Kael had done it.
The Ironbloods' gates had opened, their leader had welcomed him, and now, he stood in the belly of the beast.
The infiltration was a success.
Valen trusted him.
And that trust would be the first thread Kael would pull to unravel everything.
The corridors of the Black Fortress were dark and suffocating, filled with the stench of sweat, iron, and blood. Men sharpened their blades, drank heavily, and laughed without restraint.
It was a kingdom of brutality.
And like every empire built on fear, it would crumble with the right pressure applied to its weakest points.
Kael followed Valen in silence, his mind working, searching for those cracks.
The Weakness of the Ironbloods
Valen led him to a massive set of double doors, intricately carved with crude symbols of strength and dominance.
The leader turned to Kael, his sharp eyes glinting with amusement.
"This is where you'll fit in, kid," Valen said, pushing the doors open.
Inside, the room was alive with noise—booming laughter, the clink of dice on wood, and the murmur of hushed conversations. The air was thick with tension, the kind that settled when killers shared space.
Kael's gaze swept the room, and he quickly found what he was looking for.
Three men sat at the center table, rolling dice and exuding an air of authority.
They weren't just Ironbloods.
They were pillars.
The lieutenants who held Valen's empire together.
Kael knew that if he wanted to dismantle the Ironbloods, these three would need to fall first.
Valen gestured toward them with a nod.
"Those are my lieutenants. You'll answer to them."
The three men turned to look at Kael.
The first, a bald man with a scar running across his face, spat on the ground and sneered.
"And since when do we take in kids, boss?"
The second, a hulking brute with arms crossed over his chest, chuckled.
"Another rookie thinking he can climb the ranks, huh?"
The third was quieter. A wiry man with sharp eyes that gleamed with intelligence. He said nothing, only watching Kael as if trying to dissect him.
Kael didn't flinch under their scrutiny.
He didn't need their approval.
He needed them to underestimate him.
He gave them a faint smirk.
"The corpses I left behind would disagree with you."
Silence.
Then laughter.
Valen grinned. "I like this kid."
The leader clapped Kael on the back and turned to the lieutenants.
"He's yours now. See what he's made of."
Kael said nothing, his face calm as always.
This was all he needed.
He didn't need their trust.
Just a single mistake.
And he would use it to burn everything down.
The First Mission
The opportunity came sooner than expected.
Later that night, the wiry lieutenant approached Kael.
"Sorin," he introduced himself, his smile sharp. "The boss wants you tested before you earn anything around here."
Kael tilted his head.
"What's the test?"
Sorin's grin widened.
"There's a caravan moving through the eastern pass tomorrow. Merchants with a few cultivators as escorts. We hit them, take what they've got, and see if you're worth keeping."
Kael nodded slowly, his mind already racing.
A test of loyalty.
But for Kael, it was something else entirely.
If the Ironbloods regularly attacked caravans, there was a good chance someone out there was fighting back.
Someone who wanted the Ironbloods gone as much as he did.
This mission could be his first real opportunity to find allies.
Or to plant the seeds of the Ironbloods' destruction from within.
Kael gave Sorin a faint smile.
"I'll be ready."
Sorin clapped him on the shoulder, grinning in approval.
But Kael already knew Sorin's fate.
The lieutenant didn't realize it yet…
But he would be the first to fall.