"She runs a tight ship," Reidar said. "Guards are everywhere. All around levels 260 to 280. Heavily armed and with many summons."

Reidar described the fortress city's layout in detail. The main structure was a converted administrative building at the center, surrounded by smaller barracks and storage facilities arranged in a grid pattern.

Narrow streets connected the buildings, creating chokepoints that could be easily monitored. Guard towers stood at each corner of the place, providing overlapping fields of vision around the entire area.

The hostages were held in the central building's lower levels, which was the most defensible place. Moving between buildings would be difficult; open spaces meant exposure, and the alleyways were patrolled regularly.

The church had turned the city into a nightmare: every approach was covered, and every route could become a kill zone.

"So we can't just walk in," Jake said, kicking a pebble.

"Not if we want the hostages to survive," Reidar agreed. "But we don't need to walk in. We need to break in."

He looked at Lena. "Can you free the hostages?"

Lena thought about it, evaluating the facility's structure against her capabilities. The hostages were in the central building's lower levels—the most defensible position, but also the most predictable.

The narrow streets and chokepoints would work against the guards once she was inside; they were designed to observe the outside, not to spot someone already past the perimeter.

Her invisibility gave her the advantage she needed. The guard towers had overlapping fields of vision, but they were focused outside rather than inside, watching for external threats.

If she timed her entrance with the patrol rotations, she could slip through the monitored open spaces before anyone noticed a door left ajar or a shadow that didn't belong to the place.

Besides, the idea she got of the place based on what Reidar said suggested a grid pattern, which also meant predictable patrol routes—guards would follow the same paths, creating windows of opportunity to sneak inside.

Once inside the central building, the lower levels would actually work in her favor. Fewer exits meant fewer guards needed on the inside, and the church would be confident in their outer defenses.

They could save the hostages before the alarm was raised. The real challenge would be the escape, but that's when Reidar would cover them.

Yes, she could do this.

"I can," Lena said. "But I will need Jake's help. Once we free the hostages, we will need to bring them out fast enough for them to just not stand in the way."

Reidar nodded. "Yes. I was fearing they would kill them if we just attacked, but aside from that, destroying this church's base shouldn't be a problem."

"Right," Jake said. "We are too strong now."

"We are," Reidar said.

But Reidar didn't like Jake's reasoning. Confidence was necessary—doubt could get you killed—but overconfidence was worse. It made you sloppy. It made you underestimate threats. The moment you believed you were the strongest, you stopped preparing, stopped thinking, and started making mistakes.

Reidar had seen it before. People who thought they'd outgrown caution. They'd waltz into a forest or challenge a monster two levels above them, certain their gear or their skills would push them through. Most of the time, they were right. But the one time they weren't? That was when they died.

The church wasn't just guards at level 260 or 280. It was an organization. A network. If Jake kept this mindset—if Jake kept thinking brute force and higher attributes were enough—he would eventually run into someone who countered them or who was stronger.

Someone with a Skill that bypassed defenses. Someone with a Summoner build that flooded the field faster than Jake could cut them down. Someone with a trap he didn't see coming because he was too busy feeling invincible.

And it wasn't just about individual strength. The church had reach. They had resources. If Reidar's group hit this facility and walked out thinking they were untouchable, Jake would get the wrong idea, and that could cost his life in the future.

"Don't get cocky," Reidar said. "It might get you killed."

Jake's expression changed, but he said nothing.

Lena broke the silence. "What's the plan for getting in undetected?"

Reidar looked at her. "You're the stealth expert. I'll leave that to you." He paused. "But once you and Jake have the hostages out, signal me. I'll cover your retreat and kill the church bastards."

Lena nodded, but while she and Jake could save them, that didn't mean it would be easy.

Lena had a lot to do. She had to time the guard rotations down to the second. One misstep and they'd be spotted before they could even reach the hostages.

She needed to map the facility's layout. Every corridor, every blind spot, and every door that might slam shut or creak open at the wrong moment had to be known.

She had to find from where to enter and how to do it. Yes, she could turn invisible, but Jake couldn't, and neither could the people held captive, so she had to find an entrance and a route and find out the patrol patterns.

Then there was the matter of the hostages themselves. How many were there? Were they injured? Could they move, or would some need to be carried? She'd have to account for their physical state and figure out how to move them as a group without causing panic or noise.

She also had to identify the optimal extraction route, because the summons could bring everyone out, but if they took a route filled with enemies, then the problem would still be there, and while they were past level 300, the enemy wasn't that weak either, and the survivors could still get easily killed by a stray spell or an arrow.

Besides, the way in might not be the way out.

This operation was easy, but only for Reidar.

Once they freed the hostages, the guards would react. She needed at least two exit paths, a main one and one for backup, in case the church sealed off the main route.

And she couldn't forget about Jake. He wasn't trained in infiltration. Damn, he was a kid, so she'd have to coordinate with him and make sure he knew when and how to move. His strength was high, but only if he didn't trip an alarm before they reached the captives.

Finally, she had to prepare for contingencies. What if the guards had detection skills that bypassed her invisibility? What if the hostages were chained or locked behind barriers she couldn't break quietly?

"Ah… shit…"

"Not easy, uh?"

"Shut up, I'm thinking," Lena said as she saw Reidar smirking.

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