Back at the fortress in Nepal, I looked over the war reports on my table. After skimming the unimportant parts, a realization dawned upon me. The eastern front here in itself didn't have that many forces coming from the C.U. I thought so hard about what they would come out with in order to break past my Aegis dome. But it turned out that my worry was for nothing.
"As expected, even after we pulled our forces back into Neo Africa, the C.U still can't penetrate the Aegis dome," said one of the few military officers standing in front of me.
"Of course. Unless they deploy Ivar, who can manipulate other Users' Aegis crystals . . . Or Kian, who can control matter through his Aegis . . . I can't see how else they will break through my defense," I said to them.
"As Master Gheele said, the enemy is launching endless missiles at the dome these past few days. At this rate, they will wear themselves out."
I stood up from my seat and glanced at the war reports on my table. "When the time comes for the enemy to restock their supplies and ammunition, we will launch a surprise attack. I'm guessing it's a day or two from now."
"Understood!"
The military officers saluted at me before taking their leave. At that time, I just wanted to sit back as the enemy forces struggled against my Aegis dome. But, being a leader of an entire country, one couldn't afford to be lazy, especially in a world-changing war.
"I can go over to the barracks near the border and take a look at the supplies myself. Maybe . . . Just maybe, the enemy will try to sneak inside Neo Africa somehow from there. Hmm. This is worrisome."
I took my dark jacket and walked out of the fortress quickly. A few soldiers who encountered me saluted before they continued what they were doing.
Even though it was brief, I managed to take a good glimpse of their faces. It was something I found myself doing all the time. After all, a large-scale war like this one would have a tendency of having a few irregularities in it. For one, the enemy could place some spies inside my fortresses, and that was not something that could be dealt with instantly.
So, it wouldn't hurt for me and some of my trusted subordinates to watch over those low-ranking soldiers from time to time. Spies infiltrating the ranks wouldn't dare to impersonate someone that I knew. These people had only one objective, and that was to gain information that could be vital for the war. Just by pretending to be a cadet in my army was already enough.
But so far, no one really posed a threat of being spies. It was a good thing for most people, but for me, a strange thought came to mind after I analyzed the situation.
'What if they have planted one talented spy?" I thought.
Still, in the end, I couldn't see how any sort of inside information could help them penetrate my Aegis dome. The spy had to somehow, with no exception, be involved directly with me in order to achieve anything.
"Though, I don't see how the enemy could do anything unless they deploy the Pillars. Other than that, my country's defense can't be destroyed by normal means," I assured myself.
Suddenly, the gold bracelet at my right wrist beeped.
"Oh?"
I pressed at a rectangular button on its surface, and a blue hologram popped into existence.
"Ser Gheele!" said Sofeea on the other side of the communication device. "It's bad here in Chad!"
"Sofeea?" She was supposed to be in Bulgaria, fighting in the northern front of the war.
"The two Users that we captured a month ago . . . Reinhart and Everhart . . . They have escaped!" she said with an alarming tone.
"I see. Bring me there at once," I said firmly.
"Understood."
A few seconds later, Sofeea's figure appeared near the fortress's entrance. Just next to her was a bright green Aegis crystal that she had planted on the ground before the war. Without wasting time, I walked over to her and she bowed quickly.
"Let's go," I muttered.
She pointed at me with her index finger and a moment later, both of us teleported back to my palace in Goz Beida. Since one of her Aegis crystals had marked the garden, we were sent straight there through her specialty, Teleportation Warp.
"You are brilliant, Sofeea. Marking this place and the fortress beforehand," I said.
She nodded for a moment before looking at a glass door at the right side of the garden. That door was the only entrance to the palace's hallway from the garden. As Sofeea was about to lead the way, Amaryllis popped out just as quickly from the door and shook my hands. Her eyes were filled with tears.
"Master Gheeeeeele!" shouted the palace's servant, Amaryllis.
"Yes, yes. Tell me what happened."
Of course, she didn't waste any second and spat out the words in her mouth. "Reinhart and Everhart had escaped! That brown-haired girl, Mara, came out of nowhere and the three of them vanished from the prison!"
"She sneaked in using her specialty . . . How could I have overlooked this?" I said under my breath.
"I have told everyone else, including those in Finland," said Sofeea, who was impatient to see the crime scene itself.
"Anyway, let's see the prison ourselves. Amaryllis, you go and help anyone escape from this palace. They might still be nearby," I ordered.
"Y-Yes!"
I climbed a few steps across the staircase leading to the glass door when I stopped. At that time, my instinct prevented me from going any further.
My senses tingled, sensing an unknown danger in the vicinity.
"Wait! Sofeea, Amaryllis, stay close to me," I said urgently.
Both of them looked over their shoulder to look at me when a transparent crystal dome appeared from nothingness. It swiftly covered the entire palace before anyone could react.
"Tsk!"
I flicked my wrist, which caused my Aegis particles in that garden to propagate, forming a spherical barrier of Aegis crystals to surround the three of us. Just after that, two individuals emerged from the ground underneath and struck my barrier with their Aegis blades.
They didn't dig themselves out from the soil, but rather, they popped out as if the physical land had turned into a pool in that one instance.
"Mara!" I yelled.
Her pale white hand grabbed my right foot. She, in her usual white overcoat, had her upper body sprouted out from a ripple on the ground. Instinctively, I gestured in her direction with my right hand.
Orange Aegis crystals then swallowed her emerging upper body, seemingly trying to crush that poor woman. However, she was unaffected by my maneuver. The Aegis crystals I had manifested passed through her as if she was made from water.
She smiled, her bloodshot eyes glared at me.
"This time . . . I will avenge Ivar. Taking you out will disable the Aegis dome protecting Neo Africa. Hahahahaha!"