Chapter 90: Seize the flag (1)

Aasan saw the redhead go in the direction he guessed the hidden door of the fortress to be. He had not thought this girl to have such courage. When he first pitched the idea of stealing the flag, he was joking to some part. Who ever thought she would agree to it.

"I need to withhold my end as well," he muttered as he picked up some snow from the tree he was standing on to make a couple of snowballs. 

A gust of chilly wind flowed the next moment as the silhouette of Aasan vanished from the branch. In the very next moment, a guard on the ground floor yelled in alert as a snowball hit his face, but he found nothing in the direction where the snowball came.

"Alert!" he yelled hysterically. "Intruders."

All the fellow guards around him became alert with their spear and sword so were the few archers on the second floor, ready with their bow aiming all around the front. 

Then a shadow appeared on the first floor as it threw another snowball at one of the archers. The archers fired at the shadow, but the arrow seemed to miss the figure or went through it. Then the figure vanished into the thin air again.

"He is here," yelled guards from below. More guards came from the other side as the Archer aimed below again at the fellow that was cornered by the guards.

Aasan got what he wanted to do, make a turmoil.

Meanwhile, Michelle strode silently on the south of the stronghold. Her first task was to find the hidden door, then infiltrate it and find the flag, seize it without causing any ruckus. Sound quite easy.

After loitering for a few minutes she did found an entrance hidden by a big boulder. Aasan was right, and there was no one guarding it as well. A glitter of light appeared in Michelle's eyes as she searched for the way to open the boulder. There was a lever on the side of the wall. After scrutinising a little, she found it worked by mana, and so was by physical strength. 

She was lacking in physical strength, but when it came to mana, she had abundant of it. She infused mana into the liver as after a good minute the boulder moved, opening a hole, good enough to slide in her slender body. 

Michelle did not open it further. She slid in her legs first before her entire body went inside the fortress.

The very first thing she felt inside the walls was warmth. The chilly wind had almost no effect inside. Michelle looked around, and a delight appeared in her lips as she found the thing she was looking for. The flag.

A white flag was held in the middle of the room, encircling a ring of fire, with no one guarding. 

Michelle rushed a few steps towards the flag, but suddenly stoped, thinking, 'Isn't this too easy?'

She was right. In the next moment, an arrow rushed at her abdomen with frightening speed. Michelle's instinct ran wild as a constructive wall of fiery shield appeared in front of her. In the short time, she was not able to finish the spell, but it did save her from a serious injury.

The arrows fired again, one after another, as a voice echoed in the hall.

"I did not expect someone to invade the very day I secured this place," a female voice. The voice continued. "I guess the trap was a success."

Michelle snorted as a fire blazed around her. "You should say that after you capture me," she said.

The archer snorted as she fired at the flag as it blasted into a bellowing echo alerting all the people in the fortress. 

Michelle's expression turned cold as fire lit up in her eyes. She knew the flag was fake but did not expect it to have such an effect. She threw fire in the direction the arrow was coming from as she was protected by the flame shield, engulfing any arrows coming her way. Even though it was consuming a lot of mana in each second, she did not mind it. Consuming extra mana is always better than getting a hole in the body.

The archer became anxious as each of her arrows failed in her attack. Moreover, none of her men had appeared after she blasted the fake flag.

"Do you think I came alone?" Michelle taunted as the temperature started to rise in the room. "I wonder, if he was able to capture the flag yet."

"You're bluffing," the leader of the fortress said, firing another arrow. 

It was of no use, as Michelle intercepted it with her shield. "How many arrows are left?"

"Shit!" cursed the lady with the bow. She said, "I did not want to do this, but you left me no choice." 

"Do your worst," Michelle smiled as fire blazed from the floor, even the circle of flame that was protecting the flag joined together. Before the archer could fire her arrow, the fire surrounded her, making her helpless lamb.

"Just surrender," Michelle said, still holding onto the shield. 

And she was right to maintain the shield as an arrow with blue imbuing came straight at her, knocking down the shield. Michelle was on the ground as well. She could not handle the impact of the arrow, but she still held on to her captive with the flame circle. She was about to make a move when she heard the archer say:

"Fine, you win."

Michelle did not cast off the circle, just make the fire limited as she looked into the leader of the fortress. It was a woman with long legs. She was a head taller than her, but not as elegant as her. The lady was wearing equipment similar kinds to the guards but of better quality with a long jade bow. Her expression showed her unwillingness and unresigned. Moreover, she was quite weary, not in her best state.

Aasan appeared from the other side of the fortress as he said looking at the two of them. "I thought you were captured."