Chapter 196 We Change The Plan
Clarence’s POV
The command room inside the compound was quiet except for the soft hum of the overhead lights and the occasional scrape of paper sliding across the metal table. Maps were spread everywhere, marked with circles, lines, and notes written in thick black ink. Stephan stood beside me, one hand braced on the table while the other moved a marker slowly across the map of the palace grounds. Gregory leaned against the opposite side of the table, arms folded as he studied every detail.
For the first time in days, the compound didn’t feel like a prison.
Last night we had carved a path through the minefield that Benjamin and the king’s warriors had laid around us. It had taken hours of patience and careful detonations, but in the end the narrow corridor had opened like a vein through the deadly field.
We could move again. Which meant we could finally attack.
“Two days,” Stephan said calmly as he tapped a ridge on the map. “That gives us time to gather what we need and plan our approach properly.”
Gregory nodded. “Supplies first. Fuel, ammunition, food, medical kits. Once we have that, we can position our men for the strike.”
I studied the map in silence for a moment, letting the plan settle into place.
“Two days,” I repeated finally. “We prepare, we gather supplies, and then we hit them before they expect it.”
Stephan straightened slightly. “Supply teams?”
I nodded toward the hallway. "Two crews go, I want ten men in each.”
Gregory opened the door and called out to the warriors waiting outside.
“First crew for ammunition and fuel. Second crew for rations and medical supplies.”
Twenty men stepped forward immediately, assembling in two tight groups. Boots thudded softly against the concrete floor as they lined up.
I looked each of them over carefully.
“You all know the path we cleared last night,” I said evenly. “Stay on it. The rest of the yard is still buried in explosives.”
One of the men stretched his arms above his head with a grin. “Just getting outside will be nice.”
Another laughed quietly. “Fresh air finally.”
Stephan smirked faintly. “Just make sure you stay alive long enough to enjoy it.”
A few quiet chuckles passed through the group.
Gregory gestured toward the hallway. “Move.”
The two teams turned and headed toward the front entrance of the compound. Their boots echoed through the corridor as they disappeared around the corner.
Moments later the heavy metal doors creaked open.
Cool night air drifted faintly through the building.
Outside, the first ten men stepped out onto the narrow cleared path that wound across the minefield. The other ten remained closer to the entrance, standing just outside the doorway. They stretched their backs and shoulders, breathing deeply after days of being trapped inside.
Inside the command room, Stephan continued outlining the attack.
“If we approach from the western ridge,” he said, sliding a marker across the map, “their outer patrols will be blind to us until we’re nearly on top of them.”
Outside, five men standing at the doorway suddenly dropped.
No sound. No warning. They simply collapsed where they stood, a clean bullet through each of their heads.
The other five beside them barely had time to react before they dropped as well. Ten bodies now lay piled near the entrance.
Inside, we heard nothing.
Down the narrow path, several of the men walking toward the gate turned around when they heard the thuds of bodies hitting the ground.
One of them laughed. “Quit screwing around back there.” His voice stopped abruptly. The laughter disappeared. What they saw froze the words in their throats. Ten of their brothers were lying in a heap just outside the compound doors.
Then someone screamed. Before they could react. Five more shots rang out. The five men standing furthest down the path dropped instantly. Their bodies collapsed across the narrow corridor.
Now the path was blocked. Five more blocking the only safe path forward. The remaining five men stood trapped in the middle. Behind them, ten bodies choking the entrance. In front of them,the path sealed with fallen men.
They couldn’t move.
One of them turned in panic, shouting toward the compound.
“SNIP”
CRACK.
A shot slammed into the dirt beside his foot. The man jumped violently, startled. His heel slipped off the narrow safe strip of ground. His boot came down just inches outside the cleared path.
BOOM.
The explosion ripped through the yard like thunder. Fire and dirt erupted into the air as the mine detonated beneath him. The blast hurled the other four men off their feet. Their bodies slammed into the surrounding ground.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
More mines detonated instantly. Flashes of orange light burst across the yard. The shockwave rolled through the compound, rattling the windows and shaking the command room walls.
Stephan grabbed the table to steady himself.
Gregory swore. “What the hell was that?!”
Another explosion thundered outside. The building trembled again.
I was already moving.
“Window.” I screamed maybe too loudly as I began to ran.
We crossed the room quickly. I shoved the metal shutter open and looked out across the yard.
Smoke rolled through the air in thick grey waves. Fires burned across the dirt where the mines had detonated. Bodies were scattered everywhere.
The narrow corridor we had spent hours clearing the night before was completely destroyed.
Twenty of my men lay dead across the yard.
For a long moment I simply stared at the devastation.
Then the realization settled in. Snipers. Someone had been waiting.
A string of vicious curses spilled from my mouth as I slammed my fist against the metal frame of the window.
“Those damn mother fuckers!” I continued to scream a string of chosen words.
Stephan leaned forward beside me, scanning the distant tree line.
“They baited them,” he said grimly.
Gregory’s voice was tight with anger. “They forced them into the mines.”
My jaw clenched as I stared into the darkness beyond the compound. Coban. Caden. They had seen the path. And they had turned it into a killing ground.
Outside, flames continued to flicker across the ruined yard while smoke drifted through the night air.
Twenty warriors gone in seconds.
I slowly stepped back from the window, rage simmering just beneath the surface.
Stephan looked at me carefully. “What now?”
I glanced once more toward the burning wreckage outside. Then I wiped the dust from my hands. My voice came out low and cold.
“Now,” I said quietly, “we change the plan.”