Chapter 523: A workable plan
Over the next couple of days, Leo began to piece together several key details about the mana shield building located within the Zone Twelve Military Base.
He had spent days racking his brain, trying to identify a viable way to destroy the shield core, but the breakthrough he so desperately sought did not come from studying schematics or fishing for information amongst colleagues, but rather from understanding the logistics behind refueling the depleted core crystals.
He had already taken note of certain trucks allowed to pass freely through the restricted gates, quietly memorizing their registration numbers and patterns of movement over the past few days.
So when he spotted one of those trucks approaching the inner gates this morning, he raised a hand and signaled it to halt.
The driver slowed to a confused stop, unsure of whether he had made a mistake, when Leo approached with a stern expression and spoke with authority.
"I haven’t seen you before... Are you a new driver? That’s a restricted sector you’re headed into. Do you even have clearance? Step out and open the back. I need to inspect your cargo."
His tone left little room for debate, and before the nervous soldier could offer an excuse, Leo flashed his badge and invoked his rank as Lieutenant.
Once the back of the truck was opened, Leo climbed up and scanned the contents, eyes narrowing slightly as he took in the neatly stacked containers.
Each container was fully packed with high-grade mana crystals, all precision-cut into pointy diamond shapes.
[BlueStock Processing Company]
The label on the crates caught his attention immediately.
He didn’t linger long. After a quick but thorough inspection, Leo hopped back down and gave the driver a curt nod.
"Everything checks out. Seems like the intel report we received was inaccurate. My apologies for the delay, soldier. You’re clear to proceed."
With that, he offered a sharp salute and waved the truck on, allowing it to continue through the gates as if the stop had been nothing more than a formality.
But in truth, Leo’s mind had already begun racing.
The missing pieces already starting to fall into place, as he finally understood exactly how the mana shield core was being powered, and more importantly, how it could be brought down.
—----------
(That night, Larry’s room)
"Wait, wait, wait... I don’t understand the plan. How exactly are we supposed to blow up the core again?" Veyr asked, sounding genuinely lost, as Leo let out a long, tired sigh and slowly shook his head.
"It’s impossible to blow up the shield building from the outside. If the Righteous Faction has reinforced it with several protective layers, just like the Cult, then even if we destroy the structure that sticks out of the ground, we still won’t damage the actual core.
To get to the core, we’d need to break through at least a kilometre of reinforced concrete, and that’s simply not doable through brute force."
He tapped a finger against his temple.
"So we use our brains instead,"
"It’s easy to rig supply crates on this base.....
The warehouse where the crystals are stored before being transported to the shield building isn’t as secure as the shield building itself.
So, after spotting those [BlueStock Processing Company] crates on that logistics truck earlier today, I came up with a workable plan to destroy the core from within."
Veyr leaned in, his expression sharpening with interest.
"We find a Cult Blacksmith who can forge a bomb disguised as a mana crystal, that is shaped and sized exactly like the ones used to fuel the shield core.
Then, once we have our replica bomb, we pack it inside identical containers, right down to the label, [BlueStock Processing Company], and swap one or two of the crates during transit."
Leo paused, then tilted his head slightly.
"And the moment they plug those fake shield cores into the system..."
"KABOOM," he finished with a quick hand motion.
Only then did Veyr’s eyes widen in comprehension, the full picture finally clicking into place.
"Your genius... it scares me, Cuz," he said, slow claps following as he shook his head with a grin.
Leo responded with a mock bow, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
If executed right this plan could work wonders.
But it was a mission that needed to be executed by competent Cult Operatives, since the two of them could not perform it yet.
"And what about your monthly report meeting with the Major today?" Veyr asked, his tone light but curious. "Did you find anything useful there?"
Leo didn’t answer right away. He exhaled slowly, rubbing the side of his temple with a faint look of disbelief.
"I did... sort of," he muttered. "I asked him whether we should invite forces from outside the planet to train with us. Basically take your zonal drill idea and push it further, host large-scale interplanetary games."
He let out a short chuckle under his breath.
"His face when I said that... he looked at me like I’d grown a second head."
Veyr blinked, and then broke into laughter.
Leo gave a helpless shrug. "He told me I was being delirious. That our base doesn’t have the resources to support something so grand. Said the suggestion alone would reflect badly on my annual review."
He shook his head.
"Apparently, I’m overambitious now."
"But," he added, straightening slightly, "the conversation wasn’t a complete waste. Later that evening, I brought it up during a poker game with a few other Lieutenants. Most of them laughed, yeah, but they also ended up sharing some valuable intel."
Leo leaned forward slightly.
"Koral is what they call a ’Border Planet’ within the Su Clan. It’s low-priority — barely defended, lightly staffed, and strategically irrelevant in the grand scheme. If it falls, nobody’s coming to save it."
Veyr’s amusement faded as Leo’s voice turned sharper.
"The Su Clan would rather let Koral burn than risk mobilizing their elite forces. But the moment Koral is attacked, they’ll fortify the next closest planet with everything they’ve got."
He looked Veyr in the eye.
"Because while losing Koral is acceptable for them, losing Planet Nemo isn’t."