enchanted chains.

"Any other dumb questions?" inquired Jezebel. "None? Okay, let’s go."

The sentries, clad in olive-green uniforms, unbolted the door, and the combatants from the Suicide Kings and Eastland Posse headed out.

Once the two gangs exited the fortress, the sentries promptly locked the door behind them. Down the road, 50 meters away, in the middle of the winding path to the fortress, Estelle awaited their arrival. Wearing a pleasant smile, she waved back at the departing gangs.

Citadel halted and held out his hand. The two gangs immediately stopped.

“Hello Cit…a…del, we m..eet-t-t-t again-n-n-n,” Estelle said, as her voice changed in speed and intensity.

A dark-skinned man with a wide brimmed hat and red band crouched down.

“Appear,” he said and a long rifle with two stacked scopes appeared in his hands.

The weapon whined as the targeting data appeared in his scope. He aimed the barrel towards Estelle.

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“Jus’ say the word boss, and I’ll send her to purgatory,” he said and pulled the butt of the rifle closer to his chest.

“Wait a second, Buck. Jez, do your thing,” Citadel said.

Jezebel's head shook with intensity, and she flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. Her eyes glowed fiercely as streams of data materialized next to Estelle in Jezebel’s vision. Estelle, bathed in a patchwork of colors and marked with black squares on her body. Suspended above Estelle, a ghostly pair of scales hung in an eerie equilibrium. As Jezebel continued her scrutiny, she saw the image of Estelle started to flicker, fading pale blue, but then return to same intensity. She ran her hand across her face, to deactivate her Witch Sight, yet she refused to look away.

Jezebel swallowed the lump in her throat, forcing it down back into her stomach. She coughed to clear her throat and steadied her shaking hand.

"It's just another one of her stupid shadow puppets, with Eye-for-an-Eye activated," Jezebel said. "Leave it be, puppets don't live for long when they're distant from their master anyway."

Buck asked as he steadied his rifle, “One shot to the head, one to the heart, and pew it’s all over for the puppet.”

“And its purgatory for you and who knows how many others. Ignore it,” Citadel said and walked north towards the fields.

“I thought only guardians like Citadel can take Eye-for-an-Eye skill, how in the hell can she use it,” Buck asked.

As he switched the selector switch back to safe, Jezebel extended her fingers in front of her. The tips of her fingers pulsed with an orange-reddish light, and then she casually shrugged her shoulders.

"Mages, with enough preparation, can copy any spell or ability," Jezabel explained.

"A bit overpowered, don't you think?" Buck asked.

"Sure, but you have to give up an equal or greater power or skill on the same level and commit a number of costly resources; in the end, it costs more," Jezebel stated as she nonchalantly raised a middle finger towards the figure. "The Tower Witch is all about trickery and deceit, so for her, it's worth the cost."

The combatants from the Suicide Kings and the Eastland Posse shuffled behind Citadel. They followed along the length of the slopped walled.

“Next time Tower Witch, pow,” Buck said pointing his hand at Estelle like a gun.

He caught up with the others, and the combatants disappeared behind a hill. Once they were out of sight, Estelle ceased waving and continued toward the castle.

"I can't believe that... actually worked," Bee thought.

"One's reputation is the cornerstone of power. It can put an army on the defensive and force them to retreat," Estelle explained as she approached the door. "Often times, without a single shot being fired. It is imperative to consider the philosophical tenets of Clausewitz and other esteemed theorists in strategic studies, Bee.”

Estelle knocked on the door three times, waiting two seconds before knocking again, two more times.

"Yo, back already?" a voice came from the other side of the door. "Ya' forget your ammo or something?"

She tapped her throat with her fingers.

"Yeah, now open up," Estelle replied in Buck's voice.

The wooden bolt slid against the door and was pushed open. Estelle stepped inside, drawing Lost Battalion from its scabbard, and stabbing the sentry through the eye socket. He turned pale blue and evaporated. She whipped her empty hand around, summoning Credulity. With an uppercut, the Qatar blade went through the guard's chin and into his head, causing the sentry to disappear. Using the heel of her foot, she pushed the door closed. After sheathing the weapons and locking the bolt back into place, Estelle strolled through the gatehouse, the click of her boots echoing on the cobblestone road.

The stones guided Estelle to an expansive open-air courtyard. In the center stood a ten-foot-tall mechanical rabbit, its long-barreled rifle poised around the corner, just a scant few feet from where she stood. Harvey, perched nonchalantly on the rabbit's head, swung his feet back and forth as the barrel emitted a radiant glow.

“Hey, you’re not that blonde dickhead, but I guess you’ll do,” Harvey yelled. “Are you going to take my meaty dick willingly or am I going to have to give it to you by force?”

Estelle narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

“I can’t believe you walked right into that. I’m so disappointed in you, Little One,” Bee said.

***