The Martial Unity

Rui smirked. "Get going then, tell the others what I've told you and begin executing the plan immediately. If any of you see something, send a beep to the rest of us."

"Got it." Kane disappeared as he Void Stepped away.

Rui turned back, continuing his surveillance of the research facility with Seismic Mapping.

He could sense part of the structure of the facility. Now he planned to circle around it and see if he could stumble into something resembling a secret opening.

At the very least, they could not launch the attack without having a clear means to enter and exit. That would be incredibly foolish and short-sighted and would probably doom the mission. The research facility would probably detect them and would inform the government which would probably send reinforcements. The Commonwealth Duchy of Vinfrana would also become aware that the Kandrian Empire was aware of the existence of the secret research facility.

Rui suspected that even if they themselves could not actively find the entrance to the research facility, they could, at the very least, detect the flow of resources into the research facility. A research facility of this sort absolutely required regular supply shipments to continue operating smoothly.

There were way no way Rui could miss any exchanges in and out of the facility, he had deliberately repositioned himself to the shortest route between the closest urban town that would likely be the location from which the research facility received supply shipments from. If something came, he would see it in a heartbeat

There were other ways to narrow down the location of the entrance as well. In all likelihood the entrance was some sort opening concealed by earth and some vegetation over it. It was simple and effective. And there really wasn't any other straightforward manner in which they could hide the entrance without leaving anything visible that could distinguish it as a location.

If that were the case, then there actually was a limited amount of area throughout the entire forest that the opening actually could be. The Frujmel forest was a dense forest with thick trees whose roots burrowed deep. The area the opening was constructed in could not be an area highly populated with the trees, the roots would likely be far too deep and widespread, furthermore the soil would also be quite tightly held. The most convenient locations to build a secret concealed underground entrance would be under light vegetation like grass or shrubs.

This remarkably cut down the proportion of the area of the forest that the entrance could be at, making their job easier.

Soon, time passed as Rui continued maintaining his surveillance. It wasn't as though there wasn't any human activity whatsoever. There were travelling convoys and carriages of humans across the entire forest, but Rui had deemed them to be unrelated as they continued through the forest without ever stopping in a human that cut through the forest at a much distant point.

Until one of the convoys detoured.

('Hm?') Rui's eyes knitted as he sensed a convoy approaching the general geographic area. ('Could it be?')

The convoy moved slowly and discreetly without drawing much of any attention at all, from what he could tell from such a great distance away. This was a good sign.

Half an hour later, they stopped at a location nearly a kilometer away from his location.

His eyes lit up as he felt a substantial increase in seismic activity from underground. He moved in closer discreetly, looking to get a better seismic view of the situation. At this point, he was relatively certain he had found what he was looking for.

('I see.') He realized as he got a better understanding of the underground layout Seismic Mapping. ('The opening does not directly lead to the facility. It leads to an initial layer for logistics and security before leading to the actual research facility deeper underground. That makes sense. It's also consistent with the general structure of the research facility that the mission bill provided us.')

He even felt the faint sensation of the Void Step technique from a distance. ('Kane's on the move, good.')

He nodded as he felt Kane approaching the area, circling to keep the Void Step technique as he waited for entrance to open. He likely wouldn't be able to return immediately, but when he did, he should be able give them valuable intelligence. Then, they could formulate a more thorough plan once they actually executed the assault.

The convoy waited as a large hatch in the ground open. Two Martial Apprentice and six armed men emerged from it, poised for battle.

('Strong.') He evaluated. ('But definitely not grade-ten.')

The Martial Apprentice walked over to the convoy, visibly alert and wary as they exchanged words with its occupants and verified documents handed to them before nodding and relaxing.

('Strict security.') Rui noted. ('This should be routine to some extent, yet they don't let their guards down.')

Soon, men from the convoy got off as they extracted boxes and other goods, walking into the entrance and down the steps as the Martial Artists and human guards inspected and guarded the area. Rui ensured he was far enough to not be detected but close enough to get a clear view of the situation with Seismic Mapping.

('Supply shipment, as I'd predicted.') Rui mused.

The men worked quickly and urgently. Quickly and hastily finishing the unloading and dropping before getting back into their carriages, while the Martial Apprentices and armed guards returned back into the facility and the hatch closed. And there were no signs of it anymore to the naked eye.

('Alright, time to catchup with the others') Rui decided as he sent a vibration message to his teammates, a standardized message that was a call to regroup. Rui turned around and stealthily returned to their temporary make-shift base.

Rui had immediately computed several plans in his head with varying degrees of probabilities of success, already. He intended to flesh them out with his teammates and with Kane later once he returned.