Her Graceful War Song (Carissa Sinclair)

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Since the war, the border city of Sandoria had been heavily guarded, especially now that negotiations with Starhaven were underway. Sandoria's aim was to exchange the prisoners in their custody for the city of Simonton. Consequently, the dungeon where the prisoners were held was guarded by a substantial force. After being in Sandoria for several days, Rafael and his team had finally pinpointed the location where Septimus was imprisoned a heavily fortified outpost on the edge of the city. They had also thoroughly mapped out the prison's layout within the high walls. However, they didn't know about Oliver's five-day deadline, and what's more, tomorrow would mark the end of this period.

Rafael knew that Victor would be meeting with Oliver for negotiations again the next day. Even though the prince wasn't aware of the exact deadline, he suspected that Oliver wouldn't follow his orders to delay the negotiations further.

Rafael decided that while Victor was occupied with negotiations at Fangridge Mountain tomorrow, it would be the perfect time to execute their rescue plan.

Victor was known for his large entourage of skilled guards, and he would likely take most of them with him to the negotiations. Having spent so much time on the Southern Frontier battlefield and having suffered defeat against the Hell Monarch Army, Victor harbored a natural fear and hatred for them.

If Oliver refused the negotiations outright, Victor would likely leave quickly and be back by late tomorrow night.

So, it was crucial to see if Oliver would stall during the negotiation process. If he adopted a vague stance, he might be able to keep Victor at Fangridge Mountain until the day after tomorrow. That would give Rafael and his team more time for the rescue.

Jacob had the rescue operation planned out. The plan was to have one person waiting outside to provide support while the other three would breach the prison to rescue Septimus. Dylan was assigned to stay outside and handle the situation. The operation was scheduled for dusk, when the guards would be changing shifts.

The three people going in were skilled fighters, but breaking into the heavily guarded fortress and rescuing the prisoners from the dungeon would still be quite challenging. However, Rafael and Everett had previously snuck in at night. Although they hadn't reached the dungeon, they were familiar with the general layout and the guards' shift rotations. That gave them a reasonable chance of success.

Meanwhile, in a wooden hut located near Bell River on the outskirts of the border city, ten men were gathered around a low table. They were rough-looking, had beards, and were dressed in fishermen's attire. Their faces were weathered and darkened by the sun, similar to the local fishermen.

They huddled around a blueprint laid out on the low table. The blueprint had been hard-earned they had captured a craftsman who had participated in the construction of the military post years ago and coerced him into drawing it.

However, the craftsman had only

been involved in the construction, so he didn't have the original plans. The drawing was made from memory and now, the craftsman was locked in a back room. He would be released after the rescue was completed.

"Tomorrow night should be our last chance," one of the men said, pointing to the blueprint with a serious and composed expression "But the rescue will be tough, and we may at die in there. We only know the building's layout and nothing about its defenses. The dungeon will undoubtedly be heavily guarded. With only ten of us, we're facing impossible odds.

"So, I'll ask you all: those who agree to go on the Rescue mission, raise your hands... Those who don't agree should take the opportunity to leave when Marshal Crow departs the border city tomorrow. Return to

Simonton City to reunite with your

families."

The man on the left frowned. "Tom, what are you saying? We are members of the Septimus Tetra reconnaissance team, and we won't abandon anyone. During the war, we might have survived by any means to get intel.

"But the battle is over now, and the Southern Frontier has been reclaimed. We can't leave Law behind to be tormented. If we go back, we go together. If we die, we die together."

"That's right," the others chimed in. "All eleven of us if we die, we die together. If we live, we live together."

Tom's eyes brimmed with tears. Over the years, he had hidden and disguised himself, blending into various parts of the border city. He had braved the sun, rain, snow, and frost. He was no longer the distinguished Thomas Farrell of the past. He was just plain old Tom now.

Alongside him were Hom, Felix, Josh, Ben, Bruce, Ivan, Scott, Wilfred, and Tobias. There were two pairs of brothers in their group-Josh and Ben, as well as Scott and Wilfred.

Since the establishment of the Septimus Tetra reconnaissance team, they had no distinctions between general and soldier. They were equals, united by a single purpose to relay the intelligence they gathered.

Tom slammed the table. "Alright, we'll move out at five in the evening tomorrow!"