Summoning America

Chapter 82: Extraction (2)

Harunagakyo, Hinomawari Kingdom

Wolf led the royal family back to the hallway, where some of the princesses began to feel nausea from the sight of gore. He scolded the distracted girls, bringing them back on track. "No time for that!" He yelled.

The royal guards understood the urgency of this escape, and acted in correspondence to Wolf's warning. They formed a protective shell around the royal family and their attendants, following the mysterious group of saviors ahead. In little time, they reached the devastated remains of the stairway, where they found the rest of Wolf's team waiting.

"Clear a path ahead! Buy us time!" Wolf ordered the trio to the throne room.

While Typhoon, Storm, and Thunder forged ahead, Wolf informed the Hinomawarians of their plan, "We'll use the throne room stairway to get to the bottom floor, at which point we have to get to the gardener's shed. My squadmates will draw Gra Valkan attention away from the garden while we make our escape toward the Marketplace District. We must then get to the mountains and reach the Muan border on foot."

Curious, King Hinomawari asked for Wolf's identity. "Thank you for rescuing us. What faction must I grant appreciation to once this is all over?"

Wolf looked back as he walked down the throne room stairway. "That information is classified, Your Highness. Although, you can assume us to be the Leiforian Resistance."

"I see," King Hinomawari said. "In any case, do grant your superiors my heartfelt gratitude."

Wolf nodded and continued downward. An empty lobby greeted them at the bottom of the stairway, for now. Wolf knew it would only be a matter of time before the Gra Valkans realized that there must be another way up. He expected that the Gra Valkans would reason the operatives who collapsed the stairway wouldn't just trap themselves up there with no escape path.

More detonations sounded off in the distance, causing the royal family to flinch. On the other hand, Wolf felt a sense of relief. "My squadmates are distracting the Gra Valkans away from the castle. Remain here," he told the Hinomawarians. "I'll let you know when it's clear to cross."

Wolf and his men hid behind the doors, peeking through the windows as they analyzed the situation at the garden. Faint moonlight served as the only source of illumination, making it hard to discern whether or not the path was clear. Without access to any night vision devices, he had to rely on his keen hearing.

He heard nothing, but still waited patiently. At this moment, he was essentially trapped between a rock and a hard place. He couldn't wait here forever, and he couldn't risk opening the door and revealing their position. Smashing the lights was an option, but anyone outside could potentially hear it and see the lights suddenly go out.

Performing mental calculations, Wolf estimated the maximum amount of time it would take for any Gra Valkans posted at the far end of the garden to respond to the explosions. He checked his watch, starting a mental timer for three minutes. The time period passed by with no occurrences at all. Wolf was about to open the door until he heard a distant conversation, which slowly grew louder as the participants approached the castle.

"We can't contact anyone, sir. The radio seems to be malfunctioning!" A Gra Valkan soldier said.

His commanding officer responded with a confused tone, "A faulty unit?"

"No, sir! Schumann's radio is also malfunctioning; I think it might be another one of the local magnetic storms."

"Hmph, at a time like this..." The group came to a stop right outside the door. "What a coincidence," the commanding officer said. "Very well then, we improvise. Does anyone have flares?"