Chapter 325: In the Nest of the Rose
The journey was long and arduous. The carriage traveled for five grueling hours along winding, rugged paths, leaving the known boundaries of the city far behind. Finally, the wagon ground to a halt at the foot of a hill.
At the summit stood an improvised fortress composed of a network of wooden huts and structures. At first glance, it looked like a rustic encampment, but its strategic layout and positional advantage were impressive, it held command over the trail’s blind spots and featured a steep slope that would make any direct attack difficult.
Alexander poked his head out to survey the terrain and signaled the driver to bring the horses to stop. He narrowed his eyes, analyzing the area.
"Tch, the situation isn’t good," Alexander muttered. "If we walk into that place head-on, it’ll be too hard to get out."
He turned back toward Brianna and Sydney.
"Wait here. I’m going in alone."
"No! Alexander, it’s too dangerous," Brianna said, reaching out to catch his arm to stop him.
"Everything will be fine," Alexander told them firmly. "If something goes wrong, I’ll retreat. You two head back."
"We’re not leaving this spot," Brianna asserted, exchanging a resolute glance with Sydney. "We’ll wait until you return."
"Fine, no problem, just wait here," Alexander replied.
Alexander stepped down from the carriage without making a sound. He concealed his footsteps using [Silent Steps] and activated [Thermal Perception]. As he approached the wooden palisade surrounding the camp, he took cover behind a dense thicket and launched [Sonic Echo].
The pulses revealed the presence of two guards posted at the main entrance. He circled along the fence for a few meters and noticed something strange: there were no additional troops along the defenses. The security seemed relaxed, with barely five guards running sporadic patrols across the entire perimeter. It was almost as if they were inviting him inside.
Wasting no time, Alexander slipped between the wooden stakes of the fence. He moved toward the center of the camp using his skills in tandem, bypassing the patrols without leaving a trace.
In the heart of the fortress stood the largest command tent. Through his [Thermal Perception], he picked up a single person sitting at a desk inside. She must be the leader of this branch, Alexander thought as he slid past the entrance flap.
Upon stepping inside, he saw her. She was a mature woman calmly reviewing documents while sipping tea from a porcelain cup.
Without even looking up from her papers, the woman spoke serenely:
"Come in. Welcome."
Hearing her voice, Alexander froze in place. She knew he was coming. Shit, he had been exposed.
Alexander tried to turn around and retreat, but the woman’s voice echoed through the tent once more with calm:
"Come in, there’s no reason to run. Step inside."
Alexander froze. He was in the center of the camp, if he tried to break away now, he would have to fight his way out through the guards. He had no other choice. He was already this far in, so he had to bite the bullet and face her.
Alexander pushed the curtain aside and stepped fully inside.
Before him stood no warrior clad in leather armor, but a mature woman dressed in a silver chemise that accentuated her voluptuous curves. The fabric was semi-transparent, leaving little to the imagination. To top it off, the woman sat back on the desk with her legs parted wide, displaying matching lingerie with an open crotch ready to be fucked.
"Do you like what you see?" she asked with a seductive smirk.
Alexander nodded in silence, but in that second, he felt a familiar sensation wash over him. It was that same strange magic others had tried to use on him before: a spell designed to spike his lust and bend his will. Alexander frowned in confusion, but just as the magic tried to cloud his mind, the spell shattered once again.
The woman let out a choked scream of agony and clutched her head, pressing her temples in desperation.
"Well, well... looks like your skill backfired," Alexander said, folding his arms as he looked down at her. "That’s a rather peculiar skill. What’s it called?"
The woman couldn’t even raise her head from the searing pain of the magical feedback. In the espionage underworld, she was known as the Silver Spider. Her tactic was always the same: leverage her alluring body and her powerful [Charm] skill to subdue her targets without lifting a finger. Furthermore, even if an enemy managed to resist the spell, simply recognizing the prestige of her technique was usually enough for them to spare her or negotiate.
Unfortunately for her, she had just run into Alexander—a complete novice to the ways of magic who had no idea who she was and couldn’t care less about her reputation.
Alexander strolled over to the chair across from the desk with leisure and made himself comfortable, crossing one leg over the other as he watched her writhe.
The woman pressed her temple, breathing heavily as she looked up with eyes full of fury.
"Who the hell are you?" she rasped out.
"You invited me in and even set up an ambush, yet you still ask that?" Alexander replied, resting his chin on his hand. "Shouldn’t you at least be the one to introduce yourself first?"
The woman spat a trickle of blood onto the wooden desk—the result of the magical feedback from her shattered skill—and glared at him with pure disdain.
"Can’t you recognize someone of noble blood, you idiot?"
"Noble blood? You?" Alexander let out a mocking chuckle. "How would I recognize a noble bitch? I don’t even know who any of you are."
The vein in the woman’s neck bulged with rage at being treated like a common whore.
"You are a damned insolent fool!" she shrieked, beside herself. "You and everyone you know will pay for this...!"
SLAP!
A sharp, crisp slap cracked across her face before she could even finish her sentence, slamming her head against the wooden frame of the desk and dropping an silence over the tent.