544 DXLIV. The High Castle

"Tell me about this place... I need more details." 

"Mh? What exactly do you want to know?" 

"How do you access the safest rooms? How is the palace made, does it have towers?" Dag asked again, whose words began to reveal a plan independent of that of the army.

"What are you going to do, boy? You're underestimating the strength of your enemies too much... remember that you would never be able to get out alive if you ventured alone into that fortress" Bloodfang replied, turning his red eyes towards Dag, who was continuing to look forward. 

"I said I will accompany you and your men in the first phase of the plan... now you will tell me how the fortress in which the leaders hide is made, the rest I'll do the rest" Dag replied, whose tone became increasingly gloomy and determined.

The sound of soldiers' feet and hooves of their horses sinking into the fresh snow was accompanied by a long sigh of Bloodfang, who after putting together the pieces of memories from his childhood, began to speak again.

"The castle is built on a rocky substrate... which, as I told you, is the tallest in the whole city. The only access point is a huge elevated door, which opens only from the inside through a system of levers and chains and is always guarded by dozens of guards, or rather... when my family lived there, it was. Once inside, there are two stairways, one on the right and one on the left... the one on the left leads to the second wing of the palace, in which there are the meeting room and that of the banquet, which when I was little was my favorite room..." Bloodfang began to tell, gesticulating with his hands as if he wanted to navigate virtually within the spaces of the place he was describing.

"And the right stairway leads to the private rooms, right?" Dag continued, interrupting the story and trying to get directly to the highlights, or those of interest to him.

"Yes, that's right. The right staircase leads there. And that's where those pieces of shit will be when they'll know they're under attack." 

"Are there secret escape routes in the palace? Shortcuts that would allow them to escape without being noticed by anyone?" Dag replied, who had almost exhausted the questions, having a complete picture of what he had to do. 

"No, no secret exit, just that door I've talked about before. When all our men have entered the walls and their army has been exterminated, we will make sure that we surround the palace and also kill those who will be inside of it. At that point, the war can be considered over" Thyrius replied, underlining the guidelines of the attack plan.

"When we will be inside the city, I will enter the palace and arrive at the top, in the private rooms that Bloodfang talked about. If anyone has to kill their Masters, it will be me" he thought, saying nothing aloud knowing that even other ears beyond that of his interlocutor were listening to the conversation.

About two hours passed and the drums of the warriors of the two Clans synchronized, punctuating the rhythm of the steps of the soldiers of the new Krypstorm alliance, who tirelessly and with the plan clear in their minds, marched non-stop under the Sun reflecting on the wet surface of the white snow.

After passing several mountains and hills and walking along a long flat stretch, they finally began to see something different on the horizon.

Imposing and regular-shaped walls sprang out of nowhere, taking advantage of the natural slope that from the plain gradually transformed the landscape into a rocky coast very similar to the one on which the Iron Emerald was still docked.

With the sea visible in the distance and the city of Klorr slowly taking shape before their eyes, Dag and the others felt the adrenaline flowing through their veins, knowing that the crucial moment was now upon them.

As already seen on the official map shown to him by Kranus, Dag immediately identified the forest to the west of the city, an indispensable part of their plan.

Beyond the walls, which were lower and looked less thick than those of Tungvek, two towers were clearly visible and seemed to touch the sky.

"Is that the building you were talking about?" Dag asked Bloodfang, already knowing the answer. 

"Yes, that's it. Don't get any weird ideas in your boy's mind, stick to the plan" the Packmaster replied after learning from Dag's gaze that something suspicious was floating between his thoughts.

When Kranus and all the Masters leading the army changed direction slightly, turning west and heading towards the dense forest that stretched for miles to the sea, automatically and without warning, all soldiers followed their leaders.

The drums increasingly decreased the volume of their sounds until they completely silenced at the sight of the city and the soldiers' blood warmed, soaking themselves in fear, knowing that soon their lives would be hung by a thread.

"Soldiers! The moment of truth is coming! Don't be afraid, the mighty Ymir will lead our army and together with our new allies, we will emerge victorious from the city walls! Now, as we agreed this morning, the thirty men who accepted the assignment will head to the main entrance of the city and distract the enemy!" Kranus shouted, knowing that at that distance, no one from behind the walls could ever hear his voice.

Almost as if they had been ready for that moment all their lives long, thirty soldiers, not one more, not one less, detached themselves from the rest of the troops and began to march fearlessly towards the huge iron gates that stood in the middle of the city walls.