Patrick stood slightly apart as the others finalized their adjustments, rolling his shoulders once as he tested the fit of his armor again. It was heavier than the rest, more refined in structure, with subtle markings that indicated authority rather than rank-and-file service.

A senior officer's set.

The kind that did not invite questions unless something was already wrong.

Lucas's gaze settled on him briefly. "It fits you."

Patrick gave a small nod. "It should."

Wesley glanced over. "That is not standard issue for a soldier patrol level."

"It is not meant for patrol," Patrick replied calmly.

That alone made Murray look at him more carefully. "You took that from an officer."

Patrick did not deny it. "It was not in use at the time."

The explanation was enough.

Darmian adjusted his own armor and added quietly, "It makes sense. If anyone stops us, they will look at him first."

Bartho nodded once. "He can speak for us if needed."

Patrick did not react immediately to that, but there was a slight tightening in his expression as he understood what it meant.

Lucas stepped closer now, his attention fully on him. "You are comfortable with command structure."

Patrick met his gaze. "Yes."

"You know their procedures," Lucas continued.

"I do," Patrick replied without hesitation. "Inspections, patrol rotations, reporting hierarchy, response protocols. All of it."

Wesley let out a low breath. "That is useful."

Murray added, "More than useful. It is cover."

Lucas studied Patrick for a moment longer, then gave a slight nod.

"Then you will not just blend in," he said. "You will lead when necessary."

Patrick did not respond immediately.

Not out of doubt, but out of understanding what that responsibility meant.

Finally, he said, "I can do that."

Lucas's tone remained steady. "Good. Then you stay in that armor."

Patrick adjusted the shoulder plate once more, settling into it fully now.

"Yes," he said. "It is better this way. If I am seen with junior soldiers, no one questions it. They expect me to move between groups."

Darmian glanced at him. "You are used to it."

Patrick gave a faint nod. "That is how their system works. Officers rotate control over smaller units constantly. No fixed loyalty. Only structure."

Bartho exhaled slowly. "That makes infiltration easier."

"And also harder to disrupt," Wesley added.

Lucas listened, then spoke again. "We use it. Not fight it."

The armor was now more than disguise.

They left the house in smaller clusters, not moving as a single group, but never straying far enough to lose sight of one another. The armor helped more than anything else now, not just as disguise, but as permission to exist openly in spaces that would otherwise question them.

The streets of Rus' inner province were already active despite the early hour. Soldiers moved in steady patterns, some marching between posts, others standing in loose formation as they received instructions. Civilians passed through carefully, their movements subdued, as if even daily life had learned to stay within invisible boundaries.

Lucas moved at a measured pace, his posture relaxed, his attention constantly shifting between details that mattered and those that did not. He was not just looking, he was learning the rhythm of the place.

How soldiers greeted each other.How often patrols changed direction.Where groups naturally gathered.Where they avoided standing for too long.

Vorde walked a short distance ahead, occasionally adjusting their direction without speaking much. Patrick stayed slightly to the side of Lucas when needed, but often drifted forward when familiar patterns appeared, quietly guiding them through spaces he understood instinctively.

"This sector is stable," Patrick said under his breath as they crossed a wide street. "Low inspection frequency. Mostly routine movement."

Wesley observed a group of soldiers passing them. "They do not question each other much." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Not unless something is wrong," Patrick replied.

Darmian glanced around. "That makes them predictable."

Lucas did not interrupt. He simply absorbed everything.

They passed a checkpoint where two officers stood overseeing movement. The exchange was brief, almost mechanical. A glance, a nod, nothing more. No questions were asked of them.

It worked exactly as Patrick had said it would.

They continued deeper into the area, gradually familiarizing themselves with the structure of the province. Certain roads led consistently toward administrative buildings. Others curved toward barracks or supply zones. The closer they moved toward central areas, the more controlled the atmosphere became.

At one point, Murray spoke quietly.

"I can see how they hold this place."

Patrick nodded slightly. "Not through strength alone. Through routine. People follow patterns long enough, they stop thinking about them."

Lucas's eyes narrowed faintly at that, not in disagreement, but in recognition.

They moved through another stretch of road where soldiers were gathered in groups, speaking in low tones. No one paid them more than a passing glance. The armor did its job, but more than that, their behavior matched expectation.

By the time they reached a raised overlook point, Lucas finally stopped.

From here, part of the inner structure of Rus could be seen stretching out ahead, layered and dense, with movement everywhere but disorder nowhere.

He studied it in silence for a moment.

Then spoke quietly.

"We understand the surface now."

Patrick stood beside him. "This is only the outer rhythm."

Lucas glanced at him. "And the deeper layers."

Patrick's expression darkened slightly. "Those are not as forgiving."

Lucas looked back toward the city.

"That is why we are here early," he said.

No one argued.

Because now, it was no longer just infiltration.

It was preparation inside the enemy's system.

The next stage was inevitable.

The deeper they moved into Rus, the more the structure of control became visible, until it all converged on one point that overshadowed everything else in the province.

The castle.

It rose above the inner capital like a fixed authority, its walls layered with reinforced stone and embedded defensive formations that subtly warped the air around it. Even from a distance, it carried weight, not just physical but perceptible, like the center of all command in the region.

Lucas stopped at a vantage point just far enough to observe without drawing attention. The group gathered loosely around him, maintaining their cover while taking in the structure ahead.

"That is our target," he said quietly.

No one needed clarification.

The dungeons were beneath it.

Patrick adjusted slightly beside him. "Access points will not be obvious. The main entrance is tightly controlled. Even officers do not enter freely."

Wesley frowned slightly. "Then how do we get in."

"We do not use the main entrance," Patrick replied.

Lucas's gaze remained fixed on the castle for a moment longer, then he closed his eyes briefly.

He extended his perception outward.

Not forcefully.

Not recklessly.

Just enough to feel.

The flow of presence within the structure, the pressure of strong individuals, the subtle signatures that marked those beyond normal soldiers.

For a moment, he remained still.

Then he exhaled slowly.

His expression eased slightly.

"He is not here," Lucas said.

Darmian glanced at him. "Ken."

Lucas nodded once.

Patrick's eyes sharpened slightly. "Are you certain."

"Yes," Lucas replied. "If he were here, I would feel it."

A brief silence followed that statement.

Even the others seemed to understand the significance of it.

Wesley exhaled quietly. "Then he is in Lechia."

"Most likely," Lucas said.

Vorde shifted his stance slightly. "That reduces immediate pressure."

"Not by much," Patrick added. "The castle is still heavily guarded. Ken not being here does not mean it is safe."

Lucas opened his eyes again, his focus returning fully to the structure ahead.

"It only means we are not walking into the strongest presence in the region," he said calmly.

No one disagreed.

Patrick glanced toward the castle again. "The dungeons will still be sealed in layers. Even without him, access will require internal movement."

Lucas nodded. "Which is why we observe first."

Wesley gave a small nod. "Learn patterns."

"Identify rotations," Bartho added.

"Find weakness in routine," Darmian finished.

Lucas turned slightly, looking at each of them in turn.

"That is exactly what we do," he said.

Then his gaze returned to the castle.

It stood there, unmoving, unaware that beneath its foundations, something had already begun to circle it quietly.

And now that Ken was confirmed absent, the first layer of their real objective had finally become possible.