Chương 138: Chapter : 138

"By launching a united, full-scale raid on Augusto's laboratory," Finlay continued, his voice echoing with military authority, "we will completely crush his illegal schemes. We will dismantle the Solurius reactor and neutralize a massive, deadly threat to the citizens of the Empire. And, simultaneously, we will break into his vault and recover the stolen artifact." Sayma quickly opened her notebook and started writing down the details.

"If we recover the Core of Luminus from the thieves and present it to the Upper Council, the mission is officially completed. We will completely erase the five-point penalty from our records."

"And we get to punch a crazy, evil scientist in the face," Laxmi added with a wild, excited grin.

"That is definitely my favorite part of the plan." Princess Hestia lifted her chin, looking at her pristine 16th Unit.

"Zaima. Elma. Make sure your weapons are perfectly polished. We are going to walk into that laboratory, take our prize back, and prove that nobody steals from the 16th Princess and gets away with it."

"Yes, Your Highness!" Zaima and Elma responded in perfect, synchronized unison. Prince Hephaestus looked back at his tired engineers.

"Alright, team. Drink the rest of your coffee and grab your heavy wrenches. We aren't frontline fighters, but we can definitely hack into his security doors and shut down his reactor. Let's get to work." Heart smirked, tossing her empty thermos to another engineer.

"You got it, Boss. We will tear his fancy lab apart piece by piece." Princess Iris drew her silver rapier from its sheath. The morning sunlight caught the shining metal blade. She looked at her chaotic, mismatched family—Sayma, Naomi, Laxmi, Zinia, Ira, Luna, and even the goofy, slacking Ken standing in the back.

"This man has hurt enough innocent people," Princess Iris declared, her violet eyes burning with absolute resolve.

"Today, we do not just fight for points. We fight for the safety of our city. Are you ready?"

"Ready!" the girls of the 13th Unit shouted together, drawing their daggers, water whips, and magical staffs. The tension and rivalry that had previously divided the three Royal units completely vanished. They were no longer arguing over who was better or who looked cleaner. Facing the terrifying, deadly reality of the Solurius experiments, the three separate teams were instantly united by a common, highly dangerous goal. Ken Eliot watched the three units hype each other up.

He slowly pulled his hands out of his pockets and let out a very long, very dramatic yawn that stretched his jaw.

"Well, this is just great," Ken complained lazily, slouching his shoulders and dragging his feet as the massive alliance began to march out of the courtyard gates.

"We are going to raid a heavily fortified, highly toxic underground bunker filled with illegal radiation. And it isn't even lunchtime yet. I really hope there is a vending machine in this secret lab, because I am going to need a lot of snacks to survive this much cardio." Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Naomi just laughed, grabbing Ken by the back of his navy blue suit jacket and playfully shoving him forward.

"Move your feet, slacker! You can complain all you want, but you are coming with us!" The three Royal units marched out into the city streets as one massive, united force. The race for the Core of Luminus had officially turned into a rescue mission for the capital itself, and the stage was set for an explosive showdown.

The massive, three-way Royal alliance came to a complete halt just outside the city limits. According to the strict, unbreakable rules of the Succession War, the Advisors had to stay behind. Grandmaster Finlay and Grandmaster Yukihime stood at the edge of the dirt road, watching as the three Princes and Princesses prepared to march forward with their servants.

"This is as far as we go," Grandmaster Finlay announced, his deep voice echoing in the quiet morning air.

"We tracked the coordinates to the exact location of Augusto's facility. The rest is entirely up to you." The allied teams turned their attention toward the target, and immediately, every single person in the group felt their stomachs drop. They had been expecting a sterile, quiet, brightly lit scientific laboratory. Instead, what stood in front of them looked like an absolute nightmare. Augusto's private research facility was a massive, multi-level concrete bunker built directly into the side of a jagged cliff.

Thick steel plates covered the walls, heavy metal pipes hissed with toxic-looking steam, and high-voltage barbed wire wrapped around the entire perimeter. It didn't look like a place for science. It looked exactly like a high-end, heavily fortified monster dungeon. Princess Iris, Princess Hestia, and Prince Hephaestus gathered in a quick circle to discuss their options.

"We cannot just walk up and knock on the front door," Sayma pointed out, pushing her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. She looked at the heavy, automated turrets mounted on the concrete walls.

"If we launch a frontal assault, it will be an absolute bloodbath. They have the high ground and heavy artillery. We need to split up." Heart, the tough Vice-Captain from the 9th Unit, nodded in agreement.

"She is right. My engineers scanned the blueprints. There are several ventilation shafts and secondary loading docks we can use. If we split into smaller, mixed squads, we can infiltrate the facility from multiple angles and force them to divide their security forces." Princess Hestia crossed her arms, being incredibly careful not to let her pristine white silk dress touch the dusty ground.

"Fine. But I refuse to let my elite girls be slowed down. We will form mixed squads, but everyone must pull their own weight." Within minutes, the large alliance was broken down into smaller groups. One of the infiltration squads was assigned to sneak through a rusted, dimly lit metallic corridor on the eastern side of the bunker. The group consisted of four very different people who looked like they did not belong together at all. First was Elma, the highly vain, sword-wielding servant from Hestia's 16th Unit.

She was wearing her spotless white and gold uniform, looking completely disgusted by the dirty environment. Next to her was Naomi, the fiery, dagger-spinning vanguard from the 13th Unit, who was already tightly gripping the handles of her weapons. Walking behind them was a quiet, nervous-looking boy from the 9th Unit named Raja. Raja wore a thick leather apron and a heavy toolbelt filled with weird, blinking gadgets. And finally, trailing at the very back of the group, was Ken Eliot.

Ken had casually tagged along with Naomi's group for one simple reason: Naomi was there, and she usually told him what to do. He was currently wearing his brand-new, expensive navy blue suit, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, and his shoulders slouched forward in his signature lazy posture.