Ch:7 Infiltration

The moon cast an eerie glow over the snow-covered trees, bathing the forest in an otherworldly light. The only sounds that broke the silence were the distant, haunting howls of Beowolves and the soft, rhythmic trudging of six determined feet in the deep snow.

As they ventured deeper into the woods, Blake couldn't help but voice her concern. "Are you absolutely certain we're on the right path, Maru? It feels like we've been walking around in circles for hours."

Maru, leading the way with her scroll showing a map in hand, looked around and exhaled a visible breath in the chilly air. "Positive, Blake. This is the way to our target. We just need to stay focused and stick to the plan."

"Maru, for fucks sake, why did we have to land so far away from the encampment?" A disgruntled Adam voiced from the back of the group.

"So we don't get caught bull brain, this operation is supposed to be a covert stealth one, not one where we can charge in horns first." Maru said mockingly, getting snickers out of Ilia and her team and glares from Blake and Adam.

After Maru's comment towards Adam the six of them continue onwards, slowly along the path the trees start to open up and they see a fire within a clearing and the loud noise of hollering and talking.

Maru stops and holds a hand up signaling for the others to halt, Maru turned to face the others putting a finger to her lips to signal for them to be quiet, everyone crouched in low stances and moves to peer into the clearing.

The flicking lights of the campfire illuminates the clearing, revealing a military encampment, soldiers hung about in and around tents as well as drinking and laughing around campfires.

"All right everyone this is our chance, we need to hit them hard and fast before they notice, we will split into teams of two. Nyx, Ilia you are going to go around the edge using your skills in stealth and take out any person on the other side of the camp. Adam and Virdis you will head in from the left and Blake is with me" Maru commands moving towards the right.

Blake was about to speak up but Maru swiftly turned around and added "oh and remember no killing or Sienna will have your head."

Blake looked towards Maru's retreating form and then looked back towards Adam who scowled and headed towards Virdis, she then looked towards where Ilia and Nyx where standing moments ago only to notice they are no longer there, lastly she turned towards the direction Maru went and started following her whilst grumbling about stupid foxes.

___

Maru crouched in the shadows, hidden from view by the flickering light of a nearby campfire. Two unsuspecting and highly intoxicated soldiers stumbled around, their voices slurred and their movements erratic. A few moments later, Blake appeared beside her, wearing a disapproving expression.

"Why didn't you pair me with Adam?" Blake whispered to Maru.

Maru, her attention focused on the drunken soldiers, replied without directly addressing Blake's question. "You do know how to silently take down an enemy, right?"

Blake nodded in response, but before she could ask another question, Maru suddenly sprang into action. She approached the two intoxicated soldiers swiftly, and Blake reluctantly followed suit, moving towards the other guard.

Maru covered one soldier's mouth and wrapped her arm around his neck, stifling any attempts at raising the alarm. The man struggled briefly but fell unconscious. Maru stepped back, admiring her handiwork, and then glanced at Blake to check on her progress.

Blake stood over the unconscious guard, her sword, Gambol Shroud, in hand, ready to strike if necessary. She held it in a way that allowed her to use the hilt to knock someone out if needed. She met Maru's gaze, and they exchanged a silent nod before proceeding toward a nearby tent.

As they ventured deeper into the encampment, Maru noticed two figures approaching the unconscious guards they had just incapacitated. She muttered under her breath, "Shit, I thought it would have been Adam who got caught first. Just my luck."

Blake overheard her comment and shot her a disapproving look. She then sighed and prepared herself for a potential confrontation. Soon, the two patrolling soldiers rounded a corner and discovered the unconscious guards. Alarmed, they rushed over to check their condition, confirming they were still alive. They hastily returned to the encampment's center, raising the alarm.

A voice crackled over an earpiece in Maru's ear, and Nyx's disgruntled voice followed. "Who the fuck set off the alarm? You just made this job a whole lot harder."

Maru pressed a button on her earpiece to respond, chuckling nervously. "Hehe, whoops."

"Fucks sake, Maru, how did you even manage to get caught?" Virdis chimed in, sounding more surprised than angry.

Maru laughed again and replied, "Well, it turns out there was a patrol going around that discovered the first guys we knocked out. They saw the unconscious soldiers and now there's a lot of commotion coming from the center. How many did you guys manage to take out before the alarm went off?"

Nyx replied, "We got four."

Adam's annoyed voice followed, "We got two."

"Okay, we got two as well. That leaves us with 18 more to deal with. It's probably best if Blake and Ilia stay in the shadows, only taking out anyone who gets too close to them." After saying this Maru remembered a name that she recognised in the mission briefing and asked "hey does anyone have sight on Steelborne because he's going to be a problem."

Both teams responded with a negative, making Maru curse under her breath, then she said "if he is spotted tell me, he is the only one who could give any of us a problem so I will be the one to deal with him."

With that, Maru turned to Blake. "Go hide in the forest. Try to stay out of sight, but keep an eye out for anything unusual. Aric Steelborne is a high-ranking officer in the Atlas military. He's known for his Marksmanship and tactical genius. I have some insider information on how he fights from someone who I used to know, so be careful and stick to the shadows, do not engage unless necessary." That was the last thing she said to Blake before walking further into the campsite ready to face her strongest adversary yet.

Whilst walking Blake heard Maru giggle under her breath and sounding almost giddy say "I wonder how he's gonna react if I mention my name, he probably hasn't heard it for a while."

A/N Sorry this took so long to get out i had a slight lapse in motivation and didn't realise it had been 8 days since the last chapter but there should be a lot more chapters over the coming weeks because i can finally get into some fun stuff to write like things about Maru's back story and the relationships between characters so yeah thanks for reading:)