"Tch, this is bad," Jack muttered as he observed the entrance of the outpost. The outpost was a fortress, and its entrance was guarded by two men in ornate armor.
Around the fortress were four watchtowers, archers, and a single mage responsible for defending against aerial threats.
The mage was wearing the mage tower’s robe. Meanwhile, several armored individuals were patrolling the area.
According to Jack’s estimation, each side of the fortress had a rotating patrol of four men, with shifts changing every five hours.
Each patrol consisted of four armored guards, while another four rested. While there were two militia in the dungeons, most of the outpost’s military force was likely patrolling the region at the moment.
Edensword, one of the three major outposts, had a more negligent military system compared to the other two. Its greatest advantage lay in its financial power.
Money was important for bribery and many other things. While laundering the funds sent by the Royal Treasury, military wages were also lower than they should have been.
Corruption had taken root in Edensword Fortress, despite the attention from the capital. There were numerous secret deals between slave traders and the fortress commander.
The economic crisis led the nobles to adopt a policy of mandatory austerity, reducing soldiers’ wages.
While the common people and militia felt the brunt of this, those collaborating with the black market and criminals lived comfortably.
Elf slaves were considered the most valuable, while Wargan slaves were regarded as the least. Even the Church’s anti-crime policies, which had ended during Edward’s reign, had lost their effectiveness.
The power struggle between the Queen and the King was troubling the nobles, while the people were ignored and heavy financial pressure was driving many towards crime. All kinds of criminal activities were flourishing outside the capital.
Already, the number of bandits on the Wargan border was steadily increasing. As the economic crisis and inflation continued to rise, the kingdom’s short-term solution of minting more coins to slow the crisis was only making things more dangerous.
Simply put, the higher the inflation, the lower the purchasing power, and prices rise. Producing more money temporarily creates the illusion of economic growth.
This ’false economic growth’ doesn’t reflect reality. When the amount of money in circulation increases, consumer spending and investments temporarily rise, creating the impression of an economic revival.
However, this growth isn’t sustainable; prices rise rapidly, purchasing power decreases, and without the creation of real economic value, inflation is merely fed.
The Royalty pressures banks to lower interest rates, using the Church’s influence to further strain the banks. According to the Church, interest is considered a sin.
The Royalty uses this as an excuse to lower interest rates, which in the short term boosts investment and consumer spending.
Yet, the Royalty does not approach effective long-term solutions. The reason is the savage and reckless nature of the power struggles.
While crime rates in rural areas rise rapidly, corruption in the cities increases. Crime fuels corruption, corruption leads to lax governance, and lax governance breeds injustice.
Jack shook his head and cleared his thoughts. Then, he conjured an image in his mind to analyze the fortress from above.
"The part of the castle that is above ground must be matched by what is below ground, especially the armory where explosives are kept."
Jack didn’t want to take the castle and the entire kingdom by force. He knew that being one of the three garrisons guarding the capital of Edensword Castle was very important.
Even a small attack would create a wave of panic in the kingdom. Therefore, Jack could only carry out sabotage secretly to avoid drawing more attention.
Jack laughed with amusement. "Am I reliving history in a different world...?"
Jack chuckled as he thought about the Gunpowder Plot in English history. "But on a smaller budget."
After laughing foolishly for a while, Jack became serious, took a deep breath, and began to shrink his presence.
His form, surrounded by darkness, changed for a moment. He quickly turned into a Sparrow. The red-eyed Sparrow moved a bit to adjust to his new wings.
Jack stretched his wings. He wanted to quickly adapt to his new form. He adjusted quickly.
"Let’s go..."
Jack ascended; being small compared to a Crow was both an advantage and a disadvantage. He could fit into almost any hole compared to a Crow.
Tom looked at his friend with suspicion. "I haven’t seen anything yet, but let’s check the other lavatories just to be sure."
The burly man nodded, and together with Tom, they slowly checked each lavatory. When one of the lavatories caught their attention, Tom immediately shouted. "Anthony! This lavatory is broken!"
The man named Anthony came to see the lavatory and laughed. "Whoever did this must have made a big mess."
But when Tom pointed upwards, Anthony’s expression changed. "The ceiling... the ceiling is broken!"
"Damn it!? How did they manage that?"
"I don’t know, but we should inform the Deputy Commander." Tom nodded, and they both turned to leave.
But what they encountered was the end for both of them. The dark daggers created by Jack flawlessly slit the throats of the men.
As the bodies fell lifelessly to the ground, Jack relaxed and quickly exited the lavatory. Merging with the darkness in the corridor, Jack felt relieved to be close to the armory since he noticed that it was near the dungeon.
The dungeon, being at the very bottom of the castle, was located beneath the armory, which was considered the safest and most secure place, directly below the Castle Commander’s office.
In the Otome world, castles were given not only to nobles but also to those with significant positions.
The kingdom had various types of castles. There were garrison castles, noble castles, royal private castles, and merchant guild logistics castles, each with different purposes, architectures, and sizes.
Garrison castles were generally built with a very secure architectural style for the safety of the capital. There were secret passages, magical radios, and many other features that allowed the castle commander to access every room.
The dungeon was the most isolated and hottest part of the castle underground. The temperature was so high that prisoners were too exhausted to attempt rebellion or escape.
There were many hidden compartments protected by runes. While the castle commander sat in the center of the castle, his aide worked in an office at the very top of the castle for better management.
With over 400 armored guards patrolling the roads to the capital, there were 12 guards for the Castle Commander and 6 for the Deputy Commander.
Also, if Edensword Castle were attacked, the other 2 garrisons could be instantly notified and intervene. This usually happened within 3 to 6 hours.
Additionally, the Royalty isolated the capital by covering even 100 kilometers ahead, ensuring that the capital had not faced an attack or sabotage for nearly 350 years.
In garrison castles, the armory was located at the center of the castle, underground, and in the opposite direction of the dungeon, guarded 24/7 by 4 elite guards.
It might seem like a strict security routine, but Jack wasn’t too worried since he knew that the castle commander was very lazy.
Quickly merging with the darkness, Jack silently passed by the 4 elite guards.
His eyes narrowed slightly with excitement and a bit of tension upon seeing the explosives. "I hope this explosion won’t be enough to destroy everything."
This explosive was not like the classic gunpowder types. It was a large sphere containing 16 small, blue-glowing orbs.
The 16 small items inside looked very beautiful, but they were not. This bomb was called a ’Mana bomb.’
It was a time-stopping glass sphere containing 16 Mana orbs compressed inside. Its high cost was a factor that prevented this product from going into mass production.
Therefore, it could only be found in battles and certain locations.
The time sphere, when compressed Mana was activated by a person, provided an explosive effect to the compressed Mana.
Simply put, it was a magical hand grenade.
"I think 5 should be enough..."
Jack, manipulating the darkness, took the 5 Mana bombs that were already there and thought about where they should explode.
"The soldiers’ cabin should be suitable..."
"The place with the guards’ equipment will definitely cause a huge loss. It will tire out the guards and buy me some time." After making his plan, Jack began to put it into action.