When night fell completely, the brilliant moon hung suspended in the vast expanse of the sky, casting cold rays of light down upon all things.
Kirito donned his pitch-black night attire, blending seamlessly into the darkness as his light footsteps circled around to the rear of the perilous mountain. He began clinging to the crevices, using his physical strength and agility to climb straight up the sheer rock face.
The higher he climbed, the more fiercely the bone-chilling night winds whipped by in violent gusts. The marrow-chilling cold combined with the pressure placed upon his fingertips as they gripped tightly onto the sharp rock outcroppings made Kirito shudder involuntarily.
He chose the approach route from the rear of the mountain—an unexpected path that no one would anticipate. When he finally set foot upon the mountain peak, Kirito’s fingertips were numb and devoid of sensation. This mountain was truly far too tall and treacherous; unless one were a Shinobi thoroughly seasoned in life-and-death experiences, it would be utterly impossible to cross.
Standing atop the wind-swept summit, the skin-freezing cold simultaneously brought a strangely exhilarating sensation. Kirito cast his gaze far into the distance, where the fortresses were blazing with lights and crowds of figures bustled back and forth. Under the veil of night, the ancient architecture and Japanese style appeared breathtakingly beautiful.
After a few minutes of standing to enjoy the tranquil space, Kirito pulled back his gaze and began the journey downward. However, this time he chose the descent direction at the front of the mountain—where the cave system concealing the military supply cache was located.
The terrain at this moment demanded absolute precision: the cave entrance lay at the front, and Kirito descended from the peak along the cliff face with the objective of approaching the cave entrance from above and shining down, strictly avoiding any collision with the heavy patrol of guards stationed at the entrance below.
Every single movement of his traversal was executed with extreme meticulousness by Kirito. He feared that just a single small stone accidentally tumbling down would suffice to generate noise, alerting the entire contingent of gate guards.
Clinging to the cliff face as he slithered downward, his field of vision began to catch sight of squads of guards patrolling in circles around the cave entrance.
With supreme cleverness and peerless skill, Kirito successfully approached the roof of the cave entrance from above. He clung tightly to the rafters and rock arches, crawling like a giant spider clinging to the ceiling of the cave entrance, advancing deep inside completely undetected by a single guard.
Once he had penetrated deep into the interior, the space began to be devoid of guards. Kirito softly let go and dropped onto the stone floor, letting out a long sigh of relief to cast off the pressure.
Right before his eyes at that moment stood a massively solid iron gate.
"Is this the strategic food storage warehouse? Truly far too massive..." Kirito muttered in astonishment.
Suddenly, a creaking sound echoed from behind the iron gate, and the heavy door twitched slightly. Kirito reacted with lightning-fast speed, instantly darting into a hidden dark corner to conceal himself.
Stepping out from within was a short-statured middle-aged man with a somewhat weary expression.
Based on the intelligence gathered beforehand, Kirito immediately recognized this to be Denji—the direct manager of this treasury.
Without allowing the opponent time to raise an alarm, two kunais flew from Kirito’s hands, slicing through the air and embedding themselves with absolute precision into the middle-aged man’s neck. The old man collapsed, dying on the spot without managing to emit a single sound.
Kirito stepped over to the victim’s corpse, swiftly employing superior disguise techniques to alter his appearance, transforming his face into an exact duplicate of manager Denji.
He strode through the iron door and entered the interior. Striking his eyes was a space so vast it induced dizziness; lining the walls were massive blocks of ice acting as natural refrigerators, preserving countless fresh food items. The warehouse ceiling soared to a dizzying height of at least ten meters, while its width stretched endlessly into the limits of vision.
Kirito dragged the middle-aged man’s corpse deep inside, hiding the body on the top tier of an area specialized for storing dried fish to avoid early detection.
Inside the cold storage, the temperature was so low it could freeze one’s breath, but Kirito clenched his teeth and endured that skin-piercing chill.
He approached the work desk positioned at the very corner of the warehouse, reaching out to grab the accounting ledger for inspection.
The figures and recorded information inside left Kirito startled in terror: the quantity of food and military supplies stockpiled in this warehouse was terrifyingly massive, enough to sustain an entire city with comfortable dining for the next three hundred years.
"This is truly insane... Stockpiling such a colossal amount of food and supplies like this is clearly to prepare for a large-scale protracted war."
Kirito stood up, walking over to a small wooden door situated right in the room’s corner; pushing it open, he discovered a compact living quarters inside equipped with a bed and the personal belongings of warehouse manager Denji.
Returning to the desk, Kirito’s mind began mapping out a strategy:
"If I want to create maximum strategic advantage for Empress Mika, the first move I need to make is to ignite division in the alliance between General Akaza and female General Shinobu."
"Therefore, the most flawless plan right now is to quietly ’skim off’, destroy, or divert a large portion of the regular support food supplies destined for Shinobu’s faction, thereby breeding deep suspicion and conflict between the two factions."
Reng... reng...
Suddenly, the bronze bell placed on the desk rang frantically. Kirito cast a glance following the extended bell cord threading through the large iron door outside, immediately understanding that someone was standing outside ringing the bell to summon the warehouse manager.
Kirito took a deep breath, re-adjusting his demeanor before stepping outside to open the door.
Standing before him was a soldier wearing an extremely cool samurai battle armor, wearing a ferocious yaksha demon mask on his face.
The soldier bowed respectfully: "Lord Denji, Lord Akaza wishes to summon you for an urgent matter."
"The important banquet is about to begin."
Kirito was slightly surprised by this turn of events, but on the surface, he maintained the calm, cold composure of a veteran warehouse manager. He intentionally coughed a few times, feigning sluggishness and fatigue:
"I was just checking the ledgers so I feel quite exhausted physically, and do not wish to walk. Have a carriage prepared immediately to pick me up and take me."
The soldier wearing the demon mask harbored not a shred of suspicion, continuing to bow respectfully: "As you wish, Lord Denji. Please wait a moment, this subordinate will have someone prepare it right away."
In truth, Kirito’s deep-seated motivation for making that request was simply because he was completely unfamiliar with the winding paths inside this complex storage system, needing a guide to avoid getting lost or blowing his cover in front of the enemy.